oliver otis howard – The Patricians Genealogical Research Foundation

Major General William Tecumseh Sherman (seated at center) poses for a Civil War portrait with his staff, including O.O. Howard, standing at far left. Howard’s right arm was shattered at the June 1, 1862, Battle of Fair Oaks, Va., and soon thereafter amputated. (Library of Congress)

Battle History | Gettysburg PA

Oliver Otis Howard with Chief Joseph at the Carlisle Indian School, 1904

Monument to Union general Oliver Otis Howard at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the fateful battle of the U.S. Civil War | Library of Congress

General Oliver Otis Howard House

History | Howard University

Abraham Lincoln as I Knew Him

American author Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914), who served under General Howard as a major, once sardonically commented that he remained a “consummate master of the art of needless defeat.” Indeed, most historical military reviews of his early performance as a battlefield commander characterize his effectiveness as “spotty”. Perhaps the “Christian General” lacked the leadership skills and pure savagery of command his peers exhibited, such as William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. By the time Sherman took Atlanta in July 1864, however, he appeared to have redeemed himself to the extent that he was given the command of the Army of Tennessee. During Sherman’s conclusive March to the Sea and through the Carolinas, he served with distinction on his right flank. In his memoirs, Sherman commended the Christian General as a commander of “the utmost skill, nicety, and precision.”

While nowhere near the zeal of Abolitionist Captain John Brown (1800 – 1859), he regularly publicly expressed open support of emancipation before the outbreak of the Civil War. After its conclusion, he was appointed the first Freedmen’s Bureau commissioner which was created as the principal social welfare initiative during the Reconstruction period. Poorly funded from its inception, the initial relief aid effort provided meals to millions of destitute blacks and whites, started educational programs, and opened the possibility of civil rights reforms in the future. The Christian General, though proven to be an unqualified administrator of the program, founded Howard University with federal funds he managed to procure. The bureau eventually evolved as America’s first federal public welfare agency.

Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) Lawyer, U.S. Congressman, 16th U.S. President

Hiram Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822 – 1885) 18th U.S President

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 – 1891) Union Army General

General Robert Edward Lee (1807 – 1870) Commander of the Confederate States Army

U.S. Army Lt. Caspar Wever Collins (1844 – 1865) Cartographer, Slain by Red Cloud

Historically Noted Military Commanders

University Founders and Benefactors

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