George Augustus Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe (c. 1725 – 6 July 1758) was a career officer and a
brigadier general in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. He was described by
James Wolfe
Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...
as "the best officer in the British Army". He was killed in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
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, 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 known as Fort Ticonderog ...
, an ultimately disastrous attempt by the British to capture French-controlled
Fort Carillon.
Background
Howe's father was
Emanuel Scrope Howe, 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, 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 est ...
, 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 George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray (publishing house), John Murray was based here, and Oscar ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Early career
Howe joined the army as an
ensign
Ensign most often refers to:
* Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality
* Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank
Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to:
Places
* Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada
* Ensign, Ka ...
of the
1st Foot Guards 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 fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
. 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 dukedom w ...
who led the Allied Army in Flanders. In 1747 Howe fought at the
Battle of Laufeld. He was promoted to
lieutenant colonel 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
Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec.
The cities of Burlington, Ve ...
, 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 (fashion), high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg ...
made of wool, in place of their linen and hemp canvas
gaiters. 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 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 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 officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...
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
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the ...
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
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 Sta ...
), but transferred to command the
55th Regiment of Foot 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, 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 known as Fort Ticonderog ...
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. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...
. 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 a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
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
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
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 Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
by the sculptor
Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicism, classici ...
, 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
1720s 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
Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons
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
George