Staff. He was succeeded in February 1782 by Henry Seymour Conway. Next in importance to the Commander-in-Chief was the Secretary at War, who served as head of the War Office, and was bidden "to observe and follow such orders and directions as he should from time to time receive from the King or the general of the forces". Not until 1783 was he a minister responsible to parliament. At the start of part of the war the secretary was Lord Barrington. He was replaced in 1778 by Charles Jenkinson who held this position until the fall of Lord North's government. Crown and Government officials King George III of Great Britain Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister (1770–1782) Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Prime Minister (1782, died in office) William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister (1782–1783) George Germain, Secretary of State for the Colonies (1775–1782) John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Office vacant from 1772 to 1778 Sir Jeffery Amherst (1778–1782) The Hon. Henry Seymour Conway (1782–1793) Secretaries at War William Wildman Shute Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington Charles Jenkinson Commander-in-Chief, North America Until the war was widened into a global conflict by France's entry in 1778, the war's military activities were primarily directed by the Commander-in-Chief, North America. General Thomas Gage was commander-in-chief of North American forces from 1763 until 1775, and governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1774 to 1776. He presided over the rising tensions (with his actions sometimes contributing to them, in the opinions of some historians) that led to the outbreak of the war. He was recalled after the Battle of Bunker Hill. General William Howe replaced Gage, and personally directed the war effort in 1776 and 1777, including the British captures of New York City and Philadelphia. He failed to gain control over New Jersey, and his actions in taking Philadelphia contributed to the failure of John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign. He resigned in early 1778. Sir Henry Clinton served as commander-in-chief from 1778 to 1782. He oversaw the British army's retreat from Philadelphia, and then directed the Siege of Charleston, the landing of a large body of troops early in the "Southern strategy". He directed most British activities afterward from his base in New York, and played a role in negotiating Benedict Arnold's change of allegiance. Following Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown, he