Page 36 - Family History
P. 36
Family Stories
Elmer Ellsworth Fisher – Namesake
There is a strong possibility that Elmer Ellsworth Fisher is the namesake of
Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth – the first casualty of the American Civil War.
Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth
April 11, 1837 – May 24, 1861 (Aged 24)
Elmer Ellsworth studied law in Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield, Illinois office
and helped Lincoln with his campaign for president. Ellsworth went with
Lincoln to Washington D.C., after Lincoln was elected. Lincoln nicknamed
Ellsworth “the greatest little man I ever met.” Ellsworth helped recruit soldiers
after the secession crisis in 1861, raising the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry
Regiment from among New York City’s firefighters.
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