The living history
group/color guard of the NHSSAR portrays a Continental Ranger
unit in the command of General John Stark during the American
Revolution (1775 - 1783). Stark himself served as a captain of
Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War (1756 - 1763)
and many of the Rangers portrayed by the NHSSAR would previously
have served with him in that unit. Ranger units were small, cohesive
bodies of rough and fiercely independent men who depended upon
each other for survival in the harshest of environments. They
rightfully considered themselves unique and not subject to the
same strictures as much of the Army. The Rangers of the French
and Indian War and American Revolution are the forebears of today's
Ranger and Special Forces units.
The Rangers of the
Revolution were generally skilled woodsmen trained in the style
of unconventional warfare developed by New Hampshire's Robert
Rogers. Their tactics often emulated those of the Native American
Indians. Roger's
Rules of Ranging. Detachments from Ranger units were at times
temporarily attached to other units of the Army - to gather intelligence
on the enemy; to serve as guides; to conduct long-range reconnaissance;
and to execute swift and unexpected strikes in the heart of enemy
territory.
Various State governments
raised Ranger units during the Revolution but, for all practical
purposes, there were only two or three functional Ranger units
within the Continental Army itself. In 1776, a provisional company
of New Hampshire Rangers supported the Continental Army on the
Lake Champlain Front. In October of 1776, New Hampshire Ranger
Benjamin Whitcomb was commissioned as an officer in the Continental
Army and empowered to raise two companies of Continental Rangers.
He recruited his men from both New Hampshire and the "New Hampshire
Grants" around the Green Mountains (present-day Vermont). Given
the limited number of men in the Ranger Corps and the loyalty
found within the ranks of the Rangers, some of these men may previously
have followed former Ranger John Stark into battle at Bunker Hill.
Small detachments of
Whitcomb's men were assigned to serve with various units of the
army as the need arose. These Rangers were not in the command
structure of the units to which they were deployed and were therefore
known as the "Independent Corps of Rangers in the Service of the
United States." They were generally accountable only to their
own officers or to the higher echelons of the Army that assigned
their duties.
Rangers' dress was
varied and included the attire of the farmer or frontiersman,
often modified for long-range travel through uncharted hostile
territory. For more formal occasions, some may have adopted the
green coat and red facings of another Independent Corps within
the Continental Army: the "Green Mountain Boys" serving under
Seth Warner. At least 53 Rangers from New Hampshire served for
a time with the Green Mountain Boys. The dress coat of the NHSSAR's
Rangers is based upon the documented uniform of Warner's men.
It would not be unusual, however, to see either the Rangers of
the Revolution or the members of the NHSSAR who portray them today
dressed in different attire.
In October of 1777,
many members of the Independent Corps of Rangers served at the
decisive Battles of Saratoga, NY and witnessed the surrender of
General Burgoyne. Thereafter, detachments of the unit served with
various regiments of the Northern Department of the Continental
Army - a Department ultimately commanded by General Stark. Men
of the unit "ranged" across New Hampshire, Vermont, New York,
Canada and beyond until the reorganization of the American Army
on January 1, 1781, when the Independent Corps was disbanded in
Coos Territory, New Hampshire. Thereafter, the men of the unit
found their way into other outfits, such as State Ranger companies
or units of the reorganized Continental Army.
Like the Rangers of
the Revolution, the Rangers of the NHSSAR sometimes skirt the
line between State and Federal service. At times, detachments
are administratively attached to other units, but always maintain
their identity as part of the Independent Corps of Rangers in
the command of John Stark. The NHSSAR's living history unit is
one of the few such groups comprised entirely of individuals who
claim documented descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.
If you are interested
in arranging for the appearance of our color guard/living history
unit, or if you wish to join our ranks, please contact our Color
Guard Commander, Hans E. Jackson.
NHSSAR Color Guard at Fort William & Mary, March 2001
NHSSAR Color Guard Great Northern March from Fort Ticonderoga
to Crown Point, March 2001
NHSSAR Color Guard at the Patriot's Day Parade, Concord MA 2001
NHSSAR Color Guard at Fort Ticonderoga, May 2001
More
on Manual of Arms, Roger's Rangers
