Lieut. Evander Shapard, Jr.
(1893-1940), was a celebrated World War I ace aviator for the Royal Flying
Corps [Royal Air Force], credited with six kills to his name. He was born in Shelbyville,
Tennessee, to Evander Shapard, Sr. (1843-1921) and Emma F. (Lipscomb) (1852-1942).
His father, Evander Sr. (1843-1921), held great military distinction as a veteran of the Civil War, having served the Confederacy in Company F of the 41st Tennessee Infantry. Early in the war, Evander was captured and suffered seven tumultuous months in a P.O.W. prison at Camp Morton, being released during a prisoner exchange in September of 1862. Thereafter, he rejoined his regiment, marching with the Army of Tennessee. Evander was elevated to the rank of Sergeant Major and served in every major battle of the Army of Tennessee, until the conclusion of the hostilities in 1865. One of his most noted claims of fame was having the hat shot off his head at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. After the war, Evander, Sr., returned to Shelbyville, Tennessee, where he became a well-respected attorney and judge. In an effort to rebuild his devastated community and provide care for the valiant men who had served so honorably, yet were now left with so little, Evander became highly involved in Veteran services and organizations. In 1888, Evander established the William Frierson Bivouac of Confederate Veterans at Shelbyville, Tennessee, and was elected president. A year later he became a trustee of the Confederate Veterans Home that provided care and a residence to elderly or infirmed veterans. In 1916, Evander was elected as the Major General of the Tennessee Division of the United Confederate Veterans, being the highest rank possible for that organization.
In 1869, Evander Shapard, Sr.,
married Emma Frierson Lipscomb, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Lipscomb and Rebecca
(Stevens). They would be blessed with eleven children: Robert Paine Shapard
(1872-1933), Thomas Lipscomb Shapard (1874-1937), Rebecca Shapard (1877-1965),
Emma Shapard (1879-1905), Fannie Lipscomb Shapard (1881-1883), Evanda “Eva”
Shapard (1883-1952), Juliet Stevenson Shapard (1885-1940), Mary Davidson
Shapard (1888-1978), Stella Eakin Shapard (1891-1895), Evander Shapard, Jr.
(1893-1940), Margorie Lee Shapard (1897-1989).
Evander, Jr. (1893-1940), was the tenth of eleven children of this union, and spent his youth among the beautiful surroundings of Shelbyville, Tennessee. In 1914, at 21 years of age, Evander was accepted as a student at Vanderbilt University, School of Law, at Nashville, Tennessee. As a young man, he was described as being average height and weight, with brown hair and gray eyes. He played football in 1914 and 1915 and held the office of second year class Vice-President, Historian of his senior class and was involved with the Student Council. During the summer of 1917, he was employed as a bookkeeper for the Hermitage Club.
Evander, Jr., followed greatly in
his father’s footsteps. His father attended university, before enlisting in the
war, [Shelbyville University 1856-1860; Southern University 1860-1861;
Cumberland University 1867] where he studied law and was a member of the of the
Beta Theta Pi fraternity in 1867. In harmony with his father, Evander, Jr., attended
Vanderbilt University where he studied law, and became a member of the Beta
Theta Pi Fraternity, before enlisting in the war.
“When Senior goes forth from his
dear college halls,
To
enter the battle of life;
All eager to match a sweet morsel
of fame
In
the rush and roar of the strife; -
O Senior, remember, before you
expend
All
the vigor of heart and head;
There’ll be plenty to do e’er you
get to the end;
There’s
a long, weary journey ahead."
-Pope
Shannon.
In 1914, the public assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria sparked a series of events that lead to all-out warfare throughout Europe, becoming known as World War I. Initially, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire, unified against Russia, Great Britain, France, Italy and Serbia. The first battle of the war occurred on August 4, 1914. Over the next many years, more nations joined the fight on both sides; yet, despite numerous battles and huge loss of life, the war efforts became entrenched in a stalemate. The soldiers and citizens of Europe, and beyond, suffered as disease, supply shortages and starvation became commonplace. In 1917, the Russian people rose up and overthrew their czar, Nicholas II, assassinating his whole family, before declaring a truce with Germany, et al., in an effort to return to normal life.
