Who Is This Man?

[W. Gray]

Probably all of us should know this man.

Some members have probably heard of him. However, few may be aware of his credentials.

Born in Maine in 1830, he died in Vermont, seventy-nine years later.

He graduated from a four-year liberal arts college in Maine and then decided to do it again. Four years later, he graduated from West Point with an engineering degree.

He first served among the Seminoles in Florida and then became a mathematics instructor at West Point.

Along the way, his reputation gave him the nickname of the Christian soldier. So much so religion was calling and he made plans to leave the Army and enter the ministry.

The Civil War intervened causing him to remain and defend his country. As a result, he would remain in the army for forty years. He quickly rose to the rank of major general. In 1862, he lost a right arm in battle and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Loss of an arm did not handicap him as he went back into battle until the end of the war.

He was a key commander during General William Tecumseh Sherman's march to the sea. He led the right wing of Sherman's sixty thousand-man army as it stormed through the South, burned Atlanta, and fought to the Georgia coast. The massive army then headed north into North Carolina and Virginia cutting off supply trains to General Robert E. Lee's army and helping force his surrender to General U.S. Grant.

In 1865, after the war, he became commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.

In 1867, he established what would become a world famous university for blacks in the nation's capital. His huge home still stands on the campus. He also setup a bank for black Americans.

In 1897, he established another university for blacks in the former Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln suggested that idea to him many years earlier.

In 1872, he entered an Apache stronghold with only an aide at his side. He single-handedly negotiated a peace treaty with Chief Cochise. Another Apache, Geronimo, once said he was the only honest man in the United States Army.

In 1877, he received orders to round up Chief Joseph's tribe of Nez Perce in Oregon and ship them to Indian Territory south of Kansas. The Nez Perce refused to move and took flight. The result was the most famous Indian chases on record as the general pursued the tribe for several months and 1,700 miles. During the pursuit, the tribe used hit-and-run tactics inflicting heavy losses on the Army but losing even more. Finally, the tribe without food and badly scattered could stand no further losses giving up within a day's ride from the Canadian border. Before surrendering, Chief Joseph gave the most famous Indian speech in US history to his people. Copied by an Army officer as he spoke, his last words were,  "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." A motion picture with that title came from Hollywood and several documentaries have come from PBS and the History Channel over the years describing the great chase.

At one point during the chase, the Winfield Courier reported the general was heavily criticized by the Democratic press as soft on Indians because it took him so long to make the capture. The Courier said the criticism came only because of the general's staunch Union, Republican, and religious feelings.

After capture, the army sent the tribe to Fort Leavenworth as a temporary measure. In 1879, the army herded the Nez Perce south traveling through Elk County on their way to Indian Territory.

After the surrender, the general and Chief Joseph became lifelong friends and wrote each other often. In 1904, they met for the first time since the surrender at the Carlisle Indian School and both old men addressed the student body.



So, who is this guy?

The man the town of Howard, Kansas, was named after, Major General Oliver Otis Howard.

[Janet Harrington]

Waldo,

What a cool article?  I think that Major General Howard had several counties named after him in other states.  There is a Howard County, Maryland, a Howard County, Indiana, Howard County, Iowa, Howard County, Nebraska, and Howard County, Texas.  That's all I could find.  Looking at some of the web pages, I think I would like to visit Howard County, Indiana, county seat, Kokomo.  They have a mansion that is now a museum, called The Seiberling Mansion.  I think that would be a great visit.  Here is the link...http://www.howardcountymuseum.org/museum.htm

Just copy and paste that into your address browser.  What fun.  What fun.

[W. Gray]

If anyone watched the History Channel this evening (April 28), "Sherman's March" was on.

The narrator did not mention our Howard, Kansas, namesake, Oliver Otis Howard, but in meetings with General Sherman, he could readily be recognized by absence of his right arm.

About an hour and a half into the program, and during the attack on Fort McAllister, Georgia, while standing next to Sherman, General Howard used his left hand to look through field glasses at the fighting. Sherman twice refers to him as "Howard."

That was not much exposure for our man who commanded 30,000 of Sherman's 60,000 troops.