Editing William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe (section)

===Bunker Hill and Boston===
{{Main|Battle of Bunker Hill|Boston campaign}}

In a war council held early on 17 June, the generals developed a plan calling for a direct assault on the colonial fortification, and Gage gave Howe command of the operation. Despite a sense of urgency (the colonists were still working on the fortifications at the time of the council), the attack, now known as the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], did not begin until that afternoon.<ref>Willcox, p. 48.</ref> With Howe personally leading the right wing of the attack, the first two assaults were firmly repulsed by the colonial defenders. Howe's third assault gained the objective, but the cost of the day's battle was appallingly heavy.<ref>Ketchum (1999), pp. 151–183.</ref> The British casualties, more than 1,000 killed or wounded, were the highest of any engagement in the war.<ref>Brooks, p. 237.</ref> Howe described it as a "success ... too dearly bought."<ref name=Bil47>Billias, p. 47.</ref> Although Howe exhibited courage on the battlefield, his tactics and overwhelming confidence were criticised. One subordinate wrote that Howe's "absurd and destructive confidence" played a role in the number of casualties incurred.<ref name=Bil47/>

[[File:Battle of bunker hill by percy moran.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] by [[Percy Moran]], 1909]]
Although Howe was not injured in the battle, it had a pronounced effect on his spirit. According to British historian [[George Otto Trevelyan]], the battle "exercised a permanent and most potent influence" especially on Howe's behaviour, and that Howe's military skills thereafter "were apt to fail him at the very moment when they were especially wanted."<ref>Trevelyan, p. 1:338.</ref> Despite an outward appearance of confidence and popularity with his troops, the "genial six-footer with a face some people described as 'coarse{{'"}}, privately often exhibited a lack of self-confidence, and in later campaigns became somewhat dependent on his older brother Richard (the admiral in the [[Royal Navy]], also on station in the Colonies) for advice and approval.<ref>Fleming, p. 44.</ref>

On 11 October 1775, [[Thomas Gage|General Gage]] sailed for England, and Howe took over as [[Commander-in-Chief, North America#Commanders-in-Chief, America 1775–1783|Commander-in-Chief of British land forces]] in America.<ref>Ketchum (1999), p. 213.</ref> British military planners in London had, with the outbreak of hostilities, begun planning a massive reinforcement of the troops in North America. Their plans, made with recommendations from Howe, called for the abandonment of Boston and the establishment of bases in New York and [[Newport, Rhode Island]] in an attempt to isolate the rebellion to New England.<ref>Gruber, p. 82.</ref> When orders arrived in November to execute these plans, Howe opted to remain in Boston for the winter and begin the campaign in 1776.<ref name=Bil47/> As a result, the remainder of the [[Siege of Boston]] was largely a stalemate. Howe never attempted a major engagement with the [[Continental Army]], which had come under the command of Major General [[George Washington]].<ref name=Bil48>Billias, p. 48.</ref> He did, however, spend a fair amount of time at the gambling tables, and allegedly established a relationship with Elizabeth Lloyd Loring, the wife of Loyalist [[Joshua Loring|Joshua Loring, Jr.]] Loring apparently acquiesced to this arrangement, and was rewarded by Howe with the position of commissary of prisoners.<ref>Fischer, p. 72.</ref> Contemporaries and historians have criticised Howe for both his gambling and the amount of time he supposedly spent with Mrs. Loring, with some going so far as to level accusations that this behaviour interfered with his military activities; historian John Alden does not give these ideas credence.<ref>Alden (1989), p. 504.</ref> The alleged relationship is also mentioned in ''[[The Battle of the Kegs]]'', an American propaganda ballad written by [[Francis Hopkinson]]. In January 1776 Howe's role as commander in chief was cemented with a promotion to full general in North America.<ref name=Hadden375>Hadden, p. 375.</ref>

The siege was broken in March 1776 when Continental Army Colonel [[Henry Knox]] brought [[Noble train of artillery|heavy artillery from Fort Ticonderoga]] to Boston during the winter, and General Washington used them to [[Fortification of Dorchester Heights|fortify Dorchester Heights]], overlooking Boston and its harbour.<ref>Ketchum (1999), pp. 214–217.</ref> Howe at first planned an assault on this position, but a snowstorm interfered, and he eventually decided to withdraw from Boston.<ref>Ketchum (1999), p. 218.</ref> On 17 March, British troops and Loyalists [[Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)|evacuated the city]], and sailed for [[City of Halifax|Halifax, Nova Scotia]].<ref name=Bil48/>