Robert Rogers was born in Massachusetts in 1731, and lead a famous and very effective unit of colonial Rangers during the French and Indian War (Seven Years War in Europe), 1754 – 1763.
A known Loyalist, with the beginning of the American Revolution, Rogers was arrested on the order of General Washington in July, 1776, on suspicion of espionage. He contrived to escape, and made his way to an offshore British Naval vessel. In August 1776, General Howe commissioned him to raise a unit of Loyalist Rangers.
The regiment didn’t get off to a good start; they were caught off guard by a patriot night attack on October 21, 1776 near Mamaroneck, NY, and suffered heavy losses despite eventually repulsing the attack. A January 177 visit by a British Inspector General found the regiment not up to snuff, leading General Howe to relive Roberts of command. Roberts was plagued by heavy debts after the French and Indian Wars, and was drinking heavily.
In his place, Howe appointed Lieutenant Christopher French to command the unit. Col. French trained the unit relentlessly over the winter, resulting in much improved performance when the fighting resumed in the Spring of 1777.
The regiment participated in the Philadelphia campaign, now under the command of Major James Wemyss, and particularly distinguished itself at the Battle of Brandywine creek, September 11, 1777, where 2/3 of the officers were wounded or killed, along with 1/3 of the enlisted men. It fought again at Germantown on October 3, 1777, where it performed well but Major Wemyss suffered multiple wounds, causing him to relinquish his command of the unit.
With the unit’s reputation now well established, an ambitious lower ranking officer in Howe’s command, John Greave Simcoe, pushed hard for the command, and was granted it buy Howe as of October 15, 1777. The son of a Naval Captain, Simcoe had attended Eton and the Merton college at Oxford. However, he dropped out of college after a year, purchasing an Ensign’s commission in the 35th Foot. He was only 25 years old when he took command of the Rangers.
Under Simcoe’s leadership, the Queen’s Rangers became a mixed unit, eventually combining elements of all three combat arms. When at Philadelphia a superior officer offered Simcoe the use of his cavalry, he set up his own troop of hussars. Meanwhile, a Highland company from North Carolina sporting the MacNab tartan had joined the Regiment as well, and over time there would also be sharpshooters armed with rifles, a grenadier company, and even a trio of gunners firing a “grasshopper” three-pounder cannon. Eventually growing to 11 companies of foot, in addition to the hussar troop, during the Revolutionary War most Rangers remained light infantry outfitted with Brown Bess muskets and bayonets.
