The New British Command: Howe & Howe

When Vice Admiral Richard Lord Howe's armada arrives in New York to reinforce Major General Sir William Howe, perhaps this week, all British military might in the New World will be commanded by two men who not only are brothers but are thought to be cousins of King George III (their grandmother, the Baroness Kielmansegge, was once a favorite mistress of George I). Despite this royal connection, the two brothers, whom the Crown has now charged with suppressing all rebellion in the Colonies, were until lately among the staunchest advocates of a reconciliation.

For nearly a decade, Admiral Howe, now 50 and three years the elder of the pair, has voted in Parliament against coercive measures toward the Colonies. Eighteen months ago, he met Benjamin Franklin, who, while serving as a colonial envoy in Britain, had begun playing chess with Howe's sprightly widowed sister Caroline, 54. Admiral Howe soon started consulting Franklin in an attempt to work out compromise peace proposals. He also unsuccessfully sought permission from Lord North's ministry to lead a peace delegation to the Colonies himself.

Both Howes, moreover, have had attachments for many years on this side of the Atlantic. Their elder brother George, one of the few British generals who was popular in the Colonies, was killed fighting near Ticonderoga in 1758 during the French and Indian War. (The colony of Massachusetts even raised -L-250 to erect the monument to him that now stands in Westminster Abbey.)

William Howe served in North America from 1758 to 1761 as a young officer, eventually leading his brigade up the cliffs at Quebec to help Wolfe defeat Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham. Less than two years ago, as a Member of Parliament from Nottingham, he told his constituents that if offered a command in any war against the Colonies, he would refuse to serve.

However peaceable their politics once were, both Howes have reputations as aggressive tactical officers, and each reached the top of his profession not only through high connections but through high competence. The Howes were born into a rich, powerful, aristocratic Hertfordshire family. Both went to Eton. As a 16-year-old midshipman, Richard sailed with Admiral George Anson on his arduous, aborted voyage around the world. Thereafter he rose rapidly from command to command, becoming treasurer of the Navy in 1765 and a rear admiral five years later. Responsible, serious to the point of tediousness, heavy-browed and large-nosed, he is known in the Navy as "Black Dick" Howe, partly because his face has darkened from 30 years of quarter-deck weather, partly because an air of somber resolution has surrounded him ever since he boldly pursued the French fleet among the rocks of QuiberonBay in 1759.

In profligate London, Admiral Howe is renowned as a faithful husband. Not so Brother William, a shallower, more convivial personality who, though married, likes his lass and his glass. General Howe's goings on with pretty blonde Betsey Loring, 25, whom he met in Boston last year and is thought to have brought with him to New York (along with her complaisant husband), have already given rise to a number of salacious ditties. Because of her unofficial power, she is known among British officers as "The Sultana."

Despite Sir William's frivolities, he has served with great bravery, earning a reputation for combat discipline, skill in training men and planning tactical military operations. Two years ago, he created a new drill for light-infantry companies and pioneered a new system whereby flexible, fast-paced companies were attached to every regiment of the line. Lord George Germain, Britain's Secretary of State for the American Colonies and a leading advocate of an aggressive policy, remarked when Howe was appointed that no other officer was so well qualified to teach European soldiers how to fight from "behind trees, walls or hedges."

Together the Howe brothers command one of the largest military and naval forces assembled in this century. They have many choices--and almost complete discretion--about how to employ it. Both Howes are justly famous for being concerned about the welfare of their men. Sir William, for instance, was reportedly shocked by the high number of British casualties during the frontal assault on Bunker hill, which he led last summer. He is known to subscribe to the new European doctrine that pitched battles are less important than tactical maneuvering in winning wars. Continental officers were nevertheless astonished when Howe did not follow up the hard-won victory at Bunker hill by an immediate advance on the American camp at Cambridge, which would surely have fallen.

Another clue to the Howe brothers' intentions may lie in reports from London that Admiral Howe agreed to accept his command only with the understanding that he would have the right to act as a Royal Commissioner in attempting to work out a reconciliation with the Colonies. Although no details are known, military sources in London believe that Howe hopes to persuade the Continental Army to lay down its arms in exchange for new negotiations. If so, he has very little chance of succcess.

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