by Shaun C. Grenan
On the 24th of May, 1861, at Alexandria, Virginia, Elmer Ellsworth, the Colonel of the 1st New York Fire Zouave regiment was assassinated by a Confederate innkeeper and militia officer. The outcry among the people of the North was loud, fierce, and instantaneous. Elmer Ellsworth was not only a nation-wide military hero, celebrity, and a close friend and confidant of the Lincoln Family, but he was the ideal soldier of the Victorian Age.
A wave of patriotism and cry to "AVENGE ELLSWORTH" was heard loudest in the State of New York, and a new regiment was formed - The 44th New York Infantry, aka the "People's Ellsworth Regiment" or the "Ellsworth Avengers". This regiment was unlike any ever formed (before or since) in the world. Holding up to the late Ellsworth's ideals, recruits had to be unmarried, at least 5 feet, 8 inches in height, under 30 years old, active, able-bodied, be of "good moral character," and pay twenty dollars into a regimental fund. The regiment was also formed across the entire state, taking only one recruit from each separate town or ward.
The men were uniformed in a smart dark blue and red zouave uniform, and were trained in the zouave skirmish, bayonet, and drill tactics, making them one of the best-prepared units in the Union Army. Their muskets blazed forth on battlefields across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and they are listed as one of Colonel William Fox's 300 Fighting regiments in his seminal work, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865. This regimental history follows in their footsteps from the beginning of the war to after the conclusion, and contains many first-hand accounts, letters, diary accounts, official reports, and over
This reprint of the 1910 original includes new photos, artwork, and an introduction by the editor, and contains over 75 portraits and photographs of the men of the regiment.
- Release date: June 6, 2022
- Paperback
- 630 pages