William Howe was one of the British generals during the Revolutionary War. He was born on August 10, 1729, in England. He was the illegitimate uncle of King George the Third, who was the British king during the Revolutionary War. Before he was sent to fight in the war, Howe was sympathetic to the colonists. But, as a soldier, he had to fight against them.

He came to the colonies on May 25, 1775, as a Major General. When he landed, he led the British troops in attacking Breed's Hill. This battle became known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Americans fought bravely, but they eventually ran low on ammunition and the British finally captured the hill. Many British soldiers died during the battle, but General Howe led his troops well. General Howe became a full General in October, 1775, and he became the temporary Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in the 13 Colonies. After George Washington won a battle at Dorchester Heights, where he could overlook Boston Harbor and observe the British, General Howe ordered his troops to go back to Canada until they could attack again. Howe became the regular Commander-in-Chief in April, 1776.

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In 1776, General Howe and his troops began the battle for New York City. In July, they landed on Staten Island. In August, they fought against General George Washington in the Battle of Long Island. The British won the battle, but then they stopped instead of going to chase the Americans. That let the Americans escape with their troops. General Howe won the important battle of White Plains against George Washington, but he made another mistake. Again, he did not chase the Americans and destroy the Continental Army. He took his troops back to Fort Washington, which they had passed. They captured the Fort, including 3000 prisoners and many supplies. This was a bad loss for the Americans. Then General Howe and his troops captured Fort Lee, New Jersey, across the river from New York City. The British had captured all of New York.

General Howe liked staying in New York. He did not fight for the first part of 1777. But when he did fight, he beat George Washington in the Battle of Brandywine and then he took over Philadelphia. He then wrote to England asking for permission to retire as Commander-in-Chief. On April 14, 1778, he got a letter telling him he could retire. He sailed back to England and retired.

He died on July 12, 1814.