Thomas Gage papers, 1738-1807 (majority within 1745-1775)

University of Michigan William L. Clements Library

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Summary

Creator:: Gage, Thomas, 1721-1787
Abstract:: The Thomas Gage papers consist of the military and governmental correspondence and headquarter papers of General Thomas Gage, officer in the British Army in America (1754-1763) and commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America between 1763 and 1775. The papers include incoming correspondence and retained copies of letters written by Gage, together with a large quantity of documents related to military administration and manuscript maps of North America. The collection is particularly strong in documenting British administration of North America after the French and Indian War, interactions with Native Americans, and the years preceding the American Revolution. The Thomas Gage Papers include seven groups of materials: English series, American series, Warrants series, Letter and Account Books series, Jeffrey Amherst papers, Peter Warren papers, and William Skinner papers. The Thomas Gage Warrants, Jeffery Amherst Papers, Peter Warren Papers, and William Skinner Papers are described more fully in separate finding aids. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids: a Correspondence Inventory , a partial Subject Index , and individual Volume Descriptions .
Extent:: 70 linear feet
Language:: English
French
Spanish
Authors:: Collection processed and finding aid created by Philip Heslip, October 2010

Background

Scope and Content:

The Thomas Gage papers consist of the military and government correspondence of General Thomas Gage, officer in the British Army in America (1754-1763), commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America (1763-1775), and Governor of Massachusetts (1774-1775). The papers include incoming correspondence and retained copies of letters written by Gage, together with a large quantity of headquarters documents related to military administration. The collection is particularly strong in documenting British colonial administration after the French and Indian War, interactions with Native Americans, and the years preceding the American Revolution.

The collection is divided into five series:

The English Series (30 volumes) contains Gage's correspondence with military officers and politicians in England, including the Secretaries of State, the Secretaries at War, the Treasury, the Board of Trade, the Board of Ordnance, the paymaster general, the commanders-in-chief, and other officials.
The American Series (139 volumes) consists of Gage's correspondence with military officers and civil authorities in North America, including colonial governors, generals, commanders and subordinate officers, Indian superintendents and deputies, admirals of the British Navy in North America, engineers, army contractors, and various prominent civilians.
The Letter Books, Account Books, and Additional Material series (17 items) contains copy books of communications with military outposts in North America and accounts for military expenses.
The Warrants series (40 boxes) is made up of financial documents authorizing payment for the British military forces in North America. The Thomas Gage warrants series is described in a separate finding aid.
The Maps series (87 maps) includes maps and fort plans created for British military leaders in North America in the years before the American Revolution.

The English series and the American series comprise the bulk of the collection. In addition to the many letters, these series contain the following: addresses, speeches, and proclamations; official petitions and memorials for troop promotions and transfers; proceedings and depositions from courts martial and courts of inquiry; intelligence on enemy activities; reports on the condition of the army and the state of the colonies; orders, instructions, memoranda, and meeting minutes; stores and provision inventories, receipts, and accounts of expenses; newspaper clippings and broadsides; and other miscellaneous items. Memorials typically describe the military career and professional history of a soldier or officer; these frequently contain information on both his regiment's activities and his personal life. The courts martial document desertion, embezzlement and fraud, violence, murder, rape, and other crimes committed by service members. Some of these cases, such as the trials of John Wilkins and Robert Rogers, are extensively recorded, involving many levels of the military and government. Returns typically list the numbers of troops, by rank, stationed at a fort, city, or region. These occasionally include names and other personal information. Stores and artillery lists account for the food, supplies, and ammunition maintained at forts, cities, and regions.

The English Series (30 volumes) contains Gage's incoming and outgoing letters from the Secretaries of State, Secretaries of War, Secretaries of the Treasury, Board of Ordnance, Judge Advocate General, Paymaster General of the military, Board of Trade, and the Admiralty. The bulk of these items were created during Gage's tenure as military governor of Montréal, commander-in-chief of North America, and governor of Massachusetts. Gage's years as an officer during the French and Indian War and his time in Britain from 1773-1774, however, are not well represented.

Gage communicated extensively with the British Secretaries of State. In many of these letters, he discussed, at length, the state of the colonies, with particular focus on civil unrest. He also reported on Indian relations and boundary lines, conditions of forts and the British military presence on the western and southern frontiers, hostilities toward the Stamp Act and other parliamentary acts, and civil unrest in Boston, New York, Charleston, and other colonial cities. Secretaries include: George Montagu-Dunk, Lord Halifax (Montagu Dunk); Sir Henry Seymour Conway; Charles Lennox, the Duke of Richmond; William Petty, Lord Shelburne; Wills Hill, Lord Hillsborough; William Legge, Lord Dartmouth; William Henry Nassau, Earl of Rochford; and Lord George Germain.

Items of note include:

A report from Lord Hillsborough concerning relations with Indians and advising Gage to cut military spending by abandoning forts on the frontier (English Series [hereafter ES]): April 15, 1768)
A report, with treaty extracts, describing the boundary lines for colonial and Indian territories in Georgia, East and West Florida, North and South Carolina, and the northern territories (ES: April 15, 1768)
Narratives on the Boston Massacre written on and just after March 5, 1770
A narrative and discussion of the Boston Tea Party (ES: April 9, 1774)

In communications with Secretaries of War Lord William Barrington and Welbore Ellis, Gage discussed troop movements and logistics; regiment conditions, supplies and expenses; colonial troop quartering and recruitment; requests for regimental needs, such as surgeons, hospitals, and barrack repairs; and officer transfers and promotions. The secretaries frequently petitioned Gage to allow officers to return to England for personal reasons, such as health and estate issues. These letters also provide general updates on the state of the colonies and contain information on Indian affairs.

Items of note include:

Barrington's opinions on whether or not the British should designate the western lands for Indian nations (ES: October 10, 1765).
A warning from Gage that "the colonists are taking large strides towards Independency, and that it concerns Great Britain by a speedy and spirited conduct to show them that these provinces are British Colonies dependent on her, and that they are not Independent States" (ES: January 17, 1767).

The Secretaries of the Treasury letters offer detailed information on colonial expenses and the financial decisions made in London and by Gage. The treasury secretaries include Charles Jenkinson, Thomas Whatley, William Mellish, William Lowndes, Grey Cooper, Thomas Bradshaw, and John Robinson.

Gage also communicated regularly with the Judge Advocate General Charles Gould, Earl of Granby John Manners, and John Boddington from the Office of Ordnance; Paymaster General of the Military Richard Rigby; and Generals Amherst, Harvey, and George Williamson. Gage received many letters from army officers stationed in England and Ireland. Most of these officers served under Gage and wrote him regarding business or legal issues. Notable officers include Lieutenant Colonel John Wilkins of the 18th Regiment and Major Robert Rogers stationed at Michilimackinac. Also of note in this series are printed versions of speeches made by King George III to parliament and the official responses from the Houses of Lords and Commons.

The American Series (139 volumes) comprises the bulk of the Thomas Gage papers. The Correspondence and Enclosures subseries (volumes 1-136) contains the communications between Gage and various civil and military personnel from North America and the West Indies. Represented are documents from Gage's tenures as an officer in the British Army during the French and Indian War under Braddock and Abercromby, as military governor of Montréal, as commander-in-chief of North America, and as governor of Massachusetts. The items from 1754-1760 all relate to the military, and include communications from various forts, often containing troop returns and stores inventories. As governor of Montréal, much of his administrative duties pertained to coordinating sloops, bateaux, and other ships that moved troops and provisions around Canada. The breadth of his responsibilities and the variety of decisions he had to make expanded considerably during his service as commander-in-chief and governor.

Writers (contributors) in the American Series include: colonial governors and lieutenant governors, private merchants and suppliers, generals and headquarters staff (barrack master general, quarter master general, commissary of stores and provisions), subordinate staff (barrack masters, paymasters, and engineers), superintendents and deputies from Departments of Indian Affairs, surveyor generals, commissioner of customs, and admirals and other naval officers.

These communications reveal information on a vast array of administrative responsibilities, such as:

Disseminating information from England
Enforcement of parliamentary acts, particularly concerning commerce
Managing relations between the colonies and settling inter-colonial boundary disputes
Quelling violence and civil unrest in the cities and policing new settlements on the western and southern frontiers
Managing Indian relations and enforcing treaties
Maintaining outposts and constructing new forts
Coordinating colonial defenses and troop movements, provisioning, and quartering
Settling disputes between military and civil leaders

Notable gaps in documentation occur between May and August 1760 and during Gage's time in England between June 1773 and May 1774, when General Haldimand served as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America. Though fairly well documented, the year 1769 also seems incomplete.

Colonial Governors. As commander-in-chief, Gage maintained communications with the governors of every colony in North America and several West Indian islands. He received administrative information on civil government and was particularly involved in legal matters concerning civil/military relations and in quelling violence and unrest in the cities and on the frontier. The governors were partially responsible for implementing parliamentary acts regarding trade and raising troops for the British army. The letters also contain vast amounts of information on relations with Native Americans, local political movements, militias, and the provincial governments that emerged during the years preceding the Revolutionary War. (See Additional Descriptive Data for a list of the colonial governors represented in the collection.) Gage communicated with deputy paymasters general of North America including James Barbut, Jacob Blackwell, William Eddington, and Abraham Mortier. He also corresponded with the French and Spanish governors of Louisiana, including Jean-Jacques-Blaise Abbaddie, Charles Phillippe Aubrey, Alejandro O'Reilly, Antonio de Don Ulloa, and Luis de Unzaga.

Topics of Note:

Responses to the Stamp Act, including riots and non-importation agreements, with disturbances focused in Massachusetts and New York (1765)
Ongoing conflicts between Major Farmar of the 34th Regiment and George Johnstone, governor of West Florida at Pensacola, who claimed the authority to give orders to the military (1765)
Civil unrest in Boston that forced Governor Bernard to flee to Castle William (1768)
A build up of forces in West Florida in response to threats of war between England and Spain (1771)
Territorial disputes between New York and New Hampshire over settlements in what is now Vermont (1774-1775)
Governor of New Hampshire John Wentworth's reports on the raid of Fort William and Mary by revolutionaries, including Paul Revere (1775)
The battles and aftermath of Lexington and Concord (1775)

British Army in America. An important portion of the collection relates to Gage's administration of the far-reaching British military occupying North America. He communicated with many high-ranking officers and generals including Henry Bouquet, John Bradstreet, John Burgoyne, Ralph Burton, Henry Clinton, Frederick Haldimand, William Howe, Alex Mackay, John Pomeroy, and James Robertson. Subordinate officers, such as engineers, majors, barrack masters, paymasters, and ensigns, also corresponded with Gage. Routine topics include officer promotions and transfers; troop discipline and courts martial, particularly surrounding desertions; provisioning regiments and forts with food, supplies, and ammunition; and orders and instructions regarding troop movements and recruitment numbers.

Gage also interacted with the British Navy in North America, which was integral to provisioning and transporting troops. Ships traveled along the Atlantic seaboard from Newfoundland to the West Indies, to Québec by way of the St. Lawrence River, along the Mississippi river, and on Lakes Champlain, Erie, George, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Superior, and at Forts Niagara and Detroit. Gage also oversaw naval stores and naval activities, such as shipbuilding and ship maintenance, and frequently received news on shipwrecks. Prominent contacts included Admiral Alexander Colville, Commodore Samuel Hood, Commodore James Gambier, Admiral Samuel Graves, Captain Joshua Loring, and Admiral John Montague.

Topics of Note:

Relations between the Native Americans and colonists of Québec, including intelligence about a possible alliance between the Five Nations and the French-Jesuit clergy (1762)
Colonel Henry Bouquet's expeditions against the Indians on the Pennsylvania and Ohio frontiers (1764)
The court martial of Major Robert Farmar, whom West Florida Governor Johnstone accused of embezzling funds (1765)
Problems with the "Black Boys Gang" of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (1765)
Mining efforts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for coal, and around Lake Superior for copper and other metals (1764-1775)
The court martial of Robert Rogers, infamous superintendent of Michilimackinac (1767-1769)
Eyewitness accounts of the Boston Massacre, including reports and depositions from all of the troops who took part in event, and news from the ongoing trial of the troops involved (1770)
The court martial of Colonel John Wilkins of the Illinois Country over charges of embezzlement and fraud (1771-1773)
Civil unrest in Massachusetts as a result of the "Intolerable Acts" and the formation of new bodies of local government (1774)
Twenty testimonies and oaths of Massachusetts residents, including several women, concerning the Association (Continental Association) which prohibited merchants from trading with Great Britain (February 13-17, 1775)
Descriptions of the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord (1775)
Reports of Americans taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point (1775)
Intelligence on troop counts and fortification descriptions for the British and the colonists at the Battle of Bunker Hill, along with many memorials from soldiers who fought in the battle (1775)
Reports on the American march on Québec and Montréal lead by General Philip Schuyler and Benedict Arnold (1775)
Attacks by the Machias "pirates" on British ships in the Bay of Fundy (1775)
Three letters from General George Washington to Gage (June 17, 1768, August 11 and 20, 1775)
A spy letter from a Mrs. Cooke who had contact with Generals George Washington and Charles Lee and who reported on the squalid conditions in the barracks in and around Boston before she was caught in Lexington (1775)

Indian Superintendants and Deputies. The Gage papers contain a large body of letters and documents relating to Indian Superintendents Sir William Johnson of the Northern District and John Stuart of the Southern District. Gage, who supervised the Indian Departments, received extensive communications documenting all aspects of Indian affairs, including negotiations and treaties, accounts for gifts, trade regulations, captives, and information on violent civil and military conflicts with the Native Americans. Letters include particularly extensive documentation on the New York and Canadian Indians, and on interactions at Detroit, Fort Stanwix, Nova Scotia, and the frontier areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia, and East and West Florida. In addition to having direct lines of communication with Johnson and Stuart, Gage received material from subordinate officials, including Colonel Guy Johnson (who took over his father Sir William Johnson's responsibilities after his death), and Indian agents Captain Daniel Claus, Edward Cole at Illinois, Colonel George Croghan, Major Joseph Gorman, Montaut de Montereau, Benjamin Roberts at Michilimackinac, and Lieutenant John Thomas in Mississippi. Agents dealt closely with the colonial governments and often described the actions and motives of the legislature and the governor, and the Indians' responses. Throughout the collection, particularly in the late 1760s and early 1770s, Gage dealt with a constant stream of reports of murders of British frontier settlers and Native Americans. Prominent tribes included the Arkansas, Carib, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Delaware, Iroquois (Five/Six Nations: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora), Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Mingo, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wyandots. For a comprehensive list of Native American materials search the Subject Index.

