A matter of perspective

Saturday morning is Market Day in Old Town, and I have made it a habit to head there most Saturdays during the summer for local produce.  I love going to Market!

The best thing is that going to Market is participating in a tradition that goes back over 250 years.  Market has been held at this location since 1753.

About a block away from Market is Hotel Monaco, which is a modern looking hotel.  On this spot, however, a momentous event occurred on May 24, 1861.  The Marshall House stood here, and the innkeeper was a fiery secessionist by the name of James W. Jackson.  Mr. Jackson, a patriot and son of Virginia, raised a Confederate flag above his hotel, and declared that whomever dare take down the flag, would be shot.

The Marshall House as it appeared in 1861.

Troops from New York were occupying all of Alexandria at this very time.  The New York Fire Zouaves, led by Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, came up King Street.  Colonel Ellsworth, a friend of President Lincoln, noted the Confederate flag flying above the hotel.  He took some of his troops into the hotel, and tore the flag down.  Mr. Jackson made good on his promise, and shot and killed Colonel Ellsworth as he descended from the attic.  Mr. Jackson was immediately killed by Corporal Francis Brownell, one of Colonel Ellsworth’s troops.

This incident became a rallying cry for the Union (“Remember Ellsworth!”); in the South, however, Mr. Jackson was a Martyr for the Cause, as evidenced by the plaque found on the Hotel Monaco:

The plaque reads: The Marshall House stood upon this site, and within the building, on the early morning of May 24, 1861, James W. Jackson was killed by Federal soldiers while defending his property and personal rights, as stated in the verdict of the Coronor’s Jury.
He was the first martyr to the Cause of Southern Independence. The justice of history does not permit his name to be forgotten.
Not in the excitement of battle, but coolly, and for a Great Principle, he laid down his life, an example to all, in defence of his home and sacred soil of his native state, Virginia.

Colonel Ellsworth was the first officer killed in the Civil War.  Corporal Brownell received a Medal of Honor for avenging the Colonel’s death.