Thomas Gage was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of the American Revolution.
From 1763 to 1775 he served as commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, overseeing the British response to the Pontiac’s Rebellion. In 1774 he 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 Revolutionary War. After the Pyrrhic victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill, he was replaced by General William Howe in October 1775, and returned to Great Britain.