Topics of Note:

Congress at Niagara resulting in a treaty with Western Indians (1764)
Conflicts and treaties with Chief Pontiac, including Pontiac's Rebellion (1763-1769)
Negotiations at Fort Pitt and the Congress of Fort Chartres with the Shawnees, Delaware, Huron, and Six Nations of the Iroquois (1766)
Unsuccessful efforts by the British government to remove colonial settlers from the Redstone Creek and Cheat River region near Fort Pitt (1767)
Congress of Fort Stanwix (1768)
The First Carib war on St. Vincent's Island (1772)

Merchants, Contractors, and Civilians. Also important are communications with merchants and contractors. Gage relied heavily on private contractors to provision the army and to build and maintain the military's forts and ships. Additionally, Gage received letters from colonial citizens, usually concerning business matters or legal proceedings. Prominent citizens, merchants and shipping companies included George Allsopp; Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan; David Chamier; Delancy and Watts; Volkert Van Dow; Franks, Inglis, & Barclay; John Hancock, Thomas Hancock, Plumstead and Franks; Philip Schuyler, Edward Shippen, George Townshend, and Nathaniel Wheelwright. Of note is an extended legal battle over the assault of merchant Thomas Walker by citizens of Montréal (1766-1767).

The Indian Congresses and Treaties subseries (15 items) contains reports, proceedings, treaties, negotiations, and memorials related to Indian Affairs in the Southern District and on the Illinois frontier. The bulk of the treaties and Indian-related documents are ordered throughout the American Series. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Journals and Reports subseries (24 items) is a collection of volumes and documents concerning the administration of the British Army in America. Several items describe the condition of forts and waterways on the southern and western frontiers, while others are expense and provision reports. Of note are John Wilkins' "Journal of Transactions and Presents Given to Indians from 23 December 1768 to 1772," and a "Journal of Events at Fort Edward Augustus," which describes abandoning the fort during Pontiac's rebellion. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Proclamations and Documents subseries (39 items) has official proclamations, memorials, articles from treaties, extracts from parliamentary acts, official court depositions, and various financial and legal certifications. Many of the items in this series are undated. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Broadsides subseries (14 items) contains many of the collection's printed broadsides. Half of the items are related to revolutionary activities in Boston, including a broadside that recounts the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 26, 1775). See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Newspapers and Clippings subseries (12 items) is comprised of fragments of newspapers from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina from 1773 and 1774. See the Subject Index for an itemized list of this subseries.

The Pay Lists of British Army Officers subseries (31 items) consists of officer pay lists spanning 1759-1775. The lists contain officer's names, regiments, ranks, days served, and amounts owed for the pay period.

The Letter Books and Account Books Series (17 items) contains four of Gage's official letter books from 1759 to 1763, 12 account books from 1763-1773, and a list of bills spanning 1769-1773.

The letter books contain copies of official communications from Gage to other military outposts in North America and to officials in London. These volumes hold only outgoing letters. The first volume covers "Winter Quarters" in Albany, from January 20 to April 27, 1759 (69 pages), and from December 14, 1759 to May 5, 1761 (119 pages). The second volume concerns Gage's time at Fort Oswego from August 19 to November 20, 1759 (78 pages). The third and fourth letter books contain letters from his time as military governor of Montréal, and consist largely of letters written to other northern military forts and to Commander-in-Chief Jeffrey Amherst. The third volume spans August 21, 1761-December 23, 1762 (92 pages), and the fourth January 15-October 24, 1763 (61 pages).

The Account Books group consists of 12 account books documenting expenses for Transport Services, Incidental Expenses, Secretary's Office, Engineers Department, Naval Department on the Lakes, Indian Department Southern District, Indian Department Northern District, Quartermaster General's Department Albany and New York, Commissary General's Department, Deputy Paymaster General, Crown Account, Warrants, Cash and Contra, Commission of the Treasury, Secretary of War, and Contingent and Extraordinary Expenses from forts throughout North America.

