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General William Howe

Viscount Howe

The younger brother of Richard Howe, Earl Howe, a famous officer in the British Navy, William Howe relieved General Thomas Gage in Boston in March. He led the British in the Battle of Bunker Hill and in October, 1775, he succeeded Gage as the commander of the British Army in America. He won the battles of Long Island, White Plains and Brandywine, and occupied Philadelphia. But he was unable to defeat the Americans entirely and thus bring the war to a successful conclusion for the British. He was replaced in 1778 by Sir Henry Clinton.