A presentation sword belonging to the first Union officer killed in the US Civil War is to sell at Cowan's.
 Colonel Ellsworth was killed trying to remove a Confederate flag from a house in Alexandria, Virginia |
It's offered as part of the archive of Colonel Elmer E Ellsworth, who was shot dead after removing a Confederate flag from the home of a diehard secessionist in Alexandria, Virginia on May 24, 1861.
The state had voted to leave the Union the day before.
Ellsworth was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. His body was brought to the White House, where it lay in state until his funeral.
"Remember Ellsworth" soon became a rallying cry for the Union army.
The sword, along with 52 other items including letters and photographs, is valued at $100,000-200,000 ahead of the June 10 sale.
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