Frank Key Howard (October 25, 1826 – May 29, 1872) (also cited as Francis Key Howard) was an American newspaper editor and journalist. The grandson of
Francis Scott Key and Revolutionary War colonel
John Eager Howard, Howard was the editor of the ''
Daily Exchange'', a
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
newspaper sympathetic to the Confederacy. Just after midnight on September 13, 1861, he was arrested without a warrant at his home by U.S. Major General
Nathaniel Prentice Banks on the direct orders of General
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
enforcing the policy of President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
. (In his book he writes that he was told by the arresting officer that the order had come from Secretary of State
William Seward.
) The basis for his arrest was the writing of an editorial printed in his newspaper that was critical of Lincoln's suspension of the
writ of habeas corpus, of the declaration by the Lincoln administration of martial law in Baltimore, and of the imprisonment without charge of Baltimore mayor
George William Brown George William Brown may refer to:
* George William Brown (mayor) (1812–1890), American politician, judge and academic
* George William Brown (trade unionist) (1880–?), British trade unionist and politician
* George W. Brown (computer scientist ...
, sitting U.S. Congressman
Henry May, all the police commissioners of Baltimore, and the entire city council. Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus in Maryland had already been declared unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice
Roger Taney (Howard's great-uncle by marriage) in
Ex parte Merryman, but Lincoln had ignored the federal court ruling. Howard was initially confined to
Fort McHenry, the same fort his grandfather Francis Scott Key saw withstand a British bombardment during 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 ...
, which inspired him to write "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
", which would become the national anthem of the United States of America. He was then transferred first to
Fort Lafayette in
Lower New York Bay off the coast of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, then
Fort Warren in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
.
He wrote a book on his experiences as a political prisoner completed in December 1862 and published in 1863 titled ''Fourteen Months in American Bastiles,''
two of the publishers selling the book were then arrested.
Howard commented on his imprisonment,
When I looked out in the morning, I could not help being struck by an odd and not pleasant coincidence. On that day forty-seven years before my grandfather, Mr. Francis Scott Key, then prisoner on a British ship, had witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry. When on the following morning the hostile fleet drew off, defeated, he wrote the song so long popular throughout the country, "The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
". As I stood upon the very scene of that conflict, I could not but contrast my position with his, forty-seven years before. The flag which he had then so proudly hailed, I saw waving at the same place over the victims of as vulgar and brutal a despotism as modern times have witnessed.
Howard died while in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1872.
Background
Maryland was considered one of the five
border states at the outbreak of the
U.S. Civil War. On April 27, 1861 Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland partially as a response to the
Baltimore riot of 1861, and in portions of midwestern states such as southern
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.
The first person to be arrested after this order was issued was Lieutenant
John Merryman of the newly formed (1861) Baltimore County Horse Guards, a unit composed of southern sympathizers. Merryman was accused of treason for destroying bridges and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
wires to prevent Union troops from marching through Baltimore to reinforce
Washington, D.C.
Lincoln's action was challenged in court and overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court in Maryland (led by Supreme Court Chief Justice
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney ( ; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 186 ...
, who was incidentally married to Anne Phoebe Charlton Key, Francis Scott Key's sister) in
Ex Parte Merryman, 17 F. Cas. 144 (C.C.D. Md. 1861). Lincoln, citing the actions of prior U.S. President
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, chose to ignore the ruling. It was for criticizing Lincoln's actions in the editorial section of the ''Baltimore Exchange'' that Howard was arrested.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Frank Key
1826 births
1872 deaths
19th-century American newspaper editors
Editors of Maryland newspapers
Key family (Maryland)
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
Howard family (Maryland)