Rogers' Rangers
Elite light infantry scouts of the French and Indian War.
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During the French and Indian War, Major Robert Rogers raised a company of soldiers from the Province of New Hampshire for the British Army. This unit was quickly adopted into the New England Colonies army as an independent ranger company. Rogers drew inspiration from colonial Frontiersman Ranger groups and the unconventional warfare teachings of Rangers like Benjamin Church. He trained and commanded a rapidly deployable light infantry force tasked mainly with reconnaissance and special operations against distant targets.
Their tactics, built on earlier Colonial precedents, were codified for the first time by Rogers as his 28 "Rules of Ranging." These tactics proved remarkably effective, and the initial company expanded into a ranging corps of more than a dozen companies containing as many as 1,200–1,400 men at its peak. The ranger corps became the chief scouting arm of British Crown forces by the late 1750s, valued for their ability to gather intelligence about the enemy. They were disbanded in 1761.
French and Indian War
Rogers' Rangers began in 1755 as a company in the provincial forces of New Hampshire, one of a line of New England ranger companies dating to the 1670s. Its immediate precursor was Gorham's Rangers, formed in 1744. The company was formed during the winter of 1755 from forces stationed at Fort William Henry and operated primarily in the Lake George and Lake Champlain regions. The Rangers undertook raids against French towns and military emplacements, traveling on foot, in whaleboats, and on snowshoes.
Israel Putnam, a Connecticut militia captain, fought in conjunction with Rogers and saved his life on one occasion. The unit's usefulness during 1756 and 1757 led the British to form a second ranger company, and by early 1758 the rangers had expanded to a corps of 14 companies totaling 1,200 to 1,400 men, including three all-Indian units of Stockbridge Mahicans and Mohegan Indians. Rogers was promoted to major and served as commandant of the Ranger Corps.
Pontiac's War
After the French and Indian War, the Rangers took over Fort Detroit from the French, and most then went home. In 1763, Rogers gathered volunteers to reinforce Detroit under James Dalyell. Dalyell convinced commander Henry Gladwin to let him attack an Indian village by Parent's Creek. A mixed force of 250–300 soldiers from the 55th and 60th regiments, Rogers' volunteers, and Captain Joseph Hopkins' Queen's Royal American Rangers was ambushed when the 55th's advance guard crossed the bridge. Rogers' men covered the retreat back to the fort.
Legacy
After the American Revolution, members of Rogers' Rangers received farmland in Pownal, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Their effective tactics led the British to create formal light infantry units, starting with Gage's Light Infantry in 1758 and later the Rifle Brigade in 1800.
The Rangers were reactivated as a U.S. Regular Army unit during the War of 1812. The Queen's York Rangers of the Canadian Army, the U.S. Army Rangers, and the British Army's Ranger Regiment all claim descent from Rogers' Rangers. A historical marker in Haverhill, New Hampshire, commemorates the unit.
In popular culture
Kenneth Roberts' novel Northwest Passage (1937) portrays the raid on the Abenaki town of St. Francis; the first half was adapted as the 1940 film starring Spencer Tracy as Rogers. The film Fort Ti (1953) features Rangers rescuing hostages held in Fort Ticonderoga.
Mission of Danger portrays a Rogers' Rangers operation with Keith Larsen as Robert Rogers. AMC's 2014 series Turn: Washington's Spies depicts the Rangers as a Loyalist militia. Rogers' Rangers appears in Empire: Total War as part of Special Forces Units & Bonus Content released March 2009.
Did You Know?
- During the First Battle on Snowshoes on January 21, 1757, the French lacked snowshoes and were 'floundering in snow up to their knees' while the Rangers held high ground.
- After the Second Battle on Snowshoes, the French reported killing Rogers based on finding his regimental coat containing his military commission, but he had escaped.
- During the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758, the Rangers killed and scalped the Chief Mi'kmaq and captured 70 defenders.
- In the St. Francis Raid of 1759, Rogers claimed 200 enemies killed, while the French recorded 30 deaths including 20 women and children.
More in Military History of the Thirteen Colonies
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Rogers' Rangers (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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