His Life

They assumed that the Shephard enlisted just over a year into the war when he was only 18. To their surprise,  rather than describing bloody conflicts, he wrote about America outside of Michigan that his course of duty took him to.

Admiring

Addressing this experience, the young soldier explained it as “the finest piece of architecture in the United States… A large mass of stone and iron, there is scarcely any wood about it. It is all white and completely filled with the most beautiful paintings I ever saw.”

Brutal Game

By the letters and books of the past, they studied that the young man fought in the war. After many brutal battles, he was captured by the other troop and lastly, at the age of 21, he died because of savage conditions at a military prison in Salisbury on 18 December 1864. 

Preserved For Ages

The story of Shephard was not that happy as he did not get to meet his family before losing his last breath. Yet, his letters showed how much he loved his family. Shephard may have been forgotten with time, but his letters have that intensity to connect with the era of war and revive his pains. His letters are now preserved at  Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.