Born c. 1721
Firle, England
Died April 2, 1787
Portland, England

Governor of Massachusetts, military leader

"Even the children here draw in a love of liberty in the air they breathe."
Portrait: Thomas Gage. Reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Thomas Gage was the top British official in America at a time when the British were not popular. On the eve of the American Revolution, Gage was told by his superiors in England to make the colonists see reason and, if they would not, to put them down with the might of the British army. Gage kept the peace for as long as he could, finally giving the orders that led to the confrontation at Concord, Massachusetts, and the start of the American Revolution.

Thomas Gage was born at his family's estate, called High Meadow, in Firle, England, about 1721. He was the second son of Benedicta Hall and...