Joseph Gorham (sometimes recorded as Goreham, 1725–1790) was an American colonial military officer during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...

and later a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

army commander during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. He is best known for leading a company of British imperial Rangers, called

Gorham's Rangers Gorham's Rangers was one of the most famous and effective ranger units raised in colonial North America. Formed by John Gorham, the unit served as the prototype for many subsequent ranger forces, including the better known Rogers' Rangers.Car ...

, during the 1750s and early 1760s. Gorham's unit played an important role in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and were early practitioners of American frontier warfare, more commonly known as ''petite guerre'' or

Guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

. He also became Governor of Placentia.

Family

The Gorham family (from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

) had a distinguished history in the New England colonial military. Serving alongside the early colonial military innovator Benjamin Church, John Gorham I died while fighting in the famous Great Swamp Fight during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

. Joseph's grandfather, John Gorham II, also served with Church during the fourth Eastward Expedition into Acadia, which involved the Raid on Chignecto (1696) during

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...

and again during

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) or the Third Indian War was one in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Gr ...

. His father Shubael Gorham was also a provincial military officer in Queen Anne's War and again in King George's War. Joseph and his brother John Gorham III fought as rangers in

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

throughout the 1740s as well as at the

Siege of Louisbourg (1745) The siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) during the War of the Austrian Succ ...

as officers in the Massachusetts provincial forces.

Career

Gorham served as a lieutenant in his brother's ranger company from 1744 through 1752. Initially the rank and file members of the company were

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

and

Nauset The Nauset people, sometimes referred to as the Cape Cod Indians, were a Native American tribe who lived in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They lived east of Bass River and lands occupied by their closely related neighbors, the Wampanoag. Although th ...

Indians from southeastern Massachusetts, prized as much for their small-boat handling skills (learned in the

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

industry) as for their scouting and tracking skills, and also a handful of Pequawket Indians from Maine.Carroll, ""Savages" in the Service of Empire." Gorham was in the Battle at Canso during

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Kingdo ...

(1748-1752). Shortly after his brother's death in December 1751, Joseph was promoted to captain and took command of the rangers, who were by then mostly Anglo-Americans. During the

he participated in the

Expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...

and in both the Battle of Petitcodiac, where he was wounded, as well as the Cape Sable Campaign and the St. John River Campaign. A contemporary of the famous ranger Robert Rogers, Joseph led Gorham's Rangers in the Siege of Louisbourg in 1758, the Siege of Quebec in 1759, and after his promotion to Major Commandant of the Nova Scotia Ranger Corps in 1761, the expedition to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Joseph settled in Nova Scotia where he was active in Indian affairs. Rev. Wood taught Mi'kmaq people the bible in their own language in Gorham's home.p. 155
/ref> He was named to the Nova Scotia Council in 1766, but rarely attended. He was also briefly the Lieutenant-Governor of Placentia in 1770. He also fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, leading the Royal Fencible American Regiment and was also noted as the commander of British forces victorious at Fort Cumberland in 1776. In 1790, he was promoted to be a major-general shortly before his death

Legacy

* Namesake of Goreham's Island,

Mahone Bay Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands (potentially 365), and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the M ...

and Gorham's Point at the end of Second Peninsula, Nova ScotiaGeorge Bates. John Gorham 1709-1751. Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, p. 87 There he built a place he called Gorham Hall.

References

External links

Gorham's Rangers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goreham, Joseph 1725 births 1790 deaths British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Military history of Nova Scotia Governors of Newfoundland Colony British America army officers People from Barnstable, Massachusetts British Army major generals