Robert Howe
Robert Howe was a Continental Army general from the Province of North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. The descendant of a prominent family in North Carolina, Howe was one of five generals, and the only major general, in the Continental Army from that state. During the French and Indian War, Howe served alongside provincial soldiers from Virginia. In 1766, he was commissioned as a captain of militia and was given command of Fort Johnston, located at the entrance of the Cape Fear River in present-day Southport, North Carolina. Despite his efforts to reform the province's policies, Howe was made a colonel of artillery by Governor Tryon and served under the Governor against armed protesters in the piedmont during the War of the Regulation. Howe's private fortunes were never stable, and between 1766 and 1775, he was forced to mortgage land and sell slaves to generate funds. In 1770, Howe was able to purchase Kendal Plantation on the Cape Fear River, a 400-acre rice plantation, but in 1775, he mortgaged it for around £214. When the First Provincial Congress convened on August 25, 1774, Howe served as a member of that body representing Brunswick County. On September 1, 1775, the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress appointed Howe to lead the newly created Second North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army as its colonel.
In March 1776, Howe was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by the Second Continental Congress along with fellow North Carolinian James Moore. Howe and Moore were two of five North Carolinians to be given a general's commission in the Continental Army. He was nonetheless promoted to the rank of major general on October 20, 1777, the only North Carolinian to reach that rank in the Continental Army. After allegations circulated in South Carolina about Howe's dalliances with a woman, the Continental Congress finally removed him from command of the Southern Department on September 25, 1778, replacing him with Major General Benjamin Lincoln. In 1781, Howe assisted in putting down the Pompton Mutiny in New Jersey, which was inspired by the slightly earlier Pennsylvania Line Mutiny. After putting down the second Pennsylvania mutiny in 1783, Howe participated in the establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati and was the second officer to sign the national charter, with his signature appearing directly below that of von Steuben. In the summer of 1786, he was elected a member of the North Carolina House of Commons. On his way to a meeting of the legislative body, Howe fell ill, and died on December 14, 1786, in Bladen County.
In March 1776, Howe was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by the Second Continental Congress along with fellow North Carolinian James Moore. Howe and Moore were two of five North Carolinians to be given a general's commission in the Continental Army. He was nonetheless promoted to the rank of major general on October 20, 1777, the only North Carolinian to reach that rank in the Continental Army. After allegations circulated in South Carolina about Howe's dalliances with a woman, the Continental Congress finally removed him from command of the Southern Department on September 25, 1778, replacing him with Major General Benjamin Lincoln. In 1781, Howe assisted in putting down the Pompton Mutiny in New Jersey, which was inspired by the slightly earlier Pennsylvania Line Mutiny. After putting down the second Pennsylvania mutiny in 1783, Howe participated in the establishment of the Society of the Cincinnati and was the second officer to sign the national charter, with his signature appearing directly below that of von Steuben. In the summer of 1786, he was elected a member of the North Carolina House of Commons. On his way to a meeting of the legislative body, Howe fell ill, and died on December 14, 1786, in Bladen County.
