Part
VI --- A Meeting of Minds -- cont.
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GENERAL
OLIVER OTIS HOWARD
Circa
approximately 1861
Circa
approximately 1890
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Born in Leeds, Maine in the year 1830, Howard was educated at Bowdoin College,
graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1855.
He literally devoted his adult life to the military and became well known
for his devout faith as well as his personal courage. He possessed
a powerful charisma that aided him well in his chosen field.
Howard resigned his regular army commission at the outbreak of the Civil
War and joined the Third Maine Volunteers in the Union Army as a colonel.
In 1862, at the Battle at Fair Oaks, he sustained such injuries as to require
the amputation of his right arm. He participated in such pivotal battles
as Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Promoted
to the rank of major general, Howard commanded the Army of Tennessee under
William T. Sherman during his Atlanta Campaign in 1864.
Howard's distinguished career was already at its apex when he was called
upon in 1872 by President Grant to seek out Cochise and make peace with
the warring Chiricahuas. He approached this challenge with customary
courage and conviction, and perhaps a measure more inspiration than even
he at the time realized.
Circa
approximately 1872
As
he must have appeared during the historic peace mission
to
the Land of Cochise.
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JOSEPH
ALTON SLADEN
As
he appeared in Arizona in 1872, while accompanying General Howard and Tom
Jeffords into Cochise's camp. It is unclear whether this photo was
taken before or after the completion of the mission, but a good case could
be made that Sladen, in this photo, is wearing the clothes he wore while
on the long journey.
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Joseph
Alton Sladen was born in England on April 9, 1841. Five years later
he emigrated with his family to the United States, settling in Lowell,
Massachusetts. In 1862, a year after the outbreak of the Civil War,
Sladen joined the 33rd Massachusetts Infantry. In 1862-1863 he served
in the Army of the Potomac and fought at Chancellorsville and then Gettysburg.
The following year he was involved in Sherman's March to the Sea and won
two brevets and a medal of honor for distinguished gallentry -- stemming
from his involvement on May 14, 1864, at the Battle of Resaca, Georgia.
Sladen progressed in rank during this time and was a first lieutenant by
the time he was mustered out of the volunteer service in 1866. His
association with General Howard began during the war, and he remained with
the general when Howard was placed in charge of the Freedman's Bureau.
It was an assignment that gave Sladen the opportunity to attend medical
school. He attended Georgetown Medical College (which was later to
become Howard University Medical College) in Washington, D.C, graduating
in 1871 with an M.D.
Sladen was unable to accompany Howard on the General's first Arizona trip
due to his studies at Bellevue Medical College, which came on the heels
of his M.D. from Georgetown. By that time Sladen was already a steadfast
and devoted friend to General Howard, and he jumped at the chance of accompanying
him on the General's second trip to Arizona. As General Howard's
aide-de-camp, Sladen proved to be as fearless as his mentor, though at
times he clearly drew at least some of his boldness from his unlimited
admiration of General Howard. |
Howard and
his entourage arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico with a renewed conviction
that his mission to take overtures of peace to Cochise was vital and that
failure was not an option. From Santa Fe the party struck out for
Fort Apache in Arizona, where they hoped to find someone familiar with
Cochise's recent whereabouts. For three weeks they awaited word from
runners, but when it became apparent that Cochise was not going to be any
easier to find than before, Howard led his party toward Fort Tularosa on
rumors that they might find someone there who could lead them to their
quarry.
Ahead of them, though
they had no way to know it, was the commencement of one of the most storied
meetings in all of American history. |
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