The King's Rangers, also known as the King's American Rangers, was a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

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 Robert Rogers may refer to: Politics * Robert Rogers (Irish politician) (died 1719), Irish politician, MP for Cork City 1692–1699 *Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician) (1864–1936), Canadian politician * Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane (born 1950), ...

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 kno ...

. 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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

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 prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

. 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 po ...

. 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 Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia *Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 seve ...

, 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 of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

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

*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