Rogers ' Rangers Rogers ' Rangers was initially a provincial company from the colony of New Hampshire , attached to the British Army during the Seven Years War ( called the French and Indian War in the United States ) . The unit was quickly adopted into the British army as an independent ranger company . It was trained by Major Robert Rogers as a rapidly deployable light infantry force tasked mainly with reconnaissance as well as conducting special operations against distant targets . Their tactics , built on earlier colonial precedents , but codified for the first time by Rogers , proved remarkably effective , so much so that the initial company was expanded into a ranging corps of more than a dozen companies ( containing as many as 1 , 200 - 1 , 400 men at its peak ) . The ranger corps became the chief scouting arm of British Crown forces by the late 1750s . The British valued them highly for gathering intelligence about the enemy . Later , the company was revived as a Loyalist force during the American Revolutionary War . Nonetheless , a number of former ranger officers became Patriot commanders . Some ex - rangers also participated as patriot militiamen at the Battle of Concord Bridge . Three military formations now claim descent from Rogers ' Rangers : History . French and Indian War . Rogers ' Rangers began as a company in the provincial forces of the colony of New Hampshire in British North America in 1755 . The unit was the latest in a long - line of New England ranger companies dating back to the 1670s . The immediate precursor to and model for the unit was Gorham ' s Rangers , formed in 1744 and still active in 1755 . Rogers ' company was formed to fight in the French and Indian War ( the Seven Years War in Canada , Britain and Europe ) , in the borderlands of the colonial Northeast . Commanded by first Captain , then later Major Robert Rogers , they operated primarily in the Lake George and Lake Champlain regions of New York . The unit was formed during the winter of 1755 from forces stationed at Fort William Henry . The Rangers sometimes undertook raids against French towns and military emplacements , traveling sometimes on foot , sometimes in whaleboats and , during winter , on snowshoes . Over the course of 1756 and 1757 the usefulness of Rogers ' company prompted British officials to form a second ranger company , and eventually four more . By early 1758 the rangers had been expanded to a corps of fourteen companies , containing 1 , 200 to 1 , 400 men . This included three all - Indian units : two of Stockbridge Mahicans , and a third of Natives from Connecticut ( mainly Mohegan and Pequot ) . Eventually Rogers was promoted to Major and served as commandante of the ranger corps . On January 21 , 1757 , at the First Battle on Snowshoes , Rogers ' force of 74 rangers ambushed and captured seven Frenchmen near Fort Carillon at the south end of Lake Champlain . They ran into about 100 French and Canadien ( French Canadian ) militia and Ottawa from the Ohio Country . After taking casualties , Rogers ' force retreated . In reports , the French noted the tactical disadvantage which they suffered , as they lacked snowshoes and were " floundering in snow up to their knees . " Rogers ' Rangers had maintained positions on the high ground and behind large trees . According to Francis Parkman , Ranger casualties were 14 killed , 6 captured , and 6 wounded ( the latter returned with 48 men who were unharmed ) . The French — consisting of 89 Regulars and 90 Canadians and Indians — had 37 killed and wounded . The French / Indians casualties may have included one of the captured prisoners ( one wounded and captured Ranger , who was later exchanged , claimed to have killed - or believed he had killed - one of the captured Frenchmen by striking him on the head with a tomahawk after the Rangers were ambushed ) . It is unclear if this was the fate of the other captured French as well . A company of the rangers led by Noah Johnson was stationed at Fort William Henry in 1757 during the siege . The siege ended with the surrender of the British forces and a massacre . After British forces surrendered Fort William Henry in August 1757 , the Rangers were stationed on Rogers Island near Fort Edward . This allowed the Rangers to train and operate with more freedom than the regular forces . On March 13 , 1758 , at the Second Battle on Snowshoes , Rogers ' Rangers ambushed a French - Indian column and , in turn , were ambushed by enemy forces . The Rangers lost 125 men in this encounter , as well as eight men wounded , with 52 surviving . One reference reports casualties of the Regulars , who had volunteered to accompany the Rangers , as 2 captured and 5 killed . Of Rogers ' Rangers , 78 were captured and 47 killed and missing ( of whom 19 were captured ) . Rogers