After graduating from Bowdoin College, Oliver Otis Howard (1830–1909) attended West Point, during which a twenty four- year-old Howard wore this triple-breasted wool coatee with a standing collar. The chevron insignia signifies the rank of cadet captain.

In 1861, O.O. Howard joined the Union Army. He commanded the 3rd Maine Regiment before his promotion to brigadier general by September that same year. Howard served in several infamous campaigns, including at the Battle of Seven Pines, where he lost his right arm and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action.

General Howard is probably best remembered as commissioner of the U.S. Freedman’s Bureau during Reconstruction, and his role in founding Washington D.C.’s Howard University.