As April gave way to May, life in the nation’s capital adjusted to a new reality of massive dislocation from the thousands of Union troops billeted in the city’s structures. Besides taking part in drills and parades, the young soldiers amused themselves by insulting residents and taking over many of the eating and drinking establishments for their own use. Critical to Washington’s sense of security was the political stance of Virginia, and on May 23 Virginia’s residents ratified the Virginia Convention’s April 17 vote to secede, except for the loyal counties west of the Alleghenies that would later become the free state of West Virginia.68 Although Alexandria remained quiet, it was committed to the Confederacy: it was easy to spot a Confederate flag atop Marshall House, a local hotel, and Confederate campfires could be seen at night. Arlington Heights, on the Virginia side of the river, was within artillery range of the White House and other government buildings in Washington, while militants in Alexandria represented a potential challenge to free navigation of the Potomac River.
After the Union decision to neutralize the Virginia side of the Potomac, Washington’s militias responded to the call for volunteers, since they were obliged to serve only within the District of Columbia. The National Rifles signed on, and the Shepherd brothers were part of the group that assembled at the National Rifles armory on the second floor of Temperance Hall at Tenth and G Streets NW the evening of May 23. At about 10:00 p.m., the unit marched down Twelfth Street SW and passed Mary land Avenue SW, yards away from Shepherd’s birthplace two doors west. The troops—regulars and militia—closed the draw span of the Long Bridge (now the Fourteenth Street bridge), and soon after midnight the National Rifles, led by Captain John Smead, advanced across the bridge into Virginia. According to the National Rifles official history, the unit was the first company to march onto the “sacred soil” of Virginia.69
Shepherd and his fellow militiamen met no armed resistance; the Confederate pickets abandoned their positions as the Union forces arrived. The National Rifles participated in patrolling, mounting guard, and guiding out-of-state regular army units before leaving a contingent of five soldiers at the Aqueduct Bridge (now the site of Key Bridge) and returning to Washington on the morning of May 24. That day, however, saw the dramatic incident at Alexandria’s Marshall House in which Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, leader of the dashing Fire Zouaves of New York, was killed by the hotel proprietor after Ellsworth had torn down the offending Confederate flag on the roof. The death of Colonel Ellsworth, an associate of President Lincoln and a colorful figure in his own right, was a shock to Washington, since the Zouaves were bivouacked in the city and Ellsworth cut a glamorous figure in local society. Funeral services in the Executive Mansion were attended by the president.70
Civil War Politics
Against the backdrop of war, Washington politicians struggled to adjust their positions to changing realities. Party politics were in a state of flux, with all distinctions complicated by the departure of Democratic representatives and senators from the South, which created opportunities for new groups. The Republican Association of Washington had been formed under the leadership of Shepherd associate Lewis Clephane and four others.71 The organizing principle was opposition to permitting slavery in the new territories. The association was active in promoting the candidacy of the first Republican presidential candidate, John C. Frémont, in 1856, before choosing Abraham Lincoln in 1860.72 The Unconditional Union Party (UUP) emerged as a supporter of the war effort, but its chief, former mayor Richard Wallach, opposed general emancipation efforts.73 Elsewhere, the UUP stood strongly for emancipation.74 Among Democrats, the War Democrats came to the support of the Union, and the Peace Democrats/Union Democratic Party criticized the administration and opposed the war. The opposition was composed of those who, according to the Evening Star, “are . . . radiant with joy when news of a secesh victory reaches the city.” Its supporters denounced the Unconditional Union Party as allied with the Radical Republicans, a powerful group in the House and Senate who coalesced around opposition to slavery.75 Radical Republicans were consistently in the forefront of legislation to advance the rights of black Americans.
Although Shepherd was faithful to his military obligations, he was also in the process of launching a political career in Washington by seeking and winning a seat on the Fifty-Ninth Washington City Common Council on June 4 on the Unconditional Union ticket.76 Shepherd was a latecomer in deciding to run for the council, and the UUP organizers were late in adding him to their ticket, since it was not until May 31—only four days before the election—that a newspaper announcement for the Unconditional Union ticket included Shepherd as a candidate for a Ward 3 Common Council seat.77 No doubt Shepherd had commended himself to local political power brokers through his gregariousness and military service. Shepherd’s commitment to the Unconditional Union ticket was to launch him as a lifelong Republican, a party to which he gave great energy and from which he was to benefit personally and politically. Shepherd was new to politics, but from his vantage point at the J. W. Thompson plumbing firm, he was in contact with a wide swath of Washingtonians, since almost everyone needed home improvements and plumbing. All the Unconditional Union candidates for City Council were elected, including A. C. Richards, a Shepherd ally and later the city’s chief of police, to the Board of Aldermen (the upper house) and Shepherd to the Common Council (the lower house). Newspaper accounts of the election noted that it was a quiet one and that all voters had free access to the polls, a polite way of confirming that less than 50 percent of eligible voters went to the polls.78
Still on active military duty, Shepherd attended the organizing session of the Fifty-Ninth City Council on June 10 and was appointed to a committee to certify election results for citywide officials.79 At the next weekly meeting of the Common Council, Shepherd offered a resolution to instruct the Council’s Ways and Means Committee to reduce expenses of the City Corporation and fix the local tax rate not to exceed fifty cents.80 During the month of June Shepherd continued to carry out National Rifles duties in the Washington area, having made arrangements to remain in Washington when the majority of the unit was sent to Rockville, Mary land. Upon completion of the ninety-day term of enlistment, Shepherd mustered out on July 15.81
Shepherd’s military service in the Civil War was over. When a drawing was held in August 1863 to determine which Washingtonians would be drafted, 607 names were drawn for the draft out of 2,035 eligible men in Shepherd’s Ward 3. Both Alexander and Thomas Shepherd were selected despite prior service. Thomas later reported that he paid $800 for a substitute for himself and his brother.82 Neither man was required to serve again.
Church Issues
The Shepherd and Robey families had been faithful churchgoers in Charles County and in Washington. By nature drawn to established social practice, Shepherd developed a close relationship with his father’s old church, Fourth Presbyterian, whose pastor, Rev. John Smith, had recommended him for a job in John Thompson’s plumbing firm. However, Shepherd left the church due to a dispute over whether Pastor Smith had broken church rules by authorizing church renovations without consulting the building committee. The trustees supplied a report documenting affairs during their tenure and submitted their resignations at a November 1860 church meeting, charging that they had not been supported and that their orders had been disputed and ignored. During a heated discussion, Shepherd weighed in, defending Pastor Smith’s right to be heard and objecting to interruptions by other members. The meeting chairman supported Shepherd, who sarcastically dismissed a reference by one speaker to the church’s book of government, saying there might be difficulty in finding it.83 The incident in all likelihood left Shepherd feeling that while he had done the right thing in defending Pastor Smith, he had generated enough hard feelings that he would no longer feel at home at Fourth Presbyterian (which was directly across the street from his mother’s home). Shepherd’s defense of the pastor for having taken decisions without consulting the church fathers was a harbinger of charges that would be leveled against Shepherd as chairman of the Board of Trade.
The row caused Shepherd to decamp