| King's Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1779-1783 |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Allegiance | British Army |
| Branch | Loyalist provincial unit |
| Type | Auxiliaries Light infantry |
| Role | Guerrilla warfare |
| Size | 2 Battalions |
| Nickname(s) | King's American Rangers |
| Engagements | American Revolutionary War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
|
The King's Rangers, also known as the King's American Rangers, was a Loyalist provincial ranger unit raised in Nova Scotia for service during the American Revolutionary War.
After Colonel Robert Rogers left the Queen's Rangers in 1777 he went to Nova Scotia. He obtained approval from General Sir Henry Clinton to raise the King's Rangers in 1779. [1] The formation of the Rangers was authorized to contain two battalions, each divided into 10 companies. [2]
By September 1779 recruitment for the unit was underway and the Rangers were stationed at Fort St. Johns on the Richelieu River. Robert Rogers assumed command of the unit with his brother, James Rogers, commanding the second battalion of the Rangers. [3] Despite Robert nominally being in command of the Rangers, he was inefficient and the burden of recruitment often fell to his brother. [4] [5]
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 and the area that was to later become Vermont. [6] They also engaged in the taking of Patriot prisoners of war. [3]
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, aiding the escape of Loyalist families, and guarding prisoners of war.
In February 1781, a number of soldiers from the Rangers were involved in the capture of Patriot leader Peleg Wadsworth. [7] The Rangers were disbanded in 1783, having seen little to no action during the conflict.
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, British Canada. The Rangers were reactivated during the War of 1812 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). [ citation needed ]
The British Legion was a British provincial regiment established during the American Revolutionary War, composed of British Loyalist American infantry and dragoons. It was colloquially known as Tarleton's Raiders, the Green Devils, the Green Horse, and the Green Dragoons, after the British officer who led most of its day-to-day activities, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, and the green uniform coats of its officers. It was a unit the size of a regiment, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and able to operate independently.
The 84th Regiment of Foot was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries. The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America. The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution. The 84th Regiment was clothed, armed and accoutred the same as the Black Watch, with Lieutenant Colonel Allan Maclean commanding the first battalion and Major General John Small of Strathardle commanding the second. The two Battalions operated independently of each other and saw little action together.
The Loyal American Regiment was a British Provincial regiment raised in 1777 for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The regiment fought in many engagements throughout the war and the men were among the thousands of loyalists who settled in Nova Scotia, after the regiment disbanded in 1783.
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's Rangers served as a light corps in the tradition of British rangers during the Seven Years' War, operating on the flanks and in advance of Crown forces, manning outposts, conducting patrols, and carrying out reconnaissance and raiding operations.
The British Colonial Auxiliary Forces referred to the various military units of Britain's colonial empire which were not considered part of the British military proper. Though the first colonial units established in the British Empire were militia formations in Britain's American colonies, by the Victorian era these units were modelled after the regular armed forces of Britain and consisted of professional soldiers. They supplied a reserve force either to be called up in war time to reinforce regular British Army garrisons for home defence, or in some cases were entirely responsible for home defence. Many units, however, took part in active campaigns outside of the role of home defence in various conflicts the British Empire was involved in, including the two world wars.
Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and American Patriot and British Loyalist colonial militias. But unlike militias, the associator military volunteers were exempt from regular mandatory military service. Other names used to describe associators were "Associations", "Associated", "Refugees", "Volunteers", and "Partisans".
During the American Revolution, those who continued to support King George III of Great Britain came to be known as Loyalists. Loyalists are to be contrasted with Patriots, who supported the Revolution. Historians have estimated that during the American Revolution, between 15 and 20 percent of the white population of the colonies, or about 500,000 people, were Loyalists. As the war concluded with Great Britain defeated by the Americans and the French, the most active Loyalists were no longer welcome in the United States, and sought to move elsewhere in the British Empire. The large majority of the Loyalists remained in the United States, however, and enjoyed full citizenship there.
Colonists who supported the British cause in the American Revolution were Loyalists, often called Tories, or, occasionally, Royalists or King's Men. George Washington's winning side in the war called themselves "Patriots", and in this article Americans on the revolutionary side are called Patriots. For a detailed analysis of the psychology and social origins of the Loyalists, see Loyalist.
The Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment, also known as the Loyal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers and Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1775-1780, the Royal Regiment of Nova Scotia Volunteers, from 1780-1783, and the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment and Nova Scotia Volunteers, was a British Loyalist provincial battalion, of infantry, raised in 1775, to defend British interests, in the colony of Nova Scotia. The unit was commanded by Col. Francis Legge, until replaced by Col. John Parr in 1782. The Royal NS Volunteers never saw combat, but did play an important role in the defense of the colony of Nova Scotia, in the later years, of the American Revolution.
The King's Orange Rangers, also known as the Corps of King's Orange Rangers, were a British Loyalist battalion, raised in 1776 to defend British interests in Orange County, Province of New York and generally in and around the New York colony, although they saw most of their service in the Province of Nova Scotia. The battalion's commander was Lieutenant Colonel John Bayard. The Rangers had an undistinguished military record, through most of its existence, and saw very limited combat, mostly against Patriot privateers, but did play an important role in the defence of the colony of Nova Scotia in the later years of the American Revolution. The King's Orange Rangers are especially remembered for their role in the defence of Liverpool, in the Nova Scotia colony.
The Duke of Cumberland's Regiment, also known as Montagu's Corps, South Carolina Rangers, and the Loyal American Rangers, was a British Loyalist provincial unit raised from American colonists and rebel prisoners by the former British Royal Governor of the Province of South Carolina, Lord Charles Montagu as well as in the colony of the Province of New York.
John Ross was a British Army officer in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He is best known for commanding a mixed force of approximately 600 regulars, Loyalists, and Indians in a raid into upstate New York on October 24, 1781 that culminated in the Battle of Johnstown, one of the last battles in the northern theater of the American Revolution. After the war, Ross was instrumental in settling Loyalist refugees in what is now the Kingston area of eastern Ontario.
The 88th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army from 1779 to 1783, formed during the American Revolutionary War. It was raised in Worcestershire under Colonel Thomas Keating and saw service in Jamaica. It was disbanded in England in 1783 at the end of the war.
The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Nova Scotians were also influenced to remain loyal to Britain by the presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by the Nova Scotia Governors and the efforts of Reverend Henry Alline.
Timothy Hierlihy (1734–1797) was a British officer who protected the British coal mines at Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia from attacks by American privateers. He also was the first British settler of Antigonish, known as the "founder of Antigonish." Hierlehy also became the commander of the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment.
Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Vetch Bayard was a Loyalist military officer in the American Revolution who served in the King's Orange Rangers (KOR). He is the son of William Bayard who founded the KOR. He was the grandson of Governor Samuel Vetch and was the father of Robert Bayard.
North Carolina state troops in the American Revolution were the initial military units created in a transition from the Province of North Carolina under British rule to independence from British rule. Most units did not last long as such and were either transferred to the Continental Army or state militia instead.