While the first Governor of the District of Columbia was Henry D. Cooke, a most estimable gentleman, Mr. Shepherd, in his position of vice-president of the board of public works, and afterwards when he became himself Governor, exercised superintendence over all the work that was done. Under Mr. Shepherd the rapidity and extent of the work performed was most extraordinary-so great, indeed, as far to exceed the authority of law under which he was working, and also so great as to call for the expenditure of money far in excess of the appropriations. The work was performed by Governor Shepherd with an honest purpose for the benefit of the city. His ambition was to make it the pride instead of the reproach of the Nation, and to render it, so far as anything could or can render it, the permanent Capital of the great American Government. As to the amount expended exceeding the appropriations, Governor Shepherd boldly told the committee of investigation appointed in February, 1874, to inquire into the proceedings of the board of public works, that inasmuch as the public buildings of the Government, which paid no taxes to the city, were greatly benefitted by the improvements made by the excess of expenditures complained of, the Government should in duty to itself assume that excess of liabilities; and there are now living those who believe that had Governor Shepherd retained his position and been permitted to complete the work begun by him, this result, so much to be desired, would have been accomplished. However this

son & Company, plumbers and gas fitters in the city of Washington, and finally succeeded to the business in his own name. When the Rebellion commenced he was one of the first to volunteer his services in the cause of the Union. In 1861, he was elected a member of the Common Council of the city of Washington and was chosen president of that body; he was a member of the Levy Court of the District of Columbia in 1867, and in 1869 was one of a committee of citizens selected to draft a bill for the better government of the District of Columbia, in which work he took a leading part. In 1870, he became president of the Citizens' Reform Association and was also elected an alderman of the city. In 1871, he was appointed a member of the Board of Public Works of the District of Columbia under the act of Congress of that year, abolishing the then existing government and creating a Territorial government for the District; he was elected vice-president of the board, the Governor under the law being ex officio president. He was, in 1873, appointed the second Governor of the District and remained in that office until June 20, 1874, when the form of the government of the District of Columbia was again changed by an act of Congress approved that day. Mr. Shepherd showed himself at all times, and in every position held by him, a man of distinguished ability, strong in his conviction of what was right, and always loyal to his convictions. He was ahead of his times in his opinion of what was best for the interests of the city of Washington, and to his boldness as a leader and his fearless adoption of the means in his hands is due, more than to all things else beside, the wonderful development of the beauties and advantages of the city of his birth. Mr. Shepherd has, for several years past, been a resident of Mexico, where he owns valuable mining interests, to which he is devoting his energies.

might have been, the results of his great work are everywhere visible; they are enjoyed by those who opposed and criticized him as well as by those who approved his work and stood by him. The great debt created has been advantageously funded, and will be paid by the future as well as by the present. At this time many of those who were his detractors have become his eulogists.

In closing this chapter it may be well to present in brief the number and extent of the public reservations and the length of the streets and avenues. The public grounds of the city of Washington .consist of 331 reservations, containing 413.32 acres of land. Fifty-five of these are highly improved, and contain 231.28 acres; 47 of them are partially improved, containing 110.55 acres; and 229 remain unimproved, containing 71.49 acres. This statement does not include Rock Creek Park, lately condemned and converted into the largest park in the city, embracing within its limits nearly 2,000 acres, and costing nearly one million and a half of dollars.

Following is a summary of the length in miles and area in square yards of the various kinds of pavements at present upon the streets of Washington: Of sheet asphalt, 49.7 miles, 1,089,858 square yards; coal tar, 38.2 miles, 881,939 square yards; asphalt block, 10.1 miles, 242,736 square yards; granite blocks, 24.5 miles, 609,687 square yards; cobble and blue rock, 10.8 miles, 440,754 square yards; macadam, 10.4 miles, 293,218 square yards; gravel, 26.2 miles, 530,188 square yards. Total length of paved streets, 169.9 miles; total area, 4,088,380 square yards. The length of streets unimproved is 65.6, miles, making the total length of the streets 235.5 miles. The area of the unimproved streets is 1,167,672 square yards, making the total area of the streets 5,256,052 square yards.

The march of improvement in the city, begun in 1871, has been ceaselessly onward. Twenty years of constant, unremitting, intelligent attention to its progress has worked wonders in the appearance of the Capital. Pushing outward along the magnificent avenues, the grand plan of L'Enfant is being developed, as the city progresses, in a way that astonishes and delights its citizens. Already this progress has overleaped the old boundaries, and passing the confines intended by our forefathers, is peopling the hills that surround it like an amphitheater. The style of buildings is in keeping with the grandeur of the plan; while the beautiful parks, trees, flowers, and shrubs, the fountains, statues, and splendid public edifices, all combined, make it a city worthy of the name of Washington,

CHAPTER VIII.

MILITARY HISTORY.

The Causes of the War of 1812 15-The Embargoes-Tammany Society of Washington to President Jefferson - War in Prospect - President Madison Convenes Congress— Congress Declares War-Recruiting in Washington --- Reorganization of the Militia of the District - Military Organizations - British Ships in the Potomac - Excitement in Washington - General Winder Arrives in Washington-The Battle of St. Leonard's -The Battle of Bladensburg-President Madison's Proclamation - Peace through the Treaty of Ghent-The War with Mexico — Annexation of Texas by Treaty or Joint Resolution - Organization of Troops for the War- - Peace with Mexico The War of the Rebellion - Brief Statement of its Causes-The Insurrection at Harper's Ferry - Ratification Meetings - Attack on the Republican Headquarters - Meeting of Southern Senators to Further the Secession of Their States - The Peace Convention - Mr. Lincoln's Arrival in Washington - His Inauguration — Military Companies - Proclamation Calling for Seventy-five Thousand Men - First Troops to Arrive in Washington-Military Department Created — Militia Officers Commissioned — Battalions Organized — Crossing the Potomac - Colonel Ellsworth Killed Fortifications Around the City-First War Dispatch from a Balloon Battle of Bull Run-The Army Bakery - Troops in Defense of Washington - War Meeting in the Capitol - Second Battle of Bull Run-- Battle of Antietam - Hospitals in Washington - Proclamation of Emancipation — Drafts in the District - Ladies' Relief Association -- General Early Attacks Washington - Surrender of Richmond - Lee's Surrender -- Assassination of President Lincoln — Confiscation of Property - The Grand Review-Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia.

