The British forces sent to quell the rebellion in the North American colonies in May 1775
The British forces sent to quell the rebellion in the North American colonies in May 1775 were under the command of brothers: General William Howe commanding the army and Admiral Richard Howe commanding the navy. On the surface, the Howe brothers may have seemed an odd choice for the assignment. Although they were accomplished and skilled officers, both had publicly expressed their disapproval of British colonial policy. Their elder brother George Howe had been killed in fighting near Fort Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War (he had died in the arms of future Patriot Israel Putnam) and was regarded as a hero in the colonies. But the British authorities knew that, whatever their feelings about the justice of the colonial cause, the Howe brothers would do their duty and they hoped that having the Howes in command would improve the chances of a negotiated resolution to the crisis. The Howes were titled aristocrats. Their father had been the 2nd Viscount Howe, a title that had be...