Not What You Meant? There are 65 definitions for Ranger.

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)

About 7 pages (1,977 words)

Know this topic well? Help others and get FREE products!

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)
Active	1755 - 1763 (as Roger's Rangers) 1779 - 1783 (as Queens Rangers, 1st American Regiment) 1791 - 1802 1812 - 1815 1837 - 1843 1866 - Present
Country	Canada
Branch	Primary Reserve
Type	Reconnaissance
Role	Armoured Reconnaissance
Size	One Regiment, including Band, Cadets
Part of	Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
Garrison/HQ	Toronto, Ontario, Aurora, Ontario
Motto	Pristinae Virtutis Memor (Latin: Mindful of former virtue) Celer et Audax
Colors	Green
March	March - Braganza
Anniversaries	Battle of Brandywine (17 Sep. 1777)
Commanders
Current commander	SG Cober, CD
Colonel-in-Chief	HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, KCVO, ADC
Colonel of the Regiment	HE The Governor General

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) is a Canadian Forces reserve regiment based in Toronto and Aurora The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment consists a Regimental Band (The Queen's York Rangers Band) along with Royal Canadian Army Cadets. The unit motto is Pristinae Virtutis Memor - Mindful of former virtue. Their second motto is Celer et Audax.

1 History
2 Battle Honours
- 2.1 Early History
- 2.2 World War I
3 Alliances
4 Order of precedence
5 See also
6 External links

History

The Queen's York Rangers claim to trace the Regiment's roots back to the Robert Roger's Rogers' Rangers during the Seven Years' War. They were re-raised by Rogers in 1776 as "Queen's Rangers" to battle the rebellious American colonists during the American Revolution but were subsequently disbanded in 1783. John Graves Simcoe later reformed the Rangers in 1791 for the defense of York (modern day Toronto) until their disbandment in 1802. The regiment would continue to be organized and reorganize for the first half of the 19th century, becoming active in the War of 1812 and the Rebellion of 1837. The modern regiment would date to 1866 during the Fenian Raids. In 1837 the Queen's Rangers were reformed under Lt Colonel Samuel Peters Jarvis (the son of William Jarvis who served under Simcoe) to fight in the Rebellions of 1837. Today they are part of the Canadian Army as The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC). They are a reconnaissance unit, that is, a unit whose goal is to gather battlefield intelligence on the enemy.

The Seven Years War

Robert Rogers, a New Hampshire settler, raised the first company of Rangers in 1755 to serve in the British army in the Seven Years War. The company's official instructions were to reconnoiter enemy positions, obtain information, take prisoners, destroy houses, barns, barracks and boats as well as supply convoys destined for French forts and outposts. The Rangers were not a traditional British unit; instead, they wore a nondescript green uniform and adopted the tactics of their enemy, the Indians. Rogers' Rangers' are a part of Canadian history, with companies serving at the Battle of Louisbourg in 1758 and under General Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in the following year. Rogers' most famous exploit, however, was the raid on St. Francis, an Abenaki Indian village. After traveling eighty miles by boat and over seventy-five miles cross-country, pursued all the way by the French, the Rangers attacked at dawn, killing two hundred men and burning the village. The Rangers traveled a further two hundred and fifty miles on foot before they reached resupply and safety. Seventeen were killed in action and thirty-two died of famine. The Ranger companies were all disbanded at the end of the war in 1763.

American Revolution

Major Rogers returned from London to America in the summer of 1775. He was commissioned by General Sir William Howe to raise a battalion called the Queen's Rangers from loyalists in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Later, the Queen's Loyal Virginia Regiment was absorbed whole. Rogers was replaced as the unit's commander by John Graves Simcoe, who turned the regiment into one of the most highly regarded units on the battlefield. In 1777 with the Rangers consisting of eleven companies: eight line companies, and a grenadier, light, and Highland company as well as one squadron of hussars and three squadrons of light dragoons and a cannon. The Rangers retained their green uniform when other Loyalist forces changed to the red coats of British regulars. The Rangers continued in their role as light infantry scouts, but with the addition of a company of hussars, and still eschewing the red tunics of the regular British army for green uniforms. On 2 May 1779, as a mark of favour, five units were designated "American Regiments." The Queen's Rangers were given the place of pride as the "1st American Regiment." The Rangers participated in a number of battles and innumerable skirmishes and raids during the war. They also served in various battles until the capitulation at Yorktown where they were disbanded^[1]. One way or another, most of the Regiment eventually made their way back to New York, where they re-formed. In 1782, the Rangers were absorbed into the regular British army and their ranks made permanent. With the end of the war, the regiment dispersed. Some returned to England, some remained in the Thirteen Colonies, but the bulk of them settled in the St. John River valley in New Brunswick. The regiment was officially disbanded on October 13th, 1783 at St. John.

