General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe (10 August 1729 – 12 July 1814), was a British Army officer and politician who rose to become Commander-in-Chief, America, during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brothers who had distinguished military careers. In historiography of the American war, he is usually referred to as Sir William Howe to distinguish him from his brother Richard, who was 4th Viscount Howe at that time.
Howe joined the army in 1746 and saw extensive service in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. He became known for his role in the capture of Quebec in 1759 when he led a British force to capture the cliffs at Anse-au-Foulon, allowing James Wolfe to land his army and engage the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Howe also participated in the British offensive campaigns of Louisbourg, Belle Île and Havana. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight, a post he held until 1795.
Howe was sent to North America in March 1775, arriving in May after the American War of Independence broke out. After leading British troops to a costly victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Howe took command of all British forces in America from Thomas Gage in September of that year. Howe's record in North America was marked by the successful capture of both New York City and Philadelphia. However, poor campaign planning for 1777 contributed to the failure of John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign, which played 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 both been subjects of contemporary and historic debate.
He was knighted after his successes in 1776. He resigned his post as Commander-in-Chief, British land forces in America, in 1777, and the next year returned to England, where he was at times active in the defence of the British Isles. He sat in the House of Commons from 1758 to 1780 for Nottingham. He inherited the Howe viscountcy upon the death of his brother Richard in 1799. He married, but had no children, and the viscountcy became extinct with his death in 1814.
Early life and career
William Howe was born in England, the third son of Emanuel Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe and Charlotte Howe, Viscountess Howe. Charlotte was the daughter of Sophia von Kielmansegg, Countess of Leinster and Darlington, an acknowledged illegitimate half-sister of George I.Alden (1989), p. 222. His mother was a regular in the courts of George II and George III.Fischer, p. 67. This connection with the Crown may have improved the careers of all four sons, but all were also very capable officers.Gruber, pp. 45–47. His father was an MP who also served as governor of Barbados, where he died in 1735.
Howe's eldest brother, Brigadier-general George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, was killed just before the 1758 Battle of Carillon near Fort Ticonderoga. Another brother, Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, Earl Howe, rose to become one of Britain's leading naval commanders.Alden (1989), p. 223. A third brother, Thomas, captained ships for the East India Company and wrote works on Madeira and the Comoro Islands.Madeira. [Signed: T. H., i.e. the Hon. Thomas Howe. Edited by A. Dalrymple.]Memoir of a Chart of the N.W. Coast of Madagascar by Capt. David Inverarity.
William joined the British Army when he was 17 by buying a cornet's commission in the Duke of Cumberland's Regiment of Light Dragoons in 1746, being promoted to lieutenant the following year. He then served for two years in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession. After the war he was transferred to the 20th Regiment of Foot, where he became a friend of James Wolfe.Billias, p. 43.
Seven Years' War
During the Seven Years' War Howe's service first brought him to America, and did much to raise his reputation. Promoted to the rank of major in 1756, he joined the newly formed 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot in February 1757, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in December of that year.Chichester He commanded the regiment at the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758, leading an amphibious landing under heavy enemy fire. This action won the attackers a flanking position and earned Howe a commendation from Wolfe.Leckie, p. 145.
Howe commanded a light infantry battalion under General Wolfe during the 1759 Siege of Quebec. He was in the Battle of Beauport, and was chosen by Wolfe to lead the ascent from the Saint Lawrence River up to the Plains of Abraham that led to the British victory in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham on 13 September 1759. After spending the winter in the defence of Quebec City, his regiment fought in the April 1760 Battle of Sainte-Foy and subsequent siege of Quebec. He then led a brigade in the decisive Montreal Campaign under Jeffery Amherst before returning to England. Howe led a brigade in the 1761 Capture of Belle Île, off the French coast, and turned down the opportunity to become military governor after its capture so that he might continue in active service.Gruber, p. 56. He served as adjutant general of the force that captured Havana in 1762, playing a part in a skirmish at Guanabacoa.Pocock, p. 208.
