William Howe

Mezzotint published in 1777; colored.

QUICK FACTS
BORN:
10 August 1729 in London, England
  DIED:
12 July 1814 in Plymouth, Devonshire, England

  • By the end of winter, 1776 - 77, Howe loses half his army. More British soldiers are killed in minor skirmishes than in battles.
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Sir William Howe, later 5th Viscount Howe after his brother's death. General and Commander-in-Chief of British forces. Portrait to come. See entry in Wikipedia.
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In 1775 the British government was not the limited monarchy we know today. The King was in charge of the executive branch of the government and his duties and powers corresponded, roughly, to those the President now handles in the United States. ... Political parties as we understand them today had yet to be born. England was split into four or five factions, some revolving around a noble Lord such as Marquis of Rockingham, some around a class (the country squires) and roughly on-third of Parliament around the King who, through his executive power, had innumerable jobs, from cabinet post to lucrative sinecures, to dispense among those who supported him.

Thomas Fleming
Now We Are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill (1960; reissued 2010)