Courtesy of the Boston Garrison Facebook page and Travis S.
The Queen’s Rangers were originally formed by Robert Rogers in the summer of 1776. Rogers had made a name for himself as the leader of a “ranging” company during the French and Indian War. Following the peace, however, Rogers found himself down on his luck and had several brushes with the law and even spent time in a debtor’s prison. The outbreak of the War for Independence gave him an opportunity to repair his fortunes, and in the summer of 1775 he returned to America. He offered his services to the Continental Congress, while at the same time sending feelers to the British high command. His double dealing raised suspicions and eventually George Washington ordered his confinement. Rogers was able to escape, and with his path chosen for him, he headed to British occupied Staten Island in July, 1776.
Upon his arrival at Staten Island, Rogers set about organizing a provincial regiment for service – just one of several being formed in and around New York that summer. As in both armies, officer’s commissions were given out as a form of patronage, and many of the men chosen by Rogers were unfit for their positions and had little military experience. Inspector General Alexander Innes wrote that “many of these Officers recommended by Lieut. Colo. Rogers had been bred Mechanecks, others had kept Publick Houses, and One or Two had even kept Bawdy Houses in the City of New York.” Most of the men were also inexperienced, and the rank and file consisted of loyalist refugees (largely from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut), former prisoners, American deserters, and men tricked or pressed into service. These numbers were augmented in August by the arrival of Virginia refugees who had served in the Chesapeake with Lord Dunmore.
Rogers only led the unit into battle once. On the night of October 22nd, the Rangers were stationed at Mamaroneck north of New York City when they were attacked by over 700 Continentals. The Rangers were completely surprised, and an entire company was overrun before they could react. Rogers did manage to rally the survivors and drive off the Continentals, but the incident gave his critics plenty of encouragement. In January 1777 Rogers was relieved of his command, and in the coming months 26 of the 33 officers he selected were also removed from the regiment.
The transformation of the Rangers into an effective fighting force was well on its way by the time John Simcoe took command in October 1777. After Rogers was dismissed command was given to Major Christopher French, a career officer from the 22nd Regiment of Foot. French worked with the Inspector General to relieve the officers appointed by Rogers and replace them with men capable of instilling discipline in the ranks. In March 1777, the Rangers received their first uniforms – green coats with white racings and round hats that were being issued to many of the provincial units in New York. French returned to his old unit in April 1777, and was replaced by another regular officer, Captain James Wemyss of the 40th Regiment.
Wemyss would lead the Rangers in a number of small skirmishes around New York and New Jersey, and the men and officers gained valuable experience in the “petite guerre” style of warfare that they would become known for. Wemyss also commanded them through the Battle of Brandywine, which proved to be a real baptism by fire for the Rangers. During the course of the fighting they lost 2 officers and 13 men killed and 9 officers and 47 men wounded. This was the second highest number of casualties of any British regiment on the field, and the hard fighting of the Rangers brought praise from the British high command. The German General Wilhelm Von Knyphausen stated that “No regiment in the army has gained more honor in this campaign than the Queen’s Rangers” and in writing to General Howe confessed that “I must be silent as to the behavior of the Rangers, for I want even words to express my own astonishment.”
Wemyss left the Rangers just a month after Brandywine, and was replaced by another officer from the 40th – John Graves Simcoe. Only 25 years old at the time, Simcoe was already an experienced officer when he took command of the Rangers. Building upon the work that French and Wemyss had stared, he continued to mold the unit into an effective fighting force. He paid particular attention to their ability to fight in the “ranger” style, and over the winter of 1777-1778 they spent a great deal of time raiding and ambushing patriot troops outside of Philadelphia. To help in this style of warfare Simcoe created a mounted detachment (more on that later) and promoted “vigilance, activity, and patience” over the manual of arms. The Rangers would operate as a sort of “combined arms” unit, with light infantry, riflemen, grenadiers, and cavalry alongside the battalion companies. Simcoe ensured that the entire regiment was trained to fight as light infantry, which gave them an advantage in skirmish warfare. He also made changes to the uniform of the regiment. As most loyalist regiments were switching over to red uniforms, Simcoe requested that his men remain in green – “green is without comparison the best color for light troops with dark accoutrements; and if put on in the spring, by autumn it nearly fades with the leaves, preserving its characteristic of being scarcely discernable at a distance.” Simcoe also ordered that the men sew their coat sleeves to their waistcoats for lighter wear during the summertime, in the style of British light infantry jackets. For the time being they retained their round hats, but in 1780 the regiment received leather caps, which completed their distinctive look.
Also, the depiction of Simcoe in Turn could not be farther from the truth! While he was a hard fighter and certainly had no love for the American rebels, he was in no way the psychotic war criminal that he is depicted as on the show. He was born in 1752 to a well-to-do family in central England. His father was an officer in the Royal Navy who commanded the HMS Pembroke during the campaign for Quebec in 1759. The elder Simcoe died of pneumonia while in the St. Lawrence, leaving his widow and young son behind. John Graves Simcoe was educated at Eton and Oxford before pursuing a military career of his own, receiving a commission in the 35th Regiment as an ensign. In late 1775 he purchased a Captain’s commission in the grenadier company of the 40th Regiment, where he remained until he was wounded at Brandywine.
The real Simcoe was a professional officer and a strict disciplinarian, but his behavior never approached the bloodletting depicted on Turn. He was active without being reckless, but sometimes prone to exaggeration in his own writings on the war. American cavalryman Henry Lee, who certainly had no love for Simcoe, wrote that his British counterpart was “one of the best officers in the British army…a man of letters…enterprising, resolute, and persevering.“ Simcoe certainly held little sympathy for the rebellious Americans, who he considered deluded and in need of punishment, but that rarely colored his military judgement. His men burned property and confiscated supplies, but this was hardly out of the norm for either army during the war. At one point he ordered that his men stop confiscating watches and other valuables from rebel prisoners. When it came to his attention that fewer men were being taken alive as a result, he rescinded the order – in his view a prisoner’s life was more valuable than a stolen watch. Despite the conflicting evidence, patriot newspapers were eager to depict Simcoe as a barbarian and a monster, and much of this obvious propaganda colors the modern portrayal of the man.
Following the war, Simcoe went on to a remarkable career as the governor of Upper Canada. He’s best remembered there for championing a law forbidding slavery in the colony – the first of its kind in the British empire. Regarding the law he stated that “The principles of the British Constitution do not admit of that slavery which Christianity condemns. The moment I assume the Government of Upper Canada under no modification will I assent to a law that discriminates by dishonest policy between natives of Africa, America, or Europe.” To this day he is remembered as a great hero throughout English-speaking Canada. In 1806 he was appointed Commander in Chief of India (replacing his old commander Charles Cornwallis), but died before he could take up the position.
The Queen’s Rangers were also outfitted with a company of Hussars, a type of light cavalry that has its roots in eastern Europe. For centuries, lightly armed and armored horsemen fought on the frontiers against the Ottoman Turks, and this style of soldier gradually drifted into the military establishments of western Europe. Mounted on fast horses and lacking armor, they were perfectly suited to scouting and skirmishing on horseback. Dragoons filled a similar role, but tended to be deployed as mounted infantry – riding to the scene of battle and dismounting to fight on foot. The lack of significant cavalry on both sides during the Revolutionary War, however, often meant that both dragoons and hussars served in a similar capacity and fought either on foot or mounted as the situation required.
The Hussars of the Rangers eventually numbered around 50 men, armed with sabers and pistols for close combat. They operated in conjunction with the infantry of the regiment, charging the enemy after the foot soldiers laid down a devastating volley. They also practiced “stirrup charges” where the horsemen would trot forward with an infantryman hanging from the stirrup as they rushed ahead. These tactics made the Rangers a quick and devastating enemy.
For most Rangers the war came to an effective end at Yorktown in 1781. Simcoe urged Cornwallis to authorize a breakout to the north, but the general refused and over 300 Rangers were surrendered. Fearful of retribution, many American deserters serving with the Rangers escaped to New York with Cornwallis’s personal baggage on the sloop Bonetta. The remaining men were marched west to POW camps near Winchester, Virginia. They remained prisoners until the end of the war. Other Ranger companies in New York and Charleston continued to serve until the end of hostilities in 1783. At the end of the war over 400 officers and men, along with around 130 women and children “belonging to the regiment” were given passage to New Brunswick. Provided with land grants for their service, most remained in Canada and many descendants still live there today. The Queen’s York Rangers, an armored unit in the modern Canadian military, traces its lineage back to Simcoe and his rangers.
Was there any evidence of troops within the QR wearing kilts or keeping a “Highlander” feel to their uniform and equipment? This is honestly a tough question to answer. While the regiment was reforming and recruiting in Philadelphia a Highland company was created under the command of Captain John MacKay. Born in Scotland, MacKay immigrated to Virginia many years before the war and had fought alongside Lord Dunmore in 1775-1776. Simcoe indicates that most of the men in the company were from North Carolina and had survived the debacle at Moore’s Creek Bridge and escaped to the British lines. Simcoe also writes that the company “were furnished with the Highland dress, and their national piper.” We know they did have a piper, as Evan Cameron and William Mackay appear as such on muster rolls. The “Highland dress” is a little tougher. While kilts immediately come to mind, there’s no direct evidence that indicates they were issued. The comment could also refer to Scottish-style bonnets, but again there’s no concrete evidence. We know that Highland units serving in America rarely wore kilts in the field, and instead adopted the same trousers being worn by non-Highland units. It’s possible that MacKay’s company had kilts, but only retained them for garrison wear.
