Thomas Gage

General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/19 – 2 April 1787) 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.