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62-839: Goreham was a prominent landowner in Nova Scotia in 1775, as well as a former officer of Gorham's Rangers during the French and Indian War . Noting the growing tensions in New England and especially Boston between the government and the patriot movement, he wrote the following to Gov. Francis Legge : Proposed to raise a Battalion of Light infantry or Royal Fensible Americans, To consist of Five Companies. 1 Lieut. Col. Commandant and Captain, 4 Captains, 1 Capt. Lieut., 4 Lieutenants, 5 2d Lieutenants or Ensigns, 15 Serjeants, 15 Corporals, 5 Drummers, 300 Privates, 1 Adjutant, 1 Surgeon, 1 Surgeon's Mate. That they be clothed and armed as Light Troops and put on

124-403: A whaling captain and merchant from Yarmouth, Massachusetts , a small coastal town on Cape Cod. While his family had historically played an important role in colonial New England's military affairs, besides basic militia training in conventional warfare, Gorham had no prior ranger training or experience at frontier warfare. Nor did the company's junior officers, most of whom were his relatives. In

186-404: A French intelligence report described Gorham's company as wearing "grey, cross pocket, with small leather caps or hats. In fact, the company had very different uniforms depending on the time period in question. For more on the uniforms worn and equipment used by the company throughout its nineteen-year history, click here [1] . No contemporary images of Gorham's Rangers are known to exist. During

248-520: A commission and approved the expansion of the unit, now part of the British Army, and tasked it with protecting British interests in Nova Scotia. Between 1747 and 1749, with the support of two armed sloops provided by Gorham himself, this company was largely responsible for the defense of British possessions in Nova Scotia, and counter-insurgency campaigns against the Acadians and their Indian allies. At

310-588: A few Pigwacket ) led by Anglo-American officers and commanded by Captain John Gorham. The company was recruited in the late-spring / early summer of 1744 after Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Paul Mascarene wrote to Massachusetts governor William Shirley requesting military aid. The force was sent to the relief of Annapolis Royal . They were accompanied by several regular provincial Infantry companies and arrived in Nova Scotia in September 1744. Their presence helped lift

372-455: A half dozen or so total served in Dank's unit. Scholarship on Gorham's Rangers frequently perpetuates a long-standing myth that the company was initially made up of Mohawks from New York or Métis from Canada. Recent scholarship disproves this and found that after reviewing surviving muster rolls and other documents relating to the company, not a single Iroquois can be documented as having served in

434-565: A man British colonists called "Captain Sam" (probably the Pequawket sachem mentioned in French records as Jérôme Atecuando). Captain Sam served as the company's primary guide, translator and negotiator. After three years in the field, the company was much reduced, with Gorham himself noting that almost three quarters of the original Indian members had been killed, captured, or died from disease. Almost moribund,

496-681: A new capital for Nova Scotia at what became Halifax . It is at this point that Gorham's unit moved its base of operations from Annapolis Royal to the new headquarters. Further, the company was involved in the establishment of Fort Sackville (Nova Scotia) and Fort Edward (Nova Scotia) . After John Gorham's death in 1751, command of the unit went to his brother, Lieutenant Joseph Gorham . In 1750, at least six independent companies of rangers were organized in Nova Scotia, all modeled on Gorham's Rangers, although they contained mainly Anglo-Americans recruited in New England. The rangers at this point were described wearing coats of blue broadcloth. However, in 1755

558-610: A part of. Gorham stayed in Louisburg through the spring of 1746 before returning to Annapolis and leading the rangers in a series of small expeditions against the Mi'kmaq and skirmishes with Acadians over the next several years. By the end of this period the unit was a fraction of its former size. Though accidents, disease, casualties, and captivity, only about a third of the original recruits remained. The next year, in 1747, Gorham traveled to England for an audience with King George II , who granted him

620-525: A party of 30 men, led by Zebulon Roe, set out to capture the Polly . After a difficult approach march over the tidal flats, with the tide rising, Roe's men took the RFA party aboard by surprise and captured the sloop without firing a shot. Waiting for the rising tide, Roe's men captured a work team and several officers coming to the ship. Finally as the fog lifted around 7am, the rebels were able to sail and tow Polly out of

