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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 79936:  Ordinary Seaman Louis C. Shepard (Shepherd)

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Ordinary Seaman Louis C. Shepard, USN, (1841-1919)
(Family name also spelled "Shepherd" in some sources)

Louis Capet Shepard was born in Ashtabula, Ohio on 2 September 1841. He served in the US Navy during the Civil War. On 15 January 1865, while serving on USS Wabash, he participated in the land assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina. For his gallantry at that time, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Louis C. Shepard died on 2 September 1919 at Danbury, Ohio.

This page features the only image we have concerning Louis C. Shepard.


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Photo #: NH 79936

Ordinary Seaman Louis C. Shepard, USN

(family name also spelled Shepherd)

Halftone reproduction of a photograph, published in "Deeds of Valor", Volume II, page 80, by the Perrien-Keydel Company, Detroit, 1907.
A member of USS Wabash's crew, Louis C. Shepard was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallant role in the 15 January 1865 land assault on Fort Fisher.

US Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 51KB; 585 x 765 pixels

 



Medal of Honor citation of Seaman Louis C. Shepard (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 47):

"Served as seaman on board the U.S.S. Wabash in the assault on Fort Fisher, 15 January 1865. Advancing gallantly through severe enemy fire while armed only with a revolver and cutlass which made it impossible to return the fire at that range, SHEPARD succeeded in reaching the angle of the fort and in going on, to be one of the few who entered the fort. When the rest of the body of men to his rear were forced to retreat under a devastating fire, he was forced to withdraw through lack of support and to seek the shelter of one of the mounds near the stockade from which point he succeeded in regaining the safety of his ship."


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 13 March 2006