Every general knows a battle plan lasts until the first shots erupt. And as such, grit and experience of soldiers standing fast when faced with war’s horrors decides the day; who will be the victor, and who accepts defeat. Yet one other factor is in play. Improvise. Call it misfortune, opportunity, or just plain luck, be it good or bad. But as they say given lemons, make lemonade. For Colonel Howard, when a full basket of lemons dumped at his feet during the Battle of Cowpens, he turned what was a grievous mistake, destined to doom the American army to defeat, and turned it into a miraculous gift and total victory. It was the veteran officer who, in an instant after a sheet of led decimated the charging redcoats, saw what was needed to claim the day. The entire British invasion of the south was turned on its heels. For General Cornwallis’ army, it was the beginning of the end, manifested in the eventual march to Yorktown. In one moment, one order, Lt. Colonel Howard earned his place in history.
Early Life
John Eager Howard, June 4, 1752 – October 12, 1827. Howard was, as the saying goes, well born and well breed. His grandparents, Joshua Howard (immigrant from Manchester, England) and Joanna O’Carroll (whose family were from Ireland) settled in Maryland. John’s father was a successful planter, Clarence Howard, who married Ruth Eager who brought a large estate, along with numerous slaves, to the union. John was born at their spacious plantation, ‘The Forest,’ in Baltimore County. A member of the planter elite, John received all the luxury wealth had to offer. He was well educated and well-groomed, entering society as a proper gentleman.
At the start of the American Revolution, Maryland’s elite answered the rebel call and enlisted in droves. Like medieval housecarls of old England, they gathered their ‘fiefdoms’ into regiments that were officered by those of noble birth. They supplied their units with the finest uniforms, supplies, and weaponry money could buy. The 1st Maryland Regiment alone, sharp in their crip blue uniforms, whose bayonets gleamed at the end of their Brown Bess, had just over a thousand recruits, equal to anything England could field. Fitted and ready, they proudly marched north to join the newly formed Continental Army in New York City. Along with their fellow state of Delaware, they looked and acted the most soldierly-like regiments of the American Army.
War in the North
Howard saw limited action in the first years of the war. For a soldier, he was a portrait of paradoxes. Known to be placid and reserved, he never let his mild temperament interfere with his military responsibilities. Soft spoken, but with a firm resolve and stickler for protocol, he gained the respect of his men and fellow officers. He quickly rose through the ranks and proved to be a superb commander of infantryman.
He was first assigned as Captain of the 2nd Maryland Battalion (Colonel Josias Hall commanding) of the ‘Flying Camp of Reserves.’ In June of 1776, General George Washington recommended that portions of the army from Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania be detached to form a Flying Camp to protect the middle colonies, while the main army was in New York City. The camp was to number 10,000 men and to be stationed in New Jersey under fellow Virginian General Hugh Mercer. Congress agreed and voted the appropriate funds. Throughout its six-month existence, this reserve never topped 6,000 men. Maryland and Delaware supplied their quotas, Maryland – four battalions of 3,400 men, and Delaware – one battalion of 600. However, Pennsylvania failed to contribute their promised share of men and it never exceeded 6,000 soldiers.
Howard remained with the Flying Camp until its dissolve in early December. He saw no action during the 1776 Battles for New York City; Long Island (Aug. 27th), Kip’s Bay (Sept. 15), Harlem Heights (Sept. 16), and White Plains (Oct. 28th – though some texts and internet articles place him there, the Maryland 2nd Battalion was not present). With year-long enlistments expiring, he was assigned to the 4th Maryland Regiment as its Major. There was much recruitment in Maryland during this time and the 4th did not join the main army until December 27th, after the Battle of Trenton (Dec. 26th) in which the 1st Maryland was present (its colonel John Stone was also recruiting in Maryland). Nor did the 4th fight at Princeton, again Maryland was represented by the 1st Maryland in Greene’s Division under Mercer’s Brigade (General Mercer was killed at Princeton).
The Maryland Fourth’s baptismal under fire occurred at the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. As major of his regiment, it can be assumed that Howard was present. Assigned to Sullivan’s division, the 4th helped form the right flank of the army. Ordered north to meet a British flank attack, they were forced to retreat and later fought a heated battle at the Birmingham Meeting House. Howard’s second action occurred at the Battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777. Still with General Sullivan’s Division, the fourth was part of the 2nd Maryland Brigade under Colonel Moses Hazen. They were on the right wing of the Continental Army and during a surprise attack at Mt. Airy, drove the British back over a mile past the Chew House (interesting that after the war, Howard would marry into the Chew family). Momentum faltered by fog, friendly fire, and delays in trying to capture a company of British fusiliers held up in the Chew house. When the British counterattacked, Sullivan was forced to withdraw.
Howard was not at the Valley Forge’s 1777 – 1778 winter camp, northwest of Philadelphia. The Maryland regiments wintered at Wilmington, Delaware, where soldiers experienced better conditions. In the spring of 1778, on March 11th, Howard became Lt. Colonel of the Maryland 5th Regiment, commanded by` Colonel William Richardson. During the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778), the 5th regiment was in the 1st Maryland Brigade placed under Brigadier General William Smallwood. They were held in reserve behind Perrine’s Hill commanded by Major General Lafayette.
War in the South and Washington Sends the Maryland and Delaware Continentals
When word reached Washington that General Clinton was to ship a large portion of his army south to Charleston, South Carolina, he acted immediately. In November, 1779, he ordered 1,000 North Carolina Continentals to reinforce General Benjamin Lincoln commanding the Southern Army. When General Clinton’s fleet set sail from New York City on December 26th, 1779, the Virginia line of Continentals were already on the road. The North Carolina Continentals would arrive Charleston at the start of the Siege of Charleston, February 11, 1780. And the Virginia line, minus the 3rd Regiment under Colonel Buford that had been delayed, would arrive just in time to be surrendered to the British, along with the rest of the American army, May 12, 1780.
In April, 1780, Washington had decided to send further reinforcements to Lincoln. It was the Maryland and Delaware regiments who were given the nod to march south. These regiments were the cream of the American Army from the very start of war, even before Prussian Baron von Steuben taught the rebel army proper military maneuvers.
The regiments were divided into two brigades; the 1st Maryland under Brigadier General William Smallwood, to which Howard was assigned, and the 2nd Maryland along with the Delaware Regiment, commanded by Brigadier General Mordecai Gist. This force of Continentals were led by Prussian Major General Jean Baron de Kalb. Because the British navy ruled the seas, there would be no water transport leaving a long and arduous march south. The troops who left Morristown, New Jersey on April 16, 1780, were as good as any infantry the British army could field, making them among the finest in the world. It proved a difficult trek. Not just the distance, but with each passing mile, they had to forge for all their own food and silage. Limited to a few wagons, the rank and file were forced to lug a good portion of their supplies on their backs.
They arrived at Hillsborough in northern North Carolina on June 22, 1780. Knowing General Lincoln had already surrendered the army, De Kalb continued his march south, departing on July 1, 1780. The worn down troops treaded mile after mile. In the heat of summer, with little or no food to be found along the route, it became a near nightmare. By the time they arrived at Deep River, North Carolina, nearly ninety miles north east of Charlotte, North Carolina, they were famished. It is there, on July 25th, that the southern army’s new commander arrived to take charge; Major General Horatio Gates, the hero of Saratoga and the darling of Congress. And he lost no time in preparing what would decimate his command.
Battle of Camden and Howard Barely Escapes the Carnage
General Gates had an over inflated ego that self-augmented his military talents. Hero of Saratoga, to which over time much of the credit was justly awarded to Benedict Arnold, and worshiped by Congress, mainly New England delegates, he took charge of what remained of the southern army. And soon after, he marched it to ruin. Ignoring all advice, he ordered a route through hostile territory that offered no forage, having been picked clean. Without sending out cavalry for intelligence (he declined partisan dragoons and later refused ‘Swamp Fox’ Marion’s men) he blindly pushed south, seeking to establish a strong defensive position (that which he had done at Saratoga) in which he hoped his enemy would be forced to attack. The night of August 15, 1780, while marching in column, he was shocked when his vanguard ran headlong into the British Army under General Lord Charles Cornwallis.
With no option but to fight, at first light on the morning of August 16th, he lined his troops for battle. On his right flank he placed the Maryland 2nd Brigade under Brigadier Mordecai Gist, three regiments from Maryland plus the single Delaware Regiment. On the left were militia; Colonel Richard Caswell’s North Carolina and Colonel Edward Stevens Virginians. As soon as the British attacked, the militia, most having never fired a shot, turned, and fled for their lives. The rout also took the American Commander with them. General Horatio Gates mounted the fastest horse in the army and never looked back as he tore out on a 180-mile trek to safety. This left just the Continentals and single brigade of North Carolina militia stationed next to the Delaware regiment (steadied by their example) to fight the entire British army.
The battle raged for some time with the Continentals at one point pushing back Lord Rawdon’s crack 23rd and 33rd regiments. But the odds were too much. General De Kalb called forward his reserve, the 1st Maryland Brigade, which included Howard and his regiment. But they never were able to join their comrades, advancing no more than three hundred feet before heavily engaged. Colonel Benjamin Ford of the 6th Maryland later wrote, “We were outnumbered and outflanked…the enemy charge[ed] with bayonets.”
The end finally came when pressed on three sides, Cornwallis ordered Banestre Tarlton’s Legion to swoop in and attack the Continentals in the rear. This was the last straw and the Continentals broke for the swamps to escape. Due to several officers’ fine leadership, including Lt. Colonel Howard, who kept order during their retreat into the swamps, nearly two hundred Marylanders survived the carnage, including a portion of the Delaware regiment. General De Kalb fought to the last, receiving multiple wounds and was left on the field, dying soon after.
Remnants of Southern Army Reform
What was left of the Southern Army gathered in Charlotte. From there they made their way north to Hillsborough, North Carolina and the army’s headquarters. This left only the Southern Patriot Partisans to harass Cornwallis using guerrilla tactics; Thomas Sumter, Francis ‘Swamp Fox’ Marion, and Andrew Pickens. The remnants of the army, worn down and demoralized, licked their wounds at Hillsborough. Howard and other officers worked hard to reorganize and seek proper food and supplies. Meanwhile, events took place that would open the door for another attempt at stopping Cornwallis’ push north.
Major Patrick Ferguson commanded over 900 local Loyalists who heeded the British call. While Cornwallis sought reinforcements and secured his outposts in South Carolina, including fending off pesky rebel partisan attacks, Major Ferguson controlled the western frontier in South Carolina with plans to move further north. He would make a fatal error while trying to placate the region. The inventor of the breech loading rifle threatened all who refused to accept the king’s banner and claim an oath of loyalty, to suffer the consequences. Unknowingly, the overconfident British officer had sealed his fate. Hardened pioneers throughout what we call the Smoky Mountains, labeled ‘over the mountain men,’ did not like being told what they could or could not do; by anyone. At a small, hilly mountain in western South Carolina, on October 7, 1780, these wilderness warriors joined together to annihilate Ferguson’s command, killing Ferguson. This action not only removed a major force for Cornwallis, but served to deter large numbers of loyalists from joining him.
Cornwallis Meets his Match in Nathanael Greene and Daniel Morgan
While at Hillsborough, Howard’s zeal in reorganizing and preparing his Continental soldiers for what was to come set an example for others. Nor did his cool actions under fire and his skillful retreat from the Camden battlefield go unnoticed. After Congress’ first two choices to lead the southern army, Lincoln then Gates, failed dismally, they finally nodded to Washington who put his man front and center. Major General Nathanael Greene arrived on December 3, 1780 to assume command. When newly promoted Brigadier Daniel Morgan was added to the mix, it soon became the perfect storm for the British. Greene lost no time in preparing to march south to confront the British. And in doing so, he split his force.
Daniel Morgan was put in charge of a Flying Corp of crack Continental troops and Carolina militia (that included riflemen) under proven leaders Colonel Andrew Pickens of S. Carolina and General William Davidson and Colonel Joseph McDowell of N. Carolina (note General Sumter was still recuperating from his wounds at the Battle of Blackstocks, November 20, 1780, and was not present); numbering between 800 to 1,000 men. And upon recommendation by the officers, Lt. Colonel Eager Howard was put in command of the Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia Continentals; three hundred veterans – the army’s best of the best.
Morgan left Charlotte, N. Carolina on December 21, 1780, and headed west. Greene’s general orders to the burly rifleman and ‘Old Wagoneer’ were “to give protection to that part of the country and spirit up the people, to annoy the enemy in the quarter.” Greene knew that Cornwallis could not go after one segment of his army without risking his headquarters at Camden. Nor could he risk his multiple outposts further south including fort Ninety-Six. If Cornwallis chose to attack, he too would have to split his force too. And he did just that. His darling officer, Lt. Colonel Banestre Tarleton, was to take after Morgan with his Loyalist Legion. Cornwallis added his battled hardened 7th Foot and 71st Scottish Highlanders, along with most of the army’s Light Infantry companies and a detachment of the 17th Dragoons, all totaling between 1,200 and 1,500 men.
