rounding Cape Horn,
Africa. Despite his youth
he proved adept as a
sailor, and in 1745 he ad-
vanced to lieutenant. In
1747, while commanding
the sloop HMS Baltimore,
he daringly engaged two
larger French privateers,
was severely wounded,
and won a promotion to
captain at the age of 21. A
succession of commands
followed, along with use-
ful service in the West In-
dies and Mediterranean.
By 1755, he commanded
the ship-of-the-line HMS
Dunkirk, with 60 guns,
and captured the French
warship Alcidein the first
naval action of the Seven
Years’ War (1756–1763).
He next served under Adm. Edward Hawke at
the Battle of Quiberon Bay, November 20,
1759, and gained distinction by commanding
the lead vessel. At this time he learned of the
fate of his eldest brother, George Howe, who
died during the bloody repulse at Fort Carillon
(Ticonderoga), New York. The colony of Mass-
achusetts subsequently erected a monument to
his memory at Westminster Abbey in London,
a gesture that indelibly impressed the younger
brother. George’s death also made Richard
next in line for the family title, so he became
Viscount Howe and nominal head of the family.
Despite his commanding presence, Howe
was an intensely taciturn, quiet man who did
not suffer fools gladly. During the 1758 raid
against St. Malo on the French coast, he came
to despise the army commander, George
Sackville (later George Germain), and the
two remained estranged for life. He was also a
strict disciplinarian with his crews, but he
was also extremely fair and a popular figure
below the decks. The men christened him
“Black Dick” on account of his swarthy com-
plexion and would willingly follow him into
combat anywhere. Howe
gained election to Parlia-
ment as a Whig in 1762,
rose to serve as a mem-
ber of the admiralty
board in 1763, and two
years later became treas-
urer of the navy. He be-
came a rear admiral in
1770, a vice admiral in
1775, and was widely re-
garded as one of the
Royal Navy’s rising fig-
ures.
True to his Whiggish
inclinations, Howe evin-
ced great sympathy to-
ward the colonies during
the political unrest that
preceded the American
Revolution. In 1774, he
was introduced to Ben-
jamin Franklin at his sis-
ter’s house and tried secretly negotiating a po-
litical reconciliation. Both he and brother
William expressed no enthusiasm over the
prospect of fighting their fellow Englishmen,
but they felt honor-bound to serve the empire
as needed. In February 1776, Lord Germain,
with the backing of King George III, selected
the Howe brothers to serve as commanders in
chief of British military and naval forces in
America. Moreover, probably at their insis-
tence, they also received authorization to act
as peace commissioners. Admiral Howe then
shepherded the largest British expeditionary
force ever dispatched abroad. He arrived in
the summer of 1776 and, after consulting with
William, who had all but abandoned the no-
tion of negotiations, sent out peace feelers to
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and George
Washington. However, insomuch as the Dec-
laration of Independence had been signed and
ratified in July, the brothers resigned them-
selves to the inevitability of combat. They
probably hoped, after a few sharp defeats,
that the Americans would come to their
senses.HOWE, RICHARD
Richard Howe
National Maritime Museum