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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Short description|American politician (1752–1827)}}
{{other people||John Howard (disambiguation)}}
{{other people||John Howard (disambiguation)}}
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|image = Johneagerhoward.jpg
|image = Johneagerhoward.jpg
|caption = Oil painting of John Eager Howard<br/>by [[Charles Willson Peale]] (1823)
|caption = Oil painting of John Eager Howard<br/>by [[Charles Willson Peale]] (1823)
|office = [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
|office = [[President pro tempore of the United&nbsp;States&nbsp;Senate]]
|term_start = November 21, 1800
|term_start = November 21, 1800
|term_end = November 27, 1800
|term_end = November 27, 1800
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'''John Eager Howard''' (June 4, 1752{{spaced ndash}}October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from [[Maryland]]. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the Continental Congress, the Congress of the United States and the U.S. Senate.<ref name=congbio>{{CongBio|H000841|inline=1|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], Howard received 22 electoral votes for vice president on the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist Party]] ticket with [[Rufus King]]. The ticket lost in a landslide.
'''John Eager Howard''' (June 4, 1752{{spaced ndash}}October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from [[Maryland]]. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the [[Continental Congress]], the [[Congress of the Confederation]], the [[United States Senate]], and the [[Maryland Senate]].<ref name=congbio>{{CongBio|H000841|inline=1|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], Howard received 22 electoral votes for vice president on the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist Party]] ticket with [[Rufus King]]; the ticket lost to [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republicans]] [[James Monroe]] and [[Daniel D. Tompkins]] in a landslide.


[[Howard County, Maryland]], is named for him,<ref name=graveyard>{{cite web |title=Index to Politicians: Howard |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/howard.html#R9M0J14KU |work=[[The Political Graveyard]] |publisher=[[Lawrence Kestenbaum]] |access-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> along with [[Eager Street]] and [[Howard Street (Baltimore)|Howard Street]] in Baltimore. For seven days in November 1800, Howard was the [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]].
[[Howard County, Maryland]], is named for him, as are three streets in [[Baltimore]].<ref name="graveyard">{{cite web |title=Index to Politicians: Howard |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/howard.html#R9M0J14KU |access-date=June 15, 2009 |work=[[The Political Graveyard]] |publisher=[[Lawrence Kestenbaum]]}}</ref> For seven days in November 1800, Howard was [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore of the Senate]].


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
He was the son of Cornelius Howard and Ruth (Eager) Howard, of the Maryland [[Planter (American South)|planter]] elite and was born at their plantation "The Forest."<ref>{{cite web |title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827) |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html |website=Archives of Maryland |access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref> Howard grew up in an [[Anglican]] slaveholding family. Anglicanism was the established church of the Chesapeake Bay colonies.
John Eager Howard was the son of Cornelius Howard and Ruth (Eager) Howard, of the Maryland [[Planter (American South)|planter]] elite and was born at their plantation "The Forest" in [[Baltimore County, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827) |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html |access-date=23 February 2021 |website=Archives of Maryland}}</ref> Howard grew up in an [[Anglican]] slaveholding family.


Howard joined a [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] lodge of [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]].<ref name=graveyard/>
Howard joined a [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] lodge of [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]].<ref name=graveyard/>


