In 1861, he enlisted as a
private in the
Union Army and served in the Forty-seventh Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. During the
Civil War, he served in
Virginia under General
Ulysses S. Grant until
Robert E. Lee's surrender at
Appomattox, Virginia. After Lee's surrender, Howe served under General
Godfrey Weitzel in
Texas until his
discharge on November 30, 1865. By the time of his discharge, he had been promoted to
major. After his military service, he moved to
Como, Mississippi and became involved in cotton planting. ==Political career==