Why did general Howe base his troops in New York city in June 1776?

Answer 1

In 1776, hard fighting took place between the armies of General George Washington and General William Howe in Revolutionary War New York. Today, just few traces remain.

As the American and British forces were ensconced in and around Boston in the early months of 1776, both the besieger, General George Washington, and the besieged, General William Howe, saw New York as a “post of infinite importance.” John Adams described both the city and state as “a kind of key to the whole continent,” for which “no effort to secure it ought to be omitted.”

To Howe, capturing New York meant the ability to extricate his army from the hostile American position and populace of Boston. Thanks in part to royal governors in New York and New Jersey who remained active in trying to contain support for the rebellion, he could count on a citizenry more loyal to the Crown than Congress. Moreover, the deep, sheltered waters of New York Harbor could provide an ideal base of operations for the Royal Navy — command of the Hudson River would effectively cut off New England, the hotbed of the Revolution.