General Thomas Gage and George Washington: Their Rubric on the Eve of the American Revolution
Drawing on the remarkable Thomas Gage Papers and the Gage family material at Firle, Deborah Gage will explore the American Revolution through the lives of her ancestor, General Thomas Gage
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, a veteran of some of the bloodiest European battles of the 18th century, sailed to Virginia in 1755 to serve in the Seven Years’ War under the command of General Braddock. The younger George Washington also served as a volunteer aide to Braddock. After an ambush at Monongahela on 9 July, Braddock and many of his men were killed. Wounded himself, Gage improvised a rear guard that allowed Washington's escape. Their lasting military friendship developed on that day, based upon a mutual respect for their bravery in the face of adversity. Ironically, nearly 20 years later, these two men would find themselves leading opposing sides.
Through Thomas Gage’s eyes, this lecture will explore his friendship with George Washington, the impact of his wife Margaret's political connections, difficulties the thirteen colonies faced after the Seven Years’ War, and an often-overlooked cause of the American Revolution: land.
General Thomas Gage, John Singleton Copley, c. 1768, Yale Center for British Art
Mrs. Thomas Gage, John Singleton Copley, 1771, Timkin Museum of Art
About the Author
Deborah Gage
Deborah Gage wears various ‘hats’: to start, she is an international dealer and consultant in the global art market. Since 1980 Deborah has been based in London where she established her own gallery 38 Old Bond Street until 2022. Gage has prepared catalogues for collectors around the world, curated and mounted a number of exhibitions, lectures regularly on both sides of the Atlantic, leads museum tours, and has contributed to a number of periodicals. She is a member of the Getty Paintings Conservation Council.
Gage founded the Charleston Trust in England, which was established in 1980 to save Charleston Farmhouse, on the Firle Estate in Sussex, and home of the British Artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. She was overall co-ordinator of the appeal and restoration, which was referred to as “one of the most difficult and imaginative feats of restoration current in Britain”. The house, contents and its garden was opened to the public for the first time in June 1986.
Firle Place in Sussex, England is the ancestral home of the Gages, belonging to the family since 1497. It contains one of the most important collections of Old Master paintings and decorative arts in South Eastern England. It has been a great inspiration to Deborah, where she is curator as well as looking after the archives for 50 years. Her interest in General Thomas Gage was ignited when she lived in New York in the 1970s, finding a wealth of material relating to him in libraries, particularly at the New York Historical Society. She continues to pursue this research today.