Ranging Way of War

Short film about Robert Rogers during the French and Indian War, created as part of the educational documentary project "Forgotten War: The Struggle for North America" www.forgottenwaronline.org. Project created by Mountain Lake PBS (www.mountainlake.org) in partnership with Lakes to Locks Passage (www.lakestolocks.com.)

[@johnphelan7403]

I daily pass the site where Rogers was buried near the Elephant & Castle in an unmarked paupers' grave.Sad that such a man has no memorial other than his manual.

[@billspeeroff7653]

+john phelan The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) RCAC trace their direct origins to Robert Rogers and Rogers Rangers in 1756 during the French and Indian Wars. Disbanded after seven years of hard service, Rogers reformed the Rangers in 1775 and they soon were carried on the British Army list as the Queen's Rangers, First American Regiment. The Rangers were particularly distinguished under John Graves Simcoe in 1777 at the Battle of Brandywine and were shipped to New Brunswick in 1783. When Simcoe was appointed to be the first Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, he made a stop in New Brunswick and raised the Queen's Rangers again and brought them with him in 1783. The Rangers were stood down again in 1802 and became the York County Militia. They became active again during the War of 1812 and again during the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837-38.

[@chrisnewport7826]

Ive been there as well. As a Ranger, I felt obligated to confirm what I already believed. No hope of recovery of the "body."

[@chrisnewport7826]

James Finlay where?

[@chrisnewport7826]

I need clarification, when I looked at what I believed was the proper place, I saw and old disused cemetery with so many put in the ground there that it was five feet above street level with all markers put along the fence. Same location?

[@burtan2000]

Stones crumble and all falls to dust. The best legacy a person can have (other than children and their children) is being remembered. Those people, their legacy is These United States. And if you're still talking about rogers, then that's a legacy

[@zyzor]

I want to make either a huge Hollywood motion picture about Rogers or an hbo miniseries on him

[@georgeprchal3924]

He's a main character on AMC's Turn.

[@zyzor]

@@georgeprchal3924 yeah sadly most of his events in turn never happened

[@sunnyjacksmack]

There was a Hollywood movie called Northwest Passage that is very well done and filled with a lot of action. There are some B movies about him but the names escape me .

[@briansheehan3430]

As well as Light Infantry, the Queen's Rangers were master survivalists, trackers, hunters, scouts, and partisan guerrilla skirmishers.

[@Gunslinger1875]

15 years in the 75th Regiment me taught one thing. It's not a job, it's a lifestyle choice. Once a Ranger always a Ranger. COMMITMENT is everything. My great, great, grandfather taught us "Know the land, understand the land. Then you will know the enemy, then you can kill him. "

[@Jacen777]

I couldn't agree more... Aco 1/75 93-96

[@anzac2404]

It was sad as to what happened to him after the war, some of the british brass didn't like him & tried to make his life hell, while the French demonized him...truth being there was a lot of killing done by both sides, some of it being murder! In todays world, Rogers would be either in the SAS or SBS; he was a great man but his personal life would see him rejected by all, going to England only to live an alcoholic's life & die a pauper. *At least history did not forget him!

[@thes.a.s.s.1361]

anzac2404 Well said. His ideas were too advanced to be appreciated at the time. He helped lay the foundation for our special forces groups

[@wolfthornnholtzklau4913]

Rip R. Rogers

[@SpyderSuasponte]

I served with both 3rd Ranger and 1st Ranger Bats. His rules are taught highly within the Regiment. It is also taught in the Tab school. I separate those due to serving in the BATS is completely different from the School itself.

[@mikedag1176]

Read WAR ON THE RUN,Excellent book on Rogers' exploits.

[@Jacen777]

Great video 😊

[@kennebecsmitty]

Great video!!!

[@catdaddy3302]

My 6x great grandfather fought the Indians at Ft. Henry, present day Wheeling, WV. He was one of the ones who broke the siege.

