Col. Ellsworth’s Funeral March. Composed & Respectfully Dedicated to Francis E Brownell, Esq

Philadelphia: Lee & Walker, 722 Chestnut St, 1861. Ephemera no binding. Very good. [SHEET MUSIC] [CIVIL WAR] [HISTORY]. Folio (13 ¼” x 10 ¼”); 5pp; pictorial chromolithograph of Col. Ellsworth standing on a flag to front wrapper, sewn binding; title page then numbered pages 3-5 printed with musical score for piano with words; light offsetting of ink, scattered foxing on wrapper; very good minus. OCLC lists 19 library holdings, 6 international, although it is not clear if all hold the pictorial wrapper version. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth (1837-1861) was a law clerk for Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, a United States Army Officer, and the first officer casualty (truncated) of the Union during the American Civil War. The regiment he commanded, the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, nicknamed the “Fire Zouaves,” were known for their uniforms inspired by the French colonial troops in Algeria. Ellsworth was killed in Alexandria, Virginia removing the large Confederate flag raised over a tavern. His body lay in honor in the White House on the order of his friend, President Lincoln. “Remember Ellsworth” became a rallying political cry and his regiment became known as the “Ellsworth Avengers.” The music is dedicated to Francis E Brownell, the soldier who killed Ellsworth’s attacker.

The words and music to this patriotic remembrance hymn were penned by prolific American songwriter Septimus Winner (1827-1902). Among his popular songs still remembered today are “Listen to the Mockingbird” and the children’s songs, “Oh Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone” and “Ten Little Injuns.” He wrote and published the hymn “Whispering Hope” under his pseudonym Alice Hawthorne, a nod to his mother’s relation to author Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Inventory #: 1298)