Battle of Cowpens and Crisis Leads to Victory
Morgan had faced the frontier perils of the French and Indian War. He braved the Maine wilderness in 1775 to attack Quebec where he was captured. After exchanged, he led his riflemen to victory at Saratoga, soon after joining Washington to harass the British in Philadelphia. When the British evacuated Philadelphia, his men marched hard on their heels across New Jersey. At the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778) he helped to seal their enemy back in New York City. Now, in the winter of 1780, fate placed him in a position to change the course of the entire war.
The wily rifleman had listened to those who had previously battled his young, 26-year-old pursuer, looking for strengths and weaknesses. He set his battle plans to turn Tarleton’s weakness into Morgan’s strength. He knew the impulsive Tarleton would push his troops hard, slavering to do battle, as he had done at Fishing Creek, Lenud’s Ferry, Waxhaws, and countless skirmishes. When Tarleton caught up to his prey, he would not hesitate. There was no studying the terrain or where to place forces for their optimum effect. None of that. He would attack; directly and viciously. And there the trap was laid; a near two-thousand-year-old page torn from Hanibal’s Cannae.
Morgan chose the field of battle. A long, slight slope up to where he could maintain sight of the entire battle. His troops were well-fed and well-rested. He spent the night before battle walking between campfires, personally explaining his plan and what was expected of each man listening. When Tarleton attacked the next day, he would do so with men who had marched all night, without food or rest. He would have to push through three defensive lines; each one stronger than the previous. With the coup-de-grace, Colonel William Washington’s dragoons, waiting and ready to swoop down to finish the job. On the morning of January 17, 1781. Morgan was ready.
Tarleton’s vanguard came up against Morgan’s first line of defense; riflemen defensively strung across their path. Tarleton promptly formed his men into line of battle and immediately attacked. The riflemen punched considerable holes in the British line, including targeting officers on horse. When the riflemen withdrew, Tarleton’s line pushed forward to face the second string of North and South Carolina militia. Morgan had told the militia to fire two rounds and do what they do best, run! But not into the woods and swamps so to escape – but to reform behind and on the flanks of his third and strongest line – the 350 Continentals standing shoulder to shoulder. Veterans who stood like a brick wall – under the command of one of Morgan’s finest and steadfast officers – Lt. Colonel Eager Howard.
As planned, Tarleton’s forces advanced and received the rebel militia volley. The red line instantly redressed to fill any gaps from fallen colleagues and came on. And when the militia did as ordered and turned to race back up the incline, Tarleton’s tired troops were instilled with renewed vigor, seeing their enemy once more scampering like frightened rabbits. Then, when the night’s march and heat of the day had sapped what little energy the redcoats had left, after pressing through accurate rife fire and enduring massed volleys to race after their enemy, Tarleton’s men came upon a blue wall. Grim faced men standing shoulder to shoulder, their muskets readied. Men who had faced war’s horrors time and time again and would not shirk from glistening steel and the roar of the bayonet charge. As one they lifted their muskets, and like a rolling avalanche, thunder exploded from left to right, and sheets of flame ripped into the British line.
Redcoats and bluecoats stood firm and fired volley after volley. As did the rebel militia anchoring both flanks, bolstered by the Continentals. Neither side flinched as men fell among them. Soldiers who had on multiple fields of battle licked the sulfuric smoke from dried, chapped lips continued to load and fire. It was a slugfest in which the well-rested Americans were slowly winning. Tarleton, witnessing this critical moment, ordered in his reserve; the 71st Highlanders. Strong, tough Scotsmen, each knowing they could never go home if they did not fulfill their clan’s honor, rushed to battle, their pipes pealing them onward. They swung towards the American right flank, that manned by the reformed militia. It was the moment that Tarleton knew the day was his for the Highlanders were sure to cave in the American line. He then ordered a general advance of the entire British line, who, when close enough, would charge the buckling rebel line to break the Continental’s resolve.
Crisis of Battle and Howard’s Coolness Takes Command
Lt. Colonel Howard had risked bullets and harm by riding up and down the Continental line, ordering volley after volley and encouraging his men. He saw the 71st form on his right flank. The British line numbered 800 strong and as such, extended beyond his flank, enough to envelop it. He knew what would happen if they succeeded in driving in the militia onto his men. He also knew what was needed to help prevent a disaster. He spurred his horse and rode to that quarter. To the extreme militia company led by Captain Wallace. He ordered that his men refuse the line and pivot; a maneuver that would leave them directly facing the 71st threat. And it is here that fate stepped in. Either by misunderstanding or improperly handled, instead of swinging the line of militia to face the enemy, Wallace’s end company did a complete about face, and retreated in order, away from the battle.
