William Howe

William Howe was born in England on August 10, 1729. His grandmother was the mistress of King George I, which made him and his two brothers- Richard and George- King George III's illegitimate uncles. He received his education at Eton. When he turned 17, he decided to join the army. On the 18th of September 1746, Howe became a cornetist in Cumberland's Light Dragoons- a military unit. The following year, Howe was promoted to lieutenant. Three years later, on January 2, Howe joined the 20th Foot and was again promoted to Captain six months later.

After going through many major promotions, Howe was itching for some action. His wish came true when on February 21, 1775, he received orders for an assignment in America. In late May, the Cerberus arrived in Boston Harbor. Howe was aboard along with John Burgoyne and Henry Clintin. Howe eventually took General Thomas Gage's place and became Major General. It was because of this that Howe could have been called the British George Washington. Because of this major promotion, Howe got to lead the British in a few major battles. Howe was included in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Long Island. Unfortunately for him, in 1778, Howe was demoted from his position for losing certain battles. The following year, Parliament questioned Howe, but cleared him because his losses were due to insufficient forces. Howe eventually went to America and settled in Plymouth. On Howe's death on July 12, 1814, Howe was a privy counciler and governor of Plymouth.

I chose William Howe for my hero because his name sounded interesting to me. I thought it would be interesting to learn about someone new, so I got down to work. After finding out that he was British, I got to view the war from a very different perspective. I saw that the British were not as mean and ruthless as all of the books told me. The books stated how Howe was like Britain's George Washington, how he fought for Britain as Washington did the Patriots. I found that he was heroic by going through any state of injury, pain or loss to fight for his homeland. That is why I think Willian Howe should be a hero.