His family and political connections, the system of purchase, and his own solid administrative abilities had helped him rise to positions of responsibility. His personal reputation as a fair-minded commander, a devoted family man, and an amiable and charming host remained unblemished. In Montreal all these qualities won him a reputation as a just and competent governor. As a soldier, however, his record in actual operations was not distinguished.
Neither in the La Galette affair nor during the far more complex crisis in Boston in —75 did he display the political and strategic grasp which those situations demanded.
Billias New York, Shirley did not accept this response. He blamed Gage for failing to occupy the high ground and for losing control of the vanguard, but agreed that the French should be imitated in their use of screens of irregulars to protect regular forces.
Alden pp. Gipson The British empire before the American revolution 15v. Contemporary descriptions of the action are found in Military affairs , 96— For Loudoun, see Pargellis, Lord Loudoun , , — There is no full account of Gage as military governor of Montreal, though brief references are in Burt, Old prov.
Excerpts from his correspondence with Carleton in —75 are in ibid. Indictments of Gage for encouraging the use of the Indians can be found, in descending order of vehemence, in Allen French, The first year of the American revolution Boston, ; repr. New York, , —10; J. The inevitability of Indian participation is argued in S.
Moir Toronto, , — General Bibliography. The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style 16th edition. His mission was successful, but he was much more cautious of the colonists, drawing criticism from other officers. Finally, Britain had had enough and Gage was ordered to take decisive action.
He had received intelligence that Concord, MA was being used to store weapons. On leaving Concord, rebel militia attacked the British column. The Battles of Lexington and Concord caused the British more casualties than the rebels.
The colonial militia, emboldened by their successes, set siege to Boston , led by General Artemas Ward. While the evidence is entirely circumstantial at best, her husband did send her to England in the summer of Thomas Gage wrote to England with the results of the battle.
Within three days, they wrote back replacing him with General William Howe. Thomas Gage left for England where he was the object of both ridicule and compassion for his failure to squash the rebellion. He was reinstated briefly and promoted to General during a possible French invasion in He eventually died in Prior to this, he served as the colonial governor of Massachusetts Bay. In , he was replaced as the British military commander-in-chief by General William Howe.
Gage developed a fierce attachment to the Anglican Church and a deep distaste for Roman Catholicism. After leaving school, he joined the British Army as an ensign and commenced recruiting duties in Yorkshire. In , Gage purchased a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Northampton Regiment.
The following year, in May , he transferred to Battereau's Foot Regiment with the rank of captain-lieutenant. In , Gage was promoted to captain and joined the Earl of Albemarle's staff as an aide-de-camp in Flanders for service during the War of the Austrian Succession. Shortly thereafter, he, along with the bulk of Cumberland's army, returned to Britain to deal with the Jacobite Rising of Gage served in Scotland during the Culloden campaign.
After campaigning with Albemarle in the Low Countries from to , Gage was able to purchase a commission as a major. A member of White's Club in London, he proved popular with his peers and cultivated important political connections.
With the 55th, Gage proved himself an able leader and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in Two years later, he mounted a campaign for Parliament but was defeated in the election of April After remaining in Britain another year, Gage and his regiment, re-designated the 44th, was sent to North America in to take part in General Edward Braddock's campaign against Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War.
Braddock's army moved slowly as it sought to cut a road through the wilderness. On July 9, , the British column neared its target from the southeast with Gage leading vanguard.
Spotting a mixed force of French and Native Americans, his men initiated the Battle of the Monongahela. The engagement quickly went against the British and in several hours of fighting, Braddock was killed and his army routed.
In the course of the battle, the commander of the 44th, Colonel Peter Halkett, was killed and Gage was slightly wounded. Following the battle, Captain Robert Orme accused Gage of poor field tactics. While the accusations were dismissed, it prevented Gage from receiving permanent command of the 44th. In the course of the campaign, he became acquainted with George Washington and the two men stayed in contact for several years after the battle.
After a role in a failed expedition along the Mohawk River intended to resupply Fort Oswego, Gage was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to take part in an abortive attempt against the French fortress of Louisbourg. There, he received permission to raise a regiment of light infantry for service in North America.
Promoted to colonel in December , Gage spent the winter in New Jersey recruiting for his new unit. On July 7, , Gage led his new command against Fort Ticonderoga as part of Major General James Abercrombie's failed attempt to capture the fortress. Slightly wounded in the attack, Gage, with some assistance from his brother Lord Gage, was able to secure promotion to brigadier general. While in the city, he married Margaret Kemble on December 8, The following month, Gage was appointed to command Albany and its surrounding posts.
This lack of aggression was noted by Amherst and when the attack on Montreal was launched, Gage was placed in command of the rear guard. Following the city's capture in , Gage was installed as military governor. Though he disliked Catholics and Native Americans, he proved an able administrator.
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