The most recent chapter in the history of the U.S. Capitol took place 160 years later.
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, photos showed the halls of the building filled with thousands of rifle-toting National Guard troops tasked with securing the nation's capital city. They rested on floors that just a week earlier rioters had overrun. And some even carried Confederate flags.
But, this time they will not be staying in the Capitol, but put up in local hotels.
Troops also stayed overnight in the Capitol building during World War II and after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in 1968 during black riots. According to U.S. senate history, they had also been called on to maintain order on at least three other times.
The scene this past Wednesday was also remarkably different than 160 years ago. A bust of Lincoln and a plaque commemorating the earlier quartered regiments were located above napping guard members. A group of black guardsmen took photos with a statue of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks.
Most wore face masks, and many observed social distancing amid the virus epidemic.
--Old Secesh
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