Thomas Gage was born in Sussex, England in 1719. He attended the exclusive Westminster School and then joined the British Army as an ensign. By 1751, he was a Lt. Colonel in the 44th Regiment. In 1754, he was sent to America and in 1755 was at Braddock's defeat along with Horatio Gates, Charles Lee and George Washington. In 1760, Gage became military governor of Montreal and the surrounding area. In 1763, he became Command-in-Chief of the British Army in America.
Gage would be Commander-in-Chief during the turbulent time leading up to the American Revolutionary War. He attempted to keep things from bubbling over in New England while Parliament continued to attempt to pass taxes against the American colonies. In 1768, he established a garrison at Boston. Following the Boston Massacre, tensions eased a bit and Gage returned to England for the first time in seventeen years. In 1774, he returned with the additional title of Royal Governor of Massachusetts, but in April 1775, fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord followed by a costly victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Gage then fell out of favor and was recalled. He did not return to command until after the war regime in England fell from power.
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