He had an ongoing feud with his commanding officer, general John Gibbon which resulted in an revoked court-martial in 1863 and an arrest for disobedience of orders during battle in 1864.

He served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1858 and was founder and editor of the New York Daily Register, a newspaper and law journal, from 1871 to 1887.

Some accounts placed the reason for poor discipline in his troops[5] and others for assaulting his lieutenant colonel while drunk.

On May 15, Owen requested to be transferred or mustered out of service due to ongoing disagreements with his commanding officer, general John Gibbon.

He encountered unexpected swampland and altered his course to prevent his troops from becoming trapped and emerged to the left of the other brigade.

[7] He was scheduled to be court-martialed at Fort Monroe, however Ulysses S. Grant intervened with a telegram to secretary of war Edwin Stanton and Owen was instead honorably discharged from service on July 16, 1864.