John Howard from Lawrence, Kansas, enlisted on August 15, 1862, and was mustered into Company B, 12th Kansas Infantry in September 1862 at Paola, Kansas. He was promoted to corporal on September 25, 1862, and to sergeant on December 4, 1862.

The 12th Kansas Infantry was organized at Paola in September 1862 and initially operated along the Kansas-Missouri border, pursuing guerrillas and escorting supply trains. The regiment was involved in General Frederick Steele’s Camden Expedition in 1864, including the battles of Prairie D’Ann and Jenkins Ferry. The 12th spent the remainder of the war on garrison duty in Fort Smith and Little Rock.

Howard was mustered out with the regiment on June 3, 1865.

Carte-de-Visite by Henry Slotter, Little Rock, Ark.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31660