Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist (or "Tory") irregular militia regiment in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was originally a ranger company of General Sir John Johnson (Loyalist)'s King's Royal Regiment of New York under the command of Major John Butler, they were reorganized and expanded to regimental size on the orders of Sir Guy Carleton in the fall of 1777, to serve with and lead the Iroquois forces against the Patriots. Six companies of rangers (likely 360 men) were assembled at Fort Niagara in December of 1778. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York. Among the regiment were former black slaves, the total number of black soldiers in Butler's Rangers is unknown, with estimates ranging from two to "more than a dozen". While some blacks served in other units and as sappers in the Engineer Corps and in the Royal Artillery, Sir William Howe banned the enlistment of blacks and ordered the disbanding of existing black regiments.[[1]]
They were accused of participating in — or at least failing to prevent — the Wyoming Valley massacre of July 1778 and the Cherry Valley massacre of November 1778 of white settlers (including some Loyalists) by Joseph Brant's Iroquois. These actions earned the Rangers a reputation for exceptional savagery. They fought principally in western New York and Pennsylvania, but ranged as far west as Ohio and Michigan and as far south as Virginia (where, in August, 1782, Rangers burned the Patriot settlement of Wheeling). Their winter quarters were constructed on the west bank of the Niagara River in what is now the town of Niagara-On-The-Lake (Canada). These are still partially standing, and serve today as the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Museum.
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Organization
The regimental company commanders of Butler's Rangers, 1777-1784, were:
- Capt. Andrew Bradt.
- Capt. Walter Butler (John Butler's son, killed in action, 1781).
- Capt. William Caldwell, victor at the Battle of Sandusky and the Battle of Blue Licks.
- Capt. George Dame.
- Capt. Bernard Frey.
- Capt. Lewis Geneway.
- Capt. Peter Hare.
- Capt. John McDonell.
- Capt. John McKinnon.
- Capt. Benjamin Pawling.
- Capt. Peter Ten Broeck.
- Capt. Andrew Thompson.
Uniform
There is disagreement as to what the Ranger uniform looked like. Variation A
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Their uniforms consisted of a green woolen coat faced white and a white woolen waistcoat. Their pant garment was gaitered trousers made from Russia sheeting, a hemp product. Their hats were round hats, useful in shielding their faces from the sun. When in garrison or on parade, they could bring up the leaves of that hat to form a cocked hat. Their belting was black. To view the fact behind this research, click: http://www.butlersrangers.ca/bruniform.pdf This document contains the only known primary evidence related to the uniform. Variation B Dark green coats faced with scarlet and lined with the same, a waistcoat of green cloth, and Buckskin Indian leggings reaching from the ankle to the waist...their caps were almost skull caps of black jacket leather with a black cockade on the left side. Their belts were of buff leather and crossed at the breast where they were held in place by a brass plate marked in the same manner and with the same words as the cap plate. http://www.iaw.on.ca/~awoolley/brang/brunif.html
Weapons
They used a mix of firearms including Dutch muskets, fowlers, carbines, Indian trade guns, rifles, and the 1742 and 1756 version of the Long Land Service musket. [2]
After War
Butler's Rangers were disbanded in June 1784 at Fort George in Canada's Niagara Peninsula, and its veterans given land grants in the Niagara region of Ontario as a reward for their services to the British crown. John Butler received permission in 1788 to form the Nassau militia, filling its ranks with the demobilized officers and men of Butler's Rangers. In 1793 the county was changed to Lincoln and therefore the name of the militia changed to Lincoln Militia. It was the Lincoln Militia who fought in the second American War 1812 - 1815. This regiment exists today as The Lincoln and Welland Regiment, of St. Catharines, a reserve regiment of the Canadian army. There many modern groups of Historical reenactors representing Butler's Rangers from New York State and Ontario
References
- Butler's Rangers, The Revolutionary Period by E.A. Cruikshank, published by the Lundy's Lane Historical Society, 1893, fourth reprint edition includes:
- A Nominal Roll of Butler's Rangers compiled by Lieutenant Colonel William A. Smy, OMM, CD, UE
- An account of the most significant actions of Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution can be found in: Williams, Glenn F. Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois. Yardley: Westholme Publishing, 2005 and in;
- E. Cruikshank, The Story of Butler's Rangers.
Novels
- Brick, John, The King's Rangers, 1954
- References to this war are described in the novel "Zach" by William Bell