==Military career==
==Military career==
Commissioned a captain at the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), Howard rose in 1777 to the rank of colonel in the [[Maryland Line]] of the [[Continental Army]],<ref name=congbio/> fighting in the [[Battle of White Plains]] in [[New York State]] in 1776 and in the [[Battle of Monmouth]] in [[New Jersey]] in 1778. He was awarded a silver medal by the [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] for his leadership at the 1781 [[Battle of Cowpens]] in [[South Carolina]],<ref name=congbio/> during which he commanded the [[2nd Maryland Regiment]], [[Continental Army]].<ref name=MdArchBio>{{cite web|title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827)|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html|website=Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series)|access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> In September 1781, he was wounded in a bayonet charge at the [[Battle of Eutaw Springs]] in South Carolina.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Maryland|author=Nancy Capace|page=81}}</ref> Southern Army commander Maj.Gen. [[Nathanael Greene]] wrote that Howard was "as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service....He deserves a statue of gold."<ref>Quoted in Lawrence E. Babits, ''A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 26.</ref>
Commissioned a captain at the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), Howard rose in 1777 to the rank of colonel in the [[Maryland Line]] of the [[Continental Army]],<ref name=congbio/> fighting in the [[Battle of White Plains]] in 1776 and in the [[Battle of Monmouth]] in 1778. He was awarded a silver medal by the [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] for his leadership at the [[Battle of Cowpens]] in 1781,<ref name=congbio/> during which he commanded the [[2nd Maryland Regiment]].<ref name=MdArchBio>{{cite web|title=John Eager Howard (1752–1827)|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/000600/000692/html/692bio.html|website=Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series)|access-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref> In September 1781, he was wounded in a bayonet charge at the [[Battle of Eutaw Springs]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Maryland|author=Nancy Capace|page=81}}</ref> Major General [[Nathanael Greene]] wrote that Howard was "as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service....He deserves a statue of gold."<ref>Quoted in Lawrence E. Babits, ''A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 26.</ref>


At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard was admitted as an original member of The [[Society of the Cincinnati]] in the state of Maryland when it was established in 1783.<ref>Metcalf, Bryce (1938). ''Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], 1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies'' Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 168.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Officers Represented in the Society of the Cincinnati |url=https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/soldiers-and-sailors-of-the-revolutionary-war/officers-represented-in-the-society-of-the-cincinnati/ |website=The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati |access-date=15 March 2021}}</ref> He went on to serve as the vice president (1795–1804) and president of the Maryland Society (1804–1827), serving in the latter capacity until his death.<ref>Metcalf, p. 22.</ref>
At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard was admitted as an original member of the [[Society of the Cincinnati]] of Maryland.<ref>Metcalf, Bryce (1938). ''Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the [[Society of the Cincinnati]], 1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies'' Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 168.</ref> He went on to serve as the vice president (1795–1804) and president (1804–1827) of the Society in Maryland.<ref>Metcalf, p. 22.</ref>


[[File:John Eager Howard Uniform.jpg|thumb|left|''John Eager Howard in Uniform,'' painted in 1782 by [[Charles Willson Peale]] ]]
[[File:John Eager Howard Uniform.jpg|thumb|left|''John Eager Howard in Uniform,'' painted in 1782 by [[Charles Willson Peale]] ]]


==Political life==
==Political life==
Following his army service, Howard held several electoral political positions: elected to the [[Congress of the Confederation|Confederation Congress]] in 1788; fifth [[Governor of Maryland]] for three one-year terms (under first constitution of 1776), from 1788 through 1791; later as [[Maryland State Senate|State Senator]] from 1791 through 1795; and [[U.S. Electoral College|Presidential Elector]] in the new 1787 [[United States Constitution|Constitutional]] [[U.S. Electoral College|Electoral College]] set up in the [[1792 United States presidential election|presidential Election of 1792]]. He declined the offer from first President [[George Washington]] in 1795 to be the second [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. He joined the newly organized [[Federalist Party]] and was elected to the [[Fourth United States Congress|4th U.S. Congress]] from November 21, 1796, through 1797, by the [[Maryland General Assembly|General Assembly of Maryland]] ([[State legislature (United States)|state legislature]]) to the upper chamber as [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] for the remainder of the term of [[Richard Potts]], who had resigned. He was elected by the Legislature in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] for a Senate term of his own in 1797, which included the [[Fifth United States Congress|5th Congress]], the [[Sixth United States Congress|6th Congress]] of 1799–1801 during which he was [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore]], and the [[Seventh United States Congress|7th Congress]], serving until March 3, 1803.<ref name=congbio/> While in Congress, he was the sole Federalist to vote against the [[Alien and Sedition Acts|Sedition Act]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}
Following his army service, Howard held several electoral political positions: elected to the Confederation Congress in 1788; fifth [[Governor of Maryland]] for three one-year terms from 1788 through 1791; later as [[Maryland Senate|State Senator]] from 1791 through 1795; and [[United States Electoral College|elector]] in the [[1792 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1792]]. He declined an offer from [[George Washington]] in 1795 to serve as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. He subsequently joined the newly organized [[Federalist Party]] and was elected to the [[United States Senate|Senate]] of the [[4th United States Congress|Fourth Congress]] by the [[Maryland General Assembly|General Assembly of Maryland]] to serve the remainder of the term of [[Richard Potts]], who had resigned. He was elected to a Senate term of his own in 1797, serving until March 3, 1803, and briefly served as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro tempore of the Senate]] in November 1800.<ref name="congbio" /> While in Congress, he was the sole Federalist to vote against the [[Alien and Sedition Acts|Sedition Act]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}


