"General Howe and Mrs. Loring: The Myth vs. Reality Behind An Infamous Revolutionary War Affair," Sean Heuvel
Immortalized by a clever
poem that portrayed her as Sir William Howe’s Philadelphia mistress, the real
Elizabeth Loring lived a far less glamorous life than that of the “blond
bombshell” as she is often depicted.
“The poem was probably
propaganda and its source is highly suspect,” said historian Sean Heuvel at the
May 17, 2017 meeting of the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond.
“During the Winter of 1777-1778 she was in Philadelphia with Howe and something
probably happened, but the story was much more complicated.”
The poem, called The Battle of
the Kegs, was written by Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence. It goes as follows:
Sir William he,
snug as a flea,
Lay all this time a snoring,
Nor dreamed of harm
as he lay warm,
In bed with Mrs. Loring.
Another critic of
Elizabeth Loring’s was a loyalist judge named Thomas Jones who wrote
approximately 10 years after the American Revolution about how the alleged
affair between Howe and Mrs. Loring had cost Great Britain the war. He
portrayed Mrs. Loring as a Cleopatra figure and wrote, “As Cleopatra of old
lost Mark Antony the world, so did this illustrious courtesan lose Sir William
Howe the honour, the laurels, and the glory, of putting an end to one of the
most obstinate rebellions that ever existed.”
Heuvel questions Jones’
accusations.
“As a loyalist who was
on the losing side of the American Revolution, he was venting lots of
frustration,”said Heuvel. “It’s also believed that he loved to drink and to
gamble. There aren’t enough primary sources for historians to tell what really
happened between Howe and Mrs. Loring but the loyalist judge’s accusations are
probably myths.”
What do today’s
historians know about Elizabeth Loring? According to Heuvel, she lived a very
difficult life.
Elizabeth Lloyd Loring
was from Long Island, NY and married Joshua Loring, Jr. who was from Jamaica
Plain (modern-day Roxbury, MA). His father served as an admiral in the British
navy during the French and Indian War, and got wounded on Lake Ontario.
Joshua Loring, Jr.
served in the British army as a lieutenant on the staff of Colonel William Howe
in Savannah, GA. Loring left the British army in 1769 for health reasons after
getting sick from tropical diseases.
When the American
Revolution began, the Loring Family remained loyal to the British Crown. During
the Siege of Boston when the Americans captured Jamaica Plain, the Lorings fled
to nearby Boston. In fact the Lorings had to flee without their twin children
who were left with a nurse.
Wearing a disguise,
Elizabeth Loring went back through enemy lines to see her children. One of her
twins had died but the other one was later reunited with his parents in Boston
per an agreement approved by Thomas Gage and George Washington.
During the Lorings’ stay
in Boston, Sir William Howe recognized his former staff officer and met
Elizabeth Loring for the first time. After Howe’s army left Boston and captured
New York City, Howe put Joshua Loring, Jr. in charge of local prisons and prison
ships moored in New York Harbor.
“There are two versions
as to how Loring treated American POWs,” said Heuvel. “One story is how Loring
was very cruel and stole from the prisoners. The other version says that he did
the best he could under the circumstances.”
In 1777 when Howe
launched his controversial Philadelphia Campaign, Mrs. Loring left her husband
in New York City and sailed with Howe and his troops. Historians do not know
the details as to why Mrs. Loring left New York City and her husband to sail
with Howe’s troops, but Heuvel believes she was attracted to the power and
security which Howe could provide.
Following a series of
battles near Philadelphia, the American army abandoned the city and then the
British army occupied it through the Winter of 1777-78. It was during this time
period when Francis Hopkinson wrote what would become his famous poem about
Howe and Mrs. Loring.
During the Spring of
1778, Sir Henry Clinton replaced Howe as the British commander in Philadelphia
and marched his army back to New York City. Howe returned to Great Britain and
Mrs. Loring returned to New York City.
When the war ended,
Great Britain became the Lorings’ new home. They, like many other loyalists,
were not widely accepted by the British natives.
In 1789 Joshua Loring,
Jr. died at the age of 44 after several years of declining health. He left
Elizabeth with four children and virtually no money. She applied for a pension
because her husband had served in the British army, and received one.
Her oldest surviving
son, John Wentworth Loring, joined the British navy in order to support his
mother and siblings. He worked his way up the ranks and became a ship captain
who earned a large amount of prize money by capturing enemy vessels.
“John Wentworth Loring
won all sorts of British honors so apparently the British Crown didn’t seem
upset with his mother and her rumored affair with Howe,” said Heuvel. “John
Wentworth’s siblings also did very well.”
As for Elizabeth
Loring’s life in Great Britain, not much is known about her. Today’s historians
have only two letters written by her---one from when she was a child and the
other which she wrote to her adult children.
“In the letter to her
children she worried about keeping up with the Jones,” said Heuvel.
Sean Heuvel is an
assistant professor in the Department of Leadership and American Studies at
Christopher Newport University. He served as the founding president of the
American Revolution Round Table of Williamsburg/Yorktown.
His interests include
the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War II, military leadership and
higher education history. He is the author or co-author of the following books:
1.The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Major General William Heath
2. Life After J.E.B. Stuart: The Memoirs of His Granddaughter,
Marrow Stuart Smith
3. Remembering Virginia’s Confederates (Images of America)
4. The College of William and Mary in the Civil War
5. Christopher Newport University (Campus History)
Prior to the speaker’s
presentation the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond discussed the
nominations which members submitted to President Bill Welsch regarding this
year’s ARRT-Richmond Preservation Partner. Four non-profit organizations were
nominated. President Welsch said that each dues-paying member of ARRT-Richmond
will get the opportunity sometime in July to vote online for one of the four
nominees.
--Bill Seward
