Russell Benjamin Shepherd (September 14, 1829 - January 1, 1901) was an American businessman and politician from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Shepherd was born in 1829 in

Fairfield, Maine Fairfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,484 at the 2020 census. The town includes Fairfield Center, Fairfield village and Hinckley, and borders the city of Waterville to the south. It is home to the ...

. His parents were Quakers. He attended common schools in Fairfield before attending Bloomfield Academy in nearby

Skowhegan, Maine Skowhegan () is the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,620. Every August, Skowhegan hosts the annual Skowhegan State Fair, the oldest continuously held state fair in the Unit ...

. He then traveled to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to work in mines. California was in the midst of the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

. After two years, he returned to Maine and studied at

Waterville College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

, graduating in 1857. He then went into teaching for five years which included time as the Principal of Bloomfield Academy and the

girls' high school Girls' High School was a public high school in Brooklyn, New York. It was in a historically and architecturally notable building at 475 Nostrand Avenue in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood. It was built in 1886.''Brooklyn: a soup-to-nuts gu ...

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. In August 1862 he joined the Union Army, being commissioned as First Lieutenant and adjutant in the

18th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It suffered more casualties in an ill-fated charge during the Second Battle of Petersburg than any Union regiment lost in a single day of comba ...

. A year later the regiment was renamed

1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It suffered more casualties in an ill-fated charge during the Second Battle of Petersburg than any Union regiment lost in a single day of comba ...

. When he mustered out of service on September 8, 1865, Shepherd was the regiment's commander with the rank of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. After the war ended he was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

brigadier general. He purchased a cotton plantation in Georgia after leaving the Army, where he resided for nearly a decade. He then returned to Skowhegan, where he resided for the remainder of his life. A Republican, Shepherd was elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

, the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

, and the Executive Council.

References

1829 births 1901 deaths People from Fairfield, Maine Politicians from Skowhegan, Maine Colby College alumni Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party Maine state senators Members of the Executive Council of Maine Businesspeople from Maine People of Maine in the American Civil War Union army colonels 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-MESenate-stub

See also

References