Nathanael Greene Vs Thomas Gage Essay

The differences between a Continental Army leader and a British Army leader go farther than just what side they’re on. They’re born in different places, and they take different paths to get where they end up. They’re not completely different from each other, however, having some consistencies. Nathanael Greene and Thomas Gage were born under different circumstances and had dissimilar experiences, but had some similarities too. Nathanael Greene and Thomas Gage were on different paths from the beginning. Gage was born in 1721 in Sussex, England, to a noble family. Greene was born more than 20 years later in Rhode Island. His father was a Quaker farmer. Being born in England with a nobleman for a father, Thomas Gage would easily be loyal to the

Over the course of more than thirty years, Thomas Gage went from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel to military governor to commander-in-chief and then finally a governor, with other positions in between. Nathanael Greene was appointed brigadier general for the Rhode Island Army of Observation in 1775, and then for the Continental Army that same year. In 1776 he became major general. The two men were also active at different times. Thomas Gage mostly led before the Revolution itself, especially during the French and Indian War. He was deported back to Britain after the Battle of Bunker Hill, where his men sustained more than 1,000 casualties. Nathanael Greene didn’t really start to lead until the war had started, and he led men for most of the Revolution. The two men led in different ways and at different times. There were some similarities between Gage and Greene, however. One was that they were both major generals at one point, though for different forces. They also both knew George Washington—Thomas Gage became acquainted with him in 1755 and Nathanael Greene after becoming brigadier general in the Continental Army. Both men were brigadier generals before they were major generals. They both had positions of leadership other than just the military: Greene was elected twice to the General Assembly and Gage was governor of Massachusetts. So while their similarities may not be abundant, they