Howard Family

Milton Howard was kidnapped, along with his family, from Muscatine County, Iowa, and sold into slavery. He escaped, returned to Iowa, and fought for the Union in the Civil War.

The life of Milton Howard is the stuff of historical novels. Sold into slavery as a child, he escaped his bondage, fought for the Union during the Civil War and worked for more than 50 years at the Rock Island Arsenal. There, he saved the life of an Arsenal commander.

His death was front page news in the Davenport Democrat and Leader of March 19, 1928. The newspaper described him as a "venerable old colored man whose days from boyhood were filled with adventures one would not expect to find other than in fiction."

Sources: Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa; Quad-City Times, Up From Slavery by John Willard (May 2002)