High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Capt. Henry W. Howgate (1834 – June 2, 1901) was Chief Disbursing Officer in the United States Army Signal Corps and responsible for major Arctic explorations. He caused a scandal after embezzling over $133,000, slipping away from authorities while awaiting trial, running off with his mistress, and spending 13 years evading capture, in which time he evaded the Secret Service and Pinkertons Detective Agency, worked as a reporter, and ran a New York City antiquarian book shop.