|
The following material was submitted by and is the copyright of
Donald J. Gara - New Jersey. It is reprinted here with his permission.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ON THE INFANTRY OFFICERS
OF THE QUEEN'S AMERICAN RANGERS
SUMMARY OF THE COMMANDERS OF THE QUEENS AMERICAN RANGERS
| ROGERS, Robert |
LIEUTENANT COