Cover photo: Painting of Rogers Rangers, “To Range the Woods”, New York, 1760. Work by Army Artist Team XXII of US Army Center of Military History.

Text by Konstantinos Tsentidis.

Robert Rogers was a British officer who became famous during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). He was the founder of the so-called “Roger’s Rangers,” a mercenary unit of reconnaissance and raiding that fought alongside the British in North America and specialized in asymmetric warfare. He also participated in the conflicts against the American Revolutionaries during the War for American Independence (1775-1783). During that period, the unit was renamed to “Queens Rangers.”

Rogers was born in the town of Methuen, Massachusetts in 1731. He spent his youth on the then-frontier of the British colonies in North America, where he gained his first battle experience as a scout for the British against the French and Indians during the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748). In 1756, during the Seven Years’ War, Robert Rogers created the Rangers, a special unit that employed asymmetric warfare tactics (missions behind enemy lines) against the French and Indians. Apart from independent reconnaissance operations and winter missions, the Rangers unit always functioned as a subordinate militia unit of the British Regular Army and was tasked with securing the territory from enemy attacks by the French and Indians, who often ambushed from the forests.

The equipment of the Rangers generally included “Brown Bess” muskets, an extremely traditional British muzzle-loading firearm of high quality for that era. Spears, axes, swords, and other melee weapons were also naturally included for close combat. The military uniform consisted of khaki color, perfectly adapted to the environment of forests, mountains, and generally green landscapes, emphasizing camouflage, unlike the mainly brightly colored uniforms of the British (red) and the French Troops (blue), which easily revealed the soldier’s position.

The approximately 600 soldiers of the “green” uniformed force were personally selected by Rogers (who seemed to be a charismatic leader with an extremely eloquent and intimidating manner) and were trained in the tactics of asymmetric warfare, meaning battles outside the then-typical troop formations in “closed” lines. Rogers relied on his military experiences from battles against Indians and the French in the past and developed a systematic education from it, which included a set of 28 rules (Rogers’ Ranging Rules) for asymmetric warfare.

At the beginning of the American Revolution (1775-1783), he received an offer from a committee of the United States Congress to participate in the armed struggle on the side of the Americans, but he rejected it on the grounds that he was a British officer. However, he quickly changed his mind and wrote to the American General George Washington, asking for an administrative position in a military unit of the American Revolutionary Army. Instead, American General George Washington ordered Rogers’ arrest, and he was subsequently imprisoned on charges of espionage and collaboration with the enemy. Later, Robert Rogers managed to escape from prison.

He quickly came into contact with the British Army, where he offered his services. The British hoped that Robert Rogers would live up to his abilities with the reputation that circulated for him from the past, where he had earned the nickname “White Devil.” Therefore, in August 1776, a new unit of the Rangers was formed under his leadership, but it was renamed “Queens Rangers” in honor of Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III of Britain. With the rank of Colonel, he participated in the armed struggle against the American Revolutionaries. However, in May 1777, Rogers was relieved of his duties as the leader of the Queens Rangers by the British Military Administration, citing his “poor health.”

After a brief stay in England, where he even had a meeting with King George III of Britain, Rogers returned to North America in 1779, this time to Nova Scotia, Canada (then a British colony), to take command of a military unit there that would once again operate against the American Revolutionaries. However, he ultimately could not maintain this administrative military position for long. His alcoholism often caused problems with the British Military leadership. Afterward, Robert Rogers did not play any other significant and active role in the war.

Next came the capture of Robert Rogers by an American privateer, which led (for a short period of time) to his imprisonment in New York, from which he managed to escape again in 1782. In the face of American victory in the War for Independence, he was evacuated in 1783, along with British troops, back to England. There, he could not overcome his alcoholism and financial difficulties and died in 1795, poor, lonely, and indebted in London.

However, his legacy in the Art of War remains. The so-called “28 rules” of Robert Rogers (Rogers’ Ranging Rules) for asymmetric warfare are still used today as educational guidelines by the specialized units of the United States (such as the U.S. Green Berets and the U.S. Army Rangers) for operations behind enemy lines. Today’s American Rangers (U.S. Army Rangers) see Robert Rogers as their founding father.