19th century American lawyer and federal judge
The Honorable
James Henry Howe
|
---|
|
|
In office
December 11, 1873 ? January 1, 1875
|
Appointed by
| Ulysses S. Grant
|
---|
Preceded by
| Andrew G. Miller
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Charles E. Dyer
|
---|
|
In office
January 2, 1860 ? October 7, 1862
|
Governor
| Alexander Randall
Louis P. Harvey
Edward Salomon
|
---|
Preceded by
| Gabriel Bouck
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Winfield Smith
|
---|
|
|
Born
| (
1827-12-05
)
December 5, 1827
Turner
,
Maine
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| January 4, 1893
(1893-01-04)
(aged 65)
Boston
,
Massachusetts
, U.S.
|
---|
Resting place
| Green Ridge Cemetery,
Kenosha, Wisconsin
|
---|
Political party
| Republican
|
---|
Spouse
|
Mary G. Cotton
(
m.
1857; died 1887)
|
---|
Children
| - James Torrey Howe
- (b. 1859; died 1934)
- William Torrey Howe
- (b. 1865; died 1897)
- Bessie
|
---|
Parents
| - Addison G. Howe (father)
- Mary (Torrey) Howe (mother)
|
---|
Relatives
| Timothy O. Howe
(uncle)
|
---|
Education
| read law
|
---|
Profession
| lawyer, judge
|
---|
|
Allegiance
| United States
|
---|
Branch/service
| United States Volunteers
Union Army
|
---|
Years of service
| 1862–1864
|
---|
Rank
| Colonel
, USV
|
---|
Commands
| 32nd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
|
---|
Battles/wars
| American Civil War
|
---|
|
James Henry Howe
(December 5, 1827 – January 4, 1893) was an American lawyer and
Republican
politician. He served one year as
United States district judge
for the
Eastern District of Wisconsin
, appointed by President
Ulysses S. Grant
. Earlier in his career, he was the 7th
Attorney General of Wisconsin
and served as a
Union Army
colonel in the
American Civil War
. He was a nephew of U.S. Senator
Timothy O. Howe
, and was said to be "like a son" to him.
Education and career
[
edit
]
Born on December 5, 1827, in
Turner
,
Maine
,
[1]
Howe received a general education and proceeded to
read law
, first with Bradley & Eastman in
Saco, Maine
, then with his uncle,
Timothy O. Howe
, at
Green Bay
,
Wisconsin Territory
. He was admitted to the bar at Green Bay in 1848. He began practicing law in partnership with his uncle, but the partnership was terminated when the elder Howe was elevated to a
Wisconsin circuit court
judgeship in 1851.
[1]
James Howe went on to partner with William H. Norris until 1860.
[1]
He was elected
Attorney General of Wisconsin
in 1859 and was the first
Republican
to hold that office. He was re-elected in 1861, but resigned office in October 1862 to
volunteer
with the
Union Army
for service in the
American Civil War
.
[1]
During his second term as Attorney General, Howe led the state delegation to recover the body of Governor
Louis P. Harvey
, who had drowned while on a visit to the wounded soldiers from the
Battle of Shiloh
.
[2]
Civil War service
[
edit
]
Howe was commissioned as a
colonel
and placed in command of the
32nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment
, which was being organized at Camp Bragg in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
. The regiment departed Wisconsin on October 30 and marched to
Chicago
, they then traveled by river to
Memphis, Tennessee
, via
Cairo, Illinois
. They reached Memphis on November 3, 1862, and were attached to General
William Tecumseh Sherman
's
XV Corps
.
[2]
They marched out with Sherman's Corps on maneuvers toward
Jackson, Mississippi
, in support of General
Ulysses S. Grant
's
movement
against
Vicksburg, Mississippi
. They stopped at the Union supply depot in
Holly Springs, Mississippi
, and were en route to
Oxford, Mississippi
, when a messenger reached them of the Confederate
raid on Holly Springs
. The 32nd Wisconsin was the first regiment to reach Holly Springs after the raid, and immediately proceeded on a forced march toward
Grand Junction, Tennessee
, which was also under threat. After arriving at Grand Junction, they were order to pursue
Nathan Bedford Forrest
. They ultimately returned to Memphis on February 2, 1863, and quartered there on
provost duty
through most of 1863, with an eye toward deterring Forrest, who was still attempting raids in the area.
