Thomas Gage
Thomas Gage was a British general who was well known for his many years of service as a military commander in the American Revolution. Gage, the second son of the first Viscount Gage, was born at Firle, Sussex, England in 1719 or early 1720. Departing school, Gage joined the British Army as a commissioned officer in the armed forces, before he purchased a commission as a lieutenant in the first Northampton Regiment in 1741. He then transferred to Battereau’s Foot Regiment the following year. In 1743, he was promoted to captain and joined the Earl of Albemarle’s staff as an aide-de-camp.
After pertaining in many important events that revolved around the American Revolution and the search for independence in America, Thomas Gage was recalled to England after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Gage reported to Lord George Germain, now the Secretary of State of the American Colonies, that a large army was necessary to defeat the Americans and that foreign troops were need to be hired. In April 1776, Thomas was placed on the inactive list. He remained in semi-retirement until 1781. Gage saw little active service and died at the Isle of Portland on April 2, 1787.
Thomas Gage was an important person that participated in the war for independence because in response to the outcry raised against the 1765 Stamp Act, he began calling troops and he concentrated them in the coastal cities, particularly New York. Later on, with passage of the Townshend Act, the focus of resistance shifted north to Boston. Gage sent troops to that city and the situation came to a head with the Boston Massacre. Gage requested a Leave of Absence two years later and returned to England. In that period Gage missed the Boston Tea Party and the outcry in response to the Intolerable Acts. Then, on April 18-19, 1775, Gage ordered 700 men to fight at Lexington and Concorde.
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