John Eager Howard (June 4, 1752October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

, the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

, the

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

, and the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. In the 1816 presidential election, Howard received 22 electoral votes for vice president on the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

ticket with

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...

; the ticket lost to

Democratic-Republicans The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

and Daniel D. Tompkins in a landslide.

Howard County, Maryland Howard County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population is 334,529. Since there are no incorporated municipalities, there is no incorporated coun ...

, is named for him, as are three streets in

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 ...

. For seven days in November 1800, Howard was president pro tempore of the Senate.

Early life and education

John Eager Howard was the son of Cornelius Howard and Ruth (Eager) Howard, of the Maryland planter elite and was born at their plantation "The Forest" in

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...

. Howard grew up in an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

slaveholding family. Howard joined a

lodge of Freemasons.

Military career

Commissioned a captain at the beginning of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

(1775–1783), Howard rose in 1777 to the rank of colonel in the Maryland Line of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, fighting in the Battle of White Plains in 1776 and in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. He was awarded a silver medal by the

Confederation Congress The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

for his leadership at the

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...

in 1781, during which he commanded the 2nd Maryland Regiment. In September 1781, he was wounded in a bayonet charge at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Major General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

wrote that Howard was "as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service....He deserves a statue of gold." At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard was admitted as an original member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

of Maryland. He went on to serve as the vice president (1795–1804) and president (1804–1827) of the Society in Maryland. John Eager Howard Uniform

Political life

Following his army service, Howard held several electoral political positions: elected to the Confederation Congress in 1788; fifth

Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

for three one-year terms from 1788 through 1791; later as

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from 1791 through 1795; and elector in the presidential election of 1792. He declined an offer from

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

in 1795 to serve as

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

. He subsequently joined the newly organized

and was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of the Fourth Congress by the General Assembly of Maryland to serve the remainder of the term of Richard Potts, who had resigned. He was elected to a Senate term of his own in 1797, serving until March 3, 1803, and briefly served as president pro tempore of the Senate in November 1800. While in Congress, he was the sole Federalist to vote against the Sedition Act. In 1798, amidst rising tensions with France, Howard declined a commission as brigadier general in 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 ...

. At the end of his Senate term in 1803, Howard returned to Baltimore, where he avoided elected office but continued in public service and philanthropy. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815. In the 1816 presidential election, he received 22 electoral votes for

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

as the running mate of Federalist

, losing to

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

candidates

and Daniel D. Tompkins in a landslide. No formal Federalist nomination had been made, and it is not clear whether Howard himself, who was one of several Federalists who received electoral votes for vice president, actually wanted to run. Howard developed property in the city of Baltimore and was active in city planning. His house was constructed north of the city, in what later became the

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

neighborhood, where he owned slaves.

Marriage and family

Howard married Margaret ("Peggy") Chew, daughter of

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

justice Benjamin Chew, in 1787. They had nine children: *John Eager Howard Jr. (1788–1822), Maryland State Senator. * George Howard, Governor of Maryland. *

Benjamin Chew Howard Benjamin Chew Howard (November 5, 1791 – March 6, 1872) was a Maryland politician and lawyer. After serving on the city council of Baltimore in 1820 and in both houses of the Maryland legislature, he was a Representative in the United States ...

(1791–1872), US Representative and Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. * Dr. William Howard (1793–1834), civil engineer for the War Department. *Juliana Howard McHenry (1796–1821) *James Howard (1797–1870) *Sophia Howard Read (1800–1880) *Charles Howard (1802–1869), father of Frank Key Howard. *Mary (February–May 1806)

Death and legacy

Howard died in 1827. He is buried at Old Saint Paul's Cemetery in Baltimore. *

, was named for Howard. *In 1904, the city of Baltimore commissioned an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of Howard by Emmanuel Frémiet and installed it at Washington Place in Mount Vernon. *The former Maryland state song " Maryland, My Maryland" refers to "Howard's war-like thrust". *Three streets in Baltimore are named for Howard: John Street, Eager Street, and Howard Street.

Early life and education

Military career

Political life

Marriage and family

Death and legacy

References

Further reading