In 1798, amidst [[Quasi-War|rising tensions with France]], Howard declined a commission as [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[United States Army]].<ref name=congbio/>
Although Howard was offered an appointment as the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] in the [[George Washington#Presidency .281789.E2.80.931797.29|administration of President George Washington]], he declined it. Similarly, he also later declined a 1798 commission as [[Brigadier General]] in the newly organized [[United States Army]] during the preparations for the coming naval [[Quasi-War]] (1798–1800) with the new revolutionary [[First French Republic|French Republic]] ([[France]]).<ref name=congbio/>


After 1803, Howard returned to Baltimore, where he avoided elected office but continued in public service and philanthropy as a leading citizen.<ref>''American National Biography'', [http://www.anb.org/articles/03/03-00223.html John Eager Howard]; online version consulted</ref> He was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlisth |title=American Antiquarian Society Members Directory |publisher= American Antiquarian Society |access-date=July 16, 2015 }}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], he received 22 electoral votes for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]<ref name=graveyard/> as the running mate of Federalist [[Rufus King]], losing to the [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] candidates of [[James Monroe]] and [[Daniel D. Tompkins|Governor Daniel Tompkins]]. No formal Federalist nomination had been made, and it is not clear whether Howard himself, who was one of several Federalists who received electoral votes for vice president, actually wanted to run as a candidate for the office.
At the end of his Senate term in 1803, Howard returned to Baltimore, where he avoided elected office but continued in public service and philanthropy.<ref>''American National Biography'', [http://www.anb.org/articles/03/03-00223.html John Eager Howard]; online version consulted</ref> He was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlisth |title=American Antiquarian Society Members Directory |publisher= American Antiquarian Society |access-date=July 16, 2015 }}</ref> In the [[1816 United States presidential election|1816 presidential election]], he received 22 electoral votes for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]]<ref name=graveyard/> as the running mate of Federalist [[Rufus King]], losing to [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] candidates [[James Monroe]] and [[Daniel D. Tompkins]] in a landslide. No formal Federalist nomination had been made, and it is not clear whether Howard himself, who was one of several Federalists who received electoral votes for vice president, actually wanted to run.


Howard developed property in the city of Baltimore and was active in city planning. His house was constructed near the city, where he owned slaves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rememberingbaltimore.net/2018/04/remembering-john-eager-howard-and-his.html|title=Remembering John Eager Howard and His Vision for Baltimore|website=Remembering Baltimore|language=en|access-date=August 21, 2018|first=Edward C.|last=Papenfuse|author-link=Edward C. Papenfuse|date=April 24, 2018|quote=According to the 1820 census there were ... five slaves and seven free blacks.}}</ref>
Howard developed property in the city of Baltimore and was active in city planning. His house was constructed north of the city, in what later became the [[Mount Vernon, Baltimore|Mount Vernon]] neighborhood, where he owned slaves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rememberingbaltimore.net/2018/04/remembering-john-eager-howard-and-his.html|title=Remembering John Eager Howard and His Vision for Baltimore|website=Remembering Baltimore|language=en|access-date=August 21, 2018|first=Edward C.|last=Papenfuse|author-link=Edward C. Papenfuse|date=April 24, 2018|quote=According to the 1820 census there were ... five slaves and seven free blacks.}}</ref>


