The stationing of National Guard troops in the Capitol building is a reminder of the arrival of the first Union soldiers to defend the city in 1861. One of them was Robert Gould Shaw, who arrived in late April 1861.

"That evening we marched up to the Capitol, and were...
The stationing of National Guard troops in the Capitol building is a reminder of the arrival of the first Union soldiers to defend the city in 1861. One of them was Robert Gould Shaw, who arrived in late April 1861."That evening we marched up to the Capitol, and were...
The stationing of National Guard troops in the Capitol building is a reminder of the arrival of the first Union soldiers to defend the city in 1861. One of them was Robert Gould Shaw, who arrived in late April 1861."That evening we marched up to the Capitol, and were...
...quartered in the House of Representatives, where we each have a desk, and easy-chair to sleep in, but generally prefer the floor and our blankets, as the last eight days' experience has accustomed us to hard beds. The Capitol is a magnificent building and the men all take...
...quartered in the House of Representatives, where we each have a desk, and easy-chair to sleep in, but generally prefer the floor and our blankets, as the last eight days' experience has accustomed us to hard beds. The Capitol is a magnificent building and the men all take...
...quartered in the House of Representatives, where we each have a desk, and easy-chair to sleep in, but generally prefer the floor and our blankets, as the last eight days' experience has accustomed us to hard beds. The Capitol is a magnificent building and the men all take...
...the greatest pains not to harm anything. Jeff Davis shan't get it without trouble. Troops from New England are quartered all over it, but we have the best place. [Shaw was serving in a NY unit at the time.]

We have a great deal of fun here, but I have no doubt we are...
...the best behaved Congress that has been in session for a good while, though we were waked up this morning by cockcrows, cats, dogs, and cows all howling together."

RGS to his mother, April 26, 1861
There may have been as many as 4,000 Union soldiers stationed in the Capitol by the end of April 1861. For the vast majority it was their first visit to Washington, D.C. and the Capitol.
New York Zouaves, under the command of Elmer Ellsworth, ripped up a desk of a Senate Democrat with their bayonets. They also rigged ropes from the cornice of the unfinished Dome for use as a swing. Other soldiers used both chambers to conduct mock debates.
New York Zouaves, under the command of Elmer Ellsworth, ripped up a desk of a Senate Democrat with their bayonets. They also rigged ropes from the cornice of the unfinished Dome for use as a swing. Other soldiers used both chambers to conduct mock debates.
New York Zouaves, under the command of Elmer Ellsworth, ripped up a desk of a Senate Democrat with their bayonets. They also rigged ropes from the cornice of the unfinished Dome for use as a swing. Other soldiers used both chambers to conduct mock debates.
One soldiers stationed in the Capitol wrote home: "There are 4000 [troops] in the Capitol with all their provision, ammunition and baggage, and the smell is awful. The building is like one grand water closet—every hole and corner is defiled...
... . . . . The stench is so terrible I have refused to take my office into the building. It is sad to see the defacement of the building every where."

Stands in sharp contrast w/the way National Guardsmen are experiencing the Capitol building today. https://twitter.com/ESCochrane/status/1349371666481217544
One final image. This plaque, located in the Capitol, lists the regiments that were quartered in the building. Keep in mind that the Sixth Massachusetts had already sustained casualties when it marched through secessionist friendly Baltimore on April 19, 1861.
One final image. This plaque, located in the Capitol, lists the regiments that were quartered in the building. Keep in mind that the Sixth Massachusetts had already sustained casualties when it marched through secessionist friendly Baltimore on April 19, 1861.
One final image. This plaque, located in the Capitol, lists the regiments that were quartered in the building. Keep in mind that the Sixth Massachusetts had already sustained casualties when it marched through secessionist friendly Baltimore on April 19, 1861.
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