Richard Howe

United Kingdom state institutions Great Britain/United Kingdom English 1726–1799 ○ Died in

British admiral who won the battle of 1 June 1794

On 1 June 1794 Howe commanded the Channel Fleet against the French fleet escorting a grain convoy, capturing seven ships. Known as the Glorious First of June, the battle links directly to the site's French Revolutionary Wars event entry.

Royal Navy officer and politician. Born in London in 1726, he served in the War of the Austrian Succession and won renown in the 1759 Battle of Quiberon Bay during the Seven Years' War, then commanded the North American station and served as a peace commissioner during the American War of Independence. He was First Lord of the Admiralty in 1783 and again from December 1783 to 1788, and in the French Revolutionary Wars commanded the Channel Fleet, defeating the French fleet at the battle of 1 June 1794. During the 1797 Spithead mutiny he restored peace within twelve hours by direct persuasion rather than repression. He died on 5 August 1799.

Also known as: Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, Earl Howe

Activities and affiliations

Career Timeline

Related historical events

Naval command and peace commission during the American War of Independence

In 1776 Richard Howe took command of the North American Station and was ordered to blockade the American coast. The blockade proved ineffective: Howe said he lacked enough ships, some of which had to support the army, and French supplies and munitions were smuggled into America. Howe was known to sympathize with the colonists and was appointed, alongside his brother General William Howe, to a commission seeking reconciliation. He represented the Crown at the Staten Island Peace Conference in September 1776, but it did not produce a settlement. He subsequently supported the naval operations that captured New York and Philadelphia. After confronting a French fleet in 1778, he left his American command. A parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of the Howe brothers in America, which they had requested, ended inconclusively in 1779. His service thus combined blockade and naval support for British military operations with an unsuccessful effort at reconciliation during the conflict over Britain's rule in the colonies.