Thomas Gage
Thomas Gage was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days of the American Revolution.
Being born into an aristocratic family in England, he entered the Army and saw action in the French and Indian War, where Gage served alongside his future opponent George Washington in the 1755 Battle of the Monongahela. After the successful Montreal campaign in 1760, he was named military governor of the region. During this time Gage did not distinguish himself militarily, but proved himself to be a competent administrator.
From 1763 to 1775, he served as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, overseeing Britain's response to the outbreak of Pontiac's War in 1763. In 1774, Gage was also appointed the military governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with instructions to implement the Intolerable Acts, punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. His attempts to seize the military stores of Patriot militias in April 1775 sparked the battles of Lexington and Concord, beginning the American War of Independence. After Britain's pyrrhic victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, he was replaced by General William Howe in October 1775, and returned to England where he died in 1787.
Early life
Thomas Gage was born on 10 March 1718/19 at Firle and christened 31 March 1719 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England, son of Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, and Benedicta Maria Teresa Hall. Firle Place, Firle, Sussex, is where the Gage family had been seated since the 15th century. His 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. The first son, William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage, was born 6 January 1717/18 and christened 29 January 1717/18, also at Westminster St James. In 1728 Gage began attending the prestigious Westminster School where he met such figures as John Burgoyne, Richard Howe, Francis Bernard, and George Germain. Despite the family's long history of Catholicism, Viscount Gage had adopted the Anglican Church in 1715, likely because he wanted to stand for Parliament. During his school years Thomas the younger became firmly attached to the latter church; he eventually developed a dislike for the Roman Catholic Church that became evident in later years.After he left Westminster School in 1736, there are no records of Gage's activities until he joined the British Army, eventually receiving a commission as ensign. His early duties consisted of recruiting in Yorkshire. In January 1741 he purchased a lieutenant's commission in the 1st Northampton Regiment, where he stayed until May 1742, when he transferred to Battereau's Regiment with the rank of captain-lieutenant. 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. He saw further service in the Second Jacobite Uprising, which culminated in the 1746 Battle of Culloden. From 1747 to 1748, Gage saw action under Albemarle in the Low Countries. In 1748 he purchased a major's commission and transferred to the 55th Foot Regiment. The regiment was stationed in Ireland from 1748 to 1755; Gage was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1751.
During his early service years, he spent leisure time at White's Club, where he was a member, and occasionally travelled, going at least as far as Paris. He was a popular figure in the army and at the club, even though he neither liked alcohol nor gambled very much. His friendships spanned class and ability. Charles Lee once wrote to Gage, "I respected your understanding, lik'd your manners and perfectly ador'd the qualities of your heart." Gage also made some important political connections, forming relationships with important figures like Lord Barrington, the future Secretary at War, and Jeffery Amherst, a man roughly his age who rose to great heights in the French and Indian War.
In 1750, Gage became engaged to a "lady of rank and fortune, whom he persuaded to yield her hand in an honourable way". The engagement was eventually broken, leaving Gage broken-hearted. In 1753, both Gage and his father stood for seats in Parliament. Both lost in the April 1754 election even though his father had earlier been an MP for some years, having decided not to respond to the threats of voters only to vote for candidates who promised to give £1,500 towards road repairs.
They both contested the results, but his father died soon after, and Gage withdrew his protest in early 1755, as his regiment was being sent to America following the outbreak of the French and Indian War.
French and Indian War
In 1755 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 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. This skirmish began the Battle of the Monongahela, in which Braddock was mortally wounded, and George Washington distinguished himself for his courage under fire and his leadership in organising the retreat. The commander of the 44th, Colonel Sir Peter Halkett, was one of many officers killed in the battle and Gage, who temporarily took command of the regiment, was slightly wounded. The regiment was decimated, and Captain Robert Orme levelled charges that poor field tactics on the part of Gage had led to the defeat; as a result of his accusations Gage was denied permanent command of the 44th Regiment. Gage and Washington maintained a somewhat friendly relationship for several years after the expedition, but distance and lack of frequent contact likely cooled the relationship. By 1770, Washington was publicly condemning Gage's actions in asserting British authority in Massachusetts.Creation of the light infantry
In the summer of 1756 Gage served as second-in-command of a failed expedition to resupply Fort Oswego, which fell to the French while the expedition was en route. The following year, he was assigned to Captain-General John Campbell Loudoun in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where a planned expedition against Louisbourg turned back when confronted by a larger French fleet.Image:Thomas Gage.jpg|thumb|right|upright|An engraved portrait of Gage
In December 1757, Gage proposed to Loudoun the creation of a regiment of light infantry that would be better suited to woodland warfare. Loudoun approved the plan before he was recalled that month, also recommending Gage to the king for promotion to full colonel. Gage spent the winter in New Jersey, recruiting for the newly raised 80th Regiment of Light-Armed Foot, the "first definitely light-armed regiment in the British army." While it is uncertain exactly when he met the Kembles, his choice of the Brunswick area may well have been motivated by his interest in Margaret Kemble, a well-known beauty of the area, a descendant of the Schuyler family, and the granddaughter of New York Mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt. Recruiting and courtship were both successful. By February 1758 Gage was in Albany, preparing for that year's campaign, and he and Margaret were married on 8 December of that year.
The campaign for which 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. Gage, whose regiment was in the British vanguard, was again wounded in that battle, in which the British suffered more than 2,000 casualties. 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 Gage.
Failure to act against La Galette
The new brigadier general was placed in command of the Albany post, serving under Major General Jeffery Amherst. In 1759, shortly after capturing Ticonderoga without a fight, General Amherst learned of the death of General John Prideaux whose expedition had captured Fort Niagara. Amherst then ordered Gage to take Prideaux's place, and to take Fort de La Présentation at the mouth of the Oswegatchie River on Lake Ontario. When Amherst learned that the French had also abandoned Fort St. Frédéric, he sent a messenger after Gage with more explicit instructions to capture La Galette and then, if at all possible, to advance on Montreal.When Gage arrived at Oswego, which had been captured in July by troops under Frederick Haldimand's command, he surveyed the situation, and decided that it was not prudent to move against La Galette. Expected reinforcements from Fort Duquesne had not arrived, the French military strength at La Galette was unknown, and its strength near Montreal was believed to be relatively high. Gage, believing an attack on La Galette would not gain any significant advantage, decided against action, and sent Amherst a message outlining his reasons. Although there was no immediate censure from either Amherst or the government, Amherst was incensed at the failure, and Gage's troops were in the rear of Amherst's army in the 1760 expedition that resulted in Montreal's surrender.
Early governorship
After the French surrender, Amherst named Gage the military Governor of Montreal, a task Gage found somewhat thankless, because it involved the minute details of municipal governance along with the administration of the military occupation. He was also 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. Margaret came to stay with him in Montreal and that is where his first two children, Harry, the future 3rd Viscount Gage, and Maria Theresa, were born. In 1761, he was promoted to major general, and in 1762, again with the assistance of his brother, was placed in command of the 22nd Regiment, which assured a command even in peacetime.By all accounts, Gage appeared to be a fair administrator, respecting people's lives and property, although he had a healthy distrust of the landowning seigneurs and of the Roman Catholic clergy, who he viewed as intriguers for the French. When peace was announced following the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Gage began lobbying for another posting, as he was "very much of this cursed Climate, and I must be bribed very high to stay here any longer". In October 1763 the good news arrived that he would act as commander-in-chief of North America while Amherst was on leave in Britain. He immediately left Montreal, and took over Amherst's command in New York on 17 November 1763. When he did so, he inherited the job of dealing with the outbreak of Pontiac's War.