William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
British army officer; Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence
1729 CE to 1814 CE
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC (10 August 1729 – 12 July 1814) was a British army officer who rises to become .
Howe is one of three brothers who enjoy distinguished military careers.
Having joined the army in 1746, Howe sees extensive service in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War.
He becomes known for his role in the capture of Quebec in 1759 when he leads a British force to capture the cliffs at Anse-au-Foulon, allowing James Wolfe to land his army and engage the French.
Howe also participates in the campaigns to take Louisbourg, Belle Île and Havana.
Howe is sent to North America in March 1775, arriving in May after the Revolutionary War breaks out.
After leading British troops to a costly victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Howe takes command of all British forces in America from Thomas Gage in September of that year.
Howe's record in North America is marked by the successful capture of both New York City and Philadelphia.
However, poor British campaign planning for 1777 contribute to the failure of John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign, which plays a major role in the entry of France into the war.
Howe's role in developing those plans, and the degree to which he was responsible for British failures that year (despite his personal success at Philadelphia) have been a subject of contemporary and historic debate.
He resigns his post as Commander in Chief, North America, in 1778, and returns to England, where he is at times active in the defense of the British Isles.
He serves for many years in Parliament, and is knighted after his successes in 1776.
He inherits the Viscountcy of Howe upon the death of his brother Richard in 1799.
He marries, but has no children, and the viscountcy is extinguished with his death in 1814.
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George Howe, promoted to Brigadier General in December, is the son of Emanuel Scrope Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe, and Mary Sophia von Kielmansegg (a niece of King George I); he has two notable younger brothers, Richard Howe, Earl Howe and William Howe, (the future 5th Viscount Howe), as well as seven other siblings.
George was born either on the Howe estate at Langar, Nottinghamshire, or at the Howe home on Albemarle Street, London.
Howe had joined the army as an Ensign of the 1st Foot Guards in 1745 and served during the Flanders campaign of the War of the Austrian Succession.
Made an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland who led the Allied Army in Flanders in 1746, Howe fought at the Battle of Laufeld in 1747 and received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 1749 following the end of the war.
Howe had been appointed Colonel, 3rd Battalion of the 60th Foot (the Royal Americans, later the King's Royal Rifle Corps), on February 1757, but had transferred to command the 55th Regiment of Foot on September 28, 1757 while at Halifax.
George was born either on the Howe estate at Langar, Nottinghamshire, or at the Howe home on Albemarle Street, London.
Howe had joined the army as an Ensign of the 1st Foot Guards in 1745 and served during the Flanders campaign of the War of the Austrian Succession.
Made an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland who led the Allied Army in Flanders in 1746, Howe fought at the Battle of Laufeld in 1747 and received a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 1749 following the end of the war.
Howe had been appointed Colonel, 3rd Battalion of the 60th Foot (the Royal Americans, later the King's Royal Rifle Corps), on February 1757, but had transferred to command the 55th Regiment of Foot on September 28, 1757 while at Halifax.
The British had been receiving reinforcements throughout May until they reached a strength of about six thousand men.
Three generals had arrived on May 25, on HMS Cerberus: William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton.
Gage had begun planning to break out of the city.
The plan decided on by the British command is to fortify both Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights.
They fix the date for taking Dorchester Heights at June 18.
The colonists' Committee of Safety had learned of the British plans 0n June 15.
In response, they had sent instructions to General Ward to fortify Bunker Hill and the heights of Charlestown; he has ordered Colonel William Prescott to do so.
On the night of June 16, Prescott leads twelve hundred men over the Charlestown Neck, and constructs fortifications on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill.
Three generals had arrived on May 25, on HMS Cerberus: William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton.
Gage had begun planning to break out of the city.
The plan decided on by the British command is to fortify both Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights.
They fix the date for taking Dorchester Heights at June 18.
The colonists' Committee of Safety had learned of the British plans 0n June 15.
In response, they had sent instructions to General Ward to fortify Bunker Hill and the heights of Charlestown; he has ordered Colonel William Prescott to do so.
On the night of June 16, Prescott leads twelve hundred men over the Charlestown Neck, and constructs fortifications on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill.
General Philip Schuyler begins using Fort Ticonderoga in July 1775, as the staging ground for the invasion of Quebec that will be launched in late August.
Although Fort Ticonderoga is not at this time an important military post, its capture has several important results.
