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Born on 17th June 1718 the son of Lieutenant General Thomas Howard and Mary Moreton. In 1725, at the age of 7, he was commissioned into the 24th Foot, of which his father was Colonel, but did not join the regiment until he was 18. As a lieutenant-colonel he commanded the 3rd Buffs at the battle of Fontenoy. He fought in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, at Falkirk and Culloden and was accused of treating the highlanders too harshly. He also took part in the raid on Rochefort in 1757 and commanded a brigade at the battle of Warburg in 1760.
The portrait is by Sir Joshua Reynolds c1774 and a copy was made by James Northcote, assistant to Reynolds. It was said of George Howard "that he was a man universally esteemed, highly bred and a gallant soldier; but he owed his military elevation and employment more perhaps to Royal favour than to any distinguished talents of professional services.” He was married to Lady Lucy Wentworth, daughter of Sir William Wentworth who was the brother of Thomas Wentworth, 3rd Baron Raby, 1st Earl of Strafford (2nd Creation). There must have been family tensions as uncle Lord Raby was a Jacobite sympathiser, and George had gained a reputation during the Jacobite Rebellion for excessive zeal in hunting down Highlanders after Culloden. They had a daughter, Ann Howard. They lived at Stoke Place, Buckinghamshire which he acquired in 1764. They also had a London home in Grosvenor Square where Sir George Howard died on 16 July 1796. He was buried at Great Bookham in Surrey.
1749 Colonel of the 3rd Foot (The Buffs) 21 Aug 1789 - 12 May 1763 |
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