| Birth: | Nov. 7, 1731
Methuen
Essex County
Massachusetts, USA | | Death: | May 18, 1795
Newington
Greater London, England | 
Colonial American Military Figure. In 1738 his family moved to the open frontier of New Hampshire, where they began to farm and were faced with continual French-led Indian raids. At age 14, he volunteered for a local militia and continued serving in militias until he formally volunteered for military service at the beginning of the Seven Years' War in 1755. His New Hampshire regiment, Company One, was activated and he was named Captain. Due to his life on the frontier, Rogers broke from typical British-style military tactics, instead employing strategies more suited to frontier-living. His troops eventually became known as "Rogers' Rangers" and due to his expert woodmanship and aggressive nature in battle, his rangers were one of the few forces able to withstand, and flourish in, the harsh and frigid New England region. In his early years as a ranger, he authored his now famous "Rules of Ranging," which is still used as a preface in the modern-day U.S. Army Ranger School handbook. He became popular among the colonists and his troops; though by all accounts, most of the army regulars, including British command, looked on him with suspicion due to his unconventional, often brutal, tactics. When the Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1763, he was in deep debt, as he'd spent much of his own money equipping and paying his troops. He was thrown in debtors prison in New York, but escaped and fled to England. He became a moderately successful author, publishing his journal, "A Concise Account of North America," where he discussed his idea of a Northwest passage in America almost four decades before Lewis and Clark, and later a play, "Ponteach, or the Savages of America: A Tragedy." He successfully won funding from King George to search the NW passage and returned to America where he was soon arrested for treason. Later acquitted, he returned to England where he remained for six years, returning to North America in 1775. He was offered a commission in the Revolutionary Army by the Continental Congress, which he declined, likely on the grounds that he was a British officer. He later changed his mind and sought an appointment in a written letter to George Washington, who responded by having him arrested. He escaped captivity again and fled to his British counterparts, to whom he offered his military service, instead. He experienced some minor military success with the revival of his rangers (known as the Queen's Rangers), even playing a part in the capture of Continental Army spy, Nathan Hale. After Hale's capture and execution, George Washington officially branded him a traitor and he once again fled to England, where he died in obscurity, leaving an estate only worth £100. There was a brief mention of his death in a London newspaper. His grave was either left unmarked or the marker stolen. The churchyard has since been paved over and all known remains moved to a new location; Rogers is not amongst the known remains.
(bio by: DianeY)
Family links:
Parents:
James Jacob Rogers (1706 - 1753)
Mary MacPhartridge Rogers (1705 - 1763)
Spouse:
Elizabeth Browne Rogers Roche (1741 - 1812)*
*Calculated relationship
Search Amazon for Robert Rogers | | | Burial:
St Mary Newington Churchyard
Newington
Greater London, England |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: DianeY
Record added: Mar 28, 2010
Find A Grave Memorial# 50372309 |
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Added by:
DianeY
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Cemetery Photo
Added by:
caryatid
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Col. Rogers, you were the first Ranger, bold, brave,& adventured into the unknown. Your bravery at Ft. William Henry saved the British Army that St Patrick's Day so long ago.
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Grace
Added: May. 18, 2013 |
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James Snow
Added: May. 18, 2013 |
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richard rogers
Added: Feb. 8, 2013 |
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(4.5 after 13 votes)