Howell Burr Treat

Howell Burr Treat was a Union Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient whose reputation rests on an act of selfless courage during the Atlanta Campaign of 1864. He was born on March 31, 1833. Surviving records differ on his exact birthplace, with some identifying Connecticut and modern Medal of Honor records identifying Painesville, Ohio. What is securely established is his strong lifelong connection with northeastern Ohio, particularly the Painesville and Claridon Township area. When the American Civil War began, Treat entered the service of the United States and became a member of Company I, 52nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He eventually held the rank of Sergeant, which is also his highest verified military rank. The 52nd Ohio Infantry was organized in 1862 and became part of the Union armies operating in the Western Theater. The regiment served within the Army of the Cumberland and took part in some of the major campaigns that ultimately pushed Union forces from Kentucky and Tennessee deep into Georgia. The regiment’s wartime history included operations associated with Perryville, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, Kennesaw Mountain, and later operations through the Carolinas. These campaigns exposed the soldiers of the 52nd Ohio to sustained marching, difficult terrain, artillery fire, musketry, disease, and the constant logistical challenges faced by Civil War infantry. By the spring of 1864, the Union high command had begun a coordinated series of offensives designed to apply pressure across the Confederacy. In the Western Theater, Major General William T. Sherman led a large Union army toward Atlanta, one of the Confederacy’s most important railroad and industrial centers. The Atlanta Campaign began in early May. Sherman’s forces advanced south from the Chattanooga region into northwestern Georgia, where Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston had prepared a series of defensive positions designed to delay the Union advance. Among the earliest obstacles was the rugged terrain around Rocky Face Ridge and Buzzard’s Roost Gap. The Confederate position was naturally strong. Steep ridges, rocky slopes, narrow approaches, and prepared defenses made direct Union attacks extremely dangerous. Soldiers attempting to move against the Confederate line were often exposed to fire from elevated positions. It was within this environment that Sergeant Howell Burr Treat performed the action that ultimately earned him the Medal of Honor. On May 11, 1864, near Buzzard’s Roost, Georgia, a Union soldier became wounded and was left in an exposed and dangerous position. Treat chose to go to his assistance. His official Medal of Honor citation records the essential achievement in only a few words: “Risked his life in saving a wounded comrade.” Although brief, that language identifies the central feature of the act. Treat knowingly exposed himself to enemy fire in order to save another soldier. Local historical accounts associated with Painesville preserve additional detail, describing Treat carrying water toward wounded men in an area close to Confederate positions and then helping carry a wounded soldier to safety while under fire. The precise details preserved in later accounts should be treated more cautiously than the official citation, but they are consistent with the central verified fact: Treat deliberately endangered himself to save a wounded comrade during combat. His action was especially significant because it was not performed as part of a formal command responsibility. Treat was not a general directing an army or an officer leading a brigade. He was an enlisted infantry Sergeant who made an immediate decision to help another soldier while the battlefield remained dangerous. The Medal of Honor would later recognize that individual act of courage. The fighting around Buzzard’s Roost formed part of the opening phase of the Atlanta Campaign. Sherman ultimately chose not to destroy his army in repeated frontal assaults against the strongest Confederate positions. Instead, Union forces maneuvered around Johnston’s defenses, forcing the Confederates to withdraw toward Resaca. The campaign then continued southward through a series of battles and movements that eventually brought Union forces to Atlanta. The 52nd Ohio Infantry remained an experienced combat regiment throughout these operations. Treat’s own heroic action, however, remained associated specifically with May 11, 1864. His military record identifies him as a Sergeant of Company I, 52nd Ohio Infantry. No higher rank has been securely verified for him. Sergeant therefore remains both his rank at the Medal of Honor action and his highest verified rank. Treat survived the Civil War and returned to civilian life. The surviving official military and Medal of Honor records preserve far more information about his wartime service than about his later employment, family life, or private affairs. Those undocumented portions of his life should not be expanded with assumptions. What is clear is that he maintained his connection with northeastern Ohio and became particularly associated with Painesville. For three decades after the action at Buzzard’s Roost, Treat did not possess the Medal of Honor. His formal recognition came much later. On August 14, 1894, the United States presented Howell Burr Treat with the Medal of Honor for his conduct on May 11, 1864. This distinction between action date and award date is important. His heroic act occurred during the Civil War in 1864. His Medal of Honor was issued in 1894. For the project database, the correct historical Medal of Honor classification is therefore: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1894. The Medal of Honor had been established during the Civil War. Congress authorized the Army Medal of Honor in 1862 at a time when the United States had no extensive system of personal military decorations. Later awards such as the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star did not yet exist. The Medal of Honor therefore served as the principal federal recognition for extraordinary military conduct. Many Civil War soldiers received the decoration during or shortly after the war, but others were recognized years or even decades later as wartime actions were reviewed. Treat belonged to this later group. His award was made during his lifetime and was not posthumous. No second Medal of Honor, clasp, bar, star, oak leaf cluster, or other device has been verified for him. His Medal of Honor should therefore be represented as a single decoration with no device or clasp. The later Army Civil War Campaign Medal is not included in his final verified rack. Treat lived until 1912 and therefore survived well beyond the establishment of the campaign medal. His Civil War service itself is unquestioned. However, under the project’s evidence standard, qualifying service and survival into the medal’s issuance period are not enough to establish that a particular veteran personally received the decoration. Recipient-specific evidence is required. No sufficiently strong medal roll, issuance document, surviving named medal, or equivalent record has been verified showing that Howell Burr Treat personally received the Army Civil War Campaign Medal. It therefore remains HOLD / DO NOT ADD. His final verified medal history contains only: Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1894 — No device or clasp. Treat lived for almost eighteen years after receiving the Medal of Honor. He died on July 21, 1912, at the age of seventy-nine. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Painesville, Ohio. His gravesite became one of the most significant military memorial locations in Lake County because Treat is recognized as the only Civil War veteran buried in a Lake County cemetery to have received the Medal of Honor. Local historical preservation has kept his story connected with the community. His name remains especially associated with the moment at Buzzard’s Roost when he placed the life of another soldier ahead of his own safety. That act represents a different kind of battlefield heroism from capturing an enemy flag or leading a charge. Treat’s distinction came from rescue. A fellow soldier was wounded and in danger. Treat entered the hazardous area, exposed himself to enemy fire, and helped bring that man to safety. Thirty years later, the United States formally recognized his action with the Medal of Honor. Howell Burr Treat’s final verified military profile therefore records him as a United States Army Sergeant of Company I, 52nd Ohio Infantry. His rank at the Medal of Honor action was Sergeant, and Sergeant remains his highest verified rank. His Combat Achievement classification is Infantry. His defining action occurred at Buzzard’s Roost, Georgia, on May 11, 1864, where he risked his life to save a wounded comrade. His sole verified decoration is Medal of Honor 1862–1895 Army — 1894, with no verified device or clasp. The Army Civil War Campaign Medal remains excluded from the final rack because recipient-specific entitlement has not been established.