Elias Howe

“ He was one of the few American leaders who was a practised soldier, having been before the war a half-pay officer of the British army; at the time of his capture he stood second only to Washington.
Howe’s delays.
Howe had been almost uniformly successful, but at each step he had been slow to follow up his successes. In all wars in which trained soldiers are pitted against untrained men, it must be of the utmost importance to give as little breathing space as possible to the latter, for delay gives time for learning discipline, regaining confidence, and realizing that defeat may be repaired. ”

“ Enoch and Jacob looked at the speaker in surprise which bordered on bewilderment.
"Do you mean that General Howe will march out of the city when there is no necessity of his doing so?"
"He will unquestionably march out very shortly; but there is good reason for the move. He has accomplished nothing by remaining there, and fears he may find himself in trouble. Four days before the carnival Howe issued an order for the heavy baggage of the army to be prepared for embarkation at the shortest notice, and for the soldiers to lighten their personal luggage. ”

“ But here was a business familiar to the British soldier; here was work that he did well and that he loved to do. If the colonists really believed that they could hold Breed Hill against troops with whom the taking by storm of strong positions was a tradition, so much the worse for them. The order was given that the rebels must be cleared away from Breed Hill at once, and the welcome task was given to Lord Howe, in command of the flower of the forces in Boston. It is probable that Howe felt some pity for the rash and foolhardy men whose hopes it was his duty and his determination to destroy. ”

“ Both armies waited; and Washington’s men strengthened their fortifications.
The next day Howe found himself in a critical and perplexing situation. His army was at the mercy of the Continental batteries, and the fleet was unable to ride in safety in the harbor. To remain in Boston would be to expose his men to the greatest danger; to withdraw would be to lose much valuable property. But Howe was first of all a soldier, and after a hurried council he determined to withdraw to save his army. Preparations began at once.
“They’re going, Aunt Martha!” cried Don, [189] bursting in upon his aunt. ”

“ Howe was a man lavishly gifted, one of the most effective orators America has produced, fearing no man and no task however great, filled with a vitality, a humor, a broad sympathy for his fellows that gave him the blind obedience of thousands of followers and the glowing friendship of countless firesides. There are still old men in Nova Scotia whose proudest memory is that they once held Howe's horse or ran on an errand for a look from his kingly eye. ”

“ The fate of the Revolution rested where it had been from the beginning, with Washington and his soldiers. Drive them beyond the mountains and there was no other army to fall back upon. On their existence everything hinged, and when Howe got back to Philadelphia, there they were still existent, still coherent, hovering on his flank, cooping him up in his lines, and leaving him master of little more than the ground his men encamped upon, and the streets his sentinels patrolled. When Franklin was told in Paris that Howe had taken Philadelphia, his reply was, "Philadelphia has taken Howe." ”

“ Women rule the roost here, sir, as they do elsewhere,” he said, turning to Howe. “Mistress Martha will have it she has a right to the honour of entertaining some of your party; you went to her gate first, it seems.”
“True,” said Howe, smiling. “We are flattered by your desire, madam. We think there is one amongst us who has already found a flame, and is trying to singe his wings; if she lead the way, he will not refuse to follow,” and as he spoke he looked towards where Marie and William Parkmann were talking to each other. ”

“ Returning with his prisoners to Philadelphia, Washington again re-crossed the Delaware, and during the rest of the winter and the first six months of the year 1777 continually harassed the English in New Jersey, avoiding a general engagement, which Howe vainly endeavoured to bring on. At length, towards the end of July, Howe evacuated the Howe retreats from the Jerseys, and occupies Philadelphia. territory, and, leaving Clinton with over 8,000 men at New York, shipped the rest of his army for Chesapeake Bay, resolved to attack the enemy from the opposite direction and to take Philadelphia. ”

“ On the 28th, Howe came up to Washington's position, and found the Americans quite equal in numbers, strongly intrenched, and awaiting his attack with confidence. He hesitated, doubted, and finally feeling that he must do something, sent 4,000 men to storm Chatterton Hill, an outlying post, where some 1,400 Americans were stationed. There was a short, sharp action, and then the Americans retreated in good order to the main army, having lost less than half as many men as their opponents. With caution now much enlarged, Howe sent for reinforcements, and waited two days. ”

“ When the principal understands that over forty of us are dissatisfied, we have gained our point."
"Have you indeed!" flouted Howe. "Then I fancy you have already gained it, for he has found out that you are dissatisfied by this time."
"Well, what do you want to do?" demanded Raymond.
"It's no use to mince the matter. We have made a failure of it so far. The lambs on deck are having a good time, laughing, cheering, and carrying on—making game of us, no doubt, while we are shut up here as prisoners," replied Howe, rolling up his sleeves, as though he intended to do something savage. ”

“ There only needed now one thing to render the expedition triumphant, and place the Hudson from Albany to New York in the absolute power of the British army—that General Howe should have been prepared to keep the appointment [242] there with a proper fleet and armed force. But Howe was engaged in the campaign of Philadelphia, and seems to have been utterly incapable of conducting two such operations as watching Washington and supporting Burgoyne. ”

“ Up to August 22, the British army made no move from its camps at Staten Island. On their part, the Americans could only watch and wait. On this day, however, active operations began with the landing of Howe's troops, in great force, on the Long Island shore, opposite. This force immediately spread itself out through the neighboring villages from Gravesend, to Flatbush and Flatlands, driving the American skirmishers before them into a range of wooded hills, [1] which formed their outer line of defence. Howe had determined to attack in front, clearing the way as he went. ”