Account Books:

Account Book 1 (14 pages) 1763-1766
Account Book 2 (31 pages) 1763-1766
Account Book 3 (21 pages) 1763-1769
Account Book 4 (33 pages) 1765-1766
Account Book 5 (24 pages) 1765-1768
Account Book 6 (12 pages) 1766-1767
Account Book 7 (36 pages) 1766-1769
Account Book 8 (42 pages) 1767-1770
Account Book 9 (28 pages) 1770-1773
Account Book 10 (43 pages) 1770-1773
Account Book 11 (39 pages) 1767-1773
Account Book 12 (39 pages) 1767-1773

This series also contains a loose list of bills "Drawn by General Gates" on behalf of the officers under him in North America (1769-1773). The categories are "By Whom Drawn," Number of Bills, In Whose Favor, Sums Drawn for (New York Currency), Dates of Acceptance, and Sums Paid.

The Thomas Gage Warrants Series (10 linear feet), a collection of additional administrative and financial records spanning 1763 to 1775, are described in a separate finding aid entitled Thomas Gage warrants. The warrants document payment of the army's departmental salaries and expenses, and represent a large source of information relating to hospitals, victualling, frontier expeditions, the building and repair of fortifications and barracks, transportation of troops and stores, wages for civilian workers, and disbursements to the Indians.

The Maps Series (87 manuscript maps) includes maps on the exploration, settlement, and fortification of the interior of British North America before the Revolution. They cover the years from 1755 to 1775 and were created for the British authorities. The maps portray rivers, lakes, and waterways throughout the continent, the coastlines and ports along the Atlantic, fortifications, and roads and routes between forts and cities. Of note are 12 maps of the Southern District and of the Mississippi River, created by Captain Philip Pittman. These maps are located in the Clements Library's Map Division - search the University of Michigan catalog for "Gage Maps."

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids:

The Correspondence Inventory lists the bulk of the collection's contributors and inventories each item sent or received from them to Gage.
The Subject Index provides access to events, people, places, and topics discussed in the collection. The index also contains a list of contributors, a list of the collection's maps, and an itemized list of volumes 137-139 of the American series.
The Volume Descriptions provide brief overviews of the content of each volume in the collection.

Biographical / Historical:

Thomas Gage was born in Firle, Sussex, England, in 1719 or early 1720, to Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, and his first wife, Benedicta Hall. At eight he entered the Westminster public school, where he studied until 1736. In 1741, he purchased a commission as lieutenant in Colonel Cholmondely's Regiment of Foot. He obtained the rank of captain-lieutenant in May 1742, and became captain in January 1743. Gage served as an aide-de-camp to the Earl of Albemarle; he was present at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 and participated in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. He served in Ireland with the 44th Regiment of Foot, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel on March 2, 1751. In the fall of 1754, his regiment was ordered to America under Major General Edward Braddock as part of an effort to counter the French in the Ohio Valley.

Gage and his regiment departed England in early January 1755 and had landed in Virginia by March. He commanded Braddock's advance guard in the march toward the forks of the Ohio River, and led the guard during the defeat at Monongahela on July 9. After the battle, Gage applied for the colonelcy of the 44th, which he did not receive. His regiment spent the winter in Albany, and, after months of inactivity, they set out for Oswego on August 12, 1756, on an expedition to inspect troops, examine forts, and build storehouses along the way. Upon receiving word that Oswego had been attacked, Gage's forces demolished the forts between Albany and Oswego, before retreating down the Mohawk and spending the winter in Albany. During the campaign of 1757, Gage traveled with Loudoun's expedition to attack the French fortress of Louisbourg, but this did not materialize. In December, Gage proposed to Loudoun that a regiment of light infantry specially trained for woodland combat be organized under Gage's command. Loudoun agreed, and formed the 80th Regiment of Light-Armed Foot. Gage set up recruiting headquarters in late December at Brunswick, New Jersey. He reported back to Albany in February 1758 and prepared for the coming campaign. On July 8, 1758, Gage led the light infantry screen in James Abercromby's failed attack on Ticonderoga, known as the Battle of Carillon. In November, he met with Jeffery Amherst in New York, and there received the news that he had been appointed brigadier general. He continued on to Brunswick and married New Jersey native Margaret Kemble (c.1734--1824) on December 8. They returned to Albany in mid-January 1759, where he took command of Albany and the surrounding forts. Following the siege of Niagara in July, Amherst ordered Gage to take command on Lake Ontario, capture La Galette, and hold that position. Gage refused to take La Galette, focusing instead on strengthening Niagara and Oswego. He was again placed in charge of Albany and its surroundings for the winter of 1759. In 1760, during the final continental campaign, Gage commanded the rearguard in Amherst's army and, in September, Amherst appointed him military governor of Montréal and its surrounding regions, a post he held until October 1763.