[@davidekstrand8544]

“God is not on the side of the big battalions, but those who can shoot the best!” - Voltaire

[@outdoorlife5396]

He was a great man, sad ending with Alcoholism

[@li4398]

always loved the story of Rogers Rangers, Sadly very little availbale about him in print in the UK. Equally sad about how Britain often treats its heroes. Once wrote to Bernard Cornwall hoping he might write a book on the great man. Still hoping!

[@billspeeroff7653]

+Les Ives Rogers Rangers moved to York, Upper Canada and are now called The Queen's York Rangers.

[@li4398]

Thanks Bill

[@ShawDAMAN]

i wish theyd post the whole thing :)

[@christiansmith4421]

All men!!! See the world as Rogers Rangers

[@waynepatterson4512]

Rogers was more than "light infantry"............his men were expert watercraft handlers, canoes and bateaux, expert snow shoe and ice skate men, trackers, survival experts, raiders, and recon men. A squad of us marine infantry, dropped in the adirondaks in winter, to track and destroy a squad of rogers and his men, would not stand a chance, given equal gear and no hitech kit

[@burtan2000]

Those two definitions of courage (marching in formation while enemies shoot grape shot and cannon balls at you; and withstanding torture without giving away info) sound to my modern ears like stupidity.

[@douglashagan6718]

major roger roberts

[@jayhackworth]

Rogers's eye was on the West and the great possibilities, unreal what the man accomplished for his stature in that society.

[@karlcarlysle3578]

Ranger Lead The Way.... All The Way

[@jayhackworth]

stark's sharpshooting new hampshiremen totally demoralized Britain's elites at Bunker Hill from the left flank probably a lot of ex rangers with him. Then again at Bennington in 1777. He always maintained Rogers would've proved loyal to America if given half a chance. Look at Israel Putnam, a bushfighting ranger turned major general. Also not widely known is that U.S. Grants great grandfather Noah Grant was killed forghting for Rogers in 1756.

[@dalepeto9620]

I knew Grants ancestor fought in F @ Ind war,but didn't know he was killed. Are you sure about this? How did you find this out? Also didn't know he fought with the Rangers.

[@DevinAlden]

I agree i wish we did give him a chance. Imagine him , francis marion and Daniel Morgan's men fighting all together. That would have been a force to be reckoned

[@USMarineRifleman0311]

@anzac2404 Roger's Rangers would no equate into modern SF, let alone SAS. They were light infantry with a new doctrine. Light infantry means skirmishers or recon troops. There's a huge misconception that everything out of the ordinary has to be SF of its day

[@briscocreek]

Why oh why do these fascinating docs insist on distracting background music and noise that makes it difficult to understand the narrative? I could not understand half of what was being said, and I truly wanted to. My great, great grandfather was a member of Roger's Rangers, and also took part in the Illinois campaign for which his wife was rewarded with a land grant. There is no record of him after the Revolutionary war.

[@sleroth]

Robert Rogers was British not American. America did not even exist when Robert Rogers lived in the British colonies. He was a British hero of the French/Indian Wars, when the American Revolution began he followed the Loyalist movement of British-American subjects to Atlantic Canada continuing to fight for the colonial British against the French & their native allies. He eventually settled in York, Upper Canada which is now Toronto, Ontario. He did not "fade off into the west of America" or whatever was said in this video. How can he be an American hero when America didn't exist!? In fact, George Washington accused him of being a potential British spy and refused his service. George Washington saw the value in this frontiersman fighting and created his own ranger styled units but Robert Rogers had nothing to do with it. Back then the super power armies viewed this fighting style as brutally savage & without honour as it usually involved civilians & acts considered war crimes. Back then this fighting style was called skirmishing & skirmishing units usually involved criminals, unruly soldiers or mercenaries. Much like the US government hired Blackwater mercenaries to handle situations deemed of lesser value or too politically sensitive for the US military.

[@smokingsara001]

He was British subject in name only. He was born here in North American and his values were American. Why would anyone under Roger's circumstances want to British after they treated him so badly?

