Colonel John Eager Howard

As much as I read and have read about the American Revolution, I am always struck by finding not only reference to, but statuary about, American military leaders below the rank of general in the war that barely penetrate the awareness of the contemporary American and yet were critical to the outcome of that war.  One example is Colonel John Eager Howard, perhaps most well known in Maryland but whose contributions were vastly important to that effort.  His equestrian statue is in the Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore, in the same park as the Washington Monument.

Born in Maryland, he saw action at White Plains as a captain, Germantown as a major, and at Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Court House, Hobkirk's Hill, Ninety Six and Eutaw Springs, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  He was wounded at Eutaw Springs and unable to fight afterwards; following the war, he served as Maryland's governor from 1788-1791, and in the United States Senate from 1796 through 1803.  His decisive bayonet charge at Cowpens was described by the commanding general, Daniel Morgan in this way: "[Howard's attack] was done with such address that the enemy fled with the utmost precipitation…. We pushed our advantages so effectually, that they never had an opportunity of rallying." As testament to his character and modesty, he not only declined President Washington's offer of Secretary of War, but also a commission as brigadier general in anticipation of war with France in 1798.  He married Peggy Oswald Chew, daughter of the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; the Chew house was at the center of the fighting in Germantown.

Resources:

http://www.nps.gov/cowp/learn/historyculture/johneagerhoward.htm

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000841

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio2.html

Edgar Allan Poe and the Revolution

On a recent excursion to Baltimore and visit to Edgar Allan Poe's grave at Westminster Hall and Burial Ground, I noticed that his grandfather, David Poe, Sr., was also buried there.  Nearby was the original burial spot of his grandson, Edgar Allan Poe.

The senior Poe was born in 1743 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  He served as a major in the Continental Army and was Assistant Deputy-Quartermaster general for Baltimore (though at least one source calls this an honorary position).  Sources also claim he donated $40,000 of his own money to the cause.  Lafayette knew David Poe (they are reported to have fought together) and visited his grave on a visit to Baltimore.  In his early biography of Edgar Allan Poe, James Albert Harrison refers to David Poe as a general (possibly because of the quartermaster role) and "devoted friend of Lafayette).  Edgar Allan Poe also met Lafayette.  As for his own military record, Edgar Allan Poe attended West Point but was court-martialed and was dismissed in 1831.  Still, the connection to Lafayette brings Edgar Allan Poe to within one degree of separation to George Washington.