In 1758, Howe was elected a member of parliament for Nottingham, succeeding to the seat vacated by his brother George's death. His election was assisted by the influence of his mother, who campaigned on behalf of her son while he was away at war, and may very well have been undertaken because service in Parliament was seen as a common way to improve one's prospects for advancement in the military.Billias, p. 44. In 1764 he was promoted to colonel of the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot, and in 1768 he was appointed lieutenant governor of the Isle of Wight. As tensions rose between Britain and the colonies in the 1770s, Howe continued to rise through the ranks, and came to be widely regarded as one of the best officers in the army. He was promoted to major general in 1772, and in 1774 introduced new training drills for light infantry companies.
In Parliament he was generally sympathetic to the American colonies. He publicly opposed the collection of legislation intended to punish the Thirteen Colonies known as Intolerable Acts, and in 1774 assured his constituents that he would resist active duty against the Americans and asserted that the entire British army could not conquer America.Fischer, pp. 70–71. He also let government ministers know privately that he was prepared to serve in America as second in command to Thomas Gage, whom he knew was unpopular in government circles.Gruber, p. 58. In early 1775, when King George called on him to serve, he accepted, claiming publicly that if he did not, he would suffer "the odious name of backwardness to serve my country in distress."Billias, p. 45. He sailed for America in March 1775, accompanied by Major Generals Henry Clinton and John Burgoyne.Ketchum (1999), p. 2. In May 1775 his colonelcy was transferred to the 23rd Fusiliers.Mainwaring, p. 346.
American War of Independence
Howe was first sent to Boston. Privately, he did not agree with the policy of the government towards the colonists, and regretted in particular that he was sent to Boston, where the memory of his brother George was still cherished by the inhabitants, and General Gage, in whom he had no confidence, was commander-in-chief. Along with fellow British Army Generals Clinton and Burgoyne, Howe arrived there aboard on 25 May 1775, having learned en route that war had broken out with the skirmishes at the marches to Lexington and Concord in April. The Cerberus provided naval reinforcement at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He led a force of 4,000 troops sent to reinforce the 5,000 troops under General Thomas Gage who were besieged in the city after those battles. Gage, Howe, and Generals Clinton and Burgoyne discussed plans to break the siege. They formulated a plan to seize high ground around Boston and attack the besieging colonial militia forces, setting its execution for 18 June.Ketchum (1999), p. 46. However, the colonists learned of the plan and fortified the heights of Breed's Hill and nearby Bunker Hill on the Charlestown peninsula across the Charles River from Boston on the night of 16–17 June,Ketchum (1999), pp. 110–111. forcing the British leadership to rethink their strategy.
Bunker Hill and Boston
In a war council held early on 17 June, the generals developed a plan calling for a direct assault on the colonial fortification, and Gage gave Howe command of the operation. Despite a sense of urgency (the colonists were still working on the fortifications at the time of the council), the attack, now known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, did not begin until that afternoon.Willcox, p. 48. With Howe personally leading the right wing of the attack, the first two assaults were firmly repulsed by the colonial defenders. Howe's third assault gained the objective, but the cost of the day's battle was appallingly heavy.Ketchum (1999), pp. 151–183. The British casualties, more than 1,000 killed or wounded, were the highest of any engagement in the war.Brooks, p. 237. Howe described it as a "success ... too dearly bought."Billias, p. 47. Although Howe exhibited courage on the battlefield, his tactics and overwhelming confidence were criticised. One subordinate wrote that Howe's "absurd and destructive confidence" played a role in the number of casualties incurred.
Although Howe was not injured in the battle, it had a pronounced effect on his spirit. According to British historian George Otto Trevelyan, the battle "exercised a permanent and most potent influence" especially on Howe's behaviour, and that Howe's military skills thereafter "were apt to fail him at the very moment when they were especially wanted."Trevelyan, p. 1:338. Despite an outward appearance of confidence and popularity with his troops, the "genial six-footer with a face some people described as 'coarse, privately often exhibited a lack of self-confidence, and in later campaigns became somewhat dependent on his older brother Richard (the admiral in the Royal Navy, also on station in the Colonies) for advice and approval.Fleming, p. 44.