estimated 100 killed and nearly 100 wounded of the French - Indian forces . The French , however , reported their casualties as 10 Indians killed and 17 wounded , and three Canadians wounded . The French originally reported killing Rogers in the second battle . This was based on their finding some of his belongings , including his regimental coat containing his military commission , but he escaped . This episode also gave rise to the legend about Rogers ’ sliding down the side of a mountain to the frozen surface of Lake George . While there is no proof of this event , the rockface became known as " Rogers ' Slide " or " Rogers Rock " . On July 7 – 8 , 1758 Rogers ' Rangers took part in the Battle of Carillon . On July 27 , 1758 , between Fort Edwards and Half - Way Brook , 300 Indians and 200 French / Canadians under Captain St . Luc ambushed a British convoy . The British lost 116 killed ( including 16 Rangers ) and 60 captured . On August 8 , 1758 , near Crown Point , New York , a British force of Rangers , light infantry and provincials was ambushed by a French - Canadian - Indian force of 450 under Captain Marin . In this action , Major Israel Putnam was captured . He was reportedly saved from ritual burning by the Iroquois by intervention of a French officer and a providential thunderstorm . Francis Parkman reports 49 English fatalities and " . . more than a hundred . . " killed of the enemy . Rogers claimed English losses were 33 and that the enemy had losses of 199 . Another source reports that the French casualties were four Indians and six Canadians killed , and four Indians and six Canadians { including an officer and a cadet } wounded . During 1759 , the Rangers were involved in one of their most famous operations , the St . Francis Raid : they were ordered to destroy the Abenaki settlement of Saint - Francis in Quebec . It had been the base for raids and attacks of British settlements . Rogers led a force of 200 rangers from Crown Point deep into French territory . Following the October 3 , 1759 attack and successful destruction of Saint - Francis , Rogers ' force ran out of food during their retreat through the wilderness of northern New England . Once the Rangers reached a safe location along the Connecticut River at the abandoned Fort Wentworth , Rogers left them encamped . He returned a few days later with food and relief forces from Fort at Number 4 ( now Charlestown , New Hampshire ) , the nearest British outpost . In the raid on Saint - Francis , Rogers claimed 200 enemies were killed , leaving 20 women and children to be taken prisoner , of whom he took five children prisoner and let the rest go . The French recorded 30 deaths , including 20 women and children . According to Francis Parkman , Ranger casualties in the attack were one killed and six wounded ; in the retreat , five were captured from one band of Rangers , and nearly all in another party of about 20 Rangers were killed or captured . One source alleges that of about 204 Rangers , allies and observers , about 100 returned . Pontiac ' s Rebellion and American War of Independence . At the end of the war , the Rangers were given the task of taking command of Fort Detroit from the French forces . After the war , most of the Rangers returned to civilian life . In 1763 Rogers ' recruited several volunteers for the reinforcement of Detroit commanded by James Dalyell of the 1st Royal Regiment and formerly of the 80th Regiment of Light Armed Foot ( Gage ' s Light Infantry ) . Upon arrival at Detroit , Dalyell talked the post Commandant Henry Gladwin into allowing Dalyell to take his reinforcements to attack an Indian village near Parent ' s Creek . The force of 250 - 300 soldiers of the 55th and 60th regiments , Rogers ' volunteers , and the Queen ' s Royal American Rangers under the command of Captain Joseph Hopkins was ambushed as the advanced guard made up of men from the 55th regiment crossed the bridge at Parent ' s Creek . Rogers ' men were responsible for effectively covering the retreat of the force back to Fort Detroit . Pontiac ' s Rebellion . After these events , Rogers offered his help to the commander of the Colonial Army , George Washington . Washington refused , fearing that Rogers was a spy because Rogers had just returned from a long stay in England . Infuriated by the rejection , Rogers joined the British , where he formed the Queen ' s Rangers ( 1776 ) and later the King ' s Rangers . Several former Rangers served under General Benedict Arnold in revolutionary forces around Lake Champlain . The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) of the Canadian Army claim to be descended from Rogers ' Rangers . Also claiming descent from Rogers ' Rangers are the 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery of Michigan and the U . S . Army Rangers .