Thomas Benton Howard (August 10, 1854 – November 10, 1920) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer who served as commander in chief of the

U.S. Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

prior to United States' entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life and education

Howard was born in the Illinoisan town of Galena in 1854 and was educated in the public schools. In 1868, through President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, who spent the summer of that year in Galena, he was appointed to the

US Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...

. Grant knew Howard's father well and his wife and Howard's mother were also friends when both lived in St. Louis. Howard came from a military family, as his father, Bushrod Brush Howard, was a captain in the Mexican War. Bushrod Howard, in the early days of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, commanded Company I, 19th Illinois Infantry Regiment and was killed along with more than one hundred other men of the regiment in a railroad accident at Beaver Creek Bridge on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. Howard's mother was Elizabeth Mackay Howard, daughter of Helen and Aeneas Mackay, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer stationed at

Jefferson Barracks The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation ...

, St. Louis, as was also her maternal grandfather, Captain Thomas Legate. Captain Legate moved to

Galena, Illinois Galena is the largest city in and the county seat of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, with a population of 3,308 at the 2020 census. A section of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Galena Historic District. The c ...

in 1828 as Superintendent of the lead mines.

Career

As a cadet in the academy, Howard was often, by special invitation, a guest at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, and was usually appointed Grant's aide whenever the President visited Annapolis. Howard graduated at the top of his class in 1873 and was promoted to ensign in 1874. During his career he served under

George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...

at the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

and successively commanded , , , , and . As captain of ''Ohio'', he sailed around the world with the Great White Fleet in 1908–1909. In January 1914, Howard was appointed commander in chief of the

. The same year, during the Mexican Revolution, Howard commanded a squadron of American vessels in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

. Their mission was to observe the

Topolobampo Topolobampo () is a port on the Gulf of California in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico. It is the fourth-largest town in the municipality of Ahome (after Los Mochis, Ahome, and Higuera de Zaragoza), reporting a 2010 census population of 6,361 inha ...

naval campaign. Three of Howard's warships were present at the

Fourth Battle of Topolobampo The Fourth Battle of Topolobampo was a single ship action fought during the Mexican Revolution and the last naval battle of the Topolobampo Campaign. In June 1914, a Huertista gunboat sank a Constitutionalist gunboat off Topolobampo, Sinaloa i ...

. When the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

established camp for the second time on San Diego's North Island, they named it Camp Howard, in his honor. In 1915, he became the fifth full admiral in the history of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

when the three commanders in chief of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, and Asiatic Fleets were each advanced to the temporary rank of full admiral. Upon relinquishing command of the Pacific Fleet in September 1915, Howard reverted to his permanent rank of rear admiral.

Dates of rank

* Midshipman – 31 May 1873 *

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

– 16 July 1874 *

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

– 13 January 1879 * Junior lieutenant – 3 March 1883 *

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

– 7 November 1885 * Lieutenant commander – 3 March 1899 * Commander – unknown * Captain – unknown * Rear admiral – 14 November 1910 * Admiral – March 1915

Later life and death

Howard retired on August 10, 1916. He was Superintendent of the

US Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...

from March 31, 1917 to March 4, 1919. He died in Annapolis, Maryland on November 10, 1920.

Personal life

Howard is the father of Captain

Douglas Legate Howard Douglas Legate Howard (February 11, 1885 – December 14, 1936) was a football player and coach and officer in the United States Navy. He served as the commander of three destroyers during World War I and later as the division commander of des ...

and great-grandfather of Vice Admiral Henry C. Mustin and second great-grandfather of Vice Admiral John Mustin.

References

External links

Thomas Benton Howard Papers, 1869–1919 MS 209
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Thomas B. 1854 births 1920 deaths United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals People from Galena, Illinois History of the Gulf of California Military personnel from Illinois