Thomas Gage

Born c. 1721
Firle, England
Died April 2, 1787
Portland, England

Governor of Massachusetts, military leader

Thomas Gage was the top British official in America at a time when the British were not popular. On the eve of the American Revolution, Gage was told by his superiors in England to make the colonists see reason and, if they would not, to put them down with the might of the British army. Gage kept the peace for as long as he could, finally giving the orders that led to the confrontation at Concord, Massachusetts, and the start of the American Revolution.

Thomas Gage was born at his family's estate, called High Meadow, in Firle, England, about 1721. He was the second son of Benedicta Hall and Thomas Gage, a member of Parliament's House of Lords (like the U.S. Senate) who also held the aristocratic titles of Viscount Gage of Castle Island and Baron Gage of Castlebar. These titles were passed from father to eldest son and, in the case of the Gages, were attached to property in Ireland. Thomas's older brother, William, succeeded to the titles and proved helpful in launching his brother's military career.

In 1728 Thomas and William Gage entered the Westminster School, which Thomas was to attend for eight years. The school was for the sons of the wealthy and noblemen. While at school the Gage brothers met many young men who would later prove influential in setting and carrying out British political policy toward the American colonies.

Sees army service in European wars

After school, at about the age of sixteen, Thomas Gage entered the army, which was considered a suitable profession for a younger son of an aristocratic family. Gage's first commission (military rank) was that of ensign, a low-ranking officer. It was a fine time for a young man interested in promotion to be in the army, because Great Britain would be almost constantly at war with one nation or another for the next seventy-five years. Gage became a lieutenant in 1741 and a captain in 1743, serving in an Irish regiment. (Ireland was part of Great Britain.)

Gage served first in Great Britain's wars with her European neighbors. In 1745 he fought in Belgium in the War of Austrian Succession. In April 1746 Gage fought at Culloden Moor in Scotland, where the last of the exiled Stuart kings of England was defeated with his Scottish allies (see Flora MacDonald entry). Gage returned to Belgium (then called Flanders) and Holland in 1747 and spent the next two years there, as Great Britain continued to fight with her European enemies. He rose in the ranks, becoming first the major in 1748 and then the lieutenant colonel of the 44th Regiment (a fighting unit of about 1,000 men) in 1751.

Fights in French and Indian War in America

These European squabbles over territory and the rule of the seas eventually spilled over into their colonial possessions, including America and Canada. For years, Great Britain had challenged France for the control of Canada, a conflict that erupted into the French and Indian War (1754–63). In 1754 Gage and the 44th Regiment were shipped to America as part of General Edward Braddock's expedition (military mission). Their first clash with the French and their Indian allies was in 1755 in western Pennsylvania. The British lost the battle. Gage, slightly wounded, managed to direct his soldiers to carry the wounded Braddock to safety, but the general soon died. During the retreat, Gage befriended a young colonial officer whose Virginia militia (citizen soldiers) unit was reinforcing the British army. This young American was George Washington (1732–1799; see entry).

During August and September 1756 Gage served as second in command during the unsuccessful British push into the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York and in an expedition to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Marries an American girl

At this point in his life Gage is described as a serious young man but a good companion and conversationalist. Unlike many other British officers, Gage did not pursue women, gamble, or drink to excess. Instead, he focused his energies on having the best regiment. He trained his men well, and kept their appearance orderly and smart. Gage was a good administrator (manager) but less inspired on the battlefield. He is described as a cautious commander, earning the names "Timid Tommy" and "The Old Woman" from his troops. In time, it would become clear that his real talent lay in running the territories gained for Great Britain by her armies. Friends described Gage as having a strong sense of fair play. Kinder nicknames bestowed on Gage include "Quiet Tommy," "Honest Tom," and the "Mild General."

In 1757 Gage was given permission to create a special unit of American troops who would be trained as a lightly armed regiment. While recruiting for this 80th Regiment late in 1757, Gage met a beautiful young American girl named Margaret Kemble. She was the daughter of Peter Kemble, a landowner and merchant who lived in the town of Mount Kemble, New Jersey. The Kemble family was of French, Greek, Dutch, and English ancestry. For the next year Gage courted Margaret Kemble through visits and letters.

On December 7, 1758, Gage married his American sweetheart in an Anglican (Church of England) ceremony at her home in Mount Kemble. Gage's new brother-in-law, Stephen, was an ensign in Gage's regiment. Acquaintances of hers described Margaret Kemble Gage as very proud, and conscious of her husband's place in the English aristocracy.