In 1761, Gage was promoted to major-general, and in 1762, he received the colonelcy of the 22nd Regiment. When Amherst was granted leave to return to England, Gage was ordered to New York where, on November 17, 1763, he was offered, and accepted, a temporary appointment as commander-in-chief for North America. He was formally commissioned by the King on November 16, 1764. He held the position for twelve years and maintained his headquarters in New York until moving his headquarters to Boston in 1774. In handling Pontiac's Rebellion, Gage approved of Amherst's plan of asking the colonies exposed to Indian attacks to raise 3,500 troops. He also ordered John Bradstreet and Henry Bouquet to move against the Delawares and Shawnees, while William Johnson made peace with Pontiac himself. Political troubles and civil unrest, catalyzed by such legislation as the Sugar and Stamp Acts, necessitated an increase of troops in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. In the summer of 1768, he ordered the abandonment of many forts along the western, northern, and southern perimeter of the British colonies and indicated in June that only a few posts, including Detroit and Ticonderoga, were necessary to maintain the interior. By March 1769, he wanted troops concentrated on the eastern seaboard. On March 5, 1770, tensions boiled over in Boston, when a group of troops fired into a mob of civilians and killed five citizens. Though this conflict, now known as the Boston Massacre, fostered further mistrust between the citizens and the British troops, the event was followed by a period of relative peace (1771-1772). By 1773, however, the Americans resumed revolutionary activities, unhappy with restrictive Parliamentary acts.

Gage sailed to England upon leave of absence in June 1773. During his time in England, he advised King George III that stronger measures would tame the Americans, and in September met with Lord North and Lord Dartmouth to discuss the problem of addressing French settlement in the American West. He and his wife spent time in Bath and made London their home, until his return to America. The cabinet announced his appointment as governor of Massachusetts on April 2, 1774, replacing Thomas Hutchinson. Gage returned to America, arriving in Boston Harbor on May 13. As the situation became more tenuous, he transferred more troops to Boston. On January 27, 1775, the Earl of Dartmouth sent a secret dispatch to Gage ordering him "to arrest and imprison the principal actors & abettors in the Provincial Congress," the leaders of rebellion. He did not receive this letter until mid-April. Early in the morning of April 19, Gage sent a column to Concord, where the Massachusetts Provisional Congress had met and the rebels held known stores of munitions. The following day, British troops skirmished with militia at Lexington and Concord, before being rescued by a larger brigade sent out by Gage early that morning. On June 12, Gage declared martial law and called a council of war. He decided, along with the recently arrived William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne, to attack the rebels. The British won the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, but with a heavy loss of almost forty percent of their troops. Gage received orders on September 26 to return as soon as possible to London, and left Boston on October 10, the same day that Howe became the new commander-in-chief.

On April 13, 1781, Gage accepted a position on Amherst's staff to prepare for the defense of Kent, in case of a possible French invasion. He was made a full general on November 20, 1782. Thomas Gage died in his home in Portland Place, London, on April 2, 1787.

Acquisition Information:

1937-2010. M-341, M-342, M-500, M-647, M-913, M-916, M-1023, M-1095, M-1168, M-1595, M-2013, M-2804, M-4794.2 .

Custodial History:

William L. Clements purchased the collection from Henry Rainald Gage, 6th Viscount Gage, in 1930. In 1937, the collection was moved from Clements' home in Bay City, Michigan, to the Clements Library.

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.

Arrangement:

The Thomas Gage papers are organized into eight series:

Series I: English Series
Series II: American Series
- Subseries I: Correspondence and Enclosures
- Subseries II: Indian Congresses and Treaties
- Subseries III: Journals and Reports
- Subseries IV: Proclamations and Documents
- Subseries V: Broadsides
- Subseries VI: Newspapers and Clippings
- Subseries VII: Pay List of British Army Officers
Series III: Letter Books and Account Books
Series IV: Warrants
Series V: Jeffery Amherst Papers
Series VI: Peter Warren Papers
Series VII: William Skinner Papers
Series VIII: Maps

The English and American series contain correspondence and administrative documents and are ordered chronologically. Indian Treaties and Congresses, Journals and Reports, and Proclamations and Documents are ordered at the end of the American Series. Enclosed letters are filed after the letter with which they were delivered.

Original Order: The collection was originally stored in 12 chests and organized into bundles of letters that were grouped by geography/military post and by author and recipient. In 1943, with funding from the Michigan Daughters of the American Revolution, the bulk of the collection was divided into English and American series, ordered chronologically, and bound. The series of warrants was arranged separately in groups by unit and chronology. The Jeffery Amherst Papers, Peter Warren Papers, and William Skinner Papers were arranged separately. The collection's maps were largely separated from their enclosing letters on account of their size. One of the original chests is in the Clements Library.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Descriptive Data:

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids:

The Correspondence Inventory lists the bulk of the collection's contributors and inventories each item sent or received from them to Gage.
The Subject Index provides access to events, people, places, and topics discussed in the collection. The index also contains a list of contributors, a list of the collection's maps, and an itemized list of volumes 137-139 of the American series.
The Volume Descriptions provide brief overviews of the content of each volume in the collection.

