Quote:In a recorded interview in 1947, 101-year-old General Julius Howell recalls fighting as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War and the moment he heard about Lincoln’s assassination.

Pvt. Julius Franklin Howell. Howell was born on January 17th 1846 and at the age of 16 enlisted into the Confederate Army. He served with Company "K" of the 24th Virginia Cavalry until he was captured at the battle of Sailors Creek in 1865.

His unit fought around the Black Water River boundary until his regiment was called to defend the Capital City of Richmond in 1864.  After the evacuation of Richmond his unit moved west under the command of General Ewell until its capture at Sailors Creek in April of 1865.  He then was taken as a prisoner to Point Lookout prison in south eastern Maryland where he was held for three months and then upon taking the "Oath of Allegiance on June 13, 1865 he was released.

Howell bore witness to the Civil War, World War 1, World War 2 and the first atomic weapon before dying at the age of 102 years old  on June, 19th 1948.