UNDERSTANDING THE DISCONNECTION IN ROYAL COLONIAL LEADERSHIP OF THE BRITISH COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF (1775-1783): GAGE, W. HOWE, AND CLINTON.

When the British lost their American colonial territories in 1781 at the end of the American Revolutionary War, it was the culmination of events that began during the conclusion of the American Theater of the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War, 1763). Examples include changing dynamics in British Parliamentary charters, the involvement of American international allies (primarily France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic) seeking retribution for the French and Indian War, shortages of supplies and munitions, misjudgments regarding Loyalist support, and independent British generals failing to coordinate their military offensives. However, one less-discussed example is the disconnection in leadership styles among the three British Commanders-in-Chief of the American Colonies from 1775 to 1783: Thomas Gage, William Howe, and Henry Clinton. This paper assesses their leadership failures as they navigated their varying styles during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]