Saying No To Washington - John Eager Howard Needs Some Exercise

I recently came across the name John Eager Howard while perusing a list of Continental Congress Delegates from the State of Maryland. The name rang a bell so I dug a bit deeper and quickly noticed his long, storied career as an officer in the Continental Army.

Furthermore, it is clear that Howard held most of the highest offices in both the State and Federal Government.

This article, however, will focus on the office Howard didn’t accept...that of Secretary of War.

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John Eager Howard

John Eager Howard was just 24 when he joined the Continental Army as a Captain. Before the war was out he would rise through the ranks and achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Along the way, Howard participated in many of the most notable battles of the Revolution. Especially notable was his action at the Battles of Cowpens and Eutaw Springs, during the latter of which he received a bayonet wound.

After the war concluded, Howard took to politics. He spent a brief time in the Continental Congress before getting voted in as Governor of Maryland.

The Offer

When Thomas Jefferson resigned the position of Secretary of State, President Washington did not have an easy time replacing him. Eventually, he convinced Timothy Pickering to leave the office of Secretary of War to replace Mr. Jefferson.

This, of course, made the post of Secretary of War vacant.

George Washington reached out to the man most capable of holding that office...John Eager Howard.

No, Thanks

Howard decided to turn down Washington’s offer!

John stated in his letter to the Commander-in-Chief that his wounds from the Revolution were still adversely effecting his health, despite a decade of time to heal.

Howard claimed that he needed a great deal of exercise and he did not believe that acting as Secretary of War would provide the necessary time to care for his own well being.

Senator

Interestingly, Howard would accept the role of US Senator in the following year.

Why his health allowed him to take on this position but not Secretary of War is unclear. Perhaps the approaching Quasi-War with France made him feel he’d be stuck in an office writing correspondence to regularly.

John remained a senator for six years, spanning the Washington, Adams and Jefferson Presidencies.

A Surprising Ticket

Though he retired to private affairs in 1803, his name would come back into the public discussion later in life.

During the election of 1816, the Federalist Party was all but dead. James Monroe, as expected, won in a landslide.

However, there were still people who supported Federalist ideals and Rufus King was their candidate (though, the Party never chose an official ticket).

When the ballots were counted, the Federalist voters had supported King for President.

The man they chose wanted as Vice President?

John Eager Howard.

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