Howard tried to stop Wallace’s men, but then sat in horror as he watched this mix-up turn into an epidemic. The roar of musket and artillery thundered, mingling with the shrilling pipes and the cries of the wounded and dying. A stinging swirl of thick sulfuric smoke encased all. And amidst this chaos, each rebel unit in line, witnessing the company directly on their right turn about and march away, so too joined in. Like on parade, each stepped smartly away from the enemy. At such a moment, it is the great officer who reacts calmly and allows clear thought. In this Howard was such an officer and proved Morgan’s choice of his leadership. Instead of panicking, he realized the retrograde movement, performed with military exactness, was exactly what was needed. By retreating, the American line was removed from the enemy and the immediate threat to their flank by the 71st Highlanders.
The retreat was not a disaster at all, but a gift. When Morgan rode up to Howard and demanded to know why the line was retreating, Howard calmly explained the situation and opportunity it offered. Morgan understood directly and rode back up the slight incline, telling Howard he would designate where the line should halt and turn-about. Eighteenth Century discipline in battle maneuvers had taught each soldier to reload when repositioning the line. In this the Americans skillfully performed. Meanwhile for the British, witnessing the Americans retreat, all discipline dissolved. Misunderstanding the rebel withdrawal, they thought the Americans were demoralized and victory was at hand. Exhausted redcoats let out a howl and with their last ounce of energy, they charged in a maddened rush. But not in dressed ranks, but individually and in smaller clumps with no order whatsoever.
With drill precision, the Continental line continued their march up the slope. Behind them, baying like clawing gargoyles, the British rushed after them, their bayonets thrust outward. When the Americans reached Morgan, they spun about as one. Stern, steady bodies faced the roaring red tidal wave about to consume them. Muskets snapped to shoulders. And in one of those great moments in history, the cry FIRE was screamed above the turmoil. A sheet of lead tore into the flesh of shuddering bodies, some only yards away, point black, cutting huge swathes through the wild charging British like a giant scythe blade.
In the surreal silence that ensued, Continentals stood in awe. The smoke still pouring from hot muzzles. Mutilated bodies lie prone over the field. Some reaching up in pitiful agony. Others staggering about in confusion, staring through the smoke, down at dead colleagues or what was left of limbs hanging from their side like slabs of beef. Most just stood still, staggered by the Continental volley, a shock wave that in an instant, turned expected victory to complete turmoil. In that moment, Howard knew what to do. His quick decision was one of greatness. An act that would turn the war on its head. There was no waiting for orders. There would be no British withdrawal or possible rally. For in the blink of an eye, while staring out over the bloody carnage, he raised his sword high for all to see and bellowed at the top of his lungs…CHARGE BAYONETS!
And like crazed berserks of old, the entire line lunged forward. Hardened veterans and sturdy militiamen charged, their voices howling like a shrieking tempest. They swarmed over the battlefield. There was no escaping the rebel wrath. Either surrender or be speared. Tarleton’s quarter! The men bellowed as Howard rode among them, assuring that those who tried to surrender were not butchered. The rout and British defeat was total. Tarleton’s corps, as well as some of the finest troops Cornwallis had, his light infantry and 71st Highlanders, ceased to exist. Only Tarleton and two hundred of his dragoons escaped capture.
For Cornwallis, the news of the American victory at Cowpens resulted in the loss of many of his best troops, that which would have a crucial effect on future British campaigns in the south. While throughout the Carolinas, moral among those who supported rebellion soared. When news spread north, American commands fired celebratory tributes to Morgan and his men. And when Congress was informed of the battle and the individuals who did their parts, both Colonel Washington and Howard were given silver medals. Individual states offered swords and rewards of land and goods to principal officers.
Howard Continues in Command of his Continentals in Four More Bloody Battles
Nearly two months after Cowpens, at the next great contest between Greene and Cornwallis, Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781. Howard, as at Cowpens, was in the thick of the fight; at the critical moment when victory or defeat hung from a thread. When the British hit the American 3rd line of defense, composed of the (Continental troops) and the Maryland 2nd (mostly composed of new, raw recruits), the Americans fled the field. Howard recognized the need for support and stepped up with his 1st Maryland veterans to halt the surging British 2nd Guards Battalion. Near muzzle to muzzle and volley after volley, both sides tore into each other as neither was about to give. When Colonel John Gunby’s horse was shot out from him and he went down, Howard took over command. Once again Howard ordered a bayonet charge into the thick of the fight.
