[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER LOUIS CAPET SHEPARD

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                       HON. STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2005

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, today I had a flag flown over the United 
States Capitol in honor of Louis Capet Shepard, the only Medal of Honor 
winner from Ashtabula County, Ohio, which is in my congressional 
district. Shepard served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War.
  Louis C. Shepard was born in Ashtabula on September 2, 1841, and 
served in the Navy as an ordinary seaman. Shepard was awarded the Medal 
of Honor for his valor during the assault on Fort Fisher in North 
Carolina. The Medal of Honor is the country's highest award for valor.
  Each time a Medal of Honor is awarded, the following words are 
spoken: ``For Conspicuous Gallantry and Intrepidity in Action at the 
Risk of Life, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty.'' These words 
certainly exemplify Shepard's actions during the assault on Fort Fisher 
on January 15, 1865.
  According to records, Shepard was honored for 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 not only reaching the angle of the fort, but in being one 
of the few to enter it. When the rest of the men to his rear were 
forced to retreat due to devastating fire, Shepard was forced to 
withdraw and seek the shelter of one of the mounds near the stockade. 
Shepard then succeeded in regaining the safety of his ship. Shepard was 
just 23 years old at the time.
  After the fall of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865, the Confederate 
army evacuated its remaining forts in the Cape Fear area, and Union 
forces soon overtook Wilmington. Once Wilmington fell, the supply line 
of the Confederacy was severed, and the war soon ended.
  It's a tremendous honor for Ashtabula County to be the home of a 
Medal of Honor winner. Fewer than 3,500 Medals of Honor have been 
awarded since the decoration was created in 1861. There were 1,522 
awards for the Civil War, and 307 of the medals were awarded to men in 
the Navy. Of those, 195 medals went to Ohioans, including Shepard, who 
died at the age of 77 and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Port 
Clinton.
  Mr. Speaker, the flag that was flown over the United States Capitol 
today will be unveiled on Memorial Day during the dedication ceremony 
for the new Ashtabula County Veterans Memorial. I applaud VFW Post 3334 
in Jefferson for their efforts on behalf of the new memorial, and for 
choosing to honor the valor of Louis C. Shepard, the only Medal of 
Honor winner from Ashtabula County.

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