8 7/8 x 6 3/4 in. albumen photograph on 12 3/8 x 12 1/2 in. cardstock mount. Image credited to Pywell (negative) and Gardner (positive), copyrighted, titled, numbered, and dated on mount recto.

From Volume I of Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, this image of the Marshall House also features storefront signage for "Great Western Clothing House," "Dry Good Store," "J. W. J. Entwistle's City Bookstore," and others. Two women can be seen outside of the Dry Good Store, one being in motion at the moment the image was captured.

The Marshall House was the site of what is often considered the first Union casualty of the Civil War. In May of 1861, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth traveled across the Potomac River and entered the Marshall House to remove a large Confederate flag, which was reportedly visible from the White House, flying atop the inn. Ellsworth was shot dead by the innkeeper on the way down the stairs from the roof. His story inspired patriotism across the Union and his name became a rallying cry, with some regiments even calling themselves "Ellsworth's Avengers."