Major General Robert Howe (c. 1732 – December 14, 1786) is not known for his accomplishments, but what he had failed to achieve. In fairness to the only major general in the Continental Army from North Carolina, he was given an impossible task that few men could press on to success. Unfortunately, General Howe was not one of those men. Brave and indefatigable – he was a patriot dedicated to the American rebellion. A charmer and persuader, particular of the female gender, he was also accused of being imperious, pig-headed, and incorrigible. One whose lack of stoicism left him complaining to one and all over the daily challenges he faced, especially when dealing with fellow southern legislators; those who nourished their own egos of self-importance.
But it was also poor military decisions that led to his downfall; a dearth of the full situation while ignoring advice from others. By the fall of 1778, Howe found himself immersed in a brewing caldron in which money and influence ultimately overpowered the general’s efforts to lead; resulting in his removal from the Southern Continental Army. But before his replacement could arrive, fate offered Howe a redemption for glory. Only to be denied by a devastating defeat, and a military career scarred; left to remain far from the sound of guns.
Early Life
Howe was a man aware of his weaknesses, but driven by a quest for glory.
Charles E. Bennett and Donald R. Lennon
Robert Howe was born in 1732 in New Hanover, North Carolina, present day New Hanover County that includes Wilmington. Prior to Robert’s birth, his parents left Charleston, South Carolina, to settle the region of Cape Fear River. Howe’s parents were related to the Moore clan; a prominent Carolina family of wealthy planters labeled Rice Kings[1] who owned large plantations in South and North Carolina. His father was Job Howe (1700-1748), grandson of Governor James Moore of the Providence of Carolina (served 1700-1703),[2] by Job’s mother Mary Moore. Job’s father Robert Howes had obtained large tracts of land in the Cape Fear River region, later North Carolina. In 1731, Job received an 800-acre plantation from his father on Goose Creek, upon which he settled his family.[3] Many sources list Robert’s mother as Martha Jones (1700-unknown)[4], daughter of North Carolina jurist Frederick Jones. This seems highly unlikely. Job and Martha were married sometime after 1722[5]; however, Job remarried Sarah Swan Jones[6] (Dec. 29, 1701- 1748) before 1732. Because of the timing of Robert’s birth, 1732, one can speculate Martha had died prior to Robert’s birth and Job remarried Sarah who was Robert’s mother. Robert was the oldest of three siblings: Job Jr., Jane, and Mary.[7]
The extended Moore family that included Robert’s father Job collectively owned more than 80,000 acres along the river and coastal area. When Job died in 1748, Robert, age sixteen and the eldest son, inherited a wealth of assets from his father’s estate, including money and slaves from his grandmother Mary Moore. His father’s rice plantation, Howe’s Point, went to Robert. It was located on the mainland directly across from what is now Figure Eight Island.[8] Howe also received a rice plantation near what was formerly known as Barren Inlet (presently Mason Inlet).[9] Carolina planters usually had their young sons educated in England, but no record exists of Robert traveling overseas.[10] Whatever his education, Howe had a high degree of literacy, obtaining a love for Shakespeare and other major English writers with an air of breeding and confidence that was part of his general demeanor.[11]
Marriage and Foibles
At some point between 1750 and 1754[12], after completing his education, Howe married Sarah Grange, an heiress to a large fortune; she was the daughter of Rice King John Thomas Grange and Margaret Davis. The newly-weds took up residence on Grange property just south of the Cape Fear River in what was Bladen County, later Brunswick County. Opposite Mount Misery, stretching from Indian Creek to Gabourel Bluff, Howe assumed a one-thousand-acre plantation. The Howe family inhabited the rice farm part of the year, traveling between the residence at Howe’s Point. During this time, Robert also purchased several plantations throughout the lower Cape Fear region.
Numerous contemporary accounts portrayed Howe as a man of charm, sophistication, and imagination. He was active in the masonic Order, loved to dance, and was most impressive amid social activities. He was generally known as Bob, and, as a grudging admirer and critic recorded, “he had that general polite gallantry, which every man of good breeding ought to have.”[13] Robert had seven children: Robert Jr., Anna, Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebecca, and Sarah. But it is not clear if Sarah was their sole mother. Howe had several affairs and fathered an unknown number of children in and out of wedlock. Records fail to distinguish which, if any, of the seven children were by Sarah; mothers’ names by affairs were not recorded. Widely considered a womanizer by his contemporaries,[14] Robert’s political enemies would later use it against him to grave effect. By 1772, it seemed Sarah had enough of Howe’s infidelity, and the two were legally separated; Sarah receiving a portion of Howe’s estates and living the rest of her life in Brunswick County until her death in 1804.
Howe was never a good planter nor businessman. As years passed, his excessive involvement in public affairs as a legislator, judge, and military commander fringed upon time for business enterprises that would have benefited him financially.[15] So too, he squandered money and was frequently forced to mortgage his inherited estates for cash to carry on his lavish lifestyle. After 1770, he obtained the Kendal Plantation, a 400-acre estate with 180 acres of excellent rice field marshes, on the Cape Fear River adjoining the well-known Orton Plantation.[16] By 1775, his inheritance from his grandmother and father was greatly reduced. Later in life, Howe was to comment that since he had been “born to affluence, I have been bred to no trade or profession.”[17] Early in the war, while waiting an appointment to command one of North Carolina’s regiments, he was forced to mortgage Kendal plantation. The estate would still be under the right of seizure at the time of Howe’s death, having remained his home throughout the remaining of his life.
Legislator
Howe’s entrance into public service that afterward spanned his life began soon after marriage and moving part time to the vast county of Bladen.[18] In 1756, he was appointed the county’s justice of the peace. From 1760-1762, he represented Bladen County in the Province of North Carolina House of Burgesses. While in the assembly, he sponsored legislation that created Brunswick County out of Bladen and New Hanover Counties. In the 1765 assembly, he took his seat as the representative for the new county of Brunswick.[19] By then, Howe’s finances had begun to suffer. It appeared the enthusiasm and persuasive charm of young Robert Howe proved to be better suited to public life, than to the pursuits of a coastal planter. Early in his work in the General Assembly, he was recognized for writing several bills to improve the militia and finances for Governor Arthur Dobbs’s[20] plans for war preparedness.[21] Governor Dobbs had purchased an estate in Brunswick Town in 1758, near Howe’s residence, and soon befriended the beguiling young legislator eager to establish influential connections.
In 1764, Dobbs requested a leave of absence to return to England and on April 26 of that year, William Tryon, military officer, was appointed Lt. Governor to serve in Dobb’s place. Though Tryon assumed power, Dobbs remained in Brunswick Town until March 28, 1765 whereas he succumbed to a seizure.[22] On July 10, 1765, Tryon was appointed governor. Howe, true to his ambitious style, hit it off with the new governor and the two developed a lasting friendship. Tryon entered American politics at the height of the Stamp Act controversy.[23] Howe was adapt at playing both ends against the middle; the middle being his own personal and political gain. While one of the leaders opposing the act[24] and founding the Wilmington Sons of Liberty organization,[25]
Howe took no substantial part in confrontations with Tryon. Though Tryon did not approve of the Stamp Act, he did enforce the crown’s decision to impose it, making him a target for protests. Howe’s efforts to maintain a close bond with the governor while active with his colonial counterparts paid off. In 1766, Tryon showed his appreciation by appointing Howe to the Court of Exchequer.[26] And from 1765 – 1773, the governor commissioned him a Captain of Militia and gave him the command of Fort Johnston at the mouth of Cape Fear River; a position previously held by British officers. Howe’s would later fulfill his thirst for military leadership as a colonel of artillery to aid Tryon’s suppression of the Regulatory Movement.
Early Military
French and Indian War. History simply writes that Howe fought in the French and Indian War. Most agree that he joined the Bladen County militia in 1754. Some secondary sources state he was immediately chosen to captain a company. But beyond training with a local militia organized to protect his county in time of need, there is no documented evidence that Robert Howe participated in any of the varied North Carolina expeditions of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) that raged across America’s frontier. Outside Governor Tryon, who had once referred to Howe as a veteran of the Indian War,[27] we only have speculation.
North Carolina militias remained close to home throughout the war. Royal Governor Dobbs focused on finances to fund munitions to arm them, but mainly to protect settlers along the frontier; drafting legislation with Howe’s help. Independent companies called rangers were recruited among the militia for specific British expeditions. These militiamen intermittently marched west into Virginia to join other forces,[28] including far north to battle French forces in Pennsylvania and Canada. Most secondary sources state Howe led militia forces in Virginia, but there is no proof of this. One legislator with military capabilities led most of the expeditions and stood out above all others; Hugh Waddell (1734-1773). Two years younger than Howe, scholars believe had Waddell been alive when North Carolina raised arms for rebellion, that commissioned General Waddell., not Howe, would have been the natural choice to command their regiments.[29]
In 1756, when North Carolina forces first entered the conflict, Captain Waddell was chosen by Governor Dobbs to command them. There is no evidence that Howe marched with his colleague and fellow planter from Bladen County. Waddell constructed Fort Dobbs along the piedmont of the blue ridge mountains, becoming the colony’s military headquarters and frontier staging point. In 1758, 300 rangers under now Major Waddell were sent to Pennsylvania to assist in the campaign alongside British and other colonial forces under George Washington against Fort Duquesne. Again, there is no record of Howe accompanying them. A year later, in 1759, North Carolina rangers under Waddell marched to aid South Carolina in the Anglo/Cherokee war, 1758-1761. But after a large-scale mutiny, they remained at Fort Dobbs where they were attacked and fended off Cherokee warriors. Afterwards, Governor Dobbs kept all North Carolina troops within the state, failing to send rangers to assist British Colonel Archibald Montgomerie’s unsuccessful attempt to subdue the Cherokee in the spring of 1760. Once more there is no record of Howe having participated in any of this, but there is one possibility of Howe’s presence along the western front, though only slight.
Primary records show Howe involved in several land transactions prior to April 1761 and after January 1763, leaving the time in between unaccounted for.[30] In October, 1761, a Captain Howe was under Col. Hugh Waddell, commanding a company of rangers at Bigg Island on the Holston River, then part of North Carolina and present-day Tennessee. But no other information is available. Though Bladen County resident, Hugh Waddell represented Rowan County in the 1762 fall assembly and was associated with Howe as fellow legislators. They would later help form the Wilmington Sons of Liberty. Again, we only can speculate if Robert Howe was the Captain Howe with Waddell during the time in which there is no record of his whereabouts.[31]
Fort Johnston. In 1765, Governor Tryon appointed Howe a captain of militia and placed him in command of Fort Johnston,[32] a position normally held by commissioned British officers This was a partial reward for Howe’s friendship and not joining colonial legislators in their vocal objections to Governor Tryon’s handling of the Stamp Act. The fort was constructed four miles upriver on the west bank of Cape Fear in the 1740’s and into the 1750’s; this to ward off Spanish privateer attacks. The position as commander of the fort was mainly a symbolic appointment, Howe spending little time manning the post. Howe, like Washington and other colonials seeking military recognition, yearned to be commissioned a British officer. Tryon attempted to give his friend a commission in the British army; however, he failed. Howe remained the fort’s commander until 1773,[33] when Tryon’s replacement, Governor Josiah Martin cancelled his appointment.[34]
Regulator Movement
When William Tryon assumed the governorship in 1765, there were already protests by North Carolina citizens who did not form the colony’s elite. Throughout the 1760’s, an explosion of new residents arrived the Carolinas by ship and from northern regions of Virginia and Pennsylvania. They were mainly Scots-Irish[35] with some German, called Dutch, who settled in the colony’s backcountry. The backcountry settlers wanted better economic conditions for everyone, instead of a system that heavily benefited colonial officials and their network of plantation owners labeled Rice Kings. The latter lived in the Lowcountry and along the coast and formed only 5% of the population, but maintained almost total control of the government. Over time there were occasional outbursts of violence from those labeled Regulators. But when the colonial legislature agreed to build an elaborate palace as the governor’s residence,[36] and pay for it with increased draconian taxes on its citizens, backcountry violence erupted into what has been termed the Regulator Movement.
During the winter of 1770-1771, Governor Tryon organized a military response to widespread violence that included once more placing Colonel Robert Howe in command of the colony’s company of artillery; eight field pieces. On September 24, 1770 a massive riot had disrupted the Provincial Court at Hillsborough (150 miles west of the capital at New Bern). Regulators rioted the streets and beat up court officials while burning and destroying several residences. Tryon organized a military response to counter further rioting spreading across the backcountry interior. In May, 1771, Tryon marched just over 1,000 men that included 150 British regulars to Hillsborough, arriving on May 9th. General Hugh Waddell, with around 260 militia, marched to join Tryon, but had been surrounded at Salisbury, about 90 miles to the west, by thousands of regulators. Tryon immediately set out to relive Waddell.
On May 14th, Tryon had reached Alamance and set camp. On the 16th, he advanced to confront the Regulators who drew up in force about ten miles distant. Accounts differ as to how many Regulators Tryon faced; anywhere from 2 to 6 thousand. But the backcountry farmers were scantly armed with little or no discipline. After giving the citizens an hour to disperse or he would open fire, Tryon reneged and soon after ordered Colonel Howe to fire his cannon on the crowd. So too, Tryon’s militia opened with several deadly volleys. After two hours, most spent pursuing fleeing citizens, the Battle of Alamance was over. Of Tryon’s force, only nine deaths were reported. Among the Regulators, over 100 died and more than 200 were wounded. A vindictive Tryon caught and hanged seven of the perceived leaders of the movement. He also convinced the legislature to raise taxes further to pay for the military response. At first praised for his actions, Tryon was later condemned by colonial governments for his brutal suppression of citizens seeking for a relief from draconian taxation.
Road to Rebellion
The shell of patriotism without its kernel…a carcass without a heart.”
Contemporary of Howe from Bennet & Lennon
After Howe witnessed his cannon balls plowing through rows of bodies at the Battle of Alamance, he was hooked. While pressing patriot concerns in the legislature and later as a member of the Provincial Congress, he continued to use his persuasive charms to maintain leadership over the military buildup of patriot forces in North Carolina. Howe’s influential experience with North Carolinas’ governors ended when Tryon was replaced by Josiah Martin in July of 1771. It wasn’t long before the two were at odds. As mentioned, Howe’s financial misfortunes led to numerous mortgages on his plantations to keep up appearances among the ruling elite. For Tryon’s successor, Howe’s economic difficulties was evidence he was embezzling public money. Specifically, that Howe was pocketing funds allocated for the garrison; a common source of cash for many royal officials. As consequence, Martin stripped Howe of his appointed offices; that of provincial exchequer and command of Fort Johnston.
Howe was one of the leaders of the Wilmington Sons of Liberty as relations with the royal government deteriorated. In December 1773, North Carolina followed Boston’s lead and created a Committee of Correspondence;[37] a communication network among the colonies. Howe joined the committee of several leading Rice Kings in what became a precursor for organizing a provincial legislature.[38] At the start of 1774, Howe was a member of the Wilmington and Brunswick County Committees of Safety, the military arm of the Committee of Correspondence tasked with organizing, equipping, and arming county militias. The summer of 1774, Howe represented Brunswick County at the First Provincial Congress of North Carolina that convened in New Bern, August 25 – 27.[39] While serving, he penned an address demanding reforms from Royal Governor Josiah Martin, furthering the animosity the men shared. Though lawmaker pursuits kept Howe busy, he continued to keep an eye on the military.
At the start of 1775, Howe took the lead in organizing, recruiting, and training his county’s militia. Governor Martin scoffed that he was “very sure little danger is to be apprehended from him in a military character.” But later, Martin would identify Howe as one of the colony’s most dangerous men.[40] By the spring, he was once more in the thick of politics. He represented Brunswick County during the Second Provincial Congress that met at New Bern, April 3 – 7. When word arrived of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19th, it signified the end of the royal government in North Carolina. On May 24th, Governor Josiah Martin, fearing for his safety, fled Tryon’s Palace at New Bern.[41] The governor established his headquarters at Fort Johnston which he described as a wretched little place. Nearly two months later, Howe initiated an action that would be the first violent use of patriots’ military muscle in North Carolina.
On or just prior to July 19, 1775,[42] Howe led 500 militiamen from Brunswick Town to kidnap Governor Martin at Fort Johnston. Since early summer, increasing rumors of a planned attack on the fort came to the ears of the governor and Swiss mapmaker and British officer Captain John Collett,[43] fort commander and Howe’s replacement. Martin took refuge on the sloop-of-war HMS Cruizer and ordered the removal of the fort’s cannon. Collet hastily loaded all the military supplies onto a small transport and escaped just prior to Howe’s arrival. An enraged Howe ordered his men to torch the fort’s structures including looting and destroying Collet’s house and stables adjacent to the fort. Running his flailing government aboard ship, Martin issued a proclamation on August 8, 1775. It attributed the growing unrest in North Carolina to what he termed “the basest and most scandalous Seditious and inflammatory falsehoods,” by the Committee of Safety in Wilmington. As in the north, the line was drawn in the sand with no going back.
Howe once again represented Brunswick County in the Third Provincial Congress that convened in Hillsborough, August 20 – September 10, 1775. Much of the congress dealt with the safety of its residents and preparation for war with Great Britain; dividing the province into six militia districts.[44] Of importance is the vote on September 1st to name two North Carolina State Regiments, each containing five hundred men. Colonel James Moore was chosen to lead the 1st North Carolina Regiment and Colonel Robert Howe was to head the 2nd Regiment. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia voted to form a Continental Army with General Washington in command on June 14, 1775. On November 4th, Congress officially voted to take command of established state regiments; officially declaring the two North Carolina regiments as Continental soldiers. Howe’s efforts to obtain a battlefield command had finally come to fruition. But for the ambitious Howe it was just the beginning of his desire for military glory.
American Revolution
Norfolk Virginia Burned
Howe continued his political aspirations while in command of his own Continental regiment; representing Brunswick County in three more Provincial Congresses. After assuming command of the 2nd NC Continental Regiment, he headquartered his command in New Bern, assigned to protect the northern half of North Carolina to the Virginia border. By December, 1775, Virginia’s Royal Governor John Murray, Lord Dunmore, was clinging to power in Norfolk. His force was defeated by the 2nd Virginia Continental Regiment under Colonel William Woodford at the Battle of Great Bridge, December 9, 1775. Dunmore withdrew all his forces to Norfolk and soon after, abandoned the city to reside amidst his fleet anchored in the harbor.
Howe kept a close eye on developments in Virginia, particularly Dunmore’s attempts to recruit loyalists that threatened the border between the two colonies, and moved his force northward. Prior to the decisive battle at Great Bridge, Howe had offered Virginia his assistance. Colonel Woodford declined, but the Virginia Convention instructed him to “embrace the offer of assistance.” The ambitious North Carolinian’s offer was most likely based on seeing the Virginia crisis as an opportunity for a military glory.[45] Howe’s 376-man detachment from his regiment did not arrive until three days after the battle and Dunmore’s retreat to Norfolk. Some sources state Howe knew Woodford from campaigning during the French and Indian war; however, there is no documentation to support this. After Dunmore abandoned the city to his fleet, Woodford and Howe positioned their troops, 1,258 along the waterfront. Howe, the ranking Continental officer, assumed command of all troops in Norfolk.
Howe and Woodford viewed Norfolk as a ‘hotbed of Tory activity.’ It was also a threat as potential harbor for a strong British naval fleet. The two men believed Norfolk should be destroyed and petitioned the Virginia Convention to burn the city. Howe immediately put the city on a war-footing and cut off selling supplies to enemy ships. Howe proved to be an unyielding negotiator towards British demands which infuriated Dunmore. When Americans and British started taking pot shots at each other, Dunmore proclaimed he would act. On January 1, 1776, Dunmore bombarded the city for seven hours, landing raiding parties to set the waterfront ablaze. Howe and Woodford beat back the British troops, but in doing so was also accused of looting and setting additional fires. When the smoke cleared, four fifths of Virginia’s largest city was in ruins. But for Howe, he got what he sought after; a hero’s welcome among Virginia’s political elite. Howe basked in the attention and would spend three months in Virginia before ordered back to his state, by then he was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army.
Battle of Sullivan Island
In mid-February, 1776, the Continental Congress decided to add a Southern Army to the Northern Army in Albany, NY and Canada, and the main Eastern Army in Boston and later New York City. Major General Charles Lee was chosen in March to command the Southern Army that included Continental regiments from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. Six new brigadier generals were commissioned in which four would serve under Lee; Andrew Lewis commanded forces in Virginia, James Moore in North Carolina, John Armstrong in South Carolina, and Robert Howe, joining Lewis in Virginia.[46] By the beginning of April, Howe had moved his troops to Halifax, North Carolina where the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress convened, April 4, 1776. With Howe voting in favor, the “Halifax Resolves” were approved, the first official provincial action of independence in America.[47] By early May, the reports of a British invasion of the south became a reality, and for Howe, the experience of personal loss.
Between April 18 and May 3, 1776, a fleet under Commodore Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton anchored at the entrance to Cape Fear River, with British troops occupying the ruins of Fort Johnston. While Howe was still in Halifax, he learned that nine hundred British troops landed at his Kendal Plantation so to surprise a detachment of Americans stationed there. Though his home was ravaged with all its contents plundered, they left the house and outbuildings intact. General Lee claimed that North Carolina was not the object of the fleet’s invasion as he marched south at the head of Continental troops that included Howe’s regiment. Lee evidenced the loss of vital British allies with the defeat of loyalist highlanders at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, February 27. He correctly assumed the fleet’s object was Charleston (period Charlestown), which proved accurate. Commodore Parker and General Clinton dropped anchor off Charleston on June 4th and on the morning of June 9th, Lee with Howe arrived and joined Brigadier Armstrong to take command of the city’s American forces.
Lee spent the next couple of weeks fortifying the city, while recommending that the island Fort Sullivan be abandoned. He was convinced that the British would slip by the fort, commanded by South Carolina Colonel William Moultrie, and attack Charleston directly. He put General Howe in command of troops within Charleston and General Armstrong at Haddrell’s Point. When the British attack came on June 28 at 10:30 AM, it was directed at Fort Sullivan. The fort withstood the intense bombardment, most shells absorbed by the soft palmetto logs that formed its foundation. With accurate and consistent fire, the Americans gradually battered the British warships which finally withdrew. Howe, stationed in Charleston, did not participate in action and served only as a spectator to the American victory. That went to South Carolinians under Colonel Moultrie.
Command of the Southern Army by Default
After the British defeat at Charleston, Lee had his hands full. He faced difficulties working with South Carolina legislators while fulfilling Georgia’s demands that the Southern Army march to their aid. The Cherokee nation renewed their attacks on the western frontier. British raiding parties, Georgia and South Carolina refugees who had settled in Florida, plundered and kidnapped settlers, terrorizing the Savannah River Valley. Underpopulated, disunited, and economically unable to finance a substantial defensive effort, Georgia constituted a weak, but vital, link in the Southern defensive structure.[48] Savannah had only one small battalion of Continentals and about 2,500 militia to defend the city and frontier. Lee departed for Savannah in early August leaving General Armstrong in charge in Charleston.
On August 10, 1776, General Howe left to join Lee, marching at the head of 1,500 Continentals, mainly from Virginia and North Carolina. In early September, Lee was called north to the main army,[49] leaving Brigadier James Moore[50] in charge of the Southern Army.[51] At the time, Moore was in the Cape Fear, North Carolina region recruiting and resupplying. When Lee departed, Howe took over command of forces in Savannah. As in Charleston, Lee had difficulties working with the Georgia legislators. Just before leaving, had reluctantly agreed to an invasion of Florida to halt loyalist raids. Howe inherited the attempted invasion, doomed to failure by inadequate funding, disease, and desertions. By October, the expedition ground to a halt, but by then Howe had already returned to Charleston, departing on September 20th. Prior to leaving, he had set in motion the construction of several redoubts and blockhouses along the coast. One was Fort Barrington, rebuilt and in December, 1776, renamed Fort Howe.
General Armstrong, learning of Howe’s approach and seizing the opportunity to head home, claimed poor health and departed for Pennsylvania, leaving Howe in charge of Continental troops in Georgia and South Carolina. General Moore returned to Charleston in November 1776. Howe spent the fall and winter training and disciplining troops and improving Charleston’s defenses. He was to experience what would haunt his entire military career; chronic shortages of supplies for the army – the bane of all Continental commanders throughout the war. Moore left Charleston on February 5, 1777, along with a major portion of the North Carolina regiments to be delivered to the main army wintering in Morristown, New Jersey.
As his second, Howe was given charge of the Southern Army of mainly South Carolina and Georgian troops and militias. By then Moore was ill with what was reported to be a ‘stomach gout.’ He was delayed in Wilmington, North Carolina where he died on April 15, 1777.[52] This left Moore’s cousin, Brigadier Howe temporarily in charge of the Southern Army. Howe’s command was official on October 22, 1777, when Congress promoted him to Major General.[53]
Political Nightmare
It is necessary to understand that first General Lee and afterwards General Howe faced massive difficulties when attempting to assert control over military forces assigned them by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. What amounted to butting heads against a brick wall were of such herculean proportions, they were probably beyond the capabilities of the most competent Continental officers. But the causes of what amounted to a turf war between civil and military authority ran deeply in a culture that firmly believed in the army marching to the calling of civilian, not military leaders.
American political culture in the 18th century was dominated by a localist world view and distrust of the military. Whig ideology, rooted in a conspiracy mentality heralding back to the Cromwellian era, feared the excessive power of a standing army and, thus, took great pains to see that the military was under civil control to prevent abuses of power[54]. Many scholars believe that this not only hindered military operations, but prolonged the war; the flip side of the coin assured that by war’s end, America would have a government dominated not by military, but civilians.
When John Armstrong arrived in Charleston in May 1776, he discovered that South Carolina troops were not a part of the Continental system. He therefore had no army at his disposal. John Rutledge, president (same as governor) of South Carolina reluctantly released only five regiments to Lee just before the British attacked Fort Sullivan on the 28th. Lee, not satisfied, had pushed for Continental control of all regiments, resulting in Rutledge and he struggling for command. When Howe and Lee marched to help Georgia confront Loyalist raiders, Governor Rutledge denied them the right to command South Carolina troops. Things only worsened when the generals arrived in Savannah.
Georgia Governor Archibald Bulloch[55] assumed command over all Georgian troops, both Continental and militia, and did not recognize Howe’s authority. Georgia’s small population was torn between loyalist and patriot elements. A political cleavage existed between the Savannah elite and the yeomen and backcountry settlers; in North Carolina it gave birth to the Regulator Movement. This resulted in constant friction and bitter confrontations, pitting the Continental Army against the civil government.[56]
Before Lee was ordered north, he clashed heads with southern legislatures whose obstinance in demanding control of all things military offered solutions without substance; watered down by ignorance in military planning. Lee would later complain that “The People here [Georgia] are more harum skarum than their sister colony [South Carolina]. They will propose anything, and after they have proposed it, discover that they are incapable of performing the least…” He detailed examples of decisions forming multiple horse patrols without providing horses, sending a fleet to patrol the rivers then recollecting they have not a single boat. Lee ends in sharp frustration that “Upon the whole, I should not be surprised if they were to propose mounting a body of Mermaids or Alligators.”[57] The situation only worsened when expeditions against the enemy were plagued by constant squabbling between Continental officers and civilian authorities. No one knew who was in control, leaving the rank and file doomed to failure.
Frustration and Florida’s Failed Expeditions
When Howe assumed command of the Southern army, he often yielded to the vacillations of political influence, sacrificing much of his effectiveness as a commander.[58] In repeated confrontations with South Carolina and Georgia authorities over appointments, line of command, state defense over offensive measures, and supplying the army, he pulled back, but complained bitterly, referring the issues to the Continental Congress. Howe’s frequent appeals for support of the army inundated Congress sitting in Philadelphia. He pleaded for more troops, armaments, equipment, funding; all were desperately needed stating that his district “…is in a state so deplorably weak that it seems to invite an attack.”[59] Seeking Congress’ lead in dealing with government officials took time and the correspondence by his superiors in Philadelphia was often non-committal. And for Howe, embroiled in trying to please all while ensuring the safety of the southern frontier, time was running out.
1777 Invasion. British raiding parties intensified during the winter of 1776-1777. On February 17,[60] 1777, Fort McIntosh fell to Florida Rangers leader Lt. Colonel Thomas Brown. Under pressure from newly appointed Georgia President (same as governor) Button Gwinnett,[61] Archibald Bulloch had died on February 22nd) Howe in Charleston sent 150 Virginian recruits and 160 from South Carolina to aid the Georgia militia defending the border. Expeditions into Florida were to be financed by South Carolina; however, Governor Rutledge, due to objections over who commanded South Carolina forces in Georgia, among a host of other reasons, refused to release the money. Meanwhile, Governor Gwinnett assumed command of the Georgia Continentals led by Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh. The second invasion of Florida got underway on May 1, 1777 wrought with lack of funding, poor planning, and continued squabbling between civil and military leaders. The result was a defeat of rebel forces at the Battle of Thomas Creek, Florida, May 17th. Shortly before the remnants of the rebel army began their retreat north, the feud between Governor Gwinnett and General McIntosh.[62] boiled over into violence. The two fought a duel on May 16th wounding both. McIntosh recovered, but Gwinnett died three days later.
1778 Invasion. In February, 1778, Georgia’s assembly authorized now Governor John Houstoun[63] to organize a third expedition against East Florida. Loyalist Ranger leader Lt. Colonel Brown was once more in the field. His activities in attacking frontier patriot homes, with the destruction of Fort Howe on March 3rd, sealed Georgia’s decision to invade Florida. Like his predecessor, Houstoun firmly believed that the Georgia legislature commanded all aspects of military actions involving state matters. In other words, the decision to march upon Florida was to be made by the state and therefore he, as its leader, commanded the invading force. State militias would not follow orders by Continental officers and South Carolina refused to fund Continental forces; though Congress expected all colonies to fund Continental forces in their state. Underfunded with no direct chain of command, Howe marched at the head of the third expedition against East Florida. But so too the Georgia governor, resulting in a direct confrontation between the two.
The expedition was launched on April 14, 1778, with additional forces joining the main thrust south along the way. By June 26th, with Howe and Governor Houstoun both declaring themselves overall commander, and South Carolina troops only taking orders from their Colonel Charles Pickney, 1,300 men arrived on the Florida frontier. Conditions were horrid with heat, lack of supplies, sickness, and desertions.[64] A detached force of American cavalry were defeated at the Battle of Allegator Bridge on June 30th. Void of food and supplies, Howe had marched his sickly Continentals force to at Fort Tonyn, twenty-five miles up the St. Mary’s River, border of Florida, hoping to vitalize his command. But none were to be had for Governor Houstoun only provided to the needs of Georgia’s militia.
Though Governor Houstoun insisted the army march on St. Augustine, Howe’s Continentals were in no shape to do so. Tempers flared among the principal players, but on July 11th, a Council of War decided with less than 400 Continental soldiers were fit for duty, the only recourse was to return north. By July 30th, the remnants of the army, most worn thin and sickly by disease and lack of nourishment, arrived Savannah. But unknown to Howe, his worst fears were yet to come – England had already planned to send a strong invasion force against Savannah.[65]
Howe is Replaced as Commander of the Southern Army
In the heat of the southern summer, Howe was increasingly at an impasse with civil authorities. His repeated cavil outbursts to one and all eventually wearied those to whom he aired his grievances, especially those sitting in Congress. Meanwhile, South Carolina and Georgia governors’ attempts to exert control over military matters continued to create confusion and contradiction within the Southern command. The North Carolina general soon gave his political enemies the final ammunition needed in seeking Howe’s removal. In August, having returned to Charleston, Howe resumed his exorbitant lifestyle that included miscellaneous affairs with women. The final straw came on August 30, 1778, when disagreements with government officials erupted in violence.
Howe drew pistols with one of his main critics, Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. At eight paces, Howe fired, and missed – barely. In turn, Gadsden fired into the air. The combatants made amends and retained their honor, but for Howe, the damage was done as the affair became public. And speaking of affairs, Howe’s numerous liaisons with women became a rally cry among the legislatures. They jointly demanded Howe’s recall to Congress, listing, among the numerous other concerns, Howe’s dalliances that scorned the honor of southern women. This was the deciding factor as both Congress and Washington had enough. New blood would hopefully quell and pacify southern politicians to fall in line and turn their efforts once more upon the nation’s true enemy. On September 25, 1778, Washington ordered Howe to report to the main army in New Jersey. He was replaced by Major General Benjamin Lincoln.
Howe did not receive the news until October, 9th and was devastated. “Have I not sacrificed my Fortune and Peace to the service of my country…and shall I…be recalled at that moment when this Country is likely to become the scene of it – How Sir have I deserved this disgrace?”[66] To add insult to injury, Lincoln was to be given what Howe had spent two years pleading for. An army of Continental soldiers properly equipped for battle. But like Howe, what Lincoln was promised remained a pipe dream. Though he was to have 7,000 troops, the general from Massachusetts could barely count 1,400 by January 1, 1779. As to the supplies needed to support a campaign, there was little to none. To his credit, Lincoln would avoid the political entanglements that had overwhelmed Howe and managed to gain a measure of support from the South Carolina government. But before Lincoln could take command, Howe was given one last chance to redeem himself in the defense of the south. Unfortunately, the North Carolina Rice King found humiliation, not glory, waiting for him in Savannah.[67]
Battle of Savannah
By mid-October, 1778, General Clinton in New York could finally turn his attention to the southern invasion Lord Germain had requested in March of that year, leading to the First Battle of Savannah. With the American/Franco attack on Rhode Island defeated and the French fleet out of the picture for the time being, the road was clear for British transports. On November 27, 1778, an invasion fleet sailed from New York under the command of Commodore Hyde Parker[68] and Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell.[69] They were to rendezvous with forces from East Florida under General Augustine Prevost. The combined British, German, and loyalist force assigned to capture Savannah and move inland would number over three thousand troops, most were hardened veterans.[70] Against this, the colonial forces could barely muster 600 Continentals along with a couple hundred militiamen. For Howe, not knowing what he was up against and seeking a glorious vindication, it proved a recipe for disaster.
General Prevost in Florida took the initiative two weeks before the British fleet set out from New York City. His younger brother, Major Mark Prevost, marched a large detachment of mainly Florida Rangers and Creek warriors to the Savannah River Valley. They were to plunder and destroy patriot settlements before marching down river to Sunbury. There, they were to join a small fleet under Colonel Lewis V. Fuser carrying 400 British regulars. Once the rebel Fort at Sunbury was captured, they would wait for the main force under General Prevost, before carrying on to hook up with the British fleet from New York. Howe, in Charleston, got word that a large raiding party was in the area north of the Altamaha River and on November 18th, marched as many troops as he could gather to Georgia. Three days later he received a desperate letter from militiamen attempting to halt Major Prevost’s advance, stating they “destroy everything they meet in their way. They have burnt all the houses…within four miles of Sunbury[71]…” Unaware that this action was a preview of a much larger invasion, Howe immediately sent word back to Charleston for more troops to join him.
Howe arrived at the Medway Meeting House, upriver from Sunbury, on November 27th. By then Major Prevost had already turned back toward St. Augustine. His advance guard did not find Fuser’s fleet waiting for him at Sunbury. The general’s brother decided his mission was a success; having done enough damage while collected ample supplies, and returned home. Fuser was delayed by headwinds and didn’t arrive Sunbury until December 1st. Finding Fort Morris’ rebel garrison, commanded by veteran fighter Lt. Colonel John McIntosh, refusing to surrender, and without Major Prevost’s men, Fuser gave up and sailed back to St. Augustine. By then, Howe knew he had bigger fish to contend with. Soon after Fuser’s departure, on December 6th, word arrived that of a string of British warships and transports were gradually anchoring off Savannah’s harbor. Also, that a deserter[72] informed Governor Houstoun that Savannah was the mission of the invasion fleet. Howe was determined to defend the city and ordered all converging troops to begin heading there.
By the time the British fleet from New York arrived in force, Howe could only muster 600 Continentals that included South Carolina troops under Colonel Isaac Huger and the Georgia Brigade commanded by Brigadier General Samuel Elbert. Governor Houstoun reluctantly released to Howe’s command, around 200 Georgia militiamen. While preparing to defend a city that lacked only a scattering of operatable cannon, Howe wrote to General Moultrie in Charleston on December 8th from Perrysburg, 20 miles upriver from Savannah, “I am sorry to inform you that this town is not defensible for half an hour, should it be attacked…” To Congress, he emphasized the dangers which threatened the Georgia coast. He pointed out in detail his lack of men, munitions of war, and the disorganization existing in his scattered army.[73]
On December 23rd, Campbell’s fleet had fully arrived off Tybee island, fifteen miles downriver from Savannah, waiting for word of General Prevost’s progress from Florida.[74] He sent a company of Highlander light infantry ashore on the 25th to gather information on his enemy. Campbell was able to gather that the rebel force under Major General Robert Howe had arrived to defend the city with 1500 troops and that reinforcements were expected. With this news, Campbell decided he would not wait for Prevost. That he had superior numbers of veteran regulars for an immediate strike before additional rebel troops arrived. An ideal location to land his infantry was found; a plantation at Girardeau Landing, twelve miles upriver and less than two miles below Savannah. Campbell landed his men on the evening of December 27th, but after some of his ships were grounded on the mud, waited a day for a tidal shift to finish offloading his men.
When Howe arrived in Savannah, it appears he was still unaware of the quality and size of the enemy force, believing his 750 or so men fit for duty were enough to defend the city. He formed his encampment southeast of the town, anxiously awaiting the arrival of re-enforcements under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln. With reports of British ships making their way up river, he deployed his men. The line of battle formed a crest across the main road that ran east to west from the bluff at Brewton Hill to the city; believing that was the route his enemy would take. Howe’s left flank bordered the Savannah River and his right flank hugged an impassable rice-swamp. The left flank along the river proved firm; however, the impassable wetlands proved anything but that, which proved devastating for the rebel defenders.
Rebel leader General Moultrie (hero of the 1776 successful defense of Fort Sullivan at Charleston) later criticized Howe for remaining in Savannah for its defense. He argued that it was absurd to suppose that around 6 or 700 men, sickly with many raw troops filling the ranks, could stand against “two to three thousand, as good troops as any the British had, and headed by Col. Campbell, an active, brave, and experienced officer.”[75] During a council of war just prior to the coming battle, Howe was ill-advised and sided with the overall opinion that he should remain and fight to the last. Many critics point out that had he withdrawn to Perrysburg, he could have united with General Lincoln’s reinforcements who arrived on January 3rd, just four days after the battle.
On the morning of December 29th, Campbell ordered the attack, spearheaded by his veteran Highlanders. From the landing, a 600-yard causeway over a rice-swamp led to the plantation house perched on a steep bluff called Brewton’s Hill. Campbell’s force had to advance over the narrow causeway. British Lt. Colonel Stephen DeLancey of New Jersey Partisan troops[76] later wrote his wife that “Had the Rebels been there in Force with Cannon, it would in my opinion have been impracticable to have made good the Landing.”[77] Early historian Hugh McCall wrote that Colonel Elbert discovered where the British would land and advised Howe to position a regiment on the bluff with cannon. Howe dismissed Elbert offhand, but later sent one company of forty South Carolina troops under Captain John Smith to the bluff. This proved far too few to be effective. Critics later blasted Howe for not following Elbert’s recommendation, agreeing that a strong force with a few pieces of field artillery would have shattered the advancing column.[78] One company of Light Infantry under Captain Charles Cameron charged down the causeway. Captain Smith volleyed, killing Cameron and eight others, but the hardened redcoats pressed on with bayonets routing the rebels before they could have time to reload.
Refusing to place a strong defense on Brewton’s Hill was a major blunder. But believing the rice swamp that butted the rebel right flank was impassable proved fatal. Campbell wrote a letter to Lord Germain on January 16, 1779 detailing much of what we know about the attack on Savannah. He drew his force close to the American line writing, “I discovered the rebel army, under Major General Robert Howe, drawn up about half a mile east of the town of Savannah, with several pieces of cannon in their front.” Howe had two brigades of Continental troops; South Carolina on the right and the Georgia brigade on the left that flanked the River. Georgia militia were on the extreme right along the rice-swamp. Campbell recorded what could be called divine luck. “Having accidentally fallen in with a Negro who knew a private path through the wooded swamp upon the enemy’s right…” Historian McCall wrote that Colonel George Walton, leading the Georgia militia, had warned Howe of this passage and that it should be blocked. But Howe, true to character and like the earlier advice on Brewton Hill, decided to ignore it.
While Campbell shelled and drew his troops before the American left as though it were his main assault, he secretively marched his light infantry under Sir James Baird along the trail through the swamp. When the light infantry emerged in the rear of the Georgia militia, they attacked – the signal for Campbell to call out a full assault on the entire American front. Caught between two pincers, the American line collapsed. The right flank poured through the city seeking the only escape over the Musgrove Swamp causeway. By the time the American left, consisting of Georgian Continentals, poured through town, they were within fire of pursuing British and German regulars. When they reached the causeway, it was blocked by advancing British troops. Many of those who tried to swim across the swamp drowned. Of those who remained were killed, wounded, or captured.
What was left of the American Southern Army limped to assemble at Perrysburg, about twenty miles upriver. Fully two thirds of the army was lost. Campbell wrote, ““Thirty-eight officers of different distinctions, and four hundred and fifteen non-commissioned officers and privates…Eighty-three of the enemy were found dead on the Common, and eleven wounded…By the accounts received from their prisoners, thirty lost their lives in the swamp [Elbert’s men attempting to swim Musgrove Creek] endeavoring to make their escape.”[79]
British losses were far less; six killed and fifteen wounded. On January 3rd, General Lincoln, along with 1,200 men, mainly new levies from North Carolina, arrived at Perrysburg, on the Carolina side of the river. He was joined by what remained of Howe’s command the next day its leader in disgrace, the glory he had sought forever lost.
Called North to the Hudson Highlands and West Point
Howe would never again command troops in the south. A court of inquiry was held; and although General Howe was acquitted, his military reputation never recovered from the shadow cast upon it by the loss of the capital of Georgia and shattered army. He was soon called north to join other ostracized officers assigned docile commands in New England, due to their poor performance in the field; Major Generals Israel Putnam[80] and William Heath.[81] Though censured, fate gave Howe another chance at redemption in leading a field command. But like Savannah, it appeared Howe could not get past war’s adage; plans are only good until the first shots are fired. Howe failed in his assignment that did not help Washington’s assessment of Howe’s abilities. He was to sit out the war mainly in New England and upper New York State, tasked with guarding the British stationed in New York City.
Failure at Verplanck and Redemption
It appeared that Howe was on the wrong end of fateful decisions; when at Savannah he fought when he should have retreated, and seven months later, at Verplanck, he ran, when he should have fought. Or perhaps he shared the scars of his British counterpart, General William Howe, who, after the Battle of Bunker Hill, would never again order a direct assault against his enemy.
Howe had taken his time riding north to join Washington’s army, remaining in Charleston for over a month before departing in March. He arrived at Washington’s headquarters on May 19, 1779 for his assignment, but was injured in a fall. Howe remained bedridden while the Continental Army headed north to the Hudson Highlands and West Point. On May 30th, General Henry Clinton marched 6,000 regulars up the Hudson Valley The next day they captured key forts that linked New England with the middle states, particularly Stony Point. Howe, though hobbling, joined the army on July 2nd, and was stationed in Ridgefield, Connecticut, assigned to guard against enemy raiding parties along the coast.
On the night of July 15, 1779, General ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne stormed Stony Point with bayonet and took the fortification with few casualties. With Stony Point once more in American hands, Washington ordered two brigades from West Point to march to secure the region. Major General William Heath was not available, so Washington gave this command to Howe who met the brigade in route. Howe was to march through Peekskill and take up position above Verplanck’s Point. There, he was to position artillery and spread alarm among the enemy so they might abandon the post. Fortune smiled no brighter for Howe along the Hudson than Savannah for he discovered that no cannon, ammunition, nor entrenching tools to construct batteries had been supplied. He delayed the attack on the fort while cannon and ammunition were rushed forward. He also required more horsemen and asked Washington for more troop support. When Howe finally began bombarding the fort, he got word that British reinforcements were in route. Instead of ordering a direct assault on the fort, Howe limbered his cannon and ordered a hasty retreat.
With the fort at Verplanck strengthened, the American position at Stony Point was in jeopardy. Washington ordered Wayne to destroy the fort and join the main army, leaving the British once more in command of the region. Howe’s contemporaries placed the blame with the North Carolina general for “finding many supposed obstructions,” as an excuse to withdraw instead of following through with an assault on the fort. General Heath, who had felt the scorn of fellow officers for his lack of action came to bat for Howe, writing Washington that “Major General Howe was very fortunate in making his retreat at the instant he did, had he remained I think that he would have been Burgoyned…”[82] Whatever the cause for the failure to take Verplanck, Howe’s actions as combat commander were not impressive.
West Point, Arnold, and Andre
Howe was returned to his position in Ridgefield, Connecticut. His rank as major general gave him command of a division. He was to conduct occasional raids against enemy outposts in Westchester County New York and to guard against raiders along the coast. Howe would remain at this and the Peekskill post throughout the winter of 1779-1780. He would be in Connecticut when his replacement, General Lincoln was engaged with the French Admiral d’Estaing in a failed attack on Savannah. After d’Estaing departed and Lincoln marched back to Charleston, the British were confident to press their invasion of the south. Arriving in February of 1780, General Clinton captured Charleston and the entire Southern Continental Army on May 12, 1780. British forces moved inland to reclaim Georgia and maintain outposts across South Carolina, forcing many of Howe’s old foes in the legislature to accept paroles or flea the region.
Washington continually turned to Howe for sensitive administrative duties; perhaps the North Carolinian’s presence as a southern outsider. When Major General Benedict Arnold was accused of misconduct as military commander of Philadelphia (June 1778 – March 1779), Howe was chosen as president of the proceedings to investigate. This court convened in Morristown on December 23, 1779. On January 26th, the court sentenced Arnold to receive a formal reprimand from Washington; scholars believe for Arnold, this was the last straw that drove the turncoat into the arms of the British. Howe returned to the Highlands in February, 1780 and West Point, where he took over command of the army, leaving the ailing General Heath to return to Boston. Howe as a strict disciplinarian at West Point, aided by the Prussian Baron Frederick William von Steuben – firearms instructor of Valley Forge fame. Howe never flinched at ordering deserters placed before a firing squad and urged those under his command “to avoid a crime so detestable in its nature and so fatal in its consequences.”[83]
Howe was in command of West Point when Benedict Arnold toured the fortification in mid-June, 1780. Afterwards, Arnold expressed interest in assuming command of West Point to powerful New York politicians. One, Robert Livingston, wrote that he feared that Howe was not enterprising enough to command the critical post and urged Arnold’s appointment. Though Washington desired a field command for one of his best generals, West Point was given to Arnold on August 1, 1780. On September 21, British adjutant to General Henry Clinton was rowed ashore from the HMS Vulture at Haverstraw where he met Arnold at Joshua Hett Smith’s[84] house in secrecy. Two days later, Andre was discovered with the plans of West Point in his boot and Arnold escaped aboard ship to New York City. At Andre’s trial, some historians and internet articles state Howe presided; however, Major General Nathanael Greene was president. Fourteen general officers, in which Howe was one, unanimously convicted Andre of spying and ordered him to be hanged. Howe was preset to witness Andre hanged on October 2, 1780. As a footnote, after Andre was hanged, British rumors leaked that so too, Howe was in British pay, but dismissed by Washington as pure fabrication.
Continental Soldiers Mutiny
During the mild winter of 1780-1781, Washington’s headquarters was at New Windsor, New York. His command formed a large U-shape that stretched from New Jersey to the Hudson Highlands and Connecticut. Howe remained with the Highlands Division, once more under the command of General William Heath. On January 1, 1781, 2,400 Pennsylvania soldiers mutinied and marched off to Philadelphia to demand pay and better supplies. Officers peacefully negotiated with the men and they returned to duty after a two-month furlough, leaving Washington fretting over future mutinies and the precedent that had been established. On January 20th, a few days after the Pennsylvania mutiny was resolved, two hundred of the New Jersey line mutinied. This time, Washington was in no mood to negotiate. He ordered Howe to march south to New Jersey at the head of six hundred troops. Howe was to compel the mutineers to unconditional submission and grant no terms while the men were armed and in a state of resistance. As to ringleaders, “you [Howe] will instantly execute a few of the most active and most incendiary leaders.”[85]
Howe’s detachment arrived at Ringwood, New Jersey on January 25th. He discovered that local officers had negotiated with the New Jersey mutineers who had returned to their huts at Pompton. Howe rejected any offered terms and firmly followed his instructions, assuming they were still armed and in a state of resistance. He marched to Pompton and positioned his detachment and artillery to surround the encampment. At dawn, Howe gave the mutineers five minutes to parade without their arms. The ultimatum had its effect, and the huts immediately emptied. Howe once more showed he never hesitated in ordering capital punishment. From a list of ringleaders, one man was chosen from each of the three Jersey regiments who had mutinied. A firing squad executed two as the men looked on; the third was pardoned after the Jersey officers interceded. In this, Washington was delighted by Howe’s performance. Crushing the Jersey mutiny and served notice to all troops that orders were to be obeyed or suffer the strictest consequences.
Army Marches to Yorktown without Howe
After putting down the New Jersey mutiny, Howe returned to spend the rest of the winter of 1781 between posts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the spring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Boston. In June, Howe was ordered to once more command the forces at West Point. In July, Washington had hoped to attack New York City along with French forces. But by the end of the month, he learned that the French Fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse had departed the Caribbean for the Chesapeake. Washington immediately changed course and planned to join the French fleet, along with the Continental detachment in Virginia under General Lafayette and von Steuben.
Howe was distraught to learn that he would be left behind; Major General Lincoln, Howe’s replacement in 1778, was selected as field commander of American forces for the expedition to Yorktown. Howe had dreamed of returning triumphantly to the south; especially after Washington, on an earlier occasion, had promised his North Carolinian subordinate he would join the army in any southern campaign. Washington explained to Howe that he could only assign one major general to the expedition, and Lincoln was senior to Howe. After the Yorktown victory and surrender of General Cornwallis’ army on October 19, 1781, the war was grinding to an end.
The north remained basically quiet, but for foraging and raiding parties in New Jersey and Westchester, New York. But in South Carolina and Georgia, hostilities continued to exact casualties on both sides as detached forces clashed. So too, the brutal backcountry civil war between loyalist and patriot militias carried on for two more years.
Court-martial
As if insult to injury, Howe would spend the fall of 1781 defending his actions at Savannah before a court-martial. Howe’s old enemies in Georgia convinced Congress to order an investigation into Howe’s action and recommended that he be stripped of his rank and command. In October, 1781, Howe rode to Philadelphia to begin preparing his defense for the trial that began on December 7th. Howe’s acquaintance at West Point, Maj. Gen. von Steuben was president in a trial that droned on until January 23, 1782. Howe used his talents as an eloquent speaker to their fullest; pointing out the charges, three years old, were based on a recalcitrant state government not willing to cooperate with Continental officers. And that presently they mean to prop up an incompetent governor searching for a scapegoat. Howe’s arguments must have been effective as the unanimous verdict awarded him with the “highest honors” on all charges.
But Howe could not resume his command in the Highlands. He had run up a substantial debt during his three month stay in Philadelphia and could not leave until it was satisfied. After securing a loan, he resumed his nomadic commands throughout the Hudson Valley. Since the British were not expected to conduct offensive measures while peace talks were in the process, Howe’s main duties to war’s end was to keep the army together, alert, and occupied until the official termination of hostilities. \
One Last Hurrah
By the summer of 1783, hostilities with England had ended. But for Howe, he was given one last chance to command troops in the field. In June, a body of Pennsylvania troops mutinied and marched on Philadelphia. Congress fled to Princeton and Washington once more turned to Howe. He immediately set off for Philadelphia at the head of a brigade. Word of Howe’s approach was enough for the soldiers to lay down their arms. The ringleaders were tried and sentenced to death, but before Howe could carry out the sentences, mercy was granted the men and they were released. On September 13, 1783, Congress passed a resolution praising Howe and thinking him. Howe remained in command of his troops until the army was disbanded on November 3, 1783. Howe could finally go home to Wilmington, North Carolina after a seven-year absence.
After the War and Death
Howe helped establish the Society of the Cincinnati and was the second officer to sign the national charter. He later formed the society in his home state. He returned to his Kendal plantation what was still mortgaged from before the war. Howe was desperate to resume his former aristocratic role as influential member of the Caper Fear elite Rice Kings. He spent much of 1783-1784 traveling between Philadelphia and New York City to settle his debts and obtain back payments he claimed was owed him by Congress. His efforts eventually paid off with a settlement in 1785 from Congress for $7,000. Though Howe was appointed one of the commissioners to establish treaties with western Native American tribes, he failed to travel west to participate in negotiations.
In the summer of 1786, during a fierce election in which his former critics were brutal in their comments, he was elected a member of the North Carolina House of Commons representing Brunswick County. But it was at a price. He wore himself ragged campaigning and was stricken with a ‘bulbous fever.’ While traveling upriver to Fayetteville where the General Assembly was scheduled to convene on November 20, 1786, he stopped to visit his friend Brig. General Thomas Clark at Point Repose Plantation near the mouth of Hood’s Creek. There he suffered a relapse. After lingering for several days, he died on December 14, 1786. It is uncertain where Howe’s remains were laid. Some sources claim his body was taken to Grange Farm, near Waymans Creek, where he lived as a young man and was the property of his former wife Sarah. Another version states Howe’s body was conveyed to his Kendal estate and interred in a family burying ground. In either case, no slab was placed over the grave and its location lost to posterity.[86]
Robert Howe as a person and a Revolutionary War officer aroused a disparate mixture of admiration, praise, distaste, and ridicule. As a citizen of the emerging United States, he was an effective political leader in the cause of American freedom. As a political leader, he had a special ability in verbalizing and formulating public sentiment in a time when America was defining its future. And as a military officer, never having achieved the battlefield glory he so desperately sought, Robert Howe’s place in history is somewhat obscure; often labeled competent, sensible, but without talent. Till his death, he never got over Savannah and the loss of Georgia. Though he never claimed extraordinary military abilities, he did claim an exceptional desire and perseverance to succeed; having labored long with little reward. Perhaps that is the touch of glory, how he should be remembered, in a life he never realized.[87]
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE EARLY SOUTHERN WAR AND HUDSON HIGHLANDS, WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BOOKS
OF SIMILAR INTEREST IN REVOLUTIONARY WAR JOURNAL
Reference
Babits, Lawrence & Howard, Joshua B. Fortitude and Forbearance: The North Carolina Continental Line in the Revolutionary War 1775-1783. 2004: North Carolina Dept. of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC.
Bennett, Charles E.; Lennon, Donald R. A Quest for Glory: Major General Robert Howe and the American Revolution. 1991: University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.
Buchanan, John. The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas. New York: Wiley, 1997.
Cashin, Edward J. The King’s Ranger: Thomas Brown and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier. 1999: Fordham Univ Press, New York, NY.
Dawson, Henry B. Battles of the United States, Sea and Land, Vol. 1. 1858: Johnson, Fry, and Company, New York, NY.
DeLancey, Stephen. “We Took Possession of the Town.” Letter from Stephen DeLancey of the American Volunteers to his wife penned on January 14, 1779. American Battlefield Trust.
Ford, Worthington Chauncey. British Officers Serving in the American Revolution, 1774 – 1783. 1897: Historical Printing Club, Brooklyn, New York.
Gordon, John W. South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History. 2003:University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina.
Holden, J. P. “General Robert Howe.” Brunswick County Historical Society Newsletter. August, 1999.
Jones, Charles C. The History of Georgia: Volume 2 Revolutionary Epoch. 1883: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston, MA.
Lefler, Hugh T. & Powell, William S. Colonial North Carolina: A History. 1973: Charles Scribner & Sons, New York, NY.
Lennon, Donald. “Robert Howe.” From Harnett, Hooper & Howe: Revolutionary Leaders of the Lower Cape Fear. 1979: Wilmington, NC: L.T. Moore Memorial Commission, Lower Cape Fear Historical Society. pp. 68–100.
McCall, Hugh. The History of Georgia, Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events Up to the Present Day: Volume 2. 1816: Printed and Published by William T. Williams, Savannah, GA.
Rankin, Hugh F. The North Carolina Continentals. 1991: 2005 ed: University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.
Russell, David Lee. The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies. 2000:McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.
Schenawolf, Harry. “Battles of Thomas Creek and Allegator Bridge: Florida in the American Revolution.” Revolutionary War Journal. January 10, 2023.
Schenawolf, Harry. “First Battle and Capture of Savannah 1778.” Revolutionary War Journal. October 9, 2025.
Searcy, Mary. The Georgia–Florida Contest in the American Revolution, 1776–1778. 1985: University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL
Wilson, David K. The Southern Strategy: Britain’s Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775–1780. 2005: University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC.
Endnotes
[1] In the 18th century, before King Cotton rose to economic dominance in the south, rice was the Carolina’s most valuable export, making it the western world’s largest supplier. With the addition of slave labor, rice created enormous wealth for planters in the coastal Lowcountry. Beginning in the late 1600’s, by the mid-1700’s, the 300-mile coast line from Wilmington, NC to Savannah, GA, was known as the Kingdom of Rice. Many of these ‘well-ballasted’ farmers inherited their lands. Because of their wealth and large land holdings, Rice Kings ruled over colonial governments. Mainly due to economic reasons for greater profits, they became the dominant force seeking autonomy from England.
[2] Carolina was divided into North and South Carolina, in 1712.
[3] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 4.
[4] Some sources give Martha’s birth as 1712.
[5] Based on Martha being unmarried in her father Frederick Jones’ 1722 probate documents , therefore Martha’s marriage to Job Howe occurred after 1722.
[6] There is much confusion over Job’s wives; Martha Jones and Sarah Swann Jones. Some sites state Martha was the daughter of North Carolina jurist Frederick Jones. Other sites state that Frederick Jones did not have a daughter Martha, but a Sarah Swann Jones. A detailed search concludes that Frederick Jones (who died in 1722) had a daughter Martha who married Job. Frederick was not married to Sarah Swann Jones as some sites state, but Thomas Jones. After Frederick died, Sarah (carrying the name Sarah Swann Jones), remarried Job prior to 1732.
[7] Bennet & Lennon state that he had a brother Arthur who may have been a captain in the French and Indian War, pg. 10-11.
[8] Howe’s Point plantation was on the bay side of Figure Eight Island along the coast about twelve miles northeast of historic Wilmington, North Carolina.
[9] The plantation at Barren Inlet, today Mason Inlet, was along the southern tip of Figure Eight Island; south of the Howe’s point plantation.
[10] It is apparent from his high degree of literacy and his intimate knowledge of English literature that he was well educated, but there is not enough documentation to show whether this came from plantation schooling, from kinsmen in Charleston, or from an English school. J.P. Holden, Brunswick County Historical Society.
[11] Holden.
[12] Most sources give the date of their marriage as 1750. Their first son Job Jr., was born in 1753; though sources are not conclusive he was by Sarah or one of Howe’s many affairs.
[13] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 7.
[14] Famed revolutionary Josiah Quincy of Boston, visited North Carolina prior to the war and found Howe to be a “most happy compound of the man of sense, the sword, the Senate, and the buck … a favorite of the man of sense and the female world.” Rankin, 1971, pg. 18.
[15] Holden.
[16] The Orton Plantation was built around 1735 by Colonel Maurice Moore. The plantation later became a major rice plantation under Roger Moore, who was also a founder of Brunswick Town. The present rice fields are considered the last of their kind in North Carolina.
[17] Holden.
[18] Historic Bladen County spanned the lower Cape Fear River and far northwest. Later divided into several counties, Howe’s residence would be in Brunswick County.
[19] Throughout his life, Howe would represent Brunswick County in the colonial and later state legislature in six different sessions.
[20] Governor Arthur Dobbs of North Carolina ,British politician and colonial administrator, served from 1754 to 1764. He served during the French and Indian war and was often at odds with the North Carolina Assembly, at one point in 1760, temporally dissolving the assembly. He moved to Brunswick County in 1758 and befriended Howe.
[21] Holden.
[22] Governor Dobbs decided to retire and return to Ireland, but while packing, had a fatal seizure on 28 March 1765, just two weeks before he was to depart. The seventy-six-year-old administrator was buried at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, New Brunswick Town, (present Winnabow, NC) where no sign of his grave remains.
[23] The Stamp Act was passed by British Parliament on March 22, 1765, and was repealed on March 18, 1766. It imposed a direct tax on the colonies for various paper goods, which caused significant protest and opposition.
[24] In 1766, after the Stamp Act was repealed, Howe prepared an address to His Majesty George III expressing appreciation for the repeal.
[25] Howe worked with other North Carolina leaders such as Hugh Waddell, Abner Nash, and Cornelius Harnett to found the Wilmington Sons of Liberty organization.
[26] In England, the Court of Exchequer was a high court set aside for state financial matters; including debt collections and customs. In colonial America, the court of exchequer was more a financial symbolic position, though prestigious, the real power determining taxes and customs remained with the crown.
[27] Ibid, pg. 11.
[28] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 10.
[29] Waddell died after a prolonged battle with an illness on April 9, 1773, in Castle Hayne, North Carolina where he is buried.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Bennet & Lennon wrote that the Captain Howe recorded with Colonel Wendell in Tennessee could have been Captain Arthur Howe, Robert’s brother, pg. 10. Most sources agree Robert had a brother and two sisters, but the brother’s name was Job Jr., with no mention of Arthur.
[32] Captain John Dalrymple was the former army commandant of Fort Johnston. He had died suddenly the year before, and Tryon appointed Howe.
[33] Captain Howe did not command Fort Johnston in 1768, having been appointed Colonel of Artillery by Gov. Tryon. Howe was part of Tryon’s organization in preparation to suppress the Regulator movement of backcountry settlers frustrated with high taxes levied on them by the royal government and Lowcountry Rice Kings. Howe remained in charge of the artillery, but also retained his position at the fort the following year.
[34] Howe was replaced by British officer Swiss mapmaker Captain John Abraham Collet. Collet had returned from London after having spent several years stationed in North Carolina. He found the Fort Johnston in worsened condition; due to Howe’s negligence. With the approval of Tryon’s successor, Governor Josiah Martin, Collet undertook to improve and strengthen the fortifications. He was accused of more zeal than caution and diplomacy; however, he offered Howe to be his second and set aside accommodations for the Wilmington politician.
[35] Scotch-Irish are descendants of primarily Ulster Scots who emigrated from Ulster to America in the 18th century. Their ancestors had originally migrated to Ulster from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England in the 17th century.
[36] Labeled Tryon Palace, it was designed by English architect John Howks and built from 1767-1770, in New Bern, the newly established capital of NC. The opulent mansion with outbuildings cost the NC legislature £10,000, an exorbitant amount acquired by raising taxes on the lower-class citizenry. Perhaps the straw that broke the camel’s back, violence erupted across the colony by the oppressed taxpayers labeled Regulators, those who refused to pay for the governor’s “edifice. Tyon moved into the mansion in 1770 and would spend only one year there before accepting the post as Governor of New York in June, 1771. The palace was constructed using English builders; Tryon stated NC builders had not the expertise. Tryon’s replacement, Josiah Martin, lived in the Palace, but fled in May of 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolution. Furnishings were later auctioned off by the newly formed state government. Patriots made the Palace their capitol and the first sessions of the General Assembly met there to begin designing a free and independent state. Four state governors used the Palace as their residence: Richard Caswell, Abner Nash, Alexander Martin and Richard Dobbs Spaight, until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792. A cellar in 1798 destroyed all but the kitchen (later razed) and stable office that still stands. Plans for the palace was found in the 1930’s and the palace was rebuilt in 1959; serving as a museum and historical heritage.
[37] Josiah Quincy, firebrand patriot from Boston and close affiliate of Samuel and John Adams, paid Howe and other influential Rice King patriots a visit in late March, 1773. He planted the seed of North Carolina establishing a Committee of Correspondence to join other colonies in communication. Quincy recorded that Howe was “hot and zealous in the cause of America.” Before Quincy left, Howe pledged to promote the scheme for continental correspondence and promised to write. Bennet & Lennon pg. 20.
[38] Others members of the committee were Richard Caswell, John Harvey, John Ashe, Joseph Hewes, and Samuel Johnston. Caswell and Hewes would carry on to represent North Carolina in the First Continental Congress (William Hopper was the third delegate).
[39] The three delegates to the First Congressional Congress to convene in Philadelphia, Sept. 5, 1774, was chosen at this session: Richard Caswell, Joseph Hewes, and William Hopper.
[40] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 25.
[41] Governor Martin’s departure from New Bern ended sixty-three years of consecutive crown rule over North Carolina’s government.
[42] From July 13 – 19, 1775, sources are sketchy as to the exact day Howe and his militia forced their way into Fort Johnston to kidnap Royal Governor Josiah Martin. Finding the governor had already left to a British warship, Howe ordered the fort leveled.
[43] Captain John Collet, a Swiss mapmaker who was a British officer, had previously been accused of corruption by the Committee of Safety
[44] Militia districts: Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington. Later, an additional district, Morgan, was added for the western part of the province, including counties that eventually became part of Tennessee.
[45] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 29.
[46] The other two brigadier generals were William Thompson and William Alexander (Lord Stirling).
[47] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 38.
[48] Ibid, pg. 46.
[49] General Charles Lee, former British officer, was given command of the Highlands detached army to prevent British forces from invading New England. Washington marched across New Jersey to guard against British forces from attacking Philadelphia. Washington ordered Lee to march reinforcements to him in Pennsylvania, but the egocentric Lee dragged his feet. When he finally adhered to Washington’s orders and crossed New Jersey, he bedded at an Inn (reportedly with a prostitute) and was captured by the British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, December 13, 1776. He would not be exchanged until the spring of 1778 just prior to the Battle of Monmouth, June, 28, 1778, in which he ordered a sudden withdraw of American forces before the enemy. His actions were immediately countered by Geneal Washington. A court-martial found him guilty and suspended him for a year. Lee’s reputation was in tatters and was afterwards dismissed from the army.
[50] Brigadier James Moore had commanded the 1st North Carolina Regiment. He led American forces during the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge defeating Highlander loyalists before they could join the southern British invasion in 1776. He was commissioned a brigadier on March 1, 1776. Was at the Battle of Sullivan Island and was given command of the Southern Army when General Lee was ordered north. Direct descendant of the Moore clan and cousin to Howe, James Moore was one of the wealthiest Rice Kings in North Carolina.
[51] General Moore was not the next ranking officer to be put in command. First ranking brigadier officer John Armstrong was in Charleston, but claimed poor health to take command. Andrew Lewis, third in line of command was in Virginia, leaving Howe fourth in line of command, in the field in Savannah.
[52] The date of Brigadier General James Moore’s death differs, some accounts stating it was April 9, 1777.
[53] Major General Howe was promoted the same day as New Yorker Alexander McDougall. The two would later serve together in the New York Highlands to war’s end. At the war’s conclusion, Howe would be fourth in line behind General George Washington.
[54] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 52.
[55] Interestingly, Governor Bulloch’s great-great-grandson was President Theodore Roosevelt. His great-great-great granddaughter was First Lady Elenore Roosevelt.
[56] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 45.
[57] Ibid., pg. 49.
[58] Ibid., pg. 54.
[59] Ibid., pg. 64.
[60] Some accounts Fort McIntosh fell on Feb. 18, 1777.
[61] Button Gwinnett represented Georgia in the Second Congress in 1776 and was one of the signees of the Declaration of Independence. He would be the first of the signatories to die.
[62] Gwinnett and McIntosh dueled on May 16, 1777. Both were wounded. Gwinnett died three days later. McIntosh lived until 1806. After Gwinnett died, McIntosh was transferred to the northern army to escape the wrath of Gwinnett’s followers.
[63] John Houstoun, of Scots’ aristocracy, was from a wealthy family in the Savannah, Georgia region. A successful lawyer, he was one of the first in the region to support the growing rebellion against England; original member of the Sons of Liberty and Georgia’s Correspondence of Safety. He represented Georgia at the first Congressional Assembly in 1775, but did not return the following year. He was active in the Invasions of East Florida, often in controversy with Continental commanding officers. He was elected governor in 1778 and as such, took over command of Georgia militia. After Savannah fell, Houstoun went into hiding, remaining such until the British abandoned Savannah in 1782. He returned to Savannah and was elected Georgia’s governor, 1784-1785.
[64] Howe caught and executed 11 deserters. One by hanging and the rest by firing squad. Five were former British soldiers under General Burgoyne who, after surrendering at Saratoga, gave their oath and joined the Continental Army.
[65] On March 3, 1778, Secretary of State for the American Colonies George Germain wrote to General Henry Clinton in Philadelphia that, among other things, he was to assemble an expedition for the south by the fall of that year…” it is the King’s intention [George III] that an attack should be made upon the Southern Colonies, with a view to the conquest and possession of Georgia and South Carolina.” Russel, pg. 97.
[66] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 87
[67] Ibd., pg. 88.
[68] Commodore Sir Hyde Parker is sometimes confused with Commodore Peter Parker who led the Naval Fleet that transported General Clinton’s 1776 failed invasion of Charleston and the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, June 28, 1776. Sir Hyde Parker would later become best friends with his junior officer, Horatio Nelson who, after the Battle of Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars, as Parker’s second, replaced Parker as commanding admiral after Parker was considered too timid to lead a fleet.
[69] Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell of the 71st Highlanders had sailed to America in 1776, but was captured when he sailed into Boston harbor after British General Howe had already evacuated the city for Halifax. He was exchanged earlier in the year, 1778, with blowhard former Green Mountain Boys Ethan Allen. The British got the better deal as Allen would fall into obscurity for the rest of the war, bragging about his fantasy exploits. Meanwhile Campbell would successfully command his troops on the battlefield.
[70] Among the troops from New York were the 71st Highlanders, among the best troops England had in America.
[71] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 89.
[72] A deserter, William Haslen, from the British transport HMS Neptune, on Dec. 3rd, slipped over the side while the ship was in anchor off Tybee Island, Savannah. On the 6th, he was interviewed by Georgia Governor Houstoun and gave an account of the large fleet that was sailing to attack Savannah. Houstoun immediately sent a messenger to Howe to hurry all his troops to the city.
[73] Jones, pg. 313.
[74] Excepting two horse sloops.
[75] Jones, pg. 318.
[76] British partisan troops were loyalists equipped and trained as British regulars. Many were from New Jersey and New York.
[77] Delancey, “We Took Possession of the Twon.”
[78] Jones, pg. 318.
[79] Dawson, pg. 478.
[80] Major General Israel Putnam was the fourth chosen major general. After his botched performance prior to and during the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, Washington lost confidence in his abilities to lead men in combat. He remained with the Hudson Valley force until late 1779 when a stroke forced him to resign.
[81] Major General William Heath, 8th senior commissioned major general, led one of Washington’s divisions until his failure to capture Fort Independence, Westchester County, NY, just north of Kingsbridge in mid-January, 1777. After his victories at Trenton and Princeton, Washington returned to New Jersey, assuming winter quarters at Morristown. He was immediately involved in a forage war with British troops still stationed in New Jersey. He wanted another front north of the city in Westchester Country to draw off British troops from his region. Heath’s slow response and conservative indecisions led to his failure to do as Washington requested, he was censored and shipped off to Boston that was far from the war for its duration. Heath would be assigned to the Hudson Valley’s 1,500 Continentals when Washington marched his army to Yorktown in 1781.
[82] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 105.
[83] Ibid., 119.
[84] Joshua Hett Smith was a double agent for the British. He had provided information on British activities to Howe while Howe commanded West Point. After Arnold’s treason was discovered, Smith was tried for aiding Arnold and Andre. Howe spoke for Smith, saying he provided valuable information. Smith, on his behalf, claimed he did not know Andre was a British officer and spy. Smith was acquitted, but remained in jail, later escaping to join the British in New York City.
[85] Bennet & Lennon, pg. 134.
[86] Ibid., pg. 154.
[87] Ibid., pg. 155.