Fire destroys farmhouse of Civil War general

LEEDS, Maine -- A wind-whipped fire destroyed a farmhouse in which Civil War general and Howard University founder Oliver Otis Howard once lived.
The house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived Friday morning. Firefighters said it took about five hours to douse the flames that also destroyed a barn and started a 10-acre brush fire.
Howard, an abolitionist, was born and raised in the 18th-century house before he attended and taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He commanded Union troops during the Civil War and went on to found Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Owner David Fortin said the fire started while he was using a space heater in an adjoining woodshed. He and a handyman working on plumbing escaped without injury.