Thomas Gage

Thomas Gage (1721-1787), British general and colonial governor in America, whose aggressive actions against the colonists contributed to the American Revolution. Gage was born in Firle, England. He entered the British army in 1740 with a lieutenancy and, after serving in Scotland and Flanders, was sent to America in 1754 as lieutenant colonel under General Edward Braddock in the French and Indian War. In 1761 Gage was appointed a major general and military governor of Montréal, where his unyielding character and stern efficiency brought him to the attention of the colonial authorities. From 1763 until his return to England in 1772 he was commander of all British forces in North America; he was promoted to lieutenant general in 1770. In 1774 he returned to America to become governor and military commander of the Massachusetts colony. His rigorous enforcement of unpopular British measures, such as the Boston Port Act, aggravated an already tense situation; on the night of April 18-19, 1775, he sent an expedition to destroy military stores belonging to colonists at Concord, resulting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19) and the beginning of the American Revolution. On June 17 he ordered the attack on the American forces occupying Breed's Hill and was widely criticized for the heavy British casualties that resulted (see Bunker Hill, Battle of). Appointed commander in chief in North America in August 1775, he resigned two months later and returned to England. In 1782 he was appointed a full general.