Rebel control of the area means that overland communications and supply lines between British forces in Quebec and those in Boston and later New York are severed, so the British military command makes an adjustment to their command structure.
This break in communication is highlighted by the fact that Arnold, on his way north to Saint-Jean, had intercepted a message from Carleton to Gage, detailing the military troop strengths in Quebec.
Command of British forces in North America, previously under a single commander, is divided into two commands.
General Carleton is given independent command of forces in Quebec and the northern frontier, while General William Howe is appointed Commander-in-Chief of forces along the Atlantic coast, an arrangement that had worked well between Generals Wolfe and Amherst in the French and Indian War.
In this war, however, cooperation between the two forces will prove to be problematic and will play a role in the failure of the Saratoga campaign in 1777, as General Howe apparently abandons an agreed-upon northern strategy, leaving General John Burgoyne without southern support in that campaign.
Although Fort Ticonderoga is not at this time an important military post, its capture has several important results.
Rebel control of the area means that overland communications and supply lines between British forces in Quebec and those in Boston and later New York are severed, so the British military command makes an adjustment to their command structure.
This break in communication is highlighted by the fact that Arnold, on his way north to Saint-Jean, had intercepted a message from Carleton to Gage, detailing the military troop strengths in Quebec.
Command of British forces in North America, previously under a single commander, is divided into two commands.
General Carleton is given independent command of forces in Quebec and the northern frontier, while General William Howe is appointed Commander-in-Chief of forces along the Atlantic coast, an arrangement that had worked well between Generals Wolfe and Amherst in the French and Indian War.
In this war, however, cooperation between the two forces will prove to be problematic and will play a role in the failure of the Saratoga campaign in 1777, as General Howe apparently abandons an agreed-upon northern strategy, leaving General John Burgoyne without southern support in that campaign.
British troops had been under siege in Boston when the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775.
They had defeated Patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill, suffering very high casualties.
When news of this expensive British victory reached London, General William Howe and Lord George Germain, the British official responsible, had determined that a "decisive action" should be taken against New York City using forces recruited from throughout the British Empire as well as troops hired from small German states.
General George Washington, recently named by the Second Continental Congress as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, echoes the sentiments of others that New York is "a post of infinite importance", and begins the task of organizing military companies in the New York area when he stops there on his way to take command of the siege of Boston.
In January 1776 Washington orders Charles Lee to raise troops and take command of New York's defenses.
The arrival of the first ships in January had prompted the Georgia Committee of Safety to order the arrest of Wright and other provincial representatives of the Crown on January 18.
Joseph Habersham, a major in the Georgia militia, had placed Governor Wright under house arrest, and had extracted a promise from the governor that he would not attempt to communicate with the British ships.
Wright, who continues to be harassed in spite of his confinement, fears for his life, and escapes the mansion on the night of February 11.
He makes his way to the plantation of a Loyalist supporter and is taken from there to the Scarborough.
In the meantime, Georgia's provincial assembly had met, elected representatives to the Second Continental Congress, and begun the process of raising regiments for the Continental Army.
After Governor Wright arrives aboard the Scarborough he writes a letter to the remaining members of his council, in which he expresses frustration over getting assurances of safety and access to the desired supplies from the Patriot authorities.
Georgia had, along with the other twelve colonies, in 1774 adopted the terms of the Continental Association created by the First Continental Congress banning trade with Great Britain.
With negotiations effectively failed, Barclay orders his fleet into action on February 29.
His objective is a number of merchant vessels docked at Savannah, whose owners are desirous of moving their goods, something that will become possible on March 1 when the previous constraints are to expire.
Joseph Habersham, a major in the Georgia militia, had placed Governor Wright under house arrest, and had extracted a promise from the governor that he would not attempt to communicate with the British ships.
Wright, who continues to be harassed in spite of his confinement, fears for his life, and escapes the mansion on the night of February 11.
He makes his way to the plantation of a Loyalist supporter and is taken from there to the Scarborough.
In the meantime, Georgia's provincial assembly had met, elected representatives to the Second Continental Congress, and begun the process of raising regiments for the Continental Army.
After Governor Wright arrives aboard the Scarborough he writes a letter to the remaining members of his council, in which he expresses frustration over getting assurances of safety and access to the desired supplies from the Patriot authorities.
Georgia had, along with the other twelve colonies, in 1774 adopted the terms of the Continental Association created by the First Continental Congress banning trade with Great Britain.
