Norwich bulletin., 1915-01-20
FAMOUS TRIALS
TRIAL OF CAPT. HoWGATE.

l. required a chase oF 1s years by the best detectives in the United States Secret Service to bring to justice Capt. Henry W. HoRGate. Government C cE- 6cial accused or ennrezzIiug. Capt. Howgate was ccA1ected with the Weather E;nrcau in Washington from ths c&o6e Of the Civil war to 1873, W43eTz he was charged with forgery and emheg5leYnert to ths extent of %5S0,- 6oG
 T4owgAce had been arrested in Wash iY.gton, in 12$z. but. obtaining ~erH1is sion from the officers tc so t,o his room and ts--Sss, l1e ssc&s,sli Gtlrccsl1 the win dow and from that time to 1894 ne baf- fed al efforts 10 capture iIiu1. For seV- e.aI wears hs haG lad q Cou5Ie tiouneS ttc life, and when he escaped he fled to New Orleans Gad remained there until he believed t2e Secret Service detec- tfveS &era after hiET1.
 Accordingly, he took his departure westward and v7>as seen at one or two places on the Pacific Coast. For two years before his arrest ue had been in the East, and when apprehent1e8 he was engaged in the old bookstore busi- ness in New York city.
 11owgate was arrested on Sept. 2T, 1894 and the following aav he was talk en before Judge Benedict, in the Uni ted States Dietrict Court in New York, who honored extra0ition papers from " d5lI1ii s IOJAJ anu LlE V tHS JSt1iONS1 lO that city for trial oIl Tuesday, Oct. 5. He was placed in the District Jail and on Monday, Dee. S1, 1394. he was in dicted, but pieafed mot guilty" The indictments against him however were sustained and he was renlan0eyi to jail His trial was begun on Jan. S1 and 1t WAS continued with several in- terTuptiong until Jun T, when he waS convicted both for forgery and for fal- sifying his accounts.
 Both the captain and his daughter who had been with him throughout the trial took the verdict calmly. though the daughter burst into tears. as the convicted prisoner WAS taken back to jail. On July 6. Capt. Howsafe was admitted 10 bail pending an appeal from his conviction and sentence on chaF FSes of forgery end eTlbezzienlenf On Sept. 50 Cant Howgate's bond hay ing expired he surrendered himself and was again rerIanded to jail. On Nov. 10 his conviction was confirmed and on Nov. g he was taken from Wash ington to Albany to begin serving his sentence of eight years.
 The chief embeEzisl41eat charged against him was as a dispersing officer of the Signal Corps. There were in all II indictments.
 Capt Howgste was an EnsIish7nan by birth and served with distinction during several years of the Civil war. He endiste(l as second lieutenant Of 8. Michigan regiment in August, 1882, and served to the close Of the war on the stafTs Of Gems. Thomas, SlocuTn and Sherman. He was breveted cap tain and niaSor for gal3antry at Chick au1auga and in the Atlantic campaign.
 While in the Weather Bureau HoUgate, first attracted general atten- tfon by projecting a novel method of Arctic exploration, an advance expedi- ton being sent to the Far North to establish 3 depot of supplies. The schooner Florence was dispatched on this errand in 1877. but returned the following year. Tn 1890 another, vesssl the Gusnare. went N1xth. but acon9- plished nothing and the whole scheme suffered a hfdeouS collapse. Capt Howgate himself never left Washing ton in this connection. .