682-446: A vault  at  the left  of  the altar.  Over  200  Indians followed  his  coffin to  the  church, chanting  the  death song  of the  Micmacs. His  funeral  and the  chanting  of the  Indians was  long remembered  in  Halifax, and  among  the stories  of  the olden time  in  our city,  there 

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744-603: Is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax) . Born in Poole , England , Francklin immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1752. He worked as a trader and merchant, initially in association with Joshua Maugher . During Father Le Loutre's War , Michael Francklin was captured by a Mi'kmaw raiding party in 1754 and held captive for three months in which he learned the Mi'kmaw language and developed an appreciation for native culture. Francklin represented Lunenburg County from 1759 to 1760 and Halifax County from 1761 to 1762 in

806-400: Is often referred to as " Danks' Rangers ." The companies were combined in 1761 into a Nova Scotia ranging corps of which Joseph Gorham was Major Commandant. Both companies numbered between ninety and one hundred men throughout the war, although Gorham's company was augmented for the siege of Quebec to 125 men. Dank's company was raised to the same size for the expedition to Havana. When combined,

868-507: The Cumberland region arrived in Halifax, prompting the authorities to dispatch Goreham's regiment to Fort Cumberland in late May, first overland to Windsor and then by ship via Minas Basin and Chignecto Bay . Fort Cumberland (originally built by the French as Fort Beauséjour in 1750) was in an advanced state of disrepair by 1776. Goreham set his men to reconstruction, both the buildings and

930-645: The Nova Scotia House of Assembly . In May of 1762, he was named to the Nova Scotia Council . In the early 1770s, he was responsible for bringing about the Yorkshire Emigration . He also played an important role in assisting the return of Acadians after the Expulsion of the Acadians by guaranteeing Catholic worship, land grants and a promise that there would be no second expulsion. He established

992-518: The expulsion of the Acadians , the forced removal of Catholic French settlers ( Acadians ) from Acadia due to their refusal to swear loyalty to the Crown . Protestant settlers from New England were granted now-vacant territories in Nova Scotia after the expulsion. They also took part in the assault of Fort Beaujesour in 1755. In 1757, at the end of July, the company scouted French-occupied Louisbourg in anticipation of Lord Loudoun's (aborted) attack on

1054-458: The sloop HMS  Vulture , including a company of Royal Marines under Cpt. Branson plus Maj. Thomas Batt and Cpt. Gilfred Studholme of the RFA, who had been on duty at Fort Edward. Before dawn on November 29 Maj. Batt led a mixed force of Marines and 74 men of the Fencibles, led by Cpt. Studholme, in a sortie from the fort against the rebel positions on Camp Hill. Somehow Eddy had not noticed

1116-551: The 7th Massachusetts Infantry, which took part in the Siege of Louisburg in the late spring and early summer of 1745. The rangers apparently stayed behind in the Annapolis Basin and used Goat Island , a small islet off Annapolis Royal, as their base of operations. Mi'kmaq, Abenaki , and Huron Indians, supposedly aided by Acadian raiders, surprised the garrison on the island in May 1745. In

1178-631: The Abenaki and other members of the Wabanaki Confederacy in Maine . Most of these Indian soldiers were also indentured servants who crewed whaleboats in the region's shore whaling industry or had been crew members on early Yankee whaleships. A small contingent of six Pequawket Indians from the Saco River region of Maine also joined the company, several of whom were likewise veteran warriors. These included

1240-450: The American command at that time. Officers wore silver lace. By 1780 the regiment was wearing red coats faced black, probably with white lace for other ranks. Gorham%27s Rangers Father Le Loutre's War French and Indian War Gorham's Rangers was one of the most famous and effective ranger units raised in colonial North America . Formed by John Gorham , the unit served as