Alternate Locations

The following three collections were originally part of the Thomas Gage papers:

The following seven items are located in the Clements Library's Gold Star collection:

General Thomas Gage to Captain Francis Smith, orders for the Concord expedition: April 18, 1775
Joseph Palmer to Philip Mortimer, regarding the battle at Lexington: April 19, 1775
John Parker to Massachusetts Provincial Congress, deposition of a witness at Lexington: April 25, 1775
Major John Pitcairn to General Thomas Gage, British version of the battle at Lexington: April 26, 1775
Rachel Revere to Paul Revere, regarding her husband's plan to go into hiding: April or May, 1775
Benjamin Thompson, military intelligence for the British Army: May 6, 1775
Gen. William Howe, Gen. Henry Clinton, Gen. John Burgoyne to Gen. Thomas Gage, request for equipage money: July 19, 1775

Related Materials

The Clements Library holds several collections that contain items written to or from Thomas Gage:

The John Calef memorials and petitions contain 1 Gage-related item.
The Henry Clinton papers contain 12 Gage-related items.
The Frederick Mackenzie papers include a headquarters record book containing copies of proclamations made by Gage.
The William Petty, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne, 2nd Earl of Shelburne papers contain 84 Gage-related items.
The Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney papers include 1 Gage-related letter.
The Charles Townshend papers have copies of Gage letters and estimates of provisions.

Related collections outside of the Clements Library:

Most of what is left of Gage's private papers is located in the Gage family seat in Firle, Sussex.
Gage's official correspondence with departments of the British government is in the National Archives (United Kingdom).
The John P. Branch historical papers of Randolph-Macon College at the Randolph-Macon Historical Society contain 7 letters from Gage (1766-1772), and 4 documents related to Gage (1766-1769).
The Sussex Archaeological Society holds a Gage family collection.
The Burton Historical collection at the Detroit Public Library has 15 items related to Gage concerning relations with the Indians at Detroit (1764-1771).

Bibliography

For short biographies of Gage, see:

American National Biography
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Canadian Dictionary of National Biography.

Alden, John Richard. General Gage in America: Being Principally a History of his Role in the American Revolution. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1948.

Carter, Clarence Edwin, ed. Correspondence of Thomas Gage. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1933.

Carter, Clarence Edwin. Notes on the Lord Gage Collection of Manuscripts. Cedar Rapids, Ia.: Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1929.

Croghan, George, and Thomas Gage. George Croghan's Journal of his Trip to Detroit in 1767, With his Correspondence Relating Thereto: Now Published for the First Time from the Papers of General Thomas Gage in the William L. Clements Library. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan press, 1939.

De Berniere, Henry, and Thomas Gage. General Gage's Instructions, of 22d February 1775, to Captain Brown And Ensign D'Bernicre [!] ... With a Curious Narrative of Occurences During their Mission. Boston: Printed, and to be sold, by J. Gill, 1779.

Dunn, Walter Scott. Frontier Profit and Loss: The British Army and the Fur Traders, 1760-1764. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Dunnigan, Brian Leigh. The Necessity of Regularity in Quartering Soldiers: The Organization, Material Culture, and Quartering of the British Soldier at Michilimackinac. Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac State Historic Parks, 1999.

French, Allen. General Gage's Informers; New Material upon Lexington & Concord: Benjamin Thompson as Loyalist & the Treachery of Benjamin Church, Jr. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1932.

Ketchum, Richard M.Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill . Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1974.

Mowat, Charles Loch, and Thomas Gage. Material Relating to British East Florida in the Gage Papers and Other Manuscript Collections In the William L. Clements Library. Tallahassee, Florida, 1939.

Peckham, Howard H. The Gage Papers. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1941.

Peckham, Howard H. Sources of American Independence: Selected Manuscripts from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.

Scott, Seaman Morley. Material Relating to Québec in the Gage and Amherst Papers. Toronto, 1938.

Whereas His Excellency General Gage ... Hath Conducted as an Instrument ... to Enslave This People ... Resolved the Said General Gage ... Ought to be Considered ... as an Unnatural ... Enemy... Watertown, 1775.

