Col. Elmer Ellsworth is popularly considered to have been the first Union officer killed in the Civil war. He was also the first American combat casualty to be associated with unworthy “medal creep.” In May, 1861, Ellsworth led a march into Alexandria, Va., to remove a Confederate flag placed as to be seen in nearby Washington. He was shot during the small, useless scuffle. It happened that Ellsworth was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, so the trooper (Cpl. Francis Brownell) who did in the colonel’s assailant was immoderately awarded the Medal of Honor.
TOM TIEDE