Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 28.djvu/100

Howe Magnanime of 74 guns, which had been captured from the French in 1748, and was, at this time, by far the finest vessel of her class in the English navy. In her he took part in the abortive expedition against Rochefort [see ], and being appointed to lead in against the battery on the island of Aix, reduced it almost unaided. The soldier officers decided to attempt nothing further, and the fleet returned to England.

In 1758 minor expeditions against the French coast were resolved on, and the command of the covering squadron was given to Howe, much to the annoyance of Hawke. His complaint, however, was against the admiralty, not against Howe, with whom he seems to have continued on friendly terms. The Magnanime being considered too large for the particular service, Howe moved into the 64-gun ship Essex, on board which he hoisted a distinguishing pennant, having under his orders, what with 50-gun ships, frigates and sloops, store-ships and transports, a fleet of upwards of 150 sail. It was resolved in the first instance to attack St. Malo, and the expedition, consisting of some 15,000 men of all arms, under the command of the Duke of Marlborough and Lord George Sackville [see ], was put on shore in Cancale Bay on 5-6 June, but after burning the ships in the harbour and on the stocks, rebarked on the llth. From St. Malo the expedition moved backwards along the coast into Caen Bay. The weather prevented an immediate landing, and the general proposed to attempt Cherbourg. There also the weather was bad, and Marlborough impatiently requested Howe to return to St. Helens, where, accordingly, the squadron and its convoy anchored on 1 July. Howe is said to have been disgusted with the costly farce, and to have conceived a most unfavourable opinion of the generals, especially of Sackville, which he took no pains to conceal. According to Walpole, 'they agreed so ill, that one day Lord George, putting several questions to Howe and receiving no answer, said, " Mr. Howe, don't you hear me ? I have asked you several questions." Howe replied, " I don't love questions" ' (Memoirs of the Reign of George II, iii. 125n.) After the two generals were put on shore, the command of the troops was entrusted to Lieutenant-general Bligh [see ]. Prince Edward, second son of Frederick, prince of Wales, who now entered the navy, was sent on board the Essex under Howe's care, and, indeed, at Howe's charge. 'He came,' Howe wrote many years afterwards in a private letter, 'not only without bed and linen almost of every kind, but I paid also for his uniform clothes, which I provided for him, with all other necessaries, at Portsmouth' (, p. 58). The expedition sailed on 1 Aug.; on the 6th it was before Cherbourg, and the bombs began to play on the town; the next day the troops were landed some little distance to the west, and the place was occupied without opposition. Howe then brought the fleet into the roadstead, and co-operated with Bligh in burning the ships, overturning the piers, demolishing the forts and magazines, and destroying the ordnance and ammunition. For near fifty years no further attempt was made to convert Cherbourg into a naval port. It was then resolved to attack St. Malo, and after some delay caused by boisterous weather, the fleet anchored in St. Lunaire Bay on 3 Sept; the next day the troops were landed. The weather then set in stormy, and Howe moved the fleet into the bay of St. Cas, where it was sheltered from the westerly gale. But on shore the council of war resolved that nothing could be done, except get back to the ships as quickly as possible. The country was meantime roused, the local militia and armed peasants assembled, together with six thousand regular soldiers. These harassed the English on the march, and fell on the rearguard as they attempted to embark. The loss was great, and as, under the heavy fire from the French field-pieces, the boats hesitated to approach the shore, it would have been greater, but for the personal efforts of Howe, who was everywhere present encouraging his men. There was no doubt gross mismanagement, but amid much recrimination, Howe, whose conduct was highly commended, even by the land officers, was held guiltless (Hist.MSS. Comm.9th Rep. pt.iii.p.73); but it is untrue that 'the slaughter among the seamen was very great.' The Essex had one man killed and one wounded; in the whole squadron the loss was nine killed and twenty wounded (Howe to Clevland, 12 Sept.)

By the death of his elder brother, killed at Ticonderoga on 5 July 1758, Howe succeeded to the title as fourth viscount, and to the family estates; he had till then been mainly dependent on his pay. In 1759 he took part, in the Magnanime, in the blockade of Brest under Hawke. In the brilliant swoop on the French fleet as it attempted to shelter itself in Quiberon Bay on 20 Nov., the Magnanime was the leading ship, and after a sharp'engagement with the Formidable,whose fire she silenced, attacked the Thésée, which was sunk, though whether from the Magnanime's fire, or swamped through her lower deck ports, is doubtful. During 1760 and