Thomas Gage Biographical Timeline:
Date	Event
1719/1720	Thomas Gage born
1741	Gage purchases a commission as lieutenant
1742 May	Gage promoted to captain-lieutenant
1743 January	Gage promoted to captain
1745 May 11	Gage serves as aide-de-camp at Battle of Fontenoy
1746 April 16	Gage participates in Battle of Culloden
1751 March 2	Gage promoted to lieutenant-colonel
1754 Fall	Gage ordered to America for Edward Braddock's expedition
1755 January	Gage departs for America
1755, 9 July	Gage participates in Battle of the Monongahela; Braddock is defeated
1756 August 12	Gage sets out from Albany to Oswego for the winter
1757	Gage participates in Loudoun's expedition against Louisbourg
1757 December	Gage establishes a light infantry regiment in North America and a recruiting headquarters in Brunswick, New Jersey
1758 February	Gage returns to Albany
1758 July 8	Gage participates at the Battle of Carillon
1758 October	The British sign the Treaty of Easton with the Six Nations
1758 November	Gage receives word of his appointment as brigadier general
1758 December 8	Gage married Margaret Kimble in Brunswick
1759 January	Gage returns to Albany and assumes command of the city and nearby forts
1759 July-August	Gage refuses to advance against La Galette
1760	Gage commands rearguard of Amherst's campaign to Montréal as the British take Montréal from the French
1760 September	Gage appointed military governor of Montréal
1760 October	Gage begins tenure as military governor
1761	Gage promoted to major-general
1762	Gage receives colonelcy of 22nd Regiment
1763 February10	Treaty of Paris ends conflict between Britain and France
1763 October	Gage's tenure as military governor of Montréal ends
1763 November 17	Gage accepts temporary appointment as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America
1764 April 5	Parliament passes Sugar Act
1764 October	Henry Bouquet marches against the Indians of Ohio
1764 November 16	Gage formally commissioned by George III as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America
1765 October 10	British take control of Fort Chartres from the French
1765 November 1	Stamp Act goes into effect in the American colonies
1767 June 29	Townshend Revenue Act passed
1768 Summer	Gage orders abandonment of posts along the borders of the British colonies in America
1768 November 5	British officials and the Six Nations agree to the treaty at Fort Stanwix
1770 March 5	Boston Massacre
1772 June 9	Gaspée Affair
1773 June	Gage sails to England on leave of absence, General Haldimand temporarily takes over as commander-in-chief of North America
1773 September	Gage meets with Lord North and Lord Dartmouth to discuss French settlement in the West
1773 December 16	Boston Tea Party
1774 March 25	Boston Port Act, one of the "Intolerable Acts" passed by Parliament
1774 April 2	Cabinet announces Gage's appointment as governor of Massachusetts, succeeding Thomas Hutchinson
1774 May 13	Gage returns to America, arriving in Boston Harbor
1774 September 5	First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and issues Declaration and Resolves
1774 October 5	Massachusetts House of Representatives becomes a "Provincial Congress" with John Hancock as president
1774 October 20	The Association, prohibiting trade with Great Britain, formed in Boston
1774 December 14	Sons of Liberty in New Hampshire take Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth
1775 January 27	Earl of Dartmouth orders Gage to seize leaders of rebellion
1775 April 18	Gage sends column to Concord, Massachusetts
1775 April 19	Battles of Lexington and Concord
1775 May 10	Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys take Fort Ticonderoga; Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
1775 May 12	The colonists capture Fort Crown Point
1775 June 12	Gage declares martial law in Boston
1775 June 17	Battle of Bunker Hill
1775 September 26	Gage ordered to return to London
1775 October 10	Gage leaves Boston for England; William Howe becomes new commander-in-chief
1781 April 13	Gage offered a position on Amherst's staff to prepare for the defense of Kent against the French
1782 November 20	Gage promoted to full general
1787 April 2	Thomas Gage dies

Colonial Governors and Lieutenant Governors:

Bahamas (New Providence): William Shirley and Montfort Browne
Barbados: Charles Pinfold
Bermuda: George James Bruere
Connecticut: Thomas Fitch, William Pitkin, and John Trumbull
East Florida: James Grant, John Moultrie, and Patrick Tonyn
Georgia: James Wright
Grenada: Robert Melville and William Leybourne
Maryland: Horatio Sharpe
Massachusetts: Francis Bernard and Thomas Hutchinson
Montréal: William Dunbar
New Hampshire: John Wentworth
New Jersey: William Franklin
New York: Cadwallader Colden, Henry Moore, and William Tryon
Newfoundland: John Byron, John Gorham, Walter Patterson, Robert Duff
Niagara: Pierce Sinnott
North Carolina: William Tryon and Josiah Martin
Nova Scotia: Montague Wilmot, William Campbell, William Franklin, and Francis Legge
Pennsylvania: William Penn
Québec: James Murray, Guy Carleton, Hector Theophilus Cramahe
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, Samuel Ward, and Joseph Wanton
St. Vincent's Island: William Leyborne
South Carolina: William Bull, Thomas Boone, Charles Greville Montague, William Campbell
Virginia: Francis Fauquier and John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
West Florida: George Johnstone, Montfort Browne, Elias Durnford, and Peter Chester

Other Finding Aids:

The Thomas Gage Papers include seven groups of materials: English series, American series, Warrants series, Letter and Account Books series, Jeffrey Amherst papers, Peter Warren papers, and William Skinner papers. The Thomas Gage Warrants, Jeffery Amherst Papers, Peter Warren Papers, and William Skinner Papers are described more fully in separate finding aids.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created three other research aids: a Correspondence Inventory , a partial Subject Index , and individual Volume Descriptions .

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