Up to this point, the United States
had remained neutral under President Woodrow Wilson, choosing to continue
commerce with all nations. However, after German U-boats began targeting U. S.
merchant ships, as well as, sinking the Lusitania with hundreds of American
travelers to England onboard, the United States declared war on Germany on
April 2, 1917.
Although men first took to the
skies in airplanes in 1903, over the next decade, vast improvements in these machines
allowed for their use as cutting edge technology in warfare. Thus, with the outbreak
of hostilities, WWI became the first war in which airplanes were used in
combat.
After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School in 1917, Evander enlisted and was sent to Toronto, Canada, for his cadet training. He advanced to airman and then received his commission as a second lieutenant on January 5, 1918, and was ordered to sail to England. During the voyage there was an alarm of German submarines, and one of the vessels in his caravan of twelve, the Tuscania, was torpedoed and sunk, killing 210 men. Evander was placed on submarine watch for the rest of the night, as his ship quickened its pace. Upon reaching London, Evander was posted to the 92 squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Air Force that was organized in April of 1918, and received a few more months of flight training before being sent into combat on the French western front.
Upon reaching the French theater of
war, Evander was issued a British S. E. 5a bi-wing fighter. With a top speed of
about 120 mph, this plane had a 26 foot wing span, 21 foot length body and was
armed with two machine guns: a Vickers .303 mounted on the port side of the
fuselage and a Lewis .303 mounted atop the upper wing. On July 29, 1918,
Evander had his first air battle. Just north of Estaires, his squadron of five
encountered a German two-seater. Evander dove, riddling the Hun’s craft with
bullets, bringing it down, like a shot bird, crashing into a bomb shell crater.
He recalled that the brave tail gunner kept shooting at him until the aircraft
impacted the ground, hitting Evander’s plane thrice to no effect.
 |
His next kill occurred on September
5, 1918, at Cambrai. Though heavily outnumbered, Evander brought down a German
Fokker, before the Huns turned in force on him, shooting his planes to bits.
Evander’s plane had the good fortune of gliding down, just reaching the French
side of the lines before touching the earth. Remarkably, despite the massive
damage to his aircraft, he was entirely unscathed. Tragically, however, three men
from his squadron were killed that day in that battle over the skies of
Cambrai. After making it back to base, Evander was granted two weeks rest, by
his commanding officer, due to his harrowing experience, and he spent his leave
“taking life easy” in London with a few other aviators from his squadron.
Upon his return from leave, the men
of the 92nd squadron prepared their huts for the approaching winter.
Evander and his comrades salvaged a wood-burning stove from the ruins of a nearby
French town and reinforced any gaps in the plank walls with paper to keep the
winds out. The only benefit of winter, was the natural suspension of war
activities due to the cold, snow and ice.
On October 4, 1918, a great air
battle commenced southeast of Bertry, and Evander brought down two German
Hannover C escort fighters. Only a few weeks later, he was engaged in a fierce
areal scrap with the Huns south of Pont Du Nord, where he again brought down a
duet of enemy crafts, this time two German D. F. W. reconnaissance planes. On
November 4, 1918, in low clouds and heavy rain, Lieut. Evander led his squadron
on an attack of German ground troops. He flew his machine at such a low
altitude that his plane received shrapnel damage from his own bombs. He
successfully attacked a dense concentration of enemy troops in the face of
heavy rifle and canon fire at point blank range.
During the latter half of 1918,
German allies began to fall, forcing Germany to surrender on November 11, 1918.