[2]
Near the end of January 1864, the 32nd Wisconsin headed down the
Mississippi River
from Memphis to Vicksburg. There, they were attached to the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division,
XVI Corps
. By seniority, Colonel Howe was placed in command of the brigade. They then set out on the
Meridian campaign
. After routing the rebels at Jackson, they proceeded to
Meridian, Mississippi
, and occupied the city.
[2]
On March 11, 1864, the 32nd Wisconsin, along with XVI Corps, returned to Cairo on maneuvers to link up with General Grant on his operations in northern Alabama and Georgia. At Cairo, the 32nd, along with other regiments, was diverted to
Union City, Tennessee
, to again deal with a raid by Nathan Bedford Forrest. En route to the city however, they received word that they were too late and the defenders had surrendered. The proceeded to
Paducah, Kentucky
, where it was believed Forrest would next attack, but, again, were unable to lure the Confederates into battle.
[2]
[3]
After another series of maneuvers attempting to trap Forrest, they again abandoned the chase and proceeded south into Alabama. They arrived at
Decatur, Alabama
, on April 10, where their brigade was renumbered to the 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, with Colonel Howe remaining in command. On May 27, the Brigade marched west and skirmished with elements of General
Phillip Roddey
's brigade. Roddey refused to give battle and retreated to the west. They remained on picket duty for the next month.
[2]
On July 6, 1864, Colonel Howe resigned his commission and set out to return to Wisconsin.
[2]
Postbellum years
[
edit
]
Howe resumed his legal practice, this time in
Kenosha, Wisconsin
, and worked for a number of years as General Counsel and Vice President of the
Chicago Northwestern Railroad Company
. He left this role in 1873 when he was appointed to the federal court by President Grant.
[1]
Federal judicial service
[
edit
]
Howe was nominated by President
Ulysses S. Grant
on December 9, 1873, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
vacated by Judge
Andrew G. Miller
. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
on December 11, 1873, and received his commission the same day. He did not enjoy judicial duties and resigned after only a year of service, on January 1, 1875.
[1]
Later career and death
[
edit
]
Following his resignation from the federal bench, Howe served as an attorney for the
St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad
in
Chicago
,
Illinois
, from 1875 to 1892, and served for a time on the board of the J. L. Perry Manufacturing Company. During a bitter fight among the state Republican Party over the
United States Senate
election in 1878-1879, with Howe's uncle Senator Timothy Howe facing a difficult re-election, several Republican officials floated the compromise of replacing Timothy Howe with James Howe, but the idea never came to fruition and Howe was instead replaced by
Matthew H. Carpenter
.
[4]
Judge Howe hosted his uncle's funeral in 1883. After his uncle's death, an effort was made by Wisconsin's senators,
Angus Cameron
and
Philetus Sawyer
, to have James Howe appointed as his replacement as
United States Postmaster General
, but the effort was unsuccessful.
[5]
He died on January 4, 1893, in
Boston
,
Massachusetts
, after a period of incapacitation.
[6]
Family
[
edit
]
Howe was the nephew of U.S. Senator and U.S. Postmaster General
Timothy O. Howe
, and was said to be "like a son" to him.
[1]
Howe married Ms. Mary G. Cotton in 1857. They had at least three children.
Electoral history
[
edit
]
Wisconsin Attorney General (1859, 1861)
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Berryman, John R. (1898).
History of the bench and bar of Wisconsin
. Vol. 2.
Chicago
: H. C. Cooper, Jr. pp. 7?8
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Quiner, Edwin Bentley (1866).
The military history of Wisconsin
.
Chicago
: Clark & Co. pp. 119?121, 800?803
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
"FORREST'S RAID.; The Capture of Union City The Repulse at Paducah"
.
The New York Times
. April 1, 1864
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
"The Senatorship"
.
The Daily Milwaukee News
.
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
. January 8, 1879. p. 2
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"A dispatch from Washington"
.
Janesville Daily Gazette
.
Janesville, Wisconsin
. April 3, 1883
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Death of Col. James H. Howe"
.
Green Bay Weekly Gazette
.
Green Bay, Wisconsin
. January 11, 1893. p. 5
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"The Result of the State Canvass"
.
Wisconsin State Journal
. December 3, 1859. p. 1
. Retrieved
June 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Statement of the State Board of Canvassers"
.
Wisconsin State Journal
.
Madison, Wisconsin
. December 3, 1861. p. 2
. Retrieved
August 11,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]