[@jackblack7827]

Infuriated by Washington's rejection, Rogers offered his services to the British, who accepted. He formed the Queen's Rangers (1776) and later the King's Rangers. Several of his former rangers served under General Benedict Arnold in the revolutionary forces around Lake Champlain.

[@jackblack7827]

it was robert's brother james who stayed in canada, robert himself died in england, broke and in debt and an alcoholic.

[@garythornbury9793]

nothing wrong with blackwater

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Rogers was a superb small-unit leader and organizer. Unfortunately he was a flawed man who seemed to be lost without a war to fight. Post-war he got involved in crooked land deals and became an alcoholic. When the Revolution came he went to see George Washington and offered his services and Washington was thrilled, UNTIL he found Rogers was working the British to see what kind of a deal he could get from THEM. Washington ordered Rogers arrest, but he escaped to the British. He organized a new ranger battallion but the old magic was gone, Rogers was too deeply sunk in alcoholism. His first ranger actions for the British were disasters and he was relieved. The rangers were reorganized and became the Queens Rangers and became a superior outfit. Rogers went to Britain and died a pauper. Had he stayed sober, and had he fought well on the American side in the Revolution he wouldn't have been forgotten until he was rediscovered in the 19th Century.

[@vtbrian3252]

My great Uncle Eleazar Wheelock who founded Dartmouth College sat down and met with Rogers. In their talk my Uncle realized that Rogers was a Loyalist to the Crown and wrote Washington that he believed Rogers was so. The letter is on display at Dartmouth

[@jaywinters2483]

So much is left out... Google censored so much I tried to say.

[@AssinnippiJack]

Ah memories of military reenacting ! Precious free time spent with blowhards, drunks & individuals getting away from their wives. Many nights spent by the campfire wondering "What am I doing here with these clowns?"

[@dalepeto9620]

Great Comments

[@vtbrian3252]

He was forgotten about because he stayed on the British side during the American Revolution instead of joining the patriots. That's why Americans forgot about him and he died penniless in England for whom that government forgot about him

[@TyranyFighterPatriot]

A true Tragedy

[@pumpkinking5174]

Most of those reenactors need to study some period images and wear the bonnet correctly.

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

There was no "correct wearing" of the Highland Bonnet, or anything in Ranger units; as they weren't part of the conventional British Army regimental system.

[@pumpkinking5174]

@@ardshielcomplex8917 Completely incorrect. Rogers was granted his commission by the King, therefore his Independent Company of Rangers was supplied and paid by the crown. They were also subject to the same military disipline as any regular army unit. Show me one period image of anyone wearing a bonnet like a modern beret. Reenactors are lazy and fail to do even the most basic research.

[@MajorRobertRogersRanger]

I would imagine that Major Robert Rogers, who was well known for his dislike of petty authority wore his bonnet exacts he pleased

[@harrymills2770]

I think a well-seasoned British rifles regiment would be close to a match, and if they spent much time in the Americas, would be indistinguishable from American rangers. A well-led rifle regiment was much the same meritocracy as the Americans, although the Brits didn't entirely give up the practice of selling rank to rich men until the Crimean War, if memory serves. Anyhoo, I couldn't tell you how many rifles they had in the Americas. I missed where they said how Rogers' men were armed. Heck I prob'ly have the dates all mixed up and they were all shooting muskets in the French and Indian War. Yeah. I think the Baker rifle started being used right around the start of the Napoleonic War(s).

[@burtonh1]

I wonder if the Continental Army had the equivalent of Robert's Rangers.

[@neofulcrum5013]

I could be wrong but he offered his services to them but was turned down.

[@213thAIB]

You are correct. Roger's loyalty was suspect. Whether there was any basis for that, I'm not sure.

[@PODSMPSG1]

George Washington did use the tactics he witnessed Native American Indians using during the French and Indian War. He used those tactics in the Revolutionary War.

[@Sam198790]

Perhaps Francis Marion and his guerrilla tactics in the southern campaign.

[@briansheehan3430]

Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.

[@Gjdbithhfuoirfh4743]

crap boi