The Gages had a very happy marriage, one blessed with eleven children. Their first child, their son Henry, was born in 1761 while the Gages were posted to Montreal. When they were old enough Henry and his brother William attended Westminster, their father's old school in England, while their sister Maria Theresa attended a boarding school for girls. Among the Gages' six sons and five daughters were John, Louisa Elizabeth, and Harriet. Their daughter, Charlotte Margaret, was the only Gage child to be born in England rather than in America.

Serves in conquest of Canada

In 1758 Gage served as a colonel under Lord Abercrombie, head of the British army, in the attempt to capture the French-held fort at Ticonderoga, New York. He was slightly wounded in this action. In early 1759 Gage and his wife, Lady Gage, moved to Albany to be near the new commander-in-chief, Lord Amherst. As the British pushed to win Canada from the French, Gage was given command of a unit and told to take Fort La Galette on Lake Ontario on the way to taking the key city of Montreal. Gage got as far as Niagara and stopped because he thought he had too few men and supplies to complete his mission. Amherst was furious at Gage's decision but eventually their quarrel was made up. Amherst then drew upon Gage's military leadership when the British army took Quebec from the French in 1759.

In 1760 Gage served as a brigadier general under Lord Amherst, who was in charge when the French surrendered their vast Canadian empire to the English. Later that same year, Gage was named governor of Montreal, a city of 25,000 civilians. As governor, Gage proved capable of dealing with the many groups represented in Montreal, including the French Catholics, the Indians, the British military, and British civilians.

Gage was promoted to major general in 1761, given a regiment to command in 1762 and, in 1763, Gage succeeded Lord Amherst as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. Gage made his headquarters in New York City. He remained commander-in-chief for almost ten years, until 1772. Gage's responsibilities included overseeing the fifty British forts that protected the Canadian and American colonists from Newfoundland to Florida on the Atlantic seaboard, and from the island of Bermuda to the Mississippi River in the south.

These were turbulent years, as Britain passed law after law, and the colonists became more and more upset. Often these laws were passed on the recommendation of the British officers serving in America, officers like Thomas Gage. Many historians credit Gage with recommending the law that led to the closing of the port of Boston after the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and the Quartering Act, which allowed the British army to house their soldiers in civilian homes in Boston. As time went by he was losing sympathy with the Americans, as the colonists resorted to violence to make their point about wanting the power to rule themselves.

Named Governor of Massachusetts

In 1773, after seventeen years of service in America, Gage requested permission to return to England on family business. In June he and his wife and three of their children sailed to England. While in England Lady Gage was presented at court (introduced to the king and queen). Both the Gages found they liked London society life. But their visit was cut short in April 1774 when Gage was named Governor of Massachusetts and given orders to return to America.

It was hoped that Gage, with his knowledge of the American people and their politics, could calm the rebellious colonists. The politicians in Parliament gave Gage orders to end the rebellion without giving in to too many of the colonists' demands.

Gage returned to America in May 1774 as Governor in Chief and Captain-General of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with headquarters in Boston. The next year he was made commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America. As Great Britain's military leader in the colonies, part of his job was to put down the rebellion brewing in the American colonies before the conflict erupted into a full-blown war. Since Boston was a rallying place for the rebels, Gage was to rule this key American city with a firm hand.

The American colonies in 1774 were simmering on the verge of outright rebellion against English rule. Gage, who for the most part still liked the American colonists, tried to cool tempers. He tried to lessen the importance of Boston by declaring Salem the capital of the Massachusetts colony, and spent the summer of 1774 there. He met with colonial leaders and tried to work out compromises to their grievances. All the time, Gage was receiving messages from England to take a harsher line with the Americans. It was a careful political balancing act for Gage.

Events lead up to Lexington and Concord

In response to England's orders, Gage tried to nip the American rebellion in its infancy. He knew that without weapons and leaders, the rebellion would falter. One of Gage's tactics was to seek out and seize the rebels' ammunition and weapons. Early in 1775 he sent British units to uncover rebel supplies in Jamaica Plains, Marshfield, and Salem, towns outside of Boston. Next he received word that the rebels had a stockpile of weapons at Concord, a town about twenty miles west of Boston. Gage planned to send a unit of seven hundred British soldiers to seize the weapons and to arrest two of the American rebel leaders, John Hancock and Samuel Adams (see entries). Gage had heard that Hancock and Adams were hiding in or around Concord.

