Adams ' Rangers Adams ' Rangers was a Loyalist independent company raised for the British Army during the American Revolutionary war . Led by Dr . Samuel Adams of Arlington the unit ' s most significant contribution in the conflict was serving as part of the ill - fated Burgoyne Expedition of 1777 . Recruitment . The men of the unit were recruited primarily from the New Hampshire Grants area ( now Vermont ) , with the largest number coming from Arlington . Adams later stated that he had raised 70 men for the company . Either late in the Burgoyne campaign or early 1778 , Adams ' Company absorbed a body of men that served in the Bateau x service under Jeptha Hawley of Arlington . Burgoyne Expedition . Adams ' Rangers was part of the scouting service during the campaign . Very little has been recorded concerning the activities of the unit during the campaign , but Loyalist claims made by men of the company describe piloting the army , running dispatches between commanders , raiding cattle from rebel farms and defending loyalist farms from Patriot foraging parties . After Burgoyne Expedition . After the British Army ' s defeat and surrender at Saratoga , Adams ' Rangers and other Loyalist units were allowed to retreat to the Province of Quebec . For the next three years Adams ' men , like most other Loyalist troops in Canada , were occupied serving garrison duty and being employed in work parties improving the defences of the Province . Several of the men of the unit and their families lived at the Machiche refugee camp near Trois - Rivières , Quebec . In early 1778 , the company numbered 37 all - ranks — by mid - 1780 their number had reduced to 27 . Frustrated by lack of prospects and dispersement of his men around the Province , Captain Adams demanded to be allowed to join his Company to Roger ' s Rangers ( 2nd Battalion King ' s Rangers ) or go to New York to serve in the Central department . When his demands were refused , Adams disbanded his men in late October 1780 . After disbandment . Following the dissolution of the company , a few men from the company joined Roger ' s Rangers , but a majority were absorbed into McAlpin ' s Corps , a collection of under - strength Loyalist units . In November 1781 these units were consolidated into a new Provincial Regiment , the Loyal Rangers , commanded by Major Edward Jessup . Settlement . Following the war , a few of Adam ' s men returned to the United States , some settled in Quebec around Sorel , but most were granted land in South - Eastern Ontario along the St Lawrence River . The largest concentration of former Adam ' s Company men settled in Ernestown and Edwardsburg Townships . Company Officers . Captains Dr . Samuel Adams of Arlington , Vermont Jeptha Hawley of Arlington , Vermont Lieutenant Simpson Jenne of Clarendon , Vermont Ensign Gideon Adams of Arlington , Vermont References . " Muster Roll of Captain Samuel ADAMS ’ s Company Raised by Order of Genl . BURGOYNE the 9th August 1777 for the Purpose of Rangers . Busherville 23d January 1778 " Great Britain , British Library , Additional Manuscripts , No . 21827 , folio 14 . " A Return of Men , Women and Children Belonging to Capt . ADAMS Corps of Loyalists at Machiche Augt . 10 , 1780 . " Great Britain , Public Record Office , War Office , Class 28 , Volume 10 , folio 95 . " A Return of Captain Adam ’ s Corps of Loyalists . Mashish 6 March 1780 . " Great Britain , British Library , Additional Manuscripts , No . 21827 , folio 193 . " Loyalist Settlements 1783 - 1789 , New Evidence of Canadian Loyalist Claims . " W . Bruce Antliff , The Archives of Ontario , Bicentennial Publication from the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture Susan Fish , Minister " United Empire Loyalists . Evidence in Canadian Claims . " Second Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario . B . Alexander Fraser . Parts 1 and 2 . Genealogical Publishing Co . Inc . " The Old United Empire Loyalist List , 1784 - 1884 , " Centennial , Rose Publishing Company , Toronto , Canada , 1885 . " Biographical sketches of Loyalists in the American Revolution " Gregory Palmer , Meckler Publishing , Westport Connecticut , 1984 , " American Loyalist claims Volume 1 , " Peter Wilson Coldham , National Genealogical Society , Washington DC 1980 External links . The On - line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies : United Empire Loyalists ’ Association of Canada Directory of Loyalists : The Old United Empire Loyalist List :