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Elmer ellsworth3/1/2023 ![]() “ First Fallen charts the remarkable trajectory of this ‘self-made man’ from humble origins to national celebrity, and ultimately, martyred hero. In this carefully researched, smoothly written, poignant biography of Ellsworth, the first to appear in over half a century, Meg Groeling makes it clear why Lincoln was so powerfully drawn to the magnetic young man, who in 1860 had captured the nation’s imagination as a leader of a crack militia team and in the following year again captured the public’s imagination as the first Union officer to be killed.” - Michael Burlingame, author of several Lincoln books, including An American Marriage: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Of all Lincoln’s numerous surrogate sons, few inspired stronger paternal affection than did Ellsworth, who had studied law with him and had served as a bodyguard on his epic train journey from Springfield to Washington. "‘We are coming, Father Abraham, 300,000 more’ sang Union troops during the Civil War, in which Elmer Ellsworth was the first Northern martyr. military bases now named for a traitor to be renamed for this brilliant young patriot-Fort Ellsworth.” - Sidney Blumenthal, acclaimed Lincoln biographer “Meg Groeling’s exciting and wonderfully written life of the marvelous Elmer Ellsworth, as sprightly as he was-the first fallen in the Civil War, who was like a son to Lincoln-should inspire a movement for one of the U.S. In the six decades since the last portrait of Ellsworth was written, new information has been found that gives readers and historians a better understanding of the Ellsworth phenomenon and his deep connections to the Lincoln family.įirst Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the North’s First Civil War Hero examines every facet of Ellsworth’s complex, fascinating life and adds richly to the historiography of the Civil War. ![]() Groeling’s well-written biography is grounded in years of archival research and includes diaries, personal letters, newspapers, and many other accounts. The trickle of blood had now become a torrent that would not stop for four long years. ![]() When a late May afternoon thunderstorm erupted during his funeral service at the Hudson View Cemetery, eyewitnesses referred to it as “tears from God himself.” The death of the young hero was knocked out of the headlines eight weeks later by the battle of First Bull Run. The elite of New York brought flowers to the Astor House and six members of the 11th New York accompanied their commander’s coffin. Mary Lincoln insisted he lie in state in the East Room of the White House. When he was killed, the Lincolns rushed to the Navy Yard to view the body of the young man they had loved as a son. Within days he organized more than 1,000 New York firefighters into a regiment of volunteers. He helped his friend and law mentor Abraham Lincoln in his quest for the presidency, and when Lincoln put out the call for troops after Fort Sumter was fired upon, Ellsworth responded. Zouave Cadets drill team had performed at West Point, in New York City, and for President, James Buchanan before returning home to Chicago. First Fallen is the first modern biography of this national celebrity, Northern icon, and mostly forgotten national hero.Įllsworth and his entertaining U.S. Elmer Ellsworth became the first Union officer killed in the Civil War. ![]() ![]() Click HERE to read the Table of Contents, Introduction, and Chapter 1 ![]()
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