Evan Howell
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician and early telegraph operator, as well as an officer in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
A native of Warsaw, Georgia (located in what is now northern Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
County) born to Atlanta pioneer Clark Howell, Sr., he became a runner and pupil of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
's first telegraph operator, D.U. Sloan, at the age of twelve. In 1855 he attended Georgia Military Institute
Georgia Military Institute
The Georgia Military Institute was established on in Marietta, Georgia, on July 1, 1851. It burned during the Civil War and was never rebuilt. The current GMI is a reactivation of the name for a Georgia National Guard Officer Candidate School curriculum.-Mission:In January 2010, the Georgia Army...
in Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
. He read law in Sandersville
Sandersville, Georgia
Sandersville is a city in Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,097 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Washington County...
, and briefly practiced law in Atlanta before the outbreak of war.
In 1861, he joined the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, enlisting in Georgia's First Regiment. Within 2 years, Howell was promoted to first lieutenant. He fought under Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and then was sent West
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
, where he fought in the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
and the Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
where he defended the city as a captain of artillery. He ended the war in Hardee's Corps
William J. Hardee
William Joseph Hardee was a career U.S. Army officer, serving during the Second Seminole War and fighting in the Mexican-American War...
as captain of Howell's Battery, Georgia Light Artillery.
Upon his return, he farmed for two years clearing and selling lumber on his father's land near Atlanta. Then for a year he was a reporter then city editor of Atlanta's Daily Intelligencer
Daily Intelligencer
The Daily Intelligencer was first published on June 1, 1849 as the young city of Atlanta's first successful daily newspaper.The founders were Benjamin Bomar, Z.A. Rice, Jonathan Norcross and I.O...
. In 1869 he returned to practicing law and served a number of political positions including member of city council, member of the state Senate and solicotor-general of the Atlanta circuit. One of his law clients was the Constitution where he learned E.Y. Clarke was willing to sell part of his interest in the paper. In 1876 he purchased a controlling interest in the Atlanta Constitution and became its editor-in-chief.
With Richard Peters
Richard Peters (Atlanta)
Richard Peters was an American railroad man and a founder of Atlanta.Grandson of Judge Richard Peters, Jr...
, Samuel Inman, Lemuel Grant, and James W. English
James W. English
James Warren English was an American politician, bank president, and a staff officer during the American Civil War. He was a postbellum mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 1881 until 1883....
, he purchased the buildings on the site of the International Cotton Exposition of 1881
International Cotton Exposition (1881)
International Cotton Exposition was a World's Fair held in Atlanta, Georgia from October 5 to December 3 of 1881.hThe location was along the Western & Atlantic Railroad tracks near the present day King Plow development...
and made it the Exposition Cotton Mill, which was successful for many years.
While editor of the Constitution in 1895, he sent out transcripts of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
's separate as the fingers speech across the country.
He served on the Atlanta city council numerous times and served as mayor shortly before his death at age 66. His son, Clark Howell
Clark Howell
Clark Howell was a Pulitzer Prize winning American newspaper man and politician from the state of Georgia.-Biography:Howell was born on September 21, 1863 in Atlanta, Georgia...
took up his mantel at the Constitution.