General+Howe

General William Howe was a British General who served in the American Revolution. General Howe entered the military in 1746; he served in the Calvary. Howe became a major in 1756 and in 1757 he became lieutenant-colonel of the 58th Regiment. In the Expedition to Quebec Howe commanded his own regiment in the defense of Quebec in 1759. At the end of the war Howe was recognized as one of the most brilliant of the junior officers in the army. In 1772 he was promoted to major-general.

General Howe was sent to North America to fight in the American Revolution, although he did not agree with the policy of the British government towards the colonists. Howe opposed the Coercive Acts and was openly against going to war with the colonists. General Howe arrived in Boston on May 15 at the head of 4,000 troops. Howe led his troops in the storming of Bunker Hill, he led his troops on the left wing of the attack. Howe's strategy was to defeat the Americans by massive assault. Howe defeated General Washington at the Battle of Long Island. After this battle Howe made the mistake of not attacking Washington's lines after the battle which allowed Washington and his troops to escape across the East River. If Howe would have followed up an attack on Washington's lines Howe could have captured Washington's entire army and possibly ended the war. This is known as one of the greatest missed opportunities of the war.

William Howe completely secured New York City on November 20, 1776. General Howe defeated Washington again in the Battle of Brandywine, which allowed Howe to enter and secure Philadelphia on September 26, 1777. Howe is also believed to be responsible for the defeat of the British in Saratoga, New York by not having good communication with the other Generals involved in the Expedition to New York. The British loss at Saratoga encouraged France, Spain and the Netherlands to enter the war. Howe was made general, and then he was made <span style="color: rgb(213, 32, 32);">chief command in the seat of war. General Howe was responsible for the entire British Army in the American Revolution. In 1775 Howe was honored with <span style="color: rgb(223, 38, 38);">Knighthood. In May of 1778 General Howe resigned from the army because he had felt that the home government had not afforded the proper support. Once home, William Howe became the <span style="color: rgb(236, 81, 81);">governor of <span style="color: rgb(237, 90, 90);">Plymouth. Sir William Howe died at Plymouth in 1814.