Men now fought a brutal, bloody, and desperate hand to hand slugfest. The Americans under Howard began to gain the upper hand and throw the guard back. British General Cornwallis sat his horse witness to this. Without hesitation, he famously ordered his six-pound cannon to fire grape shot point blank into the struggling throng of Americans intertwined with his own men. A huge blast followed by sheets of deadly steel tore through the flesh of both redcoat and rebel. The scene was horrific. Those left standing quickly drew back from the melee. Realizing he inflected a terrible loss upon his British foe, but any further action could threaten his command, Greene smartly withdrew his troops from the battlefield. His loss was far less than the British who, unlike Greene, could not replace their troops. Cornwallis knew he could no longer pursue Greene without reinforcements and the necessary supplies. He would give up the chase of the illusive Rhode Islander and march his troops north, seeking to join forces with British troops who had invaded Virginia. This left Greene to turn upon the outposts in the Carolinas while defeat awaited Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Howard remained with General Greene and enhanced his solid reputation for coolness and courage under fire. Howard would always be in the midst of the hardest fighting in the southern war’s next three critical battles; Hobkirk’s Hill (April 25, 1781), Ninety-Six (May 22 to June 19, 1781) and Eutaw Springs (September 8, 1781). Eutaw Springs, the last major clash of the war in the far south, had the highest percentage of casualties for both British (one in every two who fought that day) and Americans (one of every three) than any battle of the American Revolution. It was there that Howard received a major wound that ended his military career. He resigned from the service and retired to his home in Baltimore.
After the War
Howard returned home to a life of wealth. By war’s end his plantations consumed much of what is today modern Baltimore. In 1787, he would marry Margaretta ‘Peggy’ Oswald Chew, daughter of Chief Justice Chew of Pennsylvania (owner of the famous Chew Mansion to which the Battle of Germantown raged around). This union allows one to speculate on how Howard spent his time around Philadelphia ten years earlier in the fall of 1777 and following years before being sent south in 1780. He soon built a massive estate and mansion in Baltimore on Calvert Street (the home was razed in 1875 to expand Calvert Street).
Howard’s fellow officers considered him to be among the finest officers the American Army could field. Light-Horse Harry Lee wrote of him: “We have seen him at the Battle of Cowpens seize the critical moment and turn the fortune of the day…He was justly ranked among the chosen sons of the South.” General Greene wrote: “Colone Howard is as good an officer as the world afforded, and deserves a statue of gold, no less than the Roman or Grecian heroes.” Howard finally received that silver medal Congress promised for Cowpens in 1790.
Howard may have retired from the military, but not from public life. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1788. Became Governor of Maryland from 1788-1791. A U.S. Senator from 1796-1803. And was one of the Federalist Party’s leaders who ran an unsuccessful attempt as Vice President in 1816, losing to James Madison’s ticket. On October 12, 1827, at age seventy-five, he died at his Belvidere home in Baltimore. He was buried at Saint Paul’s Church Cemetery with full dignitary and military honors.
Howard is two-fold honored in Maryland. An equestrian statue of him is in Baltimore and stands near a monument to George Washington, the location on land Howard donated to the city. And the state song, Maryland My Maryland, words by Tennessee Earie Ford, has a stanza with line dedicated to his courage heroics: Remember Carroll’s sacred trust, Remember Howard’s warlike thrust, And though thy slumberers with the just, Maryland, my Maryland.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVLUTION IN THE SOUTH, CHECK OUT THESE GREAT BOOKS ON AMAZON
OF SIMILAR INTEREST ON REVOLUTIONARY WAR JOURNAL
RESOURSE
Amos Blanchard. American military biography : containing the lives and characters of the officers of the Revolution, who were most distinguished in achieving our national independence : 1830: Published for E. Waters, Cincinnati, OH
Babits, Lawrence E. A Devil of a Whipping, The Battle of Cowpens. 1998: The University of North Carolina Press, Chappel Hill, North Carolina.
Buchanan, John. The Road to Guilford Courthouse, The American Revolution in the Carolinas. 1997: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY.
Crawford, Alan Pell. This Fierce People, The Untold Story of America’s Revolution in the South. 2024: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY.
Fleming, Thomas J. Downright Fighting: The Story of Cowpens. 2023: National Park Service, Washington DC.
Piecuch, Jim. Cool Deliberate Courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution. 2009: Nautical & Aviation Pub Company of America, Baltimore, Maryland.
Stempel, Jim. American Hannibal, The Extraordinary Account of Revolutionary War Hero Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens. 2017: Fenmore Press, Tucson, AZ.