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HE War of 1812-15 had its remote origin in the fact that Great Britain claimed and exercised the right to impress seamen from American vessels into her own service, upon the principle that a subject of Great Britain could not expatriate himself. For several years before the commencement of actual hostilities, in fact as far back as the close of the Revolutionary War, the newspapers of the United States contained frequent advertisements in the form of lists of American citizens serving on board of American vessels, arbitrarily seized while engaged in the performance of their duty, and thus impressed into the service of that nation, together with appeals to their friends for proof that they were citizens of the United States, and for the adoption of measures that would lead to the recovery of their liberty. Then, too, deserters from the British navy sometimes enlisted in the service of the United States, to whom, when discovered, but little mercy was shown.

In the spring of 1807, three of the seamen of the British ship Melampus deserted her and enlisted as a portion of the crew of the American frigate Chesapeake, then being fitted out at the Navy Yard at Washington to join the Mediterranean squadron, Mr. Erskine, who was then British minister at Washington, made a formal demand upon the President of the United States for their surrender. The Government of the United States instituted an investigation into the case of these deserters, by means of which it was well established that all three of the men were American subjects previously to their enlistment on board the Melampus. Their names were William Ware, John Strachan, and Daniel Martin. Martin was a colored man and a citizen of Massachusetts; the other two being white men and citizens of Maryland. These facts being sufficiently authenticated, the Government of course refused to surrender them, and Mr. Erskine said no more upon the subject.

The failure to secure the surrender of these three men led ViceAdmiral Berkeley to an assumption of authority which caused a great deal of trouble between the two nations. Vice-Admiral Berkeley was on the Halifax Station, and a fleet under his command was at the time lying off Lynnhaven Bay, watching a French fleet that was on the coast, as well as American commercial movements. About the beginning of June, 1807, the Chesapeake sailed from Washington to Norfolk, where she reported as ready for sea to Commodore James Barron, the flag officer of the Mediterranean squadron, June 22. She sailed from Hampton Roads under the immediate command of Captain Gordon, armed with twenty-eight eighteen pounders on her gun deck and twelve carronades on her upper deck. Her crew numbered three hundred and seventy-five men. The British squadron in Lynnhaven Bay were watching her, as well as the French frigates, the Leonard, of the British squadron, being particularly on the lookout for the Chesapeake. The Leonard, mounting fifty-six guns, preceded the Chesapeake to sea several miles, until about three o'clock in the afternoon, when she bore down upon the Chesapeake and hailed her, informing Commodore Barron that she had a dispatch for him. The lieutenant of the British boat which came alongside, who was politely received by the Commodore in the cabin of the Chesapeake, informed the Commodore that he was in search of deserters, and, giving their names, demanded their release, in accordance with instructions issued June 1, 1807, by Vice-Admiral Berkeley, to all the captains in the British squadron. Commodore Barron replied that he knew of no deserters on board of his ship, and that his crew could not be mus

tered except by their own officers. In the meantime, the officers of the Chesapeake, suspicious of intended mischief, prepared the ship as well as they could for action, and upon the retirement of the British lieutenant, Commodore Barron, himself fearing hostile action in consequence of his refusal to surrender the deserters, called his men to quarters. Soon afterward a shot was sent from the Leonard across the bow of the Chesapeake, and in a few moments another, and then a whole broadside was fired into the American ship. In several broadsides that followed, three of Commodore Barron's men were killed and eighteen wounded. The Chesapeake, being really in a helpless condition, could offer no resistance, and was compelled to surrender. The three deserters above mentioned, and one other named John Wilson, were found on board the Chesapeake, taken on board the Leonard, and thence to Halifax, where Wilson, who was a British subject, was tried and hanged. The other three were reprieved on condition of reëntering the British service. One of the three Americans died in captivity, and the other two, in June, 1812, were restored to the ship from which they had been taken.

This act of Vice-Admiral Berkeley, when brought to the attention of the British Government, was disavowed by Earl Canning, and Berkeley was recalled from his command. The commander of the Leonard was discharged from his command, and never again employed by his Government. On the other hand, Commodore Barron was greatly blamed by the American people for his misfortune. The national pride was deeply wounded, and it was necessary that it should be appeased. He was accused of neglect of duty, was tried on this charge by a court martial, found guilty, and suspended for five years without pay. Captain Gordon was also tried on the same charge, as well as Captain Hall, but both were only privately reprimanded, while the gunner was cashiered for not having sufficient priming powder prepared. It is altogether likely, however, that the blame rested with the Government more than with the officers of the Chesapeake, though it is not deemed proper to pursue the investigation of this point in this volume.

The President, on July 2, issued a proclamation, in which he complained bitterly of the habitual insolence of the British cruisers, expressed his belief that the outrage on the Chesapeake was unauthorized, and ordered all British armed vessels to leave the waters of the United States immediately. The schooner Revenge was sent to England with instructions to the American ministers, Monroe and Pinckney, who demanded reparation for insults and injuries in the case of the