Customer Reviews

Howe Brothers and the American Revolution (The Norton library)

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Well-disposed toward Americans, the Howes were also unusual among British officers for their relatively humane views. Ira Gruber has located and used several key manuscript collections, though he tends to blow his own horn about this research. Still, he makes a good case for their intrinsic importance and interest. Adm. Richard Howe in particular emerges as an exemplary 18C public servant: a model MP with the best rates of attendance and involvement, and a warrior who saw far beyond the battlefield. Ironically, they failed as diplomats due to George III's stubbornness; their commission as peacemakers also came too late in the struggle. Such sympathies compromised their military effectiveness, especially Gen. William Howe who repeatedly failed to achieve decisive victories in 1776-7, leading to accusations of double-dealing and incompetence. Gruber captures these ambiguities in near-definitive style, but more info on their charismatic oldest brother would help. Lord George had a real gift for working with Americans, but tragically died---martyred, esentially---at Ticonderoga in 1758. Admittedly Lord George is a favorite historic figure, but his service and death in North America profoundly influenced his surviving brothers' attitudes and is relevant to this work.