At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Howze, now a cavalry captain, was made adjutant general of the cavalry in Cuba. Upon his return to the United States, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of volunteers and commanded the Thirty-fourth Volunteer Infantry throughout the Philippine Insurrection. He was promoted to captain in the United States Army on February 2, 1901; to brigadier general of volunteers on June 20, 1901; and to major of the Puerto Rico provincial regiment of infantry in 1901.[1] He received two Silver Citation Stars (converted in 1932 to the Silver Star decoration) for actions respectively in Cuba and the Philippines.
In 1905, Howze was appointed commandant of cadets at West Point, remaining in that post until 1909. In 1907 he threatened to discharge an entire class from the academy over a hazing incident.[5] Howze was a major in the 11th Cavalry during General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico in 1916.[4]
In February 1918, after being promoted to the rank of brigadier general, he assumed command of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, then based at Fort Bliss, Texas, which had the often difficult and contradictory role of both training his men to fight for service overseas in addition to patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border.[6]
In May of that year he received another assignment, this time to the command of the El Paso District, which brought all American troops stationed in and around the city of El Paso, Texas under his control, including his old 2nd Cavalry Brigade.[6]
Despite this new role, his desire was to command men in battle and in late August, after a promotion to the temporary rank of major general earlier in the month, he was made commanding general (CG) of the 38th Division. The division, at the time Howze joined it, was then making preparations to go to France.[6]
Created just the year before, the division, a National Guard formation comprising men from the states of Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, left the United States and began arriving on the Western Front over the next few weeks. Shortly after it arrived, however, Howze received the unwelcome news that his division was to be broken up, its men used as replacements to bring other divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), the majority of which were severely under strength, up to strength. As a result, in a matter of weeks, the 38th Division, numbering some 27,000 officers and men at its peak, was reduced to a mere 8 officers and 102 enlisted men.[7]
Howze's last assignment was to preside over the court-martial of Colonel Billy Mitchell, who had made public comments in response to the Navy dirigible USS Shenandoah crashing in a storm.[10] The crash killed 14 of the crew and Mitchell issued a statement accusing senior leaders in the Army and Navy of incompetence and "almost treasonable administration of the national defense."[11] In November 1925 he was court-martialed at the direct order of PresidentCalvin Coolidge. The trial attracted significant interest, and public opinion supported Mitchell.[12] The court found Mitchell guilty of insubordination, and suspended him from active duty for five years without pay.[13] The generals ruling in the case wrote, "The Court is thus lenient because of the military record of the Accused during the World War."[14] On February 1, 1926, Mitchell resigned in-lieu of accepting the courts punishment.[13]
A scene taken from Mitchell's court-martial, 1925.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, Company K, 6th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At White River, S. Dak., 1 January 1891. Entered service at: Overton, Rusk County, Tex. Born: 22 August 1864, Overton, Rusk County, Tex. Date of issue: 25 July 1891.[3]
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Robert Lee Howze, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As Commander of the 3d Division on its march to the Rhine and during the occupation of the enemy territory General Howze proved himself energetic and capable, exhibiting superb qualities of leadership. He maintained an unusually high standard of efficiency in his unit, rendering eminently conspicuous service as a Division Commander.[2]
Two of his sons graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and became generals: Major General Robert Lee Howze Jr., Class of 1925, and General Hamilton H. Howze, Class of 1930.[4]
^Tate, Dr. James P., Lt Col USAF, Retired (1998). The Army and Its Air Corps: Army Policy toward Aviation, 1919–1941. Air University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^The Adjutant General's Office, War Department (1926). Official Army Register for 1926(PDF). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 296. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^"Camp Howze". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
Bibliography
Maksel, Rebecca. "The Billy Mitchell Court-Martial". Air & Space, Vol. 24, No. 2, 46–49. Also online (as of June 28, 2009) at [1].
Venzon, Anne Cipriano (2013). The United States in the First World War: an Encyclopedia. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis. ISBN978-1-135-68453-2. OCLC865332376.
