At the conclusion of the war Colonel HowARD retired to his patrimonial estate, and soon after married Margaret Chew, daughter of Benjamin Chew, of Philadelphia; a lady whose courteous manners and elegant hospitality will long be remembered by the society of Baltimore, of which, as well as of the best company throughout the country, her house was the gay and easy resort. In November, 1788, he was chosen the governor of Maryland, which post he filled for the constitutional term of three years, during which period the federal government was adopted and put into operation, receiving all the support that the influence of the governor could bestow. In May, 1794, he was appointed a major-general of militia, but declined accepting the commission. In November, 1795, General Washington invited him to accept a seat in his cabinet, and take charge of the war department, but the offer was respectfully declined. "Had your inclination," said Washington in reply, "and private pursuits permitted you to take the office that was offered to you, it would have been a very pleasing circumstance to me, and I am persuaded, as I observed to you on a former occasion, a very acceptable one to the public. But the reasons which you have assigned for not doing so carry conviction along with them, and must, however reluctantly, be submitted to." At the time of this offer he was a member of the senate in the legislature of Maryland, from which he was transferred, in 1796, to the senate of the United States, being elected first to fill a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Potts, and afterwards for the full term of service, which expired on the 4th of March, 1803. In 1798, when it was probable that Washington would have to take the field again, HoWARD was one of the few officers whom he insisted upon naming, and whom he intended to bring to his aid as one of the brigadier-generals. But the threatening storm passed away, and in 1803 he finally withdrew from public life, devoting himself to his own private concerns, intermingled with the exercise of a liberal but unostentatious hospitality, and a participation in all leading measures for the advancement of the city of Baltimore. After the lapse of a few years, the sound of the trumpet and drum broke in upon his retirement. The capture of Washington, in 1814, produced an excitement in the adjacent portion of the country, which can better be remembered or imagined than described. Amidst the din of preparation for resistance to the meditated attack upon Baltimore, a suggestion was made that it would be wise to capitulate. As soon as it reached Colonel HoOWARD, the spirit of the old soldier burst forth in the following indignant denunciation. "I have" said he, "as much property at stake as most persons, and I have four sons in the field. But sooner would I see my sons weltering in their blood, and my property reduced to ashes, than so far disgrace the country." The committee of safety, of which he was a prominent member, left no effort untried to prepare for defence, and the result is recorded upon one of the most glorious pages of our history. A troop of aged men was organized to render such services as their infirmities would allow, and Colonel HOWARD was, by unanimous consent, placed at its head. Although this corps was intended to act only within the city, yet he had resolved to be present at the battle to offer his advice or assistance; but it occurred on the day preceding that on which he expected it to take place. In 1821 he had the misfortune to lose his eldest daughter, and in 1822, his eldest son, John Eager Howard junior, whose character had secured the warm affection of a numerous circle of friends, and who had already filled, with universal approbation, some of the principal offices in the state. In 1824 he had the farther misfortune to lose his wife, and his own health began to decline. The effect of his early wound had always been felt upon his taking the slightest cold; but now his constitution suffered a gradual decay. In October, 1827, a slight exposure brought on a severe cold, which the most active treatment could not subdue. After a few days' illness, which he bore with inflexible and characteristic fortitude, he expired on the 12th, without a struggle or a groan. His funeral was attended by the public authorities of the city, and an immense concourse of people. A numerous detachment of the military also escorted the remains of the soldier and patriot to their place of rest. One of the newspapers spoke of it in the following manner. "We do not remember ever to have witnessed a greater concourse than that which composed the funeral procession, and lined the streets along which it passed. A mournful interest appeared to pervade all ranks of the community, who flocked from every quarter to take a farewell glimpse of the remains of one, who had possessed, whilst living, their unbounded respect. The military appeared in fine order, and the hollow beat of their muffled drums told that a soldier had gone to his rest." Mr. Adams happened to be in Baltimore on the day of the funeral, which he attended, after sending to the family the following beautiful and appropriate letter. "The President of the United States has received with deep concern the communication from the family of the late Colonel How ARD, informing him of the decease of their lamented parent. Sympathizing with their affliction upon the departure of their illustrious relative, he only shares in the sentiment of universal regret with which the offspring of the revolutionary age, throughout the union, will learn the close of a life, eminently adorned with the honors of the cause of independence, and not less distinguished in the career of peaceful magistracy in later time. He will take a sincere though melancholy satisfaction in uniting with his fellow citizens in attending the funeral obsequies of him, whose name has been long and will ever remain, enrolled among those of the benefactors of his country. "Baltimore, 15th October, 1827.” At the ensuing session of the legislature of Maryland, resolutions were adopted of a highly complimentary character, and directing the portrait of the deceased to be placed in the chamber of the house of delegates. From the scene of his youthful exploits also, the voice of the house of representatives was heard declaring, "that it was with feelings of profound sorrow and regret, that South Carolina received the melancholy intelligence of the death of Colonel JOHN EAGER HOWARD of Maryland, and that the state of South Carolina can never forget the distinguished services of the deceased." The beauty of the thought tempts us to make the following extract from an obituary notice written by the most celebrated dignitary of the Catholic church. "One after another, the stars of our revolutionary firmament are sinking below the horizon. They rise in another hemisphere as they set to us; and the youth of other times will gaze upon their lustre, as he learns their names and marks them clustering into constellations, which will recall to his mind. some interesting event of our period of struggle." The character of Colonel HOWARD partook of the strength of the school in which it was framed. His first lessons, received in the thoughtful infancy of our country, had imbued his mind with the nervous and unadorned wisdom of the time. His manhood, hardened in the stormy season of the revolution, was taught patience by privation, and virtue by common example. By his worth he had won the painful station of a champion who was not to be spared from the field of action, and his sense of duty was too peremptory to permit him to refuse the constant requisitions of this perilous honor. In the camp, therefore, amidst the accidents of war, his moral constitution acquired the hardihood, and his arm the prowess of ancient chivalry. He reached in safety the close of that anxious struggle, with a mind braced by calamity and familiarized to great achievements. It threw him on the world in the vigor of his days, gifted with the qualities of a provident, brave, temperate, and inflexible patriot. The characteristics thus acquired, never faded in subsequent life. Pursued by an unusual share of honor and regard as a founder of the liberties of his country, he was never beguiled by the homage it attracted. A fortune that might be deemed princely, was never used to increase the lustre of his station or the weight of his authority, but was profusely dispensed in public benefactions and acts of munificence. With the allurements of power continually soliciting his ambition, he never threw himself into the public service but when the emergencies of the state left him no privilege of refusal. Under such conditions only, he administered the grave duties of office, with an integrity, wisdom, and justice, that gave to his opinions an authentic and absolute sway. Amidst the frantic agitations of party, which for a series of years convulsed the nation, he, almost alone in his generation, won the universal confidence. The most inveterate popular prejudices seemed to yield to the affectionate conviction of his impregnable honesty, his unblenching love of country, and that personal independence which neither party zeal could warp from its course, nor passion subvert, nor faction alarm; and in their bitterest exacerbations, his fellow citizens of all ranks turned towards him as to a fountain of undefiled patriotism. In private life he was distinguished for the amenity of his manners, his hospitality, and his extensive and useful knowledge. He possessed a memory uncommonly minute, and a love of information that never sank under the labor of acquisition. These faculties rendered him, perhaps, the most accurate repository of the history of his own time, in this or any other country. His habits of life were contemplative, cautious, scrupulously just, and regulated by the strictest method. Few men have enjoyed a more enviable lot;-his youth distinguished in the field, his age in the council, and every period solaced by the attachment of friends. Affluent in fortune, as rich in public regard, and blessed in his domestic and personal associations, he has glided away from the small band of his compatriots, as full of honors as of years. The example of such a citizen is a legacy to his country, of more worth than the precepts of an age. 14 |