==Marriage and family==
==Marriage and family==
[[File:Mrs. John Eager Howard (Peggy Oswald Chew) and Her Son, John Eager Howard II.jpg|thumb|Peggy Chew Howard and John Eager Howard Jr., portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]]]
[[File:Mrs. John Eager Howard (Peggy Oswald Chew) and Her Son, John Eager Howard II.jpg|thumb|Peggy Chew Howard and John Eager Howard Jr., portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]]]
John Eager Howard married [[Peggy Chew Howard|Margaret ("Peggy") Chew]] (1760–1824), daughter of the Pennsylvania justice [[Benjamin Chew]], in 1787.<ref name=graveyard/>
Howard married [[Peggy Chew Howard|Margaret ("Peggy") Chew]] (1760–1824), daughter of [[Supreme Court of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania Supreme Court]] justice [[Benjamin Chew]], in 1787.<ref name="graveyard" /> They had nine children:
*John Eager Howard Jr. (1788–1822) m.1820 Cornelia Read (daughter of US Senator [[Jacob Read]], SC) Maryland State Senator. Died in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, October 1822.
*John Eager Howard Jr. (1788–1822), Maryland State Senator.
*[[George Howard (Governor of Maryland)|George Howard]], Governor of Maryland.<ref name="graveyard" />
*[[George Howard (Governor of Maryland)|George Howard]],<ref name=graveyard/> (1789–1846) m.1811 Prudence Ridgely (dau. of Gov. [[Charles Carnan Ridgely]]). George was born while Col. Howard was governor in [[Jennings House, Maryland Governors' Residence|Jennings House]] and became governor in 1831. His home "[[Waverly (Marriottsville, Maryland)|Waverly]]" at [[Marriottsville, Maryland]] still exists.
*[[Benjamin Chew Howard]] (1791–1872) m.1818 Jane Gilmor. He was elected for four terms in the [[Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress]]<ref name=graveyard/> and was the [[Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States]] 1843–1861.
*[[Benjamin Chew Howard]] (1791–1872), US Representative and [[Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States]].<ref name="graveyard" />
*[[William Howard (engineer)|Dr. William Howard]] (1793–1834) m.1828 Rebecca Key (dau. of [[Philip Barton Key]], uncle of [[Francis Scott Key]]). He became a civil engineer for the War Department on canals and railroad routes.
*[[William Howard (engineer)|Dr. William Howard]] (1793–1834), civil engineer for the War Department.
*Juliana Howard McHenry (1796–1821) m.1819 John McHenry (died in Mercersburg, PA, Oct 1822; son of Dr. [[James McHenry]], Secretary of War).
*Juliana Howard McHenry (1796–1821)
*James Howard (1797–1870) m.1820 Sophia Ridgely (dau. of Gov. [[Charles Carnan Ridgely]]) and 2d m.1832 Catherine Ross.
*James Howard (1797–1870)
*Sophia Howard Read (1800–1880) m.1825 William George Read (son of US Sen. [[Jacob Read]], SC)
*Sophia Howard Read (1800–1880)
*Charles Howard (1802–1869)
*Charles Howard (1802–1869) m.1825 Elizabeth Key (dau. of [[Francis Scott Key]]). Charles and his son, [[Francis Key Howard]], were imprisoned in [[Fort McHenry]] at the start of the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://civilwarhome.com/ProvostMarshal.html |title=The Provost-Marshal and the Citizen (in the American Civil War) |date=February 15, 2002 |access-date=June 15, 2019 |website=Home of the American Civil War }}</ref>
*Mary (February–May 1806)
*Mary (February–May 1806)


