Joshua B. Howell was a Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 officer during the American Civil War. He served in Southeast Virginia and the Carolinas. He was mortally wounded late in the war following a horse riding accident.

Early life

Howell was born in New Jersey in 1806 on his family's estate named "Fancy Hill". His father, Colonel Joshua Ladd Howell had served in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and his grandfather, also named Joshua Ladd Howell, served as a quartermaster during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

.

Early War Service

In 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War, Howell was appointed Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Militia. He was also commissioned colonel of the 85th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiment with which he would serve during the war. His regiment was assigned to the IV Corps during the Peninsula Campaign. Following the battle of Malvern Hill

Battle of Malvern Hill

The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...

 Colonel Howell and the 85th Pennsylvania were transferred to North Carolina serving under the XVIII Corps. Howell fought in the Goldsboro Expedition at the battles of Kinston

Battle of Kinston

The Battle of Kinston was fought on December 14, 1862, in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the town of Kinston, as part of the Goldsboro Expedition of the American Civil War....

, White Hall

Battle of White Hall

The Battle of White Hall, also called the Battle of White Hall Ferry, took place on December 15–16, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War.-Battle:...

 and Goldsboro

Battle of Goldsboro Bridge

The Battle of Goldsborough Bridge took place on December 17, 1862, in Wayne County, North Carolina, as part of the Union expedition to Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the American Civil War.-Background:...

.

Charleston & Petersburg

For the next 6 months Howell was in command of a brigade in the XVIII Corps along the North Carolina coast. In July 1863 his brigade was transferred to the X Corps in the Department of the South. Howell's brigade was designated the 2nd Brigade, Morris Island Division, X Corps and took part in the siege of Charleston Harbor

Second Battle of Charleston Harbor

The Second Battle of Charleston Harbor, also known as the Siege of Charleston Harbor, Siege of Fort Wagner, or Battle of Morris Island, took place during the American Civil War in the late summer of 1863 between a combined Union Army/Navy force and the Confederate defenses of Charleston, South...

. In 1864 the X Corps was transferred to the Army of the James

Army of the James

The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...

 in conjunction with Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

's Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...

. Howell led his brigade during the Bermuda Hundred Campaign

Bermuda Hundred Campaign

The Bermuda Hundred Campaign was a series of battles fought at the town of Bermuda Hundred, outside Richmond, Virginia, during May 1864 in the American Civil War. Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, commanding the Army of the James, threatened Richmond from the east but was stopped by forces under ...

 and the early stages of the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

 where he was occasionally in command of a division. He happened to be acting commander of the 3rd Division, X Corps when he was severely injured when he fell from his horse. His injuries proved to be mortal and Colonel Howell died in the field hospital of the 85th Pennsylvania on September 14, 1864, three days after his 58th birthday. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general, backdated to September 13, 1864. He was interred in Clarksboro, New Jersey.

Memorial

In the fall of 1864 the 32nd U.S.Colored Infantry constructed fortifications on Hilton Head Island to protect the Freedmen's town of Mitchelville. General John G. Foster

John G. Foster

John Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War whose most distinguished services were in North and South Carolina. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.-Early...

 named the post Fort Howell

Fort Howell

Fort Howell, named in honor of Brigadier General Joshua B. Howell, is located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Its primary function was to protect Mitchelville, a freedmen's town located to its east...

in honor of Colonel Howell.