George Foster Shepley (January 1, 1819 – July 20, 1878) was an officer in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, military governor of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

of the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit.

Education and career

Born on January 1, 1819, in Saco,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, Shepley attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1837 from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

and read law in 1839. He entered private practice in Bangor,

from 1839 to 1844. He continued private practice in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Maine from 1844 to 1861. He served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Maine from 1848 to 1849 and from 1853 to 1861. He served as a Brigadier General in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during the

from 1861 to 1865. He resumed private practice in Portland from 1865 to 1866. He was a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867. He again resumed private practice in Portland from 1867 to 1869.

Civil War service

Shepley was commissioned a Colonel of the 12th Maine Infantry on November 16, 1861. He was assigned to the Department of the Gulf, commanding a brigade during the New Orleans campaign from April 18, 1862, to May 1, 1862. He served as military governor of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

from May 1862 to July 1862, and then served as military governor of the Union-occupied parishes of Louisiana until March 1864. He was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers on July 18, 1862. He briefly headed a district in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and then served as chief of staff of XXV Corps, in the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

. He then served as military governor of Richmond, Virginia from April 3, 1865, to July 1, 1865, when he resigned his military commission to return to private practice.

Federal judicial service

Shepley was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

on December 8, 1869, to the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit, to a new seat authorized by . He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 22, 1869, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on July 20, 1878, due to his death in Portland. He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.''Appleton's Cyclopedia'' "George Foster Shepley" His tombstone has his birth date as January 1, 1819.

References

Sources

State of Louisiana – Biography

Cemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries * *

External links