Epes was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1894.
He retired to his plantation, "The Old Place," near Blackstone, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death there August 24, 1910.
He was interred in Lake View Cemetery, Blackstone, Virginia.
Elections
1890; Epes was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 57.15% of the vote, defeating Republican John Mercer Langston.
1892; Epes was re-elected with 52.19% of the vote, defeating Populist J. Thomas Goode.