(July 21, 2007)
Howard Michael Madaus died peacefully Saturday, July 21, at his home in Cody. He was 63.
He was born Aug. 17, 1943, in Milwaukee, Wis., to Sylvia Niles Madaus and Howard Otto Madaus. He married Patricia Baumhover Aug. 17, 1974.
He graduated from Marquette University High School in 1961 and then earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Marquette University in 1965. Following some post-graduate work at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., he took a position with The Milwaukee Public Museum as an assistant curator of history from 1968 to 1992. From 1992 to 1999 he was curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. Subsequently he became chief curator of the newly opened National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, Pa., in 2000. He returned to Cody in 2003 to focus on his consulting work through “Old Glory” Flag Consultants L.L.C.
Howard was a member of the Company of Military Historians, the American Society of Arms Collectors, the North-South Skirmish Association and the Maryland Arms Collectors Association. He has written numerous books and articles on firearms, the Civil War and flags of our country’s history. His first major book was “The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee” (1976), and his most recent was “The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord & Conflict” (2006). He has also appeared in programs on the History Channel, A & E and PBS.
He is survived by his mother Sylvia; his wife Patricia Baumhover, and their daughters; Elizabeth Madaus of Seattle, Wash., Theresa Madaus of Minneapolis, Minn., and Kathryn Madaus of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He is also survived by numerous relatives and friends.
Vigil Services will be Friday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, in Cody. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, July 28, at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.