At the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month, the fighting ended. The
Great War officially came to a close on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles. In all, over 9 million soldiers were killed on the
battlefield, and 21 million were wounded. Civilian casualties measured in the
millions. However, the main killer of WWI was the influenza outbreak that
claimed over 50 million lives worldwide. With all the death, destruction and
sorrow the world had endured, it was hoped that this was the ‘war to end all
wars,’ however, such was not the case.
With the war over, Lieut. Evander Shapard was hailed as a WWI ace fighter pilot, credited with six kills. In addition, he was honored with the British Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill as a pilot and his inspiration to his squadron by his intrepid daring and resourcefulness.
Evander left Europe on May 31, 1919,
from Liverpool, sailing on the “Tunisian” arriving at port in Quebec, Canada,
on June 10, 1919. From there, he returned to his residence on Terrace Place in
Nashville, Tennessee, near Vanderbilt University. Despite his education,
Evander did not pursue a career in law.
In April of 1920, he married Miss Levie Reynolds (1896-1975), daughter of Mr. James. P. Reynolds and Annie [Roper] of Nashville, Tennessee. Levie was a graduate of Vanderbilt University and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa sorority. Immediately after their wedding, Evander and his young bride moved to Griffin, Georgia, where his older brothers, Robert Paine Shapard (1872-1933) and Thomas Lipscomb Shapard (1874-1937), were established businessmen in the textile industry. Evander lived with his brother Robert and his family, and took employment initially as a shipping clerk for the Griffin Hosiery Mills, owned and operated by his older brother Thomas Lipscomb Shapard.
Evander’s brother Robert Paine Shapard (1872-1933) was the first of the Shapard family to move to Griffin, Georgia, circa 1910, being employed with the Georgia Cotton Mills. Robert then enticed his brother, Thomas Lipscomb Shapard (1874-1937), to move to Griffin, circa 1915, after informing him that community leaders were offering a building to any person who established a business in the town. Shortly thereafter, in 1916, Thomas founded the Griffin Hosiery Mills. Robert Paine Shapard initially joined his brother Thomas in operating the mill, however, in 1921, Robert established his own factory under the name of the Spalding Knitting Mills.
Thomas Lipscomb Shapard’s
(1874-1937) involvement with the Griffin Hosiery Mills lasted until 1922, when he
resigned as president, leaving the business to his estranged wife, who initially
assumed the presidency, as he pursued a new life in Florida. In the chaos that occurred
after Thomas abandoned the Griffin Hosiery Mill, Evander Shapard, Jr., assumed
the position of Superintendent of the mill in 1924– a position he would hold
until 1940. Interestingly, Thomas Lipscomb Shapard’s son, known as “Evander
Shapard III” (1896-1977) [presumably so to not be confused with his uncle
Evander Shapard, Jr. who worked at the same mill] had much experience in the
textile business, having become the superintendent of his father’s mill circa
1919. Only a few years later, circa 1924, he became the vice-president and
general manager of the mill - a position he held until the mill's closure in
1957.
Outside of his occupation, Evander
Shapard, Jr., was highly involved in his community and served as an officer or
member of numerous philanthropic and civic organizations, such as, the American
Legion, Griffin Chamber of Commerce, Griffin Rotary Club, and the Boy Scouts. It
also appeared that he greatly enjoyed the game of golf.
For reasons only known to him, on
April 15, 1940, at 10 o’clock in the morning, Evander Shapard, Jr., went into
the garage at his residence on Tinley Avenue. After a few moments, a gunshot
was heard. A jury was empaneled to investigate the death of Mr. Shapard, and determined
that the gunshot was self-inflicted, ruling it a suicide. Evander was only 46
years old. He was buried the following day at Oak Hill Cemetery in Griffin,
Georgia. There is some evidence to suggest that Evander had sustained crippling
injuries during a recent car accident, that led him to take his own life. He was
survived by his wife Levie and their only child, Ann Shapard (1921-1997). His
daughter attended Vanderbilt University, graduating in 1942, and would marry
Mr. Fred E. Strickland, Jr. (1919-1979).
