George Augustus Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe (c. 1725 – 6 July 1758) was a career officer and a
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. He was described by
James Wolfe
James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a Major-general (United Kingdom), major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the Kingdom of France, French ...
as "the best officer in the British Army". He was killed in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
in a skirmish at Fort Ticonderoga the day before the
Battle of Carillon
The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, Chartrand (2000), p. 57 was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War (which was part of the global Seven Years' War). It was fought near Fort Carillon (now k ...
, an ultimately disastrous attempt by the British to capture French-controlled
Fort Carillon
Fort Carillon, presently known as Fort Ticonderoga, was constructed by Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada (New France), French Canada, to protect Lake Champlain from a British invasion. Situated on the lake some south of Fort S ...
.
Background
Howe's father was
Emanuel Scrope Howe
Lieutenant-General Emanuel Scrope Howe (c. 1663 – 26 September 1709), of The Great Lodge, Alice Holt Forest, Hampshire, was an English diplomat, army officer, and Member of Parliament.
Life
He was the fourth son of John Grubham Howe (1 ...
, 2nd Viscount Howe, and mother was
Mary Sophia von Kielmansegg (a niece of
King George I), and he had two notable younger brothers,
Richard Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...
, Earl Howe and
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, as well as seven other siblings. George was born either on the Howe estate at
Langar, Nottinghamshire
Langar is an English village in the Vale of Belvoir, about four miles (6.4 km) south of Bingham, in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire. The civil parish of Langar cum Barnstone had a population of 980 at the 2011 Census. This was estima ...
, or at the Howe home on
Albemarle Street
Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he received ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Early career
Howe joined the army as an
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
of the
1st Foot Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
in 1745 and saw service during the Flanders campaign of the
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
. In 1746 he was made an
aide-de-camp to the
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland.
History
The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...
who led the Allied Army in Flanders. In 1747 Howe fought at the
Battle of Laufeld
The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a Fr ...
. He was promoted to
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in 1749 following the end of the war.
Ticonderoga campaign reforms
In 1758, in preparation for the attack on the French fort at Ticonderoga, which controlled access from
Lake George to
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
, Lord Howe set about reforming General
James Abercrombie's army for warfare in North America. He used his own
55th Regiment as an example for the rest of the army to follow. Howe had uniforms cut short, so that they came just to the men's waists, and all lace was removed from the coats as well. The cumbersome tricorn hats worn by the soldiers were cut down to brims of , resembling derby hats. Infantrymen were issued
leggings
Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg warmers or tights. ...
made of wool, in place of their linen and hemp canvas
gaiters
Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and bottom of the pant or trouser leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats.
Originally, gaiters were made of leather or canvas. T ...
. Excess uniforms and equipment were done away with. The men's hair was cut short, Dr.
Richard Huck wrote; "we are an army of round heads." Officers were not immune to his changes either, and he made himself an example of this, cutting his hair short. He washed his own clothes, and took very little baggage into the field.
His changes did not only affect the uniforms of the army but its tactics as well. In the fall of 1757, Lord Howe had accompanied the famous ranger Major
Robert Rogers Robert Rogers may refer to:
Politics
* Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699
*Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician
* Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...
on a scouting expedition. In the spring he again met with Rogers to discuss warfare and tactics in the North American theater. He began instructing the troops in Abercrombie's army in the manner of marching, forming, and fighting in the woods. One observer stated that Lord Howe had trained his 55th Regiment so well that they were as "dexterious as rangers."
Many historians have credited Lord Howe with the creation of light infantry, and have called the 55th Regiment a light infantry regiment, however that was not the case. While
Lord Loudoun
General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a Scottish nobleman and British army officer.
Early career
Born in Scotland two years before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, in which his father Hugh ...
contemplated creating light infantry companies in each redcoat battalion, the idea was scrapped when Colonel
Thomas Gage
General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the ...
proposed to raise a regiment of Light Armed Foot, that became Gage's
80th Regiment. They wore brown uniforms, instead of red and were the first British light infantry regiment. At the
Siege of Louisbourg, General
Jeffery Amherst
Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign ...
ordered his regiments to create light infantry companies. Those companies were then placed into a light infantry battalion under the command of Colonel
George Scott of the
40th Regiment. The following year, as Commander-in-chief in North America, Amherst ordered each regiment in North America to create a light infantry company.
Seven Years War
![George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe memorial, Westminster Abbey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/George_Howe%2C_3rd_Viscount_Howe_memorial%2C_Westminster_Abbey.jpg)
On 2 February 1757, Howe was appointed colonel, 3rd Battalion of the 60th Foot (the Royal Americans, later the
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...
), but transferred to command the
55th Regiment of Foot
The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a county designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 34th (Cum ...
on 28 September 1757 while at
Halifax. In December he was promoted to Brigadier General.
In 1758 he and the regiment were part of General
James Abercrombie's failed attack, the
Battle of Carillon
The Battle of Carillon, also known as the 1758 Battle of Ticonderoga, Chartrand (2000), p. 57 was fought on July 8, 1758, during the French and Indian War (which was part of the global Seven Years' War). It was fought near Fort Carillon (now k ...
at
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...
. England's Prime Minister
William Pitt had wanted Howe in command of this expedition rather than Abercrombie, but Abercrombie had more political contacts and seniority, so Howe was made second-in-command. On 6 July Abercrombie's force marched north from the shore of
Lake George in four columns. Howe led one of these columns, with the 55th regiment accompanied by a unit of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
militia, with Major
Israel Putnam
Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...
as a scout and guide. They made contact with a French detachment that had been separated from the main force and a sharp skirmish ensued. They fought well, taking 148 prisoners, and causing an estimated 300 enemy casualties with limited losses to their own number. But one of those casualties was General Howe, who died in Putnam's arms.
Aftermath
Howe was widely mourned on both sides of the Atlantic. The
Assembly (or general court) later voted £250 to place a monument in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
by the sculptor
Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicist style had an important influenc ...
, which was erected in 1759.
Genealogy
George Augustus was brother to
Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, 4th Viscount and
Sir William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe. ''The Family of Hoge'' quotes ''The Encyclopædia Britannica'' as having this to say about the Howes:
The friendliness of the brothers, Admiral Richard Howe and General William Howe, to the colonies led to their selection for the command of the British forces in the Revolutionary War. It was thought that they could negotiate a settlement with the American forces.
References
Bibliography
* Stoetzel, Donald I. ''Encyclopedia of the French & Indian War in North America, 1754–1763''. Heritage Books, 2008.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, George Howe, 3rd Viscount
1725 births
1758 deaths
British Army brigadiers
British Army personnel of the French and Indian War
British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Whig (British political party) MPs
British MPs 1747–1754
British MPs 1754–1761
Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland
Grenadier Guards officers
55th Regiment of Foot officers
Royal American Regiment officers
British military personnel killed in the Seven Years' War