Joshua B. Howell (September 11, 1806 – September 14, 1864) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He served in Southeast Virginia and the Carolinas. He was mortally wounded late in the war following a horse riding accident.

Early life

Howell was born in New Jersey in 1806 on his family's estate named "Fancy Hill". His father, Colonel Joshua Ladd Howell had served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and his grandfather, also named Joshua Ladd Howell, served as a quartermaster during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Early war service

In 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War, Howell was appointed Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Militia. He was also commissioned colonel of the 85th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry with which he would serve during the war. His regiment was assigned to the

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

during the Peninsula Campaign. Following the

battle of Malvern Hill The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...

Colonel Howell and the 85th Pennsylvania were transferred to North Carolina serving under the XVIII Corps. Howell fought in the Goldsborough Expedition at the battles of Kinston, White Hall and Goldsborough.

Charleston

For the next 6 months Howell was in command of a brigade in the XVIII Corps along the North Carolina coast. In July 1863 his brigade was transferred to the

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

in the Department of the South. Howell's brigade was designated the 2nd Brigade,

Terry's Terry's (formerly Terry's of York) is a British chocolate and confectionery brand. The original company was founded in 1767 in York, England, and was part of the city's famous confectionery triumvirate along with Rowntree's and Cravens. The co ...

Division, X Corps and took part in the siege of Charleston Harbor. At one point during the siege, Howell was wounded in the head when a Confederate artillery shell from Fort Wagner hit the bombproof he was in. His soldiers feared he was dead but his wound proved to be minor and Howell returned to his command. He kept a piece of the shell fragment with him in remembrance of his close call.

Petersburg and death

In 1864 the X Corps was transferred to the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. History The Union Department ...

in conjunction with

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

. Howell led his brigade during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign and the early stages of the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

where he was occasionally in command of a division. He happened to be acting commander of the 3rd Division, X Corps when he was severely injured in a fall from his horse. His injuries proved to be mortal and Colonel Howell died in the field hospital of the 85th Pennsylvania on September 14, 1864, three days after his 58th birthday. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general, backdated to September 13, 1864. He was interred in Clarksboro, New Jersey.

Memorial

In the fall of 1864 the 32nd U.S.Colored Infantry constructed fortifications on

Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), and southwest of Charlesto ...

to protect the Freedmen's town of Mitchelville. General

John G. Foster John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North and South Carolina during the war. A recons ...

named the post Fort Howell in honor of Colonel Howell.General Howell Post #31
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References

Notes

*Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . *Wise, Stephen R. (1994) ''Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863''.
University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Joshua B. 1806 births 1864 deaths Union army generals People of New Jersey in the American Civil War Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States