Benjamin Howard (1760 – September 18, 1814) was a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

(congressman), serving in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, the lower chamber of the bicameral

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

, from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, the first governor serving 1809-1813 of the new federal

Missouri Territory The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southe ...

(1812–1821), with its

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

established at

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, the prosperous wealthy river port town on the west bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, and a brigadier general of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

(1812–1815).

Early life and education

Howard was born in Lexington, Kentucky, (then part of Virginia) and graduated in 1797 from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Career

Election to Kentucky General Assembly

Howard was elected to the

Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

in 1800. Continuing in politics, he was elected to the 10th and 11th Congresses (D-R-KY), from 1807 until April 10, 1810. One week later, on April 17, 1810, President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

appointed him as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of t ...

(the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

district north of modern-day

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

). It was renamed the

in June 1812.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, Howard resigned his post and was commissioned as a brigadier general of the Eighth Military Department. In September 1813, Brigadier General Benjamin Howard led an expedition of about 1,400 men against Indian villages around Lake Pimiteoui. The first portion of the expedition, a detachment of 150 troops of the First United States Infantry under the command of Lt. Colonel Robert Carter Nicholas, arrived at Lake Pimiteoui on August 29. The troops came from St. Louis in reinforced keel boats and immediately began to build a stockade adjacent to the river at the former French village. Trees were cut on the eastern shore of the lake and rafted across to the western shore. While the first blockhouse was under construction, 150 Indians under the command of Black Partridge made an attack on the troops, but were driven off. Eight hundred mounted rangers from the Illinois and Missouri militia reached the settlement three days after the arrival of the regulars. The rangers marched to the two Indian villages at the head of Lake Pimiteoui; on the eastern shore was the village of Black Partridge, and on the western shore was a Potawatomi village, led by Chief Gomo. When the rangers arrived, the occupants of both villages had already fled. The rangers burned what remained of the villages and returned to the French village. With over 1,000 men to assist, the construction of a new fort was completed on September 23. A brass six-pound cannon was mounted and fired in celebration. The fort was named Fort Clark, in honor of General George Rogers Clark, the celebrated hero of the Revolutionary War and victories against the British at both Vincennes and Kaskaskia. General Howard sent a force in two boats under Major William Christy to pursue the Indians on the upper Illinois River. Another force, under Major Nathan Boone, followed the course of the Spoon River for 50 miles. Upon their return to Fort Clark, both officers reported that their troops were unable to overtake the fleeing Indians. The rangers were relieved of duty at Fort Clark in mid-October and returned to their home stations, leaving the regulars to garrison the post.

Death

Howard fell ill while returning to

and died in the city. His original burial location is unknown, although probably somewhere in downtown St. Louis. Some time between 1817 and 1844, his remains were reinterred at the Old Grace Church Graveyard just north of downtown St. Louis (11th and Warren streets). He was reportedly transferred to

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine has several architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Su ...

some time after 1851, but the cemetery has no record of his interment. The true location of his body is unknown.

Legacy

Fort Howard in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, was named after him in 1816. He is also the namesake of

Howard County, Missouri Howard County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri, with its southern border formed by the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 10,151. Its county seat is Fayette, Missouri, Fayette. Settled o ...

. Benjamin Howard was the son of John Howard and the grandson of Allen Howard, born in 1685, was an elected justice to Albemarle county, Virginia. Benjamin's father, uncles and grandfathers fought as Patriots in the Revolutionary War. West Cote and Howardsville, Virginia, were founded by his grandfather Allen Howard. Benjamin Howard was born in Virginia and moved to Kentucky and then Missouri, his father followed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Benjamin 1760 births 1814 deaths People from Missouri College of William & Mary alumni Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky Mason family Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery Governors of Louisiana Territory Governors of Missouri Territory Missouri Democratic-Republicans People from Missouri in the War of 1812 United States Army generals Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives