William Howe
In the weeks following the Declaration of Independence, William and the troops he commanded crowded the waters surrounding New York City. He had hoped to awe them into submission rather than fight them, and he believed that most of them would show their loyalty to the king. The Americans did not surrender which led to many American defeats. Britain then had a strategy to cut the United States in two. Howe would move north and another force would move south to meet him. Howe abandoned the plan and decided to launch an assault on the rebel capital Philadelphia. He had left Burgoyne to fight alone which led to two British defeats and even in his own battle, he refrained from moving in for a final attack and lost several opportunities to defeat the Continental Army. Howe's blunder had a large part in Britain's failure to win the war during this period. Some British critics believe Howe did not want to win the war and that he was secretly in sympathy with the American cause.