Rogers' Rangers and Irregular Colonial Warfare in the Seven Years' War
Abstract
Because historians tend to study the Seven Years' War almost exclusively as a precursor to the American Revolution, they tend to focus solely on those aspects of the war that are relevant to the apparently more significant future event. Due to the nature of this type of scholarship, particular elements of the contest for North America between the English and the French that seemed important at the time become immaterial. A special and significant military force that participated in this war, Robert Rogers' Rangers, has suffered such a fate. The first section of this essay will provide an overview of the Rangers' participation in the war effort, beginning with the reason why the British army originally needed Rogers Rangers. Section two will confront the problems a study of Robert Rogers poses due to confusion over how accurate stories of his heroism really are. This section will also address the issue of whether it was Rogers' Rangers or only Robert Rogers who was truly important to the war effort. The third section will examine further the need for irregular forces and how Rogers Rangers filled that role. Section four will explore the structure of the British army, with its combination of regular and provincial soldiers, and define Rogers Rangers' place within the army and in relation to the other troops. Finally, the essay will conclude with a discussion of changes to the nature of war in 1758 and how these changes affected Rogers' Rangers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 28, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA356215
Entities
People
- James D. Went
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology