who was the general for the british in the revolutionary war?
Black British White British British American
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 The failures of British military policy in 1757 led to a change of government in London , with William Pitt coming firmly into control of Britain 's global war effort . Pitt decided to focus a large number of resources on the war in North America , and three major expeditions were planned . One of these , under the command of Brigadier General John Forbes , was assigned to move against the French in the Ohio Country , with its first major goal the capture of Fort Duquesne . Forbes was to lead an army of 2 @,@ 000 regulars augmented by 5 @,@ 000 provincials raised from Pennsylvania southward . 

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 From 1763 to 1775 he served as commander @-@ in @-@ chief of the British forces in North America , overseeing the British response to the 1763 Pontiac 's Rebellion . In 1774 he was also appointed the military governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay , with instructions to implement the Intolerable Acts , punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party . His attempts to seize military stores of Patriot militias in April 1775 sparked the Battles of Lexington and Concord , beginning the American War of Independence . After the Pyrrhic victory in the June Battle of Bunker Hill he was replaced by General William Howe in October 1775 , and returned to Great Britain . 

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 The British government , however , was in some turmoil , and in August 1710 , the ministry of Lord Godolphin fell . Queen Anne replaced him with Robert Harley , a political opponent of the Duke of Marlborough , who had also fallen out of favour . Harley wanted to change Britain 's military strategy , implementing a " blue water " policy that emphasized strength at sea , at the cost of a reduced army . He also sought to blunt Marlborough 's continuing influence with a victory of his own devising . To these ends , he authorised expeditions by land and sea to capture Quebec ; however , he fell ill , so most of the work of organisation was done by his Secretary of State , Henry St. John ( the future Lord Bolingbroke ) . 

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 In December 1776 General John Burgoyne met with Lord Germain , the British Secretary of State for the Colonies and the government official responsible for managing the war , to set strategy for 1777 . There were two main armies in North America to work with : General Guy Carleton 's army in Quebec and General William Howe 's army , which had driven George Washington 's army from New York City in the New York campaign . 

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 British General Charles Cornwallis , the 2nd Earl Cornwallis , was appointed in February 1786 to serve as both Commander @-@ in @-@ Chief of British India and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William , also known as the Bengal Presidency . Based in Calcutta , he oversaw the consolidation of British control over much of peninsular India , setting the stage for the British Raj . He was also instrumental in enacting administrative and legal reforms that fundamentally altered civil administration and land management practices in India . According to historian Jerry Dupont , Cornwallis was responsible for " laying the foundation for British rule throughout India and setting standards for the services , courts , and revenue collection that remained remarkably unaltered almost to the end of the British era . " 