With negotiations effectively failed, Barclay orders his fleet into action on February 29.
His objective is a number of merchant vessels docked at Savannah, whose owners are desirous of moving their goods, something that will become possible on March 1 when the previous constraints are to expire.
The Province of Georgia had managed to remain relatively neutral before the events of spring 1775, but radicals in the Georgia provincial congress had come into power during the summer of 1775 and progressively stripped Georgia's Royal Governor, James Wright, of his powers.
While Wright had requested a naval presence near Savannah, Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina had intercepted his request and substituted for it a dispatch indicating he did not need such support.
The dispute in Georgia had reached a crisis point when British men-of-war began arriving at Tybee Island in January 1776.
On January 12, three ships were seen at anchor off Tybee Island; by January 18 the fleet consists of the HMS Cherokee, HMS Siren, HMS Raven, HMS Tamar, and a number of smaller vessels.
Wright's opinion, expressed to Joseph Clay and others, had been that the fleet has been sent to punish the local rebels.
In fact, these ships were the beginnings of a fleet assembled to acquire provisions in Savannah for the beleaguered British troops in Boston.
In December 1775 General William Howe had ordered an expedition to purchase rice and other provisions in Georgia.
By early February the entire fleet has assembled off Tybee Island.
It is under the overall command of Captain Andrew Barclay (or Barkley) on the HMS Scarborough, and includes HMS Hinchinbrook and two transports, HMS Whitby and HMS Symmetry, carrying about two hundred British army regulars from the 40th Foot under the command of Major James Grant.
While Wright had requested a naval presence near Savannah, Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina had intercepted his request and substituted for it a dispatch indicating he did not need such support.
The dispute in Georgia had reached a crisis point when British men-of-war began arriving at Tybee Island in January 1776.
On January 12, three ships were seen at anchor off Tybee Island; by January 18 the fleet consists of the HMS Cherokee, HMS Siren, HMS Raven, HMS Tamar, and a number of smaller vessels.
Wright's opinion, expressed to Joseph Clay and others, had been that the fleet has been sent to punish the local rebels.
In fact, these ships were the beginnings of a fleet assembled to acquire provisions in Savannah for the beleaguered British troops in Boston.
In December 1775 General William Howe had ordered an expedition to purchase rice and other provisions in Georgia.
By early February the entire fleet has assembled off Tybee Island.
It is under the overall command of Captain Andrew Barclay (or Barkley) on the HMS Scarborough, and includes HMS Hinchinbrook and two transports, HMS Whitby and HMS Symmetry, carrying about two hundred British army regulars from the 40th Foot under the command of Major James Grant.
Colonel McIntosh sends a parley to Captain Barclay the next day, offering a prisoner exchange.
When Barclay refuses the exchange, the Committee of Safety orders the arrest of the remaining members of Wright's council.
This move proves successful; the British-held prisoners are released in exchange for promises of protection of those councilors.
In spite of the action, the British successfully sail most of the merchant ships down the Back River, although some of the ships need to dump a portion of their cargo in order to make it down the shallow channel.
Once they reach Tybee Island, the desired provisions, amounting to sixteen hundred barrels of rice, are loaded onto the two British transport ships.
The fleet remains anchored off Tybee Island while negotiations go on over the exchange of prisoners.
During this time the fleet detains several arriving vessels, which are later disposed of as prizes.
On March 25, a band of militia from Savannah burns all the houses on the island to deny their use to Wright and the ships' officers.
Barclay weighs anchor on March 30 and sails north, leading the convoy of merchant ships and transports.
As the British had abandoned Boston earlier in March, he first puts into Newport, Rhode Island, where the local Patriots deny him any assistance and fire at his ships using field artillery.
He eventually rejoins the British forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia in May.
The battle and Wright's departure mark the end of British control over Georgia until Savannah is recaptured by British forces in December 1778.
Governor Wright will return, and Savannah will then remain in British hands until 1782.
When Barclay refuses the exchange, the Committee of Safety orders the arrest of the remaining members of Wright's council.
This move proves successful; the British-held prisoners are released in exchange for promises of protection of those councilors.
In spite of the action, the British successfully sail most of the merchant ships down the Back River, although some of the ships need to dump a portion of their cargo in order to make it down the shallow channel.
Once they reach Tybee Island, the desired provisions, amounting to sixteen hundred barrels of rice, are loaded onto the two British transport ships.
The fleet remains anchored off Tybee Island while negotiations go on over the exchange of prisoners.
