urn:taro:utexas.cah.02240 A Guide to the Milton G. Howe Papers, 1844-1900 Original EAD encoding by Bethany Anderson according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. February 2011 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Howe, Milton G., 1839-1902 Howe, Milton G., Papers 1844-1900 Materials are written in English. 8 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin Comprised of correspondence, financial and business documents, orders, records, circulars, muster rolls, reports, inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and maps, and photographs, the Milton G. Howe Papers, 1844-1900, document Howe’s career as a civil engineer, as a captain in the 1st Battalion of Engineers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and as a landowner in Houston. Biographical Note

Born in Texas, Milton Grosvenor Howe (1839- 1902), studied civil engineering at Dartmouth College before becoming employed in railway construction. Howe worked in Illinois until the outbreak of the Civil War, after which he joined the Confederate Army as a captain in the 1st Battalion of Engineers. After the war, Howe became chief engineer and superintendent for the Texas Central Railroad. In 1873, he married Jesse Wade Briscoe (1845-1920), with whom he had one child, Joseph Milton Howe (b. 1874).

Source:

Lienhard, John H. No. 2033: Milton Grosvenor Howe. Engine of our Ingenuity. Houston Public Radio. Houston, TX: KUHF, 2005.

 Scope and Contents

Comprised of correspondence, financial and business documents, orders, records, circulars, muster rolls, reports, inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and maps, and photographs, the Milton G. Howe Papers, 1844-1900, document Howe’s career as a civil engineer, as a captain in the 1st Battalion of Engineers in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and as a landowner in Houston. Correspondence concerns military matters (1863-1865), as well as personal and business issues (1895-1900). In addition, the correspondence includes an 1844 letter from Secretary of War George Washington Hill regarding Native American depredations in Milam County, Texas. Newspaper clippings pertain to the legacy of the Confederacy and the city of Houston (1898-1900), while business and financial records consist of receipts and tax notices (1893-1900). Other military documents include general and special orders, circulars, commissions, Quartermaster’s records, muster rolls, inventories of soldiers transferred to the 1st Engineers Battalion, and reports of African-Americans employed in the construction of pontoon bridges on the San Bernard River, Texas (1862-1865). In addition, the collection contains Howe’s Amnesty Oath to the United States (1865); maps of Cedar Bayou, Lavaca Bay, and Cavallo Pass, Texas; drawings and plans of pontoon bridges; and family photographs.

 Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Hill, George Washington, 1814-1860 Howe, Milton G., 1839-1902 -- Archives Subjects (Organizations) Confederate States of America. Army. Corps of Engineers Subjects Civil engineers -- Texas -- History -- 19th century Indians of North America -- Texas -- History -- 19th century Land tenure -- Texas -- History -- 19th century Places Galveston (Tex.) -- History -- 19th century Houston (Tex.) -- History -- 19th century Milam County (Tex.) -- History -- 19th century Texas -- Maps -- 19th century United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Influence Preferred Citation

Milton G. Howe Papers, 1844-1900, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Related Material

See also Jesse Wade Briscoe Howe Papers, Herzstein Library, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2.325/K75c Descriptive list of African-Americans employed by the Engineering Department, 1865 2E256 Correspondence, newspaper clippings, orders, reports, business and financial records, inventories, maps and drawings, 1844-1900 2.116/OD1275 Muster rolls, 1865 3Y24 Photographs