The King's Rangers, also known as the King's American Rangers, was a Loyalist provincial ranger unit raised in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

for service during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Formation

After Colonel Robert Rogers left the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen ...

in 1777 he went to Nova Scotia. He obtained approval from General Sir Henry Clinton to raise the King's Rangers in 1779. The formation of the Rangers was authorized to contain two battalions, each divided into 10 companies.

Early actions

By September 1779 recruitment for the unit was underway and the Rangers were stationed at Fort St. Johns on the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

. Robert Rogers assumed command of the unit with his brother, James Rogers, commanding the second battalion of the Rangers. Despite Robert nominally being in command of the Rangers, he was inefficient and the burden of recruitment often fell to his brother. Despite recruitment issues being faced by the Rangers, the second battalion was active in scouting and recruiting along the frontiers of New York,

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; french: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The New York portion of t ...

and the area that was to later become

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. They also engaged in the taking of

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

prisoners of war. A year after the formation of the Rangers the area in which they were able to recruit from was extended with the permission of General Sir Frederick Haldimand. Due to the relatively small size of the Rangers, Haldimand restricted their operational capabilities to conducting reconnaissance for other corps, constructing fortifications, executing general garrison duties, assisting refugees in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, aiding the escape of Loyalist families, and guarding prisoners of war.

Later engagements

In February 1781, a number of soldiers from the Rangers were involved in the capture of Patriot leader

Peleg Wadsworth Peleg Wadsworth (May 6, 1748 – November 12, 1829) was an American Patriot officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American p ...

. The Rangers were disbanded in 1783, having seen little to no action during the conflict.

Disbandment

After the Revolutionary War, some officers and men of the Rangers were granted tracts of land for farming in Queens County and Kings County,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, British Canada. The Rangers were reactivated during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and a large training camp was built in what is now the village of Pownal, complete with barracks, a field hospital and musketry range (of which the butts can still be seen on the shore of Pownal Bay).

Notable officers

*Colonel Robert Rogers *Lieutenant Colonel James Rogers *Captain-Lieutenant James Breakenridge *Captain-Lieutenant Azariah Pritchard *Captain-Lieutenant Henry Ruiter

References

*Katcher, Philip, ''Encyclopaedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units 1775-1783'', 1973, {{ISBN, 0-8117-0542-0

External links

Index to King’s American Rangers History - The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist StudiesRecreated Regiment: (Reenactors in New England)
Loyalist military units in the American Revolution Military units and formations of Nova Scotia Military units and formations established in 1779 Military units and formations disestablished in 1783 Province of Quebec (1763–1791) British American Army Rangers