During this time the fleet detains several arriving vessels, which are later disposed of as prizes.
On March 25, a band of militia from Savannah burns all the houses on the island to deny their use to Wright and the ships' officers.
Barclay weighs anchor on March 30 and sails north, leading the convoy of merchant ships and transports.
As the British had abandoned Boston earlier in March, he first puts into Newport, Rhode Island, where the local Patriots deny him any assistance and fire at his ships using field artillery.
He eventually rejoins the British forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia in May.
The battle and Wright's departure mark the end of British control over Georgia until Savannah is recaptured by British forces in December 1778.
Governor Wright will return, and Savannah will then remain in British hands until 1782.
His Majesty's Ships Scarborough, Tamar, Cherokee, and Hinchinbrook sail up the Savannah River on March 1 to Five-Fathom Hole, accompanying transports carrying two to three hundred men under Grant's command.
Hinchinbrook and one of the transports now sail up the Back River, a secondary channel of the Savannah River.
The transport anchors opposite the port area, while Hinchinbrook, in an attempt to take a position above the town, grounds on a sandbank in the river.
Gunfire from Joseph Habersham's militia clear Hinchinbrook's decks, but without suitable boats, Habersham is unable to attempt the taking of the vessel, which floated free on the next high tide.
Late on the evening of March 2, Grant's men are landed on Hutchinson Island.
They make their way across the island, and, at 4:00 am on March 3, take over a number of the rice boats anchored near the island.
Due to their success at remaining quiet, and possibly with the collusion of the ship captains, the alarm is not raised in Savannah until 9:00 am.
The arrival of the ships on March 1 prompts the Committee of Safety to issue calls for the defense of the town and the ships, which are forwarded along with a request for assistance to South Carolina's Committee of Safety the next day.
When the alarm is raised, Colonel McIntosh takes three hundred militiamen and sets up three four-pound cannons on Yamacraw Bluff.
He now sends Lieutenant Daniel Roberts and Major Raymond Demeré II under a parley flag to one of the occupied ships; they are promptly arrested.
When a second, larger, parley arrived to discuss the release of the two captives and the ships, the situation turns nasty when Captain Rogers, leader of the party, is insulted.
After he fires at someone on the occupied ship, the British respond in kind, wounding one and very nearly sinking the parley group's boat.
Following that boat's retreat, McIntosh opens fire with the cannons on the bluff, beginning a gun battle that lasts or four hours.
The Committee of Safety, when it meets to discuss the situation, decides that the supply ships should be burned, and a company of militia is assembled to accomplish this task.
One supply ship, the Inverness, is torched and set adrift toward the occupied vessels, causing a scramble as the British troops hurry to abandon them in the face of the arriving fire ship.
During the confusion, the Patriot militia and battery are active, raking the scurrying British crews with musket fire and grape shot.
Two of the occupied vessels manage to get away downstream, and two more escape the flames by going upstream, but are forced to dock, and their crews are taken prisoner.
Three ships succumb to the flames, which burn well into the night.
The action is assisted by the timely arrival of five hundred South Carolina militia sent in response to the earlier appeal.
Hinchinbrook and one of the transports now sail up the Back River, a secondary channel of the Savannah River.
The transport anchors opposite the port area, while Hinchinbrook, in an attempt to take a position above the town, grounds on a sandbank in the river.
Gunfire from Joseph Habersham's militia clear Hinchinbrook's decks, but without suitable boats, Habersham is unable to attempt the taking of the vessel, which floated free on the next high tide.
Late on the evening of March 2, Grant's men are landed on Hutchinson Island.
They make their way across the island, and, at 4:00 am on March 3, take over a number of the rice boats anchored near the island.
Due to their success at remaining quiet, and possibly with the collusion of the ship captains, the alarm is not raised in Savannah until 9:00 am.
The arrival of the ships on March 1 prompts the Committee of Safety to issue calls for the defense of the town and the ships, which are forwarded along with a request for assistance to South Carolina's Committee of Safety the next day.
When the alarm is raised, Colonel McIntosh takes three hundred militiamen and sets up three four-pound cannons on Yamacraw Bluff.
He now sends Lieutenant Daniel Roberts and Major Raymond Demeré II under a parley flag to one of the occupied ships; they are promptly arrested.
When a second, larger, parley arrived to discuss the release of the two captives and the ships, the situation turns nasty when Captain Rogers, leader of the party, is insulted.
