Only one of
Parker's ten ships was seaworthy after the fight. It took him
three weeks to refit, and not until the 4th of August did his
defeated ships reach New York.
A mighty armada of seven hundred ships had meanwhile sailed into
the Bay of New York. This fleet was commanded by Admiral Lord
Howe and it carried an army of thirty thousand men led by his
younger brother, Sir William Howe, who had commanded at Bunker
Hill. The General was an able and well-informed soldier. He had a
brilliant record of service in the Seven Years' War, with Wolfe
in Canada, then in France itself, and in the West Indies. In
appearance he was tall, dark, and coarse. His face showed him to
be a free user of wine. This may explain some of his faults as a
general. He trusted too much to subordinates; he was leisurely
and rather indolent, yet capable of brilliant and rapid action.
In America his heart was never in his task. He was member of
Parliament for Nottingham and had publicly condemned the quarrel
with America and told his electors that in it he would take no
command. He had not kept his word, but his convictions remained.
It would be to accuse Howe of treason to say that he did not do
his best in America. Lack of conviction, however, affects action.
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