Word of Gage's plans leaked to the Americans. Two messengers, Paul Revere see entry and William Dawes, rode through the countryside to alert the militia to assemble at Lexington, a small town on the way to Concord. There the American militia would try to stop the British advance.

In fact, the British broke through the American resistance at Lexington and pushed on the remaining six miles into Concord. There they began seizing cannons, muskets, and ammunition belonging to the colonial militia. As the British marched out of Concord, they were met by 150 Massachusetts militia men. The British were routed (driven off) and the supplies were recaptured. The Americans pushed the British all the way back into Boston, a twenty-mile march. The British had sustained a humiliating defeat.

British army trapped in Boston

Gage and his officers were surprised at the success of the American resistance. They still believed, however, that the British army was the best in the world and that the rebels would soon surrender. On June 12, 1775, Gage offered amnesty (pardon) for any rebel who took part in the action at Lexington or Concord. He excepted John Hancock and Samuel Adams from the amnesty, concerned at their ability to rouse the people to armed resistance.

On the night of June 16, the Americans sent troops onto two hills surrounding the city. When informed of the American move on the morning of June 17, Gage personally gave the order for the British forces to attack the American position on Breed's Hill. The action would soon include neighboring Bunker Hill, which gave its name to the first major conflict of the Revolutionary War. Gage then turned over command of the battle to General Sir William Howe see entry, who had recently arrived from England. Gage, in his position as governor, wanted to concentrate on activity in the city. The British won the battle but at a heavy cost. Almost half their soldiers and officers were killed or wounded.

Relieved of American command

The government in England was appalled when Gage reported on the defeat at Lexington and then the siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill. In September 1775 they recalled Gage for a personal explanation of these events. Gage turned over military command to Howe in October 1775 and sailed for England.

In April 1776 Gage learned both that he had been relieved of his American command and that Howe had succeeded him as commander-in-chief there. Gage had lost his job and his pay. Five years later, in 1781, Gage was reappointed to the staff of his former commander, Lord Amherst. His assignment was to help the people of the county of Kent prepare against an invasion by England's old enemy, France. In 1782 Gage was named a full general. Gage did not live long to enjoy his final promotion. He died on April 2, 1787, at his home in Portland after a long and painful illness. Lady Gage survived her husband by thirty-seven years but never remarried.

For More Information

Armstrong, Jennifer. Ann of the Wild Rose Inn. New York: Bantam, 1994.

Boatner, Mark M., III.. "Gage, Thomas" in Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1994, pp. 405-09.

Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1943.

Hawkins, Vincent B. "Gage, Thomas" in The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1992, p. 270.

Rinaldi, Ann. The Secret of Sarah Revere. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1995.

Sanborn, Paul J. "Gage, Thomas" in The American Revolution, 1775–1783: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. Edited by Richard L. Blanco. New York: Garland Publishing, 1993, pp. 605-10.

Speare, Elizabeth George. Calico Captive. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1957.

Wilson, James Grant, and John Fiske. "Gage, Thomas" in Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 2. New York: D. Appleton, 1888, pp. 569-70.

The Gage Family and English Politics

By the time Thomas Gage, the last royal governor of Massachusetts, was born, his family was well established in the aristocracy (ruling class). But this was not always the case. In fact, it could be said that Gage's ancestors had a genius for picking the wrong side of any political or military fight.

Gage was the descendant of a French nobleman named di Gaugi who had come to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror, who would rule as King William I. Eventually, di Gaugi became the more English sounding "Gage." Thus far, life was good for the Gages. Then, in 1215, the Gages sided with King John, the English king who was eventually forced to give up some of his decision-making power to his nobles in a document called the Magna Carta.

In 1534 King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Protestant Church of England. Nobles in the know quickly followed suit, becoming Protestants. Not the Gages. They supported Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary), Henry's daughter and successor, who tried to reinstate Catholicism by force as the English state religion. For 150 years the Gages continued to practice Catholicism. It was a decision that cost them much loss of favor at many royal courts.

Then the Gages supported King Charles I, who eventually lost his head to start the English civil war in 1649. They then threw their support behind James II, who was forced to abdicate (step aside) in favor of his daughter, Mary, and her Protestant husband, William of Orange, in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

The Gages only returned to royal favor in 1715, when Thomas Gage's father, also named Thomas Gage, converted to the Anglican church. The elder Gage was rewarded with an Irish aristocratic title, and eventually an English one. Thus Gage's family was finally in a position to support him politically and socially when he grew to manhood.