Francis Edwin Brownell (d. 1894), Colonel Ellsworth's Avenger

Private Brownell accompanied Colonel Ellsworth into the hotel that was flying the Confederate flag in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 24, 1861. Ellsworth pulled the flag down and started down the stairs with the flag in a bundle. The hotel owner, James. T. Jackson, shot Ellsworth in the chest. Brownell shot and bayoneted Jackson. In the national attention that followed Ellsworth's death, the first fatality of the Civil War, Brownell was made a hero. After several efforts Brownell succeeded in receiving the Medal of Honor in 1877. In the photo, Brownell is in his Zouave uniform. At his feet lies the crumpled flag Ellsworth removed before he was shot.

1861 circa 5 years
Original Format:
Carte de Visite
Mathew Brady
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