General William Howe

(noun)

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC (August 10, 1729 – July 12, 1814) was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brothers who enjoyed distinguished military careers.

Related Terms

Examples of General William Howe in the following topics:

  • Philadelphia and Saratoga

    • Following his unsuccessful attempt to draw Continental Army General George Washington into a battle in northern New Jersey, British General William Howe instead turned his attention towards Philadelphia.
    • In 1777, General Howe began mobilizing his forces for an assault on the city-state.
    • General Howe resigned during the occupation of Philadelphia and was replaced by his second-in-command, General Sir Henry Clinton.
    • "Residence of Washington in High Street, Philadelphia" by William L.
    • General Howe was supported by Hessian troops as he took Philadelphia.

  • Quebec, New York, and New Jersey

    • In the summer of 1776, General William Howe and 30,000 British troops attacked and defeated General George Washington's Continental forces in the Battle of Long Island.
    • In September, General Howe landed about 12,000 men in lower Manhattan, quickly taking control of New York City.
    • News of the capture of New York was favorably received in London, and General Howe was awarded the Order of the Bath for his work.
    • The British lost more than a quarter of their forces in the battle and convinced General Howe to withdraw most of his army from New Jersey, with only outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy remaining.
    • General George Washington rallying his troops at the Battle of Princeton, by William Ranney, 1848

  • Washington's Escape from New York

    • A series of battles for control of New York City and the state of New Jersey between British forces under General William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington occurred in 1776 and the winter months of 1777.
    • The attack prompted Howe to withdraw his chain of outposts back.
    • General Howe then began to lay siege to the works, but Washington skillfully managed a nighttime retreat through his unguarded rear across the East River to Manhattan Island.
    • In September, General Howe landed about 12,000 men on lower Manhattan, quickly taking control of New York City.
    • The defeats convinced General Howe to withdraw most of his army from New Jersey, only leaving outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.

  • The Holy Experiment

    • They hoped it would show to the world how well they could function on their own without any persecution or dissension.
    • William Penn was a well-educated landlord of valuable Irish estates and an evangelist for Quakerism .
    • William Penn and his fellow Quakers imprinted their religious values on the early Pennsylvanian government.
    • William Penn founded and governed his "Holy Experiment", the province of Pennsylvania.
    • This painting depicts William Penn treating with Native Americans, and the lion sitting down with the lambs.

  • The British Strategy

    • On July 12, 1812, General William Hull led an invading American force of about 1,000 untrained, poorly-equipped militia across the Detroit River and occupied the Canadian town of Sandwich, now a neighborhood of Windsor, Ontario.
    • On October 13, United States forces were again defeated at the Battle of Queenston Heights, where General Brock was killed.
    • The early disasters were brought about chiefly by American unpreparedness, and a lack of leadership drove United States Secretary of War William Eustis from office.
    • They were decisively defeated by General William Henry Harrison's forces on their retreat towards Niagara at the Battle of the Thames in October 1813.
    • After Napoleon abdicated in 1814, the British could send veteran armies to the United States, but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight.

  • The Year of Blood

    • In May 1782, Colonel William Crawford led a campaign to destroy enemy Native American settlements along the Sandusky River in the Ohio Country with the hope of ending Native American attacks on American settlers.
    • In August 1782, British General Caldwell led 300 Native Americans into Kentucky and delivered a devastating blow at the Battle of Blue Licks, one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War.

  • The Election of 1852

    • As a result, Northern Whigs threw their support behind Mexican-American War hero General Winfield Scott of Virginia, who went on to win the party’s nomination.
    • Pierce and running mate William R.

  • The Muckrakers

    • Before World War I, the term "muckraker" was generally used to refer to writers who investigate and publish truthful reports in order to perform an auditing or watchdog function.
    • In 1871, for instance, the infamous corruption and bribery case of Tammany boss William M.
    • Publishers of yellow journals, such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, focused on increasing circulation through scandal, crime, entertainment and sensationalism.
    • How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (1890), by photojournalist Jacob Riis, documented the squalid living conditions of New York City slums during the 1880's .
    • How the Other Half Lives detailed the brutal living conditions not only of New York's slums, but also its tenements.

  • Burgoyne's Army and the Battle of Saratoga

    • Meanwhile, William Howe would march up the Hudson to Albany, where the expeditions would converge.
    • Howe marched north, achieving victories at Brandywine and Germantown and eventually capturing Philadelphia in late September 1777.
    • Following the British defeat at Saratoga, Howe, ashamed at his error in judgment, resigned his command.
    • In October 1777, General Burgoyne surrendered his Army to the Patriots at Saratoga.
    • Portrait of British General John Burgoyne by Sir Joshua Reynolds, ca. 1766

  • New France and the Native Americans

    • The French needed help to survive in the difficult climate of North America, and the Native people were influential in showing them how to establish themselves in this New World.
    • The major officers of the Sovereign Council were the Governor-General, who was responsible for military affairs and diplomatic relations, the Intendant of New France, who was responsible for finance, economic development, and the administration of justice (law and order), and the Bishop of New France, who was responsible for all spiritual matters in the colony.
    • As Governor-General of New France, he established a number of forts on the Great Lakes and engaged in a series of battles against both the English and the Iroquois.
    • Frontenac's second term was characterized by the defense of Quebec from a British invasion during King William's War, a successful guerrilla campaign against the Iroquois and English settlements which resulted in the elimination of the Iroquois threat against New France, and a large expansion of the fur trade.