After he fires at someone on the occupied ship, the British respond in kind, wounding one and very nearly sinking the parley group's boat.
Following that boat's retreat, McIntosh opens fire with the cannons on the bluff, beginning a gun battle that lasts or four hours.
The Committee of Safety, when it meets to discuss the situation, decides that the supply ships should be burned, and a company of militia is assembled to accomplish this task.
One supply ship, the Inverness, is torched and set adrift toward the occupied vessels, causing a scramble as the British troops hurry to abandon them in the face of the arriving fire ship.
During the confusion, the Patriot militia and battery are active, raking the scurrying British crews with musket fire and grape shot.
Two of the occupied vessels manage to get away downstream, and two more escape the flames by going upstream, but are forced to dock, and their crews are taken prisoner.
Three ships succumb to the flames, which burn well into the night.
The action is assisted by the timely arrival of five hundred South Carolina militia sent in response to the earlier appeal.
Some of the Ticonderoga cannons, which are of a size and range not previously available to the Americans, are emplaced in fortifications around the city, and on the night of March 2, the Americans had begun to bombard the city with those cannon, to which the British had responded with cannonades of their own.
The American guns, under the direction of Colonel Knox, had continued to exchange fire with the British until March 4.
The exchange of fire has done little damage to either side, although it has damaged houses and killed some British soldiers in Boston.
On March 5, Washington had moved more of the Ticonderoga cannon and several thousand men overnight to occupy Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston.
Since it is winter the ground is frozen, making the digging of trenches impractical.
Washington's men instead use logs, branches and anything else available to fortify the position overnight.
The British fleet is within range of the American guns on Dorchester Heights, putting it and the troops in the city at risk.
The immediate response of the British is a two-hour cannon barrage at the heights, which has no effect because the British guns cannot reach the American guns at such height.
After the failure of the barrage, Howe and his officers agree that the colonists must be removed from the heights if they are to hold Boston.
They plan an assault on the heights; however, due to a storm the attack will never take place, and the British elect instead to withdraw.
The American guns, under the direction of Colonel Knox, had continued to exchange fire with the British until March 4.
The exchange of fire has done little damage to either side, although it has damaged houses and killed some British soldiers in Boston.
On March 5, Washington had moved more of the Ticonderoga cannon and several thousand men overnight to occupy Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston.
Since it is winter the ground is frozen, making the digging of trenches impractical.
Washington's men instead use logs, branches and anything else available to fortify the position overnight.
The British fleet is within range of the American guns on Dorchester Heights, putting it and the troops in the city at risk.
The immediate response of the British is a two-hour cannon barrage at the heights, which has no effect because the British guns cannot reach the American guns at such height.
After the failure of the barrage, Howe and his officers agree that the colonists must be removed from the heights if they are to hold Boston.
They plan an assault on the heights; however, due to a storm the attack will never take place, and the British elect instead to withdraw.
Prominent Bostonians had sent a letter to Washington on March 8, stating that the British will not destroy the town if they are allowed to depart unmolested.
Washington had been given the letter, but had formally rejected it, as it was not addressed to him by either name or title.
However, the letter had had the intended effect: when the evacuation begins, there will be no American fire to hinder the British departure.
On March 9, after seeing movement on Nook's Hill on Dorchester, the British had opened a massive fire barrage that lasted all night.
It killed four men with one cannonball, but that was all the damage that was done.
The next day, the colonists go out and collect the seven hundred cannonballs that had been fired at them.
On March 10, General Howe issues a proclamation ordering the inhabitants to give up all linen and woolen goods that could be used by the colonists to continue the war.
A Loyalist, Crean Brush, is authorized to receive these goods, in return for which he gives certificates that are effectively worthless.
Washington had been given the letter, but had formally rejected it, as it was not addressed to him by either name or title.
However, the letter had had the intended effect: when the evacuation begins, there will be no American fire to hinder the British departure.
On March 9, after seeing movement on Nook's Hill on Dorchester, the British had opened a massive fire barrage that lasted all night.
It killed four men with one cannonball, but that was all the damage that was done.
The next day, the colonists go out and collect the seven hundred cannonballs that had been fired at them.
On March 10, General Howe issues a proclamation ordering the inhabitants to give up all linen and woolen goods that could be used by the colonists to continue the war.
A Loyalist, Crean Brush, is authorized to receive these goods, in return for which he gives certificates that are effectively worthless.
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