Thomas Gage

Thomas Gage (* 1719 in Firle, Sussex, England; † April 2, 1787, Isle of Portland, England) was a British general and commander of the North American forces from 1763 to 1778 during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

Life

Gage has been in Sussex in 1719, the second son of Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, was born in a Norman family who could trace their ancestry to the conquest of England. He went into the army in 1741 and was on duty in Flanders and in the campaign of Culloden. In March 1751 he became lieutenant-colonel in the 44th Regiment of Foot.

From 1754 Gage served in America and took the following year to General Edward Braddock's unsuccessful expedition part. In 1758 he married Margaret Kembel in New Jersey. In the same year he became colonel of a new regiment and served in Jeffrey Amherst's campaign against Montreal. He was promoted governor of Montreal, and in 1761 to Major General.

In 1763 he was Amherst's successor as commander of the British forces in America. In 1770 he became lieutenant general. In 1774 he was appointed martial law governor of Massachusetts, replacing the civilian Governor Thomas Hutchinson. In this capacity he was entrusted with the enforcement of the Boston Port Act. The difficulties in carrying out its duties in this time of serious unrest culminated in 1775, and the events on April 19 at the Battle of Lexington initiated the American Revolutionary War. After the Battle of Bunker Hill by Gage William Howe was replaced, and he returned to England. He was promoted to general in 1782 and died in 1787.

In the staged by Robert Stevenson Walt Disney movie Johnny Tremain (1957 ) from the novel by Esther Forbes is embodied Thomas Gage by Ralph Clanton.