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
John Eager Howard died in 1827. He is buried at the [[Old Saint Paul's Cemetery]], located between West Lombard Street and present-day Martin Luther King Boulevard in Baltimore.<ref name=congbio/>
Howard died in 1827. He is buried at [[Old Saint Paul's Cemetery]] in Baltimore.<ref name=congbio/>
*[[Howard County, Maryland]], formed out of western Anne Arundel County and southeastern Frederick County in 1839 as the Howard District and officially as Howard County in 1851, was named for him.<ref name=graveyard/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n161 162]}}</ref>
*[[Howard County, Maryland]], was named for Howard.<ref name=graveyard/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n161 162]}}</ref>
*In 1904, the city commissioned an [[equestrian sculpture|equestrian statue]] of Howard by the eminent French sculptor [[Emmanuel Frémiet]] and installed it at Washington Monument circle facing north from the north park of the circle up North Charles Street, Baltimore.<ref name=graveyard/>
*In 1904, the city of Baltimore commissioned an [[equestrian sculpture|equestrian statue]] of Howard by [[Emmanuel Frémiet]] and installed it at Washington Place in Mount Vernon.<ref name=graveyard/>
*Howard is one of several notable men of Maryland mentioned in the state song "[[Maryland, My Maryland]]" written in 1861 by [[James Ryder Randall]]; the phrase "Howard's war-like thrust" refers to him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Books.php/2009/12/31/cool-deliberate-courage-john-eager-howar |title='Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution' Book Review |first=William |last=Hughes |publisher=Media Monitors Network |via=thepeoplesvoice.org |date=December 2009 |access-date=November 14, 2019 }}</ref>
*The former Maryland state song "[[Maryland, My Maryland]]" refers to "Howard's war-like thrust".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Books.php/2009/12/31/cool-deliberate-courage-john-eager-howar |title='Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution' Book Review |first=William |last=Hughes |publisher=Media Monitors Network |via=thepeoplesvoice.org |date=December 2009 |access-date=November 14, 2019 }}</ref>
*Three streets in Baltimore share his name: the diagonal-running John Street in the [[Bolton Hill]] area; the east–west running Eager Street; and the north–south running Howard Street.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baltimorebrickbybrick.com/2015/02/02/why-eager-street/|title=Why "Eager" Street?|last=maxjpollock|date=2015-02-02|website=Baltimore Brick By Brick|language=en|access-date=2019-01-02}}</ref>
*Three streets in Baltimore are named for Howard: John Street, Eager Street, and [[Howard Street (Baltimore)|Howard Street]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://baltimorebrickbybrick.com/2015/02/02/why-eager-street/|title=Why "Eager" Street?|last=maxjpollock|date=2015-02-02|website=Baltimore Brick By Brick|language=en|access-date=2019-01-02}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States Senators from Maryland|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Maryland]]|years=1796–1803|alongside=[[John Henry (Maryland politician)|John Henry]], [[James Lloyd (Maryland politician)|James Lloyd]], [[William Hindman]], [[Robert Wright (politician)|Robert Wright]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Maryland|U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Maryland]]|years=1796–1803|alongside=[[John Henry (Maryland politician)|John Henry]], [[James Lloyd (Maryland politician)|James Lloyd]], [[William Hindman]], [[Robert Wright (Maryland politician)|Robert Wright]]}}
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Latest revision as of 22:57, 9 November 2024

For other people with the same name, see John Howard (disambiguation).

John Eager Howard
Oil painting of John Eager Howard
by Charles Willson Peale (1823)
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
November 21, 1800 – November 27, 1800
Preceded byUriah Tracy
Succeeded byJames Hillhouse
United States Senator
from Maryland
In office
November 21, 1796 – March 3, 1803
Preceded byRichard Potts
Succeeded bySamuel Smith
5th Governor of Maryland
In office
November 24, 1788 – November 14, 1791
Preceded byWilliam Smallwood
Succeeded byGeorge Plater
Member of the Maryland Senate
In office
1791–1795
Personal details
Born
John Eager Howard

(1752-06-04)June 4, 1752
Baltimore County, Maryland, British America
DiedOctober 12, 1827(1827-10-12) (aged 75)
Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeOld Saint Paul's Cemetery, (of Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church, cemetery at West Lombard Street and modern Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Political partyFederalist
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1787; died 1824)​
Children9, including George, Benjamin, and William
Signature

John Eager Howard (June 4, 1752 – October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from Maryland. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the Continental Congress, the Congress of the Confederation, the United States Senate, and the Maryland Senate.[1] In the 1816 presidential election, Howard received 22 electoral votes for vice president on the Federalist Party ticket with Rufus King; the ticket lost to Democratic-Republicans James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins in a landslide.

Howard County, Maryland, is named for him, as are three streets in Baltimore.[2] For seven days in November 1800, Howard was president pro tempore of the Senate.

Early life and education

[edit]

John Eager Howard was the son of Cornelius Howard and Ruth (Eager) Howard, of the Maryland planter elite and was born at their plantation "The Forest" in Baltimore County, Maryland.[3] Howard grew up in an Anglican slaveholding family.