“ America never produced a more daring and benevolent man than Doctor Howe.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic had its birth-throes amid the storms of war. In December, 1861, Mrs. Howe, in company with her husband, Governor and Mrs. John A. Andrew, Rev. Dr. James Freeman Clarke, and other friends, made a journey to Washington. They arrived in the night. As their train sped on through the darkness, they saw in vivid contrast the camp fires of the pickets set to guard the line of the railroad. The troops lay encamped around the Capital City, their lines extending to a considerable distance. ”

“ What do you say, fellows?"
"Of course we will," replied several, very mildly.
"Will you agree, upon your word and honor, to stick as long as any one does?"
"That depends upon circumstances," interposed Lindsley.
"I suppose it does," sneered Howe. "It isn't fair to leave us to bear the brunt of the whole."
"All we ever proposed to do was simply to refuse to do duty till we had explained our position to the principal," added Raymond.
"And kiss the rod, whether you get fair play or not," replied Howe. ”

“ When the simple preparations were complete, the child, whose reverence for the inspired moods of the priest was not equal to Robert's, who would never have dared to call that pure spirit from its lofty communings, pulled the missionary by the arm and pointed silently to the table.
"Robert, I have not fared so well since thou wert last here. Tell me, does the New Orleans market afford such trout as these, such a pair of ducks?"
"Yes, father, I think it does," answered Robert, eying the smoking viands hungrily; "it is the appetite that is lacking in the city." ”

“ Deciding to leave their army east of the Delaware, with its center at Trenton and its wings at Burlington and Princeton, they returned to New York for the festivities of the holidays, where Howe was to celebrate the knighthood conferred upon him for the capture of New York. But Washington had a Christmas surprise in store for them. Including the forces of Gates and Sullivan, he now commanded about six thousand men. The loose disposition of Howe’s troops gave him an opportunity which he immediately turned to account. He decided by a secret movement to strike a hard blow at the British center. ”

“ Chief among them undoubtedly stands the value of celerity and watchfulness, combined with knowledge of one's profession. Howe learned of his danger by advices from home three weeks after D'Estaing sailed from Toulon. He had to gather in his cruisers from the Chesapeake and outside, get his ships-of-the-line from New York and Rhode Island, embark the supplies of an army of ten thousand men, move down the Delaware,—which unavoidably took ten days,—and round to New York again. ”

“ On the 11th June the regiment, with the rest of Howe’s army, was once more embarked at Halifax and reached Sandy Hook on the 29th. Howe then landed his force on Staten Island, and awaited the arrival of his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, who duly appeared with a squadron and reinforcements on the 1st July. Clinton with his troops from Charleston arrived on the 1st August, and further reinforcements from England on the 12th. Howe had now 30,000 men, 12,000 of them Hessians, under his command in America, two-thirds of whom were actually on the spot around New York. ”

“ I don't want to go on those terms," replied Howe, in disgust. "That's some more of Shuffles's cant! One of his sensations! He thinks he whipped us out on board of the Josephine, and now he wants to be magnanimous with his victims. If we go with the crowd, it will be because Lowington is afraid to leave us behind. We are not a set of babies, Sheffield, to be whipped and sent to bed when we are naughty. Neither are we sailors before the mast, to be kicked here and there, at the pleasure of our masters. What do you suppose the fellows came to Europe for, if it was not to see the country? ”

“ It is a sad spectacle, that of the great man knocking at preferment's door, and knocking in vain. Howe was a statesman, with his head full of ideas of Imperial consolidation. His was a great wild heart, deeply touched indeed with ambition, 'the last infirmity of noble minds,' but deeply conscious also of great powers, emotional and intellectual. ”

“ Mr. Kalopothakis told me. “Your father’s daughter should feel at home in any Greek home. We have long memories. The name of Howe, the American Hero of the Greek Revolution, is known to every schoolboy.”
I remember two balls at the palace, when Queen Olga was very gracious, and King George danced with me. He waltzed extremely well, and was much interested in the dancing of the “Boston” by the Americans of our party, among whom were the Higginsons, who had come with us from Constantinople, and some of the officers from his ship that lay at the Piraeus. ”

“ We returned to the city very slowly, of necessity, for the troops nearly filled the road. My dear minister was in the carriage with me, as were several other friends. To beguile the rather tedious drive, we sang from time to time snatches of the army songs so popular at that time, concluding, I think, with
"John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the ground;
His soul is marching on."
The soldiers seemed to like this, and answered back, "Good for you!" Mr. Clarke said, "Mrs. Howe, why do you not write some good words for [p. 275] that stirring tune?" ”

“ At nightfall, the Americans were intrenched on Brooklyn Heights, where Howe planned to take the "nest of rebels" by siege. But, thanks to a fog which rose over the bay, Washington cleverly and noiselessly drew off these troops, and when the sun rose on the second day, Howe found that the Americans were all on the other side of the East River. Knowing that Howe would pursue him, and not wishing to expose New York city to the enemy's cannon, Washington began to retreat up the Hudson. ”

“ When the war was over no officer had a more brilliant record of service than Howe. He was appointed colonel of the 46th foot in Ireland in 1764, and was made lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Wight in 1768 (Home Office Mil. Entry Book, xxvii. 266) . When Howe's elder brother, the third viscount, fell at Ticonderoga in 1758, his mother issued an address to the electors of Nottingham, for which the viscount had been member, begging their suffrages on behalf of her youngest son, then also fighting for his country in America. ”

“ Her social life in New York was a broad one, and early in her career she was brought into relations with the New England group. In 1843 she married Samuel Gridley Howe, Director of the Perkins Institution for the Blind, the first to teach a blind deaf mute, Laura Bridgman, and a leader in the cause of Grecian independence. After a European trip, they settled in Boston, with which her future life is definitely associated. ”