[106] William Howe was a man of fine presence and of winning manners. He was brother of Lord Howe, who fell on the banks of Lake George, in the French war. He was one of the most attractive of young men, and had secured, to a wonderful degree, the affection of the American people. A sorrowful feeling pervaded the country when it found that General William Howe was fighting against the Americans at the battle of Bunker’s Hill. In an address from Congress to the people of Ireland it was said, “America is amazed to find the name of Howe on the catalogue of her enemies. She loved his brother.”
[107] “American Archives,” 4th series, vol. iv. p. 1178.
[108] From the heights of Dorchester the admiral’s fleet, riding at anchor in the harbor, could be bombarded, and destroyed. Then the British army might be captured. But this would probably be at the expense of laying the whole town in ashes. Lord Admiral Howe was brother of Sir William.
[109] Sparks’ Life of Washington, p. 155.
[110] Memoranda by Hon. Israel Trask.
[111] Letter of Charles Lee to Richard Henry Lee.—Am. Archives, 4th series, vol. iv. p. 248.
[112] “Knox was one of those providential characters which spring up in emergencies, as if they were formed by and for the occasion. A thriving bookseller in Boston, he had thrown up business, to take up arms for the liberties of his country. He was one of the patriots who fought on Bunker Hill; since when, he had aided in planning the defences of the camp before Boston.”—Irving’s Life of Washington, vol. i. p. 190.
[113] “American Archives,” 4th series, iii. 1281.
[114] General Henry Clinton was grandson of the Earl of Lincoln, and son of George Clinton, who had been the crown-appointed governor of New York, for ten years from 1743.—Irving’s Life of Washington, vol. i. p. 163.
[115] “General Lee was despatched, with instructions from the Commander-in-Chief, to raise volunteers in Connecticut, hasten forward to New York, call to his aid other troops from New Jersey, put the city in the best posture of defence which his means would permit, disarm the tories, and other persons inimical to the rights and liberties of America, and guard the fortifications on Hudson river.”—Sparks’ Life of Washington, p. 157.