1302-542: The Army ; and  Navy Depot; he  suddenly  and without  a  moment's warning  expired in  the 62nd  year  of his  age,  deeply regretted  by  every citizen of  Halifax.  He was  given  a grand  public  funeral which  took place  on the  nth  of November,  1782,  and was  buried  in St. Paul's  in 

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1364-545: The British as it guarded the overland route to peninsular Nova Scotia and also the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy . The rebel forces, led by Colonel Jonathan Eddy , planned to capture the fort, seizing its artillery and stores, as a first step in an overland march via Fort Edward in Windsor to Halifax, raising rebel sympathizers along the way. As there were some sympathizers in the colony,

1426-855: The Indian communities at Mashpee, Herring Pond, Yarmouth and elsewhere on the Cape, in addition to Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard, as well as a few other nearby southeastern New England Indian communities (Natick, Mashantucket, Mohegan, Niantic, etc.) [Note: This is not a complete listing of members of the company] Colonial Englishmen & Other Europeans : Identified as Indian in company records from 1746-1748 but tribal/village affiliation unclear (most likely Wampanoag or Nauset): Michael Francklin Michael Francklin or Franklin (6 December 1733 – 8 November 1782) served as Nova Scotia 's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He

1488-463: The RFA mostly wore civilian clothing, essentially, whatever they were wearing when enlisted. This caused them great hardship in winter, and Goreham permitted them to wear blankets or rugs in lieu of greatcoats when on sentry at Fort Cumberland. They would have looked very much like their rebel opponents during the siege. Their first uniforms arrived in early 1777, green coats faced white, with white smallclothes, in common with most other Loyalist corps of

1550-416: The RFA, 2nd Lt. Solomon King, killed, and the rest taken prisoner. Lt. Walker was wounded. Eddy's men suffered no casualties. Goreham finally became aware of the rebel presence on November 4 when a boat carrying a relief party and supplies for the outpost returned early with the news. By this point Eddy's force had effectively cut all overland communications from the fort, making it impossible to send reports of

1612-537: The Seven Years' War, now led by Joseph Gorham, the company not only played an important role in fighting in Nova Scotia, but it also participated in many of the important campaigns of the war. Throughout 1755 to 1760, when not assigned elsewhere, they were central players in Britain's efforts to quell a low-level insurgency in Nova Scotia, fought by the Mi'kmaq Indians as well as Acadians. The rangers also took an active part in

1674-854: The Shubenacadie reserve in 1779. On February 7, 1762, Francklin married Susannah Boutineau (b. 1740). Susannah died at Windsor, Nova Scotia, April 19, 1816 in her 76th year and is buried at the Old Parish Burying Grounds . She was the daughter of Joseph and Susannah (Faneuil) Boutineau, and granddaughter of Benjamin Faneuil. Susannah and Michael had the following children: On  the  8th  of November,  1782,  while arranging  with  several of  the  Indian chiefs,  about winter  supplies  of blankets  and  clothing, in  his office  on Granville  St.,  just north  of 

1736-430: The arrival of Vulture and the rebels were taken by surprise. When the alarm was finally sounded, the Fencibles "gave a loud Huzzah and ran like lions" towards Eddy's headquarters, according to Batt's report to Goreham. Eddy was nearly captured and rebel resistance was broken. The homes of many rebels and sympathizers were burned. The RFA lost one man, Michael Dickie, killed, one died of wounds, and three wounded; one Marine

1798-450: The company in the Seven Years' War were Anglo-Americans or recent Scots or Irish immigrants to America. The company continued to average between 90 and 95 men in size, but was augmented to 125 (possibly as high as 150) for the Siege of Quebec. However, casualty rates were high for the unit at Quebec as near constant skirmishing around the edges of the encampments with Canadian militia and French-allied Indians from May through September winnowed

1860-433: The company was down to just twenty-one men by mid-1747. However, later that year Gorham traveled to England and convinced his superiors there that the company should be adopted into the British army. This new-found support allowed for the company to be expanded and new recruits added, bringing it back up to full strength. A muster roll from February 1748 shows a revived company of sixty-five rangers, with Native Americans, still

1922-501: The company, the unit nevertheless continued to utilize the same tactics pioneered by the original Wampanaog, Nauset and Pequawket members in the 1740s, which were taught by the Gorhams to other Anglo-American and British commanders as well as rank and file troops. Dank's Rangers likewise contained some New England Indians, but nowhere near as many as served in Gorham's company. Perhaps no more than

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1984-511: The company. Indeed, the Indians listed as serving in the unit, aside from the few Pequawket members who were from Maine, were clearly Wampanoag and Nauset Indians from Cape Cod. This can be corroborated by comparing the men's names with census records kept by missionary societies, and deeds, probates, and vital records from Barnstable County in the 18th century, as well as from John Gorham's own writings. These records reveal most of these men hailed from

2046-499: The creek, followed by cannon fire from the fort, which fell short. In all, Goreham lost 49 officers and men captured. Added to the men lost at the outpost, the RFA garrison was down 25% of its strength, plus most of the Polly' s provisions. On Nov. 9 Michael Francklin , the former lieutenant-governor, got word of the invasion from residents around the Minas Basin; he passed these reports to Halifax where planning got underway to relieve

2108-444: The early days of the company's first deployment the officers learned their trade from the many veteran Native American soldiers who made up the company's rank and file. Most of the forty-eight privates were Wampanoag and Nauset Indians from Cape Cod. Some had served in Indian ranger companies twenty years earlier during Governor Dummer's War (1722-1726) , a regional conflict the colonies of Massachusetts and New Hampshire fought against

2170-440: The early morning of November 22. This time the rebels set fire to several buildings to the north of the fort. With a brisk wind blowing from that direction, it was hoped that the fire would spread to the fort, and it very nearly did so. Only desperate but effective fire-fighting by the garrison prevented disaster, and Eddy's men somehow failed to exploit their opportunity. Again there were no fatal casualties on either side. Finally on

2232-408: The earthworks, but work went slowly due to the shortage of supplies and equipment, and lack of assistance from the local population, who were mostly pro-patriot. With winter approaching, Goreham had his men put more effort into the accommodations than the fortifications. In spite of this, the fort would be a hard nut to crack by any rebel force without artillery. The fort was strategically important to

2294-813: The event they served as garrison troops for the regiment's existence. Goreham's proposal was accepted in April 1775, and recruiting began in Boston , Newfoundland and in and around Halifax ; the Boston men were shipped to Halifax in October. At that time the approximately 200 men of the RFA comprised a large portion of the total British forces available in Nova Scotia. This situation changed briefly when Gen. Howe's army arrived in Halifax from Boston in April, 1776, but this army left again for New York in June. Meanwhile, rumours of rebellion stirring in

2356-405: The following attacks, so numbers were very much on Goreham's side. The first attack began at 4 AM on November 13. A Maliseet warrior of Eddy's force managed to slip inside the fort, but was wounded by an RFA officer before he could open the main gate, foiling Eddy's plan. After about two hours Eddy disengaged. The warrior, who escaped, was the only casualty on either side. The second attack began in

2418-404: The fort. Meanwhile, Eddy presented an ultimatum that Goreham surrender the fort on Nov. 10; Goreham replied with a demand that Eddy surrender instead. His bluff having failed, Eddy began planning for battle. Although the RFA was down to a strength of 172 all ranks, plus some armed civilians, it's unlikely that Eddy was able to persuade more than about 80 of his men to actually participate in any of

2480-454: The fortress . Gorham's men dressed as Acadian fishermen and sailed a captured fishing vessel rechristened "His Majesty's Schooner Monckton " directly into the harbor at night. Eventually a French warship fired on them, but the intelligence they gathered, about the arrival of a French fleet and reinforcements, was the deciding factor in Loudoun abandoning the assault. They played an important role in

2542-422: The initial amphibious assault at the outset of the second siege of Louisbourg in 1758, and were vital in the petite guerre and scorched-earth operations that took place around the periphery of the siege of Quebec in 1759. In 1761, the unit was officially placed on the British army establishment. The next year they took part in the expedition to Cuba where almost half of the corps died from tropical disease. The unit

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2604-406: The invasion to Halifax. Meanwhile, winter supplies, plus arms and ammunition, for the garrison had arrived on the sloop Polly , escorted by the frigate HMS Juno , on October 31; Juno departed for Halifax on November 3. Polly was brought up a creek near the fort and unloading began with the ship lying in the mud at low tides. Eddy's army staged its next coup on the night of Nov. 6/7 when

2666-403: The morning of Nov. 27 the rebels tried to seize several dozen head of cattle from the marsh below the fort. This attempt was intercepted by two parties of picked men from the Fencibles. In the running fight that followed, several of Eddy's men were killed; the RFA lost one man, Peter Calahan, died of wounds and two others wounded. Later that morning the entire situation changed with the arrival of

2728-460: The outbreak of Father Le Loutre's War , Gorham's Rangers was the main force utilized to suppress this rebellion. Not merely a combat unit, both John and Joseph Gorham, as well as their Pigwacket adjutant Captain Sam (see personnel list below), took part in high-level diplomatic negotiations with Le Loutre, various Mi'kmaq chiefs, and Acadian leaders who were hostile to the British. After the new Royal governor arrived, Edward Cornwallis , he established

2790-413: The plan was feasible. Goreham had deployed an outpost of 14 Fencibles under command of Lt. John Walker, a long time friend of Goreham, to Chipoudy (now Shepody, New Brunswick ) in September, about 20 miles (30 km) northwest of the fort, to warn of any approach by rebel forces from New England. On the evening of Oct. 29 Eddy's arriving force of about 150 men overwhelmed the outpost, with one officer of

2852-448: The preferred recruits, making up almost two thirds of the complement. Gorham's Rangers was much expanded during these years, with the company increasing in size to a peak of 114 men by the summer of 1749, and averaging between 90 and 95 men through the mid-1750s. Native American men continued to serve in the unit, but during this period recruits were increasingly Anglo-Americans. A partial muster roll from January 1750, showing about half of

2914-510: The prototype for many subsequent ranger forces, including the better known Rogers' Rangers . The unit started out as a Massachusetts provincial company , which means it was not part of the province's normal militia system. Recruited in the summer of 1744 at the start of King George's War , Governor William Shirley ordered the unit raised as reinforcements for the then-besieged British garrison at Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal . The unit

2976-470: The raid they captured nine Indian rangers and the Anglo-American crew members of two supply schooners moored at the island and took the prisoners to Quebec. Some were imprisoned in the city while others were forcibly adopted into various Indian villages around Quebec. A few were later released, at least one was exchanged for a French prisoner, while two chose to remain in the Abenaki communities they were now

3038-417: The ranger corps fielded 253 men for the expedition. Of those 122 (48.2%) died, including eight officers. The corps was officially disbanded in 1763. Initially the rangers were a sixty-man all-Indian unit led by British colonial officers and non-commissioned officers. The unit was captained by the politically well-connected and ambitious John Gorham III (1709-1751), who, prior to leading the rangers, had been

3100-411: The river to secure that part of Nova Scotia (now New Brunswick ). Men of the RFA, under Studholme's direction, constructed Fort Howe near the river mouth, and garrisoned it until the end of the war. In 1777 Goreham had a major dispute with Batt, probably due to Goreham's terms of amnesty granted to the rebels on December 1, 1776, which were also disapproved of by some parties in Halifax. The regiment

3162-478: The same Establishment of Pay as the late 80th, Gage's Light Infantry and [this] Corps to be employed on the like Services. " Fencible " troops differed from militia in that they were full-time soldiers and were paid; however they differed from regulars in that they were exempt from overseas service. They were, in effect, a full-time secondary defense force (defensive = fencible). As a former Ranger , Goreham proposed that his regiment serve as light infantry . In

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3224-405: The second battalion, led by Lt. Col. George Scott. By the mid-1750s, most of the original Indian members of Gorham's Rangers had long since been killed in combat, deserted, been captured, died from disease, or had chosen not to reenlist. While Indians from southern New England continued to be recruited for the company as late as 1761, and they remained a core element of the unit, most new members of

3286-556: The siege of the beleaguered Fort Anne by Acadian and Mi'kmaq forces. The Indian members of the company were offered bounties for Mi'kmaq scalps and prisoners as part of their pay, and in December they pressured Gorham to return to New England to claim the bounty money for the scalps and prisoners they had taken. While in New England in February 1745, Gorham was commissioned a lieutenant colonel and given second-in-command of his father's regiment,

3348-444: The trend towards Anglicization by exchanging white rangers from the company for Indian soldiers serving in various companies of the two New England battalions sent to Nova Scotia in the spring of 1755 (which contained approximately eighty native men). At least thirteen Indians were transferred into Gorham's Rangers from just three companies in the first battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. John Winslow. Possibly more were transferred over from

3410-399: The unit down significantly. There were as few as sixty rangers fit for duty in the company by September. Men from other ranger companies (from Roger's Ranger corps) as well as provincial troops were transferred into the unit to augment its numbers—further increasing the percentage of Anglo-Americans and Europeans in the company. And yet while Indians gradually dwindled to a small minority within

3472-548: The unit that was sent on a mission to capture Acadians at Minas, reveals that Native Americans were less than one third of the detachment. By 1749-50, John Gorham, deeply in debt from using his own money to fund the company, was forced to travel to England to seek reimbursement. While pleading his case in London he contracted smallpox and died in December 1751. Joseph Gorham, now appointed commander, clearly preferred Indian soldiers to Anglo-American or British recruits as he tried to reverse

3534-506: Was disbanded on October 10, 1783, at Halifax and Fort Howe. Officers and men received land grants, plus tools and provisions, if they chose. Studholme was appointed agent for these arrangements. Fourteen other ranks took up grants in Remsheg (today Wallace, NS ) while 57 officers and other ranks are listed as having settled in New Brunswick. For nearly two years after its formation, the men of

3596-526: Was disbanded shortly after the capitulation of Havana, and the remaining rangers were drafted into depleted British regiments. Throughout most of the Seven Years' War, Gorham's rangers were based out of Halifax, but they often operated in tandem with a sister unit, stationed at Fort Cumberland on the Isthmus of Chignecto . This sister company, modeled on Gorham's unit, was commanded by Captain Benoni Danks , and

3658-457: Was no  description  more vivid  or interesting  than the  weird  wail of  the  savages, as  they  at  his burial  mourned  their friend  and  protector. The Francklin's long made their chief home at Windsor, and were among the most active supporters of the Anglican Church in that town. Lieutenant-Governor Francklin gave

3720-794: Was primarily used to secure British control in Nova Scotia , whose population consisted primarily of hostile French Acadian and Mi'kmaq . Initially a sixty-man all- Indian company led by British officers, the original Native American members of the unit were gradually replaced by Anglo-Americans and recent Scots and Irish immigrants and were a minority in the unit by the mid-1750s. The company were reconnaissance experts as well as renowned for their expertise at both water-borne operations and frontier guerrilla warfare . They were known for surprise amphibious raids on Acadian and Mi'kmaq coastal or riverine settlements, using large whaleboats, which carried between ten and fifteen rangers each. This small unit

3782-663: Was the main British military force defending Nova Scotia from 1744 to 1749. The company became part of the British Army and was expanded during the Seven Years' War and went on to play an important role in fighting in Nova Scotia as well as participating in many of the important campaigns of the war, particularly distinguishing itself at the Siege of Quebec in 1759. Gorham's Rangers was a Massachusetts provincial auxiliary company of New England Indians (mainly Wampanoag and Nauset , but also

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3844-517: Was wounded, and at least three of Eddy's men were killed, with several others taken prisoner. Batt was later commended by King George for his conduct. Most of the RFA remained at Fort Cumberland for the duration of the war. In September 1777 a company under command of Studholme was part of an expeditionary force to the Saint John River . Sent in response to a rebel expedition to the area, they captured some New England rebels and drove others up

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