Name Francis Brownell Rank First Lieutenant | ||
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Battles/wars Battle of First Bull Run Died March 15, 1894, Washington, D.C., United States Allegiance United States of America, Union | ||
Years of service April 20, 1861 – 1863 Battles and wars First Battle of Bull Run | ||
Francis Edwin Brownell (1840 – March 15, 1894) was a soldier and recipient of a Medal of Honor awarded in the American Civil War. He received the award for killing James W. Jackson after Jackson shot Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, colonel of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Although Brownell didn't receive the award until 1877, a dozen years after the end of the war, his actions were the earliest in the war that resulted in a Medal of Honor being awarded.
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Life
Brownell enlisted as a member of the 11th New York Volunteers, the "Fire Zouaves", in April 1861, and was assigned to Company A. In the first days of the war, as the 11th entered Alexandria, Virginia on May 24, 1861, Ellsworth took Brownell and several other men to capture the telegraph office. On the way there, one of Ellsworth's men spotted a Confederate flag atop the Marshall House (Alexandria, Virginia) inn. Ellsworth's group entered the inn and quickly cut down the flag but as they descended the stairs they encountered the proprietor, James Jackson. Jackson killed Ellsworth with a shotgun blast to the chest and Brownell responded by fatally stabbing the innkeeper. For this, he was rewarded with a commission in the Regular Army. He served as an officer in the 11th Infantry Regiment (United States) for the next two years, retiring in November 1863 with the rank of first lieutenant.
After the war, Brownell requested the award for recognition of his actions in killing Jackson but was denied. He made a second request which was also denied. A third attempt with the assistance of his congressman was granted and Brownell was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1877, inscribed with his name and regiment. A request to have his action described on the medal resulted in its being returned to the War Department and a second medal being issued. It was inscribed: “The Congress to Sergt Frank E. Brownell, 11th N.Y. Vol Inf’y for gallantry in shooting the murderer of Col. Ellsworth at Alexandria, VA, May 24, 1861.”
Following the war, Brownell lived in Washington, D.C. where he worked as a clerk with the Pension Office. He was a companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
He is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Private, Company A, 11th New York Infantry. Place and date: Alexandria, Va., May 24, 1861. Entered service at: Troy, N.Y. Birth: New York. Date of issue: January 26, 1877.
Killed the southern sympathizer who shot Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth at the Marshall House (Alexandria, Virginia)., after that state had declared its secession from the Union.