Joseph Howland
Encyclopedia
Joseph Howland
Joseph Howland (December 3, 1834 New York City
- March 31, 1886 Menton
, Alpes-Maritimes
, France
) was an American Union Army
general, politician and philanthropist
.
trade. His first American ancestor, John Howland
, was one of the Pilgrim Fathers and a signer of the 1620 Mayflower Compact
, the governing document of what became Plymouth Colony
. Howland’s father was Samuel Shaw Howland, a partner in the shipping firm of Howland & Aspinwall
; his mother was Joanna Esther Hone, the niece of Philip Hone
, the noted diarist and mayor
of New York City
. The Howlands were a deeply religious family; at one time Howland considered entering the ministry
, but gave up those plans due to ill health. This same ill health also prevented Howland from attending school and university; he was educated at home, with several years of Europe
an travel to round out his education.
At the age of twenty-one, Howland married Eliza Newton Woolsey
of New York, one of seven sisters well known as prominent reformers and anti-slavery
activists. The couple honeymooned in Europe and the Holy Land
. While touring Italy, the Howlands commissioned two marble busts of themselves from the Italian neo-classical sculptor, Giovanni Maria Benzoni
; these busts stand today in the Howland Public Library in Beacon, New York
. The couple returned to the United States of America
in 1859. That same year Howland bought an estate along Fishkill Creek
in the upstate village of Mattewan
, naming his new home Tioronda.
in 1861. Upon the outbreak of the war, Howland immediately joined the 16th New York State Volunteers, where he served first as the regiment
’s adjutant and later as its chief of staff. Howland made an impressive soldier; when the commander of the 16th New York received a promotion, Howland was the unanimous choice to replace him as colonel
.
Howland's time as commander of the 16th New York was short-lived. On June 29, 1862, during the Battle of Gaines' Mill
, one of the Seven Days Battles
of the Peninsula Campaign
, Howland was directing his men into their place in the line when a Confederate
bullet struck him in the thigh. He refused to go back to the hospital, staying with his men until the end of the battle. The regiment's official report credits Howland with “…the most undaunted bravery and marked coolness…” as he stayed on his horse and rode up and down the line, giving orders and shouting encouragement to his men, “…unmindful of…the leaden hail…” through which he had to ride. For his courage at Gaines' Mill, he was brevetted
brigadier general
of volunteers.
The official report also stated that Howland’s wound “…will disable him for several weeks.” In fact, the wound ended Howland’s military career; the wound and the resulting fever dangerously undermined his health and made further active service impossible. He resigned as commander of the 16th New York and never served again in the field. Howland returned to duty during the New York City draft riots
in 1863, placing himself at the disposal of the civil and military authorities as they tried to quell the largest municipal riots in American history. Howland quickly organized a regiment of civilian volunteers to help suppress the chaos, but after the emergency passed he returned to civilian life.
from 1866 to 1867, elected on the Republican ticket. He also had an active role in drafting the trust deeds for Cornell University
and in organizing the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane
, the humane treatment of the mentally ill being one of his and his wife’s great concerns. In Mattewan, Howland was instrumental in building Highland Hospital, the Presbyterian Church, and the public library that still bears his name. Howland commissioned his brother-in-law, the architect Richard Morris Hunt
, to design the library building. The building is now the Howland Cultural Center
and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The library moved to another Main Street location in 1976.
, France
, on March 31, 1886, and was buried there. He and his wife had no children and after his death Eliza Howland
never returned to Tioronda, saying that the memories of her husband made staying there too difficult. She died in Newport, Rhode Island
, in 1908, at the age of eighty-two. After her death Tioronda became Craig House, a hospital for the mentally ill
.
The author Louis Stanton Auchincloss is his great-grandnephew.
Joseph Howland (December 3, 1834 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- March 31, 1886 Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) was an American Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
general, politician and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Early life
Howland was born into a prominent merchant family that had grown rich in the ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
trade. His first American ancestor, John Howland
John Howland
John Howland was a passenger on the Mayflower. He was an indentured servant who accompanied the separatists, also called the Pilgrims, when they left England to settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts...
, was one of the Pilgrim Fathers and a signer of the 1620 Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower...
, the governing document of what became Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. Howland’s father was Samuel Shaw Howland, a partner in the shipping firm of Howland & Aspinwall
Howland & Aspinwall
Howland & Aspinwall was a merchant firm based in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s. It specialized in the Pacific Ocean trade, especially the importing of goods from China...
; his mother was Joanna Esther Hone, the niece of Philip Hone
Philip Hone
Philip Hone was Mayor of New York from 1826 to 1827. He was most notable for a detailed diary he kept from 1828 until the time of his death in 1851. His recorded diary is said to be the most extensive and detailed of his time in 19th century America.Son of a German immigrant carpenter, Hone became...
, the noted diarist and mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Howlands were a deeply religious family; at one time Howland considered entering the ministry
Christian ministry
In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...
, but gave up those plans due to ill health. This same ill health also prevented Howland from attending school and university; he was educated at home, with several years of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an travel to round out his education.
At the age of twenty-one, Howland married Eliza Newton Woolsey
Eliza Howland
Eliza Newton Woolsey Howland was an American author and the wife of Union Army officer Joseph Howland.Howland was born in 1835 to a prominent New York City family active in philanthropy and social reform, especially abolitionism and the decent care of the mentally ill...
of New York, one of seven sisters well known as prominent reformers and anti-slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
activists. The couple honeymooned in Europe and the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. While touring Italy, the Howlands commissioned two marble busts of themselves from the Italian neo-classical sculptor, Giovanni Maria Benzoni
Giovanni Maria Benzoni
Giovanni Maria Benzoni was an Italian neoclassical sculptor. He was trained in Rome, where he later set up his own workshop....
; these busts stand today in the Howland Public Library in Beacon, New York
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
. The couple returned to the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1859. That same year Howland bought an estate along Fishkill Creek
Fishkill Creek
Fishkill Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, United States. At it is the second longest stream in the county, after Wappinger Creek. It rises in the town of Union Vale and flows generally southwest to a small estuary on the Hudson just south of Beacon. Part of...
in the upstate village of Mattewan
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, naming his new home Tioronda.
The war years
Howland’s life as a country gentleman ended with the beginning of the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
in 1861. Upon the outbreak of the war, Howland immediately joined the 16th New York State Volunteers, where he served first as the regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
’s adjutant and later as its chief of staff. Howland made an impressive soldier; when the commander of the 16th New York received a promotion, Howland was the unanimous choice to replace him as colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
.
Howland's time as commander of the 16th New York was short-lived. On June 29, 1862, during the Battle of Gaines' Mill
Battle of Gaines' Mill
The Battle of Gaines's Mill, sometimes known as the First Battle of Cold Harbor or the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War...
, one of the Seven Days Battles
Seven Days Battles
The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
of the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
, Howland was directing his men into their place in the line when a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
bullet struck him in the thigh. He refused to go back to the hospital, staying with his men until the end of the battle. The regiment's official report credits Howland with “…the most undaunted bravery and marked coolness…” as he stayed on his horse and rode up and down the line, giving orders and shouting encouragement to his men, “…unmindful of…the leaden hail…” through which he had to ride. For his courage at Gaines' Mill, he was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers.
The official report also stated that Howland’s wound “…will disable him for several weeks.” In fact, the wound ended Howland’s military career; the wound and the resulting fever dangerously undermined his health and made further active service impossible. He resigned as commander of the 16th New York and never served again in the field. Howland returned to duty during the New York City draft riots
New York Draft Riots
The New York City draft riots were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The riots were the largest civil insurrection in American history apart from the Civil War itself...
in 1863, placing himself at the disposal of the civil and military authorities as they tried to quell the largest municipal riots in American history. Howland quickly organized a regiment of civilian volunteers to help suppress the chaos, but after the emergency passed he returned to civilian life.
Post-war
After the war, Howland was New York State TreasurerNew York State Treasurer
The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the new Department of Audit and Control headed by the...
from 1866 to 1867, elected on the Republican ticket. He also had an active role in drafting the trust deeds for Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and in organizing the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane
Hudson River Psychiatric Center
The Hudson River Psychiatric Center in Poughkeepsie, New York is a building and a psychiatric facility for adults operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health....
, the humane treatment of the mentally ill being one of his and his wife’s great concerns. In Mattewan, Howland was instrumental in building Highland Hospital, the Presbyterian Church, and the public library that still bears his name. Howland commissioned his brother-in-law, the architect Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt was an American architect of the nineteenth century and a preeminent figure in the history of American architecture...
, to design the library building. The building is now the Howland Cultural Center
Howland Cultural Center
The Howland Cultural Center, also known as Howland Library, is the former public library building of Beacon, New York, USA. It is located on Main Street in the city's downtown section, near Fishkill Creek....
and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The library moved to another Main Street location in 1976.
Death
Howland died in MentonMenton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on March 31, 1886, and was buried there. He and his wife had no children and after his death Eliza Howland
Eliza Howland
Eliza Newton Woolsey Howland was an American author and the wife of Union Army officer Joseph Howland.Howland was born in 1835 to a prominent New York City family active in philanthropy and social reform, especially abolitionism and the decent care of the mentally ill...
never returned to Tioronda, saying that the memories of her husband made staying there too difficult. She died in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, in 1908, at the age of eighty-two. After her death Tioronda became Craig House, a hospital for the mentally ill
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
.
The author Louis Stanton Auchincloss is his great-grandnephew.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals