Sir William Howe’s Blunder: How the American Revolution Almost Turned Into British Victory

How did the world’s largest military force fail to capture a small, rebel army along their 3-week retreat from Fort Lee to Pennsylvania? During the American Revolution, George Washington Crossed the Delaware River and captured British forces in Trenton, changing the entire course of the war. Let us travel back in time and investigate this critical period in American history.

In the fall of 1776, General William Howe, commander of British troops, was in the process of stamping out rebel forces. His recent victories in New York foreshadowed what appeared to be an imminent end to the conflict. However, in a war that required speed and aggressive action, Washington was given a fortunate fluke in the hesitant disposition of William Howe.

   Image Courtesy of the New York Public Library

Howe’s first folly occurred during what’s known as the November 1776 Long Retreat. As General Washington and the Continental Army fled New York, General Howe gave General Cornwallis his first independent command of the war and ordered Cornwallis to capture Fort Lee. Cornwallis was given specific instructions not to pursue the enemy past New Brunswick. The reason being, he wanted to re-enforce Cornwallis’s army prior to penetrating further into New Jersey.

Upon the Continental army’s retreat from Fort Lee, Cornwallis was in fervent chase of Washington’s army. As Cornwallis entered Newark from the north, Washington left Newark from the south. On November 29th Washington crossed the Raritan only to have 2,000 soldiers leave him for Philadelphia. By December 1st, Washington had but 3,000 demoralized men left under his direct command. That same day, Cornwallis with his 10,000 strong reached the Raritan. Despite being so close to the enemy and outnumbering the rebels three to one, Cornwallis obeyed Howe’s non-pursuit order giving Washington precious time to elude his pursers. This decision will forever leave historians wondering “what if?” 

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Johann Ewald, captain of the Hessian Jäger corps under Cornwallis’s command, later commented on the situation:

Several distinguished persons arrived from Pennsylvania, who implored the general to press General Washington as closely as possible so that we might overtake him in the vicinity of Delaware, by his retreat would be cut off. There we could surely destroy or capture his disheartened army”. Captain Edwald continues, “Mr. Galloway was so enraged by the delay of the English he said out loud, ‘I see they don't want to finish the war!’ Which every honest man must think. For seriously, why did we let a corps of five to six thousand men withdraw so quietly from Fort Lee?[1]

In a second observation of General Howe’s neglect, one must look no further than on the same fateful date, December 1, 1776. In New York City, Sir Peter Parker had assembled a fleet of fourteen warships and 6,000 troops. General Clinton was in command of this formidable force and saw a perfect opportunity to intercept or trap Washington in New Jersey. A swift and practical course of action involved sailing for one day until reaching Perth Amboy. After disembarking, one could march merely 10 miles to New Brunswick. The distance that Clinton would have to march would be significantly shorter than Cornwallis’s route. Clinton would also have the benefit of having fresh troops, a factor that was not granted to Cornwallis. Such a simple plan was proposed to Howe: 

On Sir William Howe’s telling me Lord Cornwallis had landed in Jersey and was pursuing Washington, I proposed to him that instead of going to Rhode Island Lord Percy and I should be landed at Amboy, and endeavor to intercept Washington in his retreat to Delaware. I proposed it afterward to Lord Howe, but it was not approved of. It was alleged that a place of safety was absolutely necessary for the navy, and Rhode Island the only one; in return for the zeal which had been shown by the admiral and the whole navy it became us to pay them every attention and, if Rhode Island was the only safe post, to occupy it.[2]

If the reasoning to not pursue Washington past New Brunswick is because of inability to reinforce troop strength, then it is a quite puzzling mystery as to why Howe denied General Clinton’s proposed plan. One that would solve his current predicament.

Of all the explanations held of how William Howe supposedly let victory escape his grasp, the idea that he was preoccupied with his mistress Elizabeth Loring is perhaps the most scandalous. Critics of Howe claimed that his attention may have been divided during the war. By 1777 the affair was common knowledge with the public. Francis Hopkins, a writer during the Revolution, composed the following song named, “The Battle of Kegs.” This popular song was sung by Washington’s army circa 1778 and later published in an 1856 book named Songs and Ballads of The American Revolution. Here Elizabeth Loring is referenced:

Sir William he, snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a snoring;
Nor dreamt of harm, as he lay warm
In bed with Mrs. Loring[3]

We may never know how large an impact General Howe’s relationship in New York affected his military responsibilities. None the less, it most certainly did not help his case or his reputation. In the words of historian Arthur S. Lefkowitz on the subject of Howe’s mistakes, “What saved Washington during 1776 was not a miracle, luck, or divine intervention, but rather that his opponents, General Sir William Howe and admiral Lord Richard Howe, were cautious meticulous planners. They were reluctant to take any risks, which allowed Washington to slip away when they had him cornered.”

The study of history is the continuous examination of past events as well as the cause and effect relationship embedded in known facts. When looking for what could have changed an important moment in American History, one need not search further than the questionable actions of General Sir William Howe.

Sources:

Clinton, Henry. The American Rebellion: Narrative of his campaigns ; 1775-1782 ; with an app. of orig. documents. New Haven: Yale University Pres, 1954.

Ewald, Johann von. Diary of the American war: A Hessian Journal. Translated by Joseph Philips Tustin. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979.

Lefkowitz, Arthur S. George Washington’s revenge: How general Washington turned defeat into the strategy that won the revolution. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2023.

Moore, Frank. Songs and ballads of the American Revolution. New York: D. Appleton, 1856.

About the Author:

Richard Belmonte is the 2024 Summer Communications Intern at the New Jersey Historical Commission. In 2019, after graduating high school, Richard enlisted in the Marine Corps. He spent four years in the infantry and left the military in 2023. He is currently is enrolled at Stockton University as a History Education major, entering his 2nd year.

[1] Ewald, Johann von. Diary of the american war: A Hessian Journal. Translated by Joseph Philips Tustin. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979) 25.

[2] Clinton, Henry. The American rebellion; Sir Henry Clinton's narrative of his campaigns, 1775-1782, with an appendix of original documents. (Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1979), 56.

[3] Moore, Frank, editor. Songs and ballads of the American Revolution. (New York, NY: D. Appleton & Company, 1856), 210 – 214.