36 Facts About Thomas Gage

General Thomas Gage was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the American Revolution.

Firle Place, Firle, Sussex, is where the Gage family had been seated since the 15th century.

Thomas Gage's father, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, was a noted nobleman given titles in Ireland.

Thomas Gage had three children, of whom Thomas was the second.

In 1728 Thomas Gage began attending the prestigious Westminster School where he met such figures as John Burgoyne, Richard Howe, Francis Bernard, and George Germain.

Thomas Gage received promotion to captain in 1743, and saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession with British forces in Flanders, where he served as aide-de-camp to the Earl of Albemarle in the Battle of Fontenoy.

Thomas Gage saw further service in the Second Jacobite Uprising, which culminated in the 1746 Battle of Culloden.

From 1747 to 1748, Thomas Gage saw action under Albemarle in the Low Countries.

Thomas Gage was a popular figure in the army and at the club, even though he neither liked alcohol nor gambled very much.

In 1750, Thomas Gage became engaged to a "lady of rank and fortune, whom he persuaded to yield her hand in an honourable way".

In 1755 Thomas Gage's regiment was sent to North America as part of General Edward Braddock's expeditionary force, whose objective was the expulsion of French forces from the Ohio Country, territory disputed between French and British colonies where there had been military clashes in 1754.

On this expedition Thomas Gage's regiment was in the vanguard of the troops when they came upon a company of French and First Nations people who were trying to set up an ambush.

The regiment was decimated, and Captain Robert Orme levelled charges that poor field tactics on the part of Thomas Gage had led to the defeat; as a result of his accusations Thomas Gage was denied permanent command of the 44th Regiment.

The campaign for which Thomas Gage went to Albany culminated in the disastrous Battle of Carillon, in which 16,000 British forces were defeated by barely 4,000 French forces.

Thomas Gage, who had been brevetted a brigadier general for the 1758 campaign, received in 1759 a full promotion to the position, largely through the political manoeuvring of his brother, Lord Thomas Gage.

Amherst then ordered Thomas Gage to take Prideaux's place, and to take Fort de La Presentation at the mouth of the Oswegatchie River on Lake Ontario.

Thomas Gage, believing an attack on La Galette would not gain any significant advantage, decided against action, and sent Amherst a message outlining his reasons.

Thomas Gage was forced to deal with civil litigation, and manage trade with the First Nations in the Great Lakes region, where traders disputed territorial claims, and quarrelled with the First Nations.

When peace was announced following the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Thomas Gage began lobbying for another posting, as he was "very much [tired] of this cursed Climate, and I must be bribed very high to stay here any longer".

In 1767 Thomas Gage ordered the arrest of Major Robert Rogers, the former leader of Rogers' Rangers who Thomas Gage had come to dislike and distrust during the war.

Thomas Gage spent most of his time as commander-in-chief, the most powerful office in British America, in and around New York City.

Thomas Gage later came to change his opinion about the source of the unrest, believing that democracy was a significant threat.

Thomas Gage saw the movement of colonists into the interior, beyond effective Crown control, and the development of the town meeting as a means of local governance as major elements of the threat, and wrote in 1772 that "democracy is too prevalent in America".

Thomas Gage believed that town meetings should be abolished and recommended that colonisation should be limited to the coastal areas where British rule could be enforced.

Thomas Gage's arrival was met with little pomp and circumstance, but was generally well received at first as Bostonians were happy to see Hutchinson go.

Thomas Gage called for new elections to be held as per the Massachusetts Government Act, but his authority was undermined by the representatives who refused to meet with the new, appointed Governor's Council.

Thomas Gage attempted to buy off political leaders in Massachusetts, notably Benjamin Church and Samuel Adams.

Thomas Gage sought to strictly enforce army directives calling for the confiscation of war-making materials.

Thomas Gage was criticised for allowing groups like the Sons of Liberty to exist.

Thomas Gage then dispatched Paul Revere and William Dawes to warn the colonists, which resulted in the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and starting the American Revolutionary War.

Thomas Gage worked with the newly arrived generals on a plan to break the grip of the besieging forces.

Three days after his report arrived in England, Dartmouth issued the order recalling Thomas Gage and replacing him with William Howe.

The next year, Thomas Gage assumed command of the 17th Light Dragoons.

Thomas Gage supported the efforts of Loyalists to recover losses incurred when they were forced to leave the colonies, notably confirming the activities of Benjamin Church to further his widow's claims for compensation.

Thomas Gage received visitors at Portland Place and at Firle, including Frederick Haldimand and Thomas Hutchinson.

Thomas Gage's health began to decline early in the 1780s.