Augusta, Maine - Civil War general and Leeds, Maine native Oliver Otis Howard has been a little understood figure in the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction. With his 2013 book, “The Good Man: The Civil War’s ‘Christian General’ and His Fight for Racial Equality,” Gordon Weil, a widely published author and retired state government official, has sought to change misunderstandings about Howard. Weil will speak about Howard and sign copies of his biography at a free lecture at the Maine State Museum in Augusta on Wednesday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Oliver Otis Howard was a graduate of Bowdoin College and West Point. During the Civil War, he lost his right arm in the Battle of Fair Oaks, returned to duty three months later, served at Gettysburg, and was later a top commander under W.T. Sherman. In an experience somewhat unusual for military officers of the time, Howard underwent a religious conversion and became known as the “Christian General.”
President Lincoln chose Oliver Otis Howard to take charge of the Freedmen’s Bureau following the war. In that position, Howard directed the bureau’s mission of integrating freed slaves into Southern society and politics. He also promoted higher education for freed slaves by founding Howard University in Washington, D.C., which bears his name, and where he served as university president from 1869-1874.
Gordon Weil will have copies of his book for sale at the April 30th event. Weil’s appearance at the Maine State Museum is sponsored by the Friends of the Maine State Museum. For more information, see the Maine State Museum’s website www.mainestatemuseum.org
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