Nineteenth Century

When the colony of Quebec was divided in 1791, Simcoe was selected as the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. He immediately re-formed the Queen's Rangers for service in the new province, using many of the same officers and sergeants who had served with him in the Revolutionary War. The purpose of the regiment in Upper Canada would be not only for local defence, but also for part-time public works construction. Simcoe selected Toronto for the construction of fortifications, and in 1793 he set the Rangers to the tasks of building Fort York and constructing roads, Dundas Street and Yonge Street among them. However, in 1802, the British Government was struggling with the expense of the Napoleonic Wars and decided that the military situation in Upper Canada did not warrant so many troops. Once again the Queen's Rangers were stood down. During the Nineteenth Century, the militia in York county was organized and re-organized several times. The militia became active, however, on two occasions. The first time was during the War of 1812, when they served under General Brock at the capture of Detroit and at Queenston. Few, however, saw action after the capture and burning of the town of York in 1813. The second occasion was the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. That year saw a new militia regiment organized in York named the Queen's Rangers. When William Lyon Mackenzie led a march of his motley army on Toronto, the Queen's Rangers responded and confronted them at Montgomery's Tavern on Yonge Street, dispersing the Rebels. Mackenzie fled to New York and the Rangers spent the winter along the Niagara frontier, guarding against any invasion by Mackenzie and his followers. That winter saw a number of minor skirmishes along the border, which were triggered by the capture and burning of Mackenzie's supply ship, the Caroline. By the next summer, the Rebellion had failed and the militiamen returned to their homes. The Queen's Rangers continued as a militia regiment until 1848, when it was disbanded. The modern regiment dates from 1866, in the wake of the Fenian Raids, and has existed continuously since then, despite numerous changes in name. At that time, the 12th York Infantry Battalion was raised, with headquarters in Aurora and companies scattered through the county. The name changed in 1872 to become the "12th Battalion of Infantry or York Rangers." A handful of York Rangers served with the special battalion formed to deal with the Red River Rebellion in 1870, which saw no fighting. In 1885, with no garrison of British regulars to rely upon, the government activated militia units to put down Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion. The militia in York and Simcoe counties formed a composite battalion, which was transported west on the new Canadian Pacific Railway, (except for the unfinished section north of Lake Superior, where the troops marched through the muskeg). Once they reached Fort Qu'Appelle in Manitoba, the York-Simcoe battalion was held in reserve . When the call finally came, the regiment force-marched 132 miles in seven days to Riel's headquarters at Batoche. By the time they arrived, however, the village had been captured and Riel had surrendered. Thus, the regiment returned to Toronto without seeing action.

World War I

During the First World War, the government abandoned the traditional regimental names for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The first battalion to which the 12th York Rangers contributed was the 20th C.E.F. Battalion. The 20th was a part of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, Canadian Corps. It won a total of 18 battle honours and 398 decorations and awards, including two Victoria Crosses; it fought at Ypres, the Somme, Vimy, and Passchendaele, among other famous battles of the Canadian Corps. The York Rangers back in Canada helped raise three more battalions for service overseas. The 35th and 220th Battalions were broken up for reinforcements upon arrival in England and dispersed among other battalions as casualty replacements. The 127th Battalion became a railway construction battalion, because of the special experience in railways, construction, and engineering of most of the officers and other ranks. The 127th worked mainly with British troops, but did serve with the Canadian Corps at Passchendaele.

Twentieth Century

Following World War I, the York Rangers were organized in two battalions, one for Toronto and one for York County. In 1925 the Toronto battalion amalgamated with the West Toronto Regiment, (formed in 1921 to perpetuate the 20th CEF Battalion), to form the Queen's Rangers. Government cutbacks forced the amalgamation of the Queen's Rangers and the York Rangers in 1936 to form the Queen's York Rangers, 1st American Regiment. From 1936 to 1942 the unit was a Machine Gun regiment and equipped with Bren Gun Carriers.. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the regiment was not mobilized for active duty overseas, but instead trained recruits for service in other regiments. In 1942, the Regiment was assigned to Canadian Territorial Defence, while continuing to train soldiers for duty in Europe. By the end of the war, the Queen's York Rangers had supplied 124 officers and 1891 other ranks. Following World War II, in 1947, the regiment was given a new name and a new role, becoming the 25th Armoured Regiment (Queen's York Rangers) and equipped with Sherman tanks. The regiment has used its current name since 1958 and has been an armoured reconnaissance regiment since 1965. In 1984, the regiment received its new guidon from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Exhibition Stadium. Recently, Rangers have served with regular force regiments in Cyprus, Namibia, the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, and Rwanda.