Howard joined a Baltimore lodge of Freemasons.[2]

Military career

[edit]

Commissioned a captain at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Howard rose in 1777 to the rank of colonel in the Maryland Line of the Continental Army,[1] fighting in the Battle of White Plains in 1776 and in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. He was awarded a silver medal by the Confederation Congress for his leadership at the Battle of Cowpens in 1781,[1] during which he commanded the 2nd Maryland Regiment.[4] In September 1781, he was wounded in a bayonet charge at the Battle of Eutaw Springs.[5] Major General Nathanael Greene wrote that Howard was "as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service....He deserves a statue of gold."[6]

At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard was admitted as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.[7] He went on to serve as the vice president (1795–1804) and president (1804–1827) of the Society in Maryland.[8]

John Eager Howard in Uniform, painted in 1782 by Charles Willson Peale

Political life

[edit]

Following his army service, Howard held several electoral political positions: elected to the Confederation Congress in 1788; fifth Governor of Maryland for three one-year terms from 1788 through 1791; later as State Senator from 1791 through 1795; and elector in the presidential election of 1792. He declined an offer from George Washington in 1795 to serve as Secretary of War. He subsequently joined the newly organized Federalist Party and was elected to the Senate of the Fourth Congress by the General Assembly of Maryland to serve the remainder of the term of Richard Potts, who had resigned. He was elected to a Senate term of his own in 1797, serving until March 3, 1803, and briefly served as president pro tempore of the Senate in November 1800.[1] While in Congress, he was the sole Federalist to vote against the Sedition Act.[citation needed]

In 1798, amidst rising tensions with France, Howard declined a commission as brigadier general in the United States Army.[1]

At the end of his Senate term in 1803, Howard returned to Baltimore, where he avoided elected office but continued in public service and philanthropy.[9] He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.[10] In the 1816 presidential election, he received 22 electoral votes for Vice President[2] as the running mate of Federalist Rufus King, losing to Democratic-Republican candidates James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins in a landslide. No formal Federalist nomination had been made, and it is not clear whether Howard himself, who was one of several Federalists who received electoral votes for vice president, actually wanted to run.

Howard developed property in the city of Baltimore and was active in city planning. His house was constructed north of the city, in what later became the Mount Vernon neighborhood, where he owned slaves.[11]

Marriage and family

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Peggy Chew Howard and John Eager Howard Jr., portrait by Charles Willson Peale

Howard married Margaret ("Peggy") Chew (1760–1824), daughter of Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Benjamin Chew, in 1787.[2] They had nine children:

Death and legacy

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Howard died in 1827. He is buried at Old Saint Paul's Cemetery in Baltimore.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f United States Congress. "John Eager Howard (id: H000841)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Index to Politicians: Howard". The Political Graveyard. Lawrence Kestenbaum. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  3. ^ "John Eager Howard (1752–1827)". Archives of Maryland. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "John Eager Howard (1752–1827)". Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series). Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  5. ^ Nancy Capace. Encyclopedia of Maryland. p. 81.
  6. ^ Quoted in Lawrence E. Babits, A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 26.
  7. ^ Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 168.
  8. ^ Metcalf, p. 22.
  9. ^ American National Biography, John Eager Howard; online version consulted
  10. ^ "American Antiquarian Society Members Directory". American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  11. ^ Papenfuse, Edward C. (April 24, 2018). "Remembering John Eager Howard and His Vision for Baltimore". Remembering Baltimore. Retrieved August 21, 2018. According to the 1820 census there were ... five slaves and seven free blacks.
  12. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 162.
  13. ^ Hughes, William (December 2009). "'Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution' Book Review". Media Monitors Network. Retrieved November 14, 2019 – via thepeoplesvoice.org.
  14. ^ maxjpollock (February 2, 2015). "Why "Eager" Street?". Baltimore Brick By Brick. Retrieved January 2, 2019.

Further reading

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  • Jim Piecuch and John Beakes. Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution (2009)
  • Tony J. Lopez. "Courage at the Cowpens: The Colonel John Eager Howard Medal", The Numismatist, Vol. 122 No. 7 (July 2009): 40–47
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Maryland
1788–1791 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President pro tempore of the United States Senate
1800 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Maryland
1796–1803
Served alongside: John Henry, James Lloyd, William Hindman, Robert Wright 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Federalist nominee for Vice President of the United States
1816 		Succeeded by
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