George W. Howland was born around 1840 in Rhode Island to John and Susan Howland. His father was a butcher who owned $1,000 of real estate and $200 of personal property by 1860. Howland grew up and attended school in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and by 1860, he was working as a clerk.

 

Howland enlisted in the Union army on October 31, 1861, and he mustered in as a 2^nd lieutenant in Company E of the 102^nd New York Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Chattanooga campaign, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas campaign. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in 1862, and he served as a quartermaster. He mustered out on March 28, 1865.

 

Howland returned to his parents’ household in East Greenwich after the war, and he earned a living as a butcher. He married Jane Way in the 1860s, and they had three children: Jenny, born around 1865; Mary, born around 1867; and Margaret, born around 1869. His wife died on July 5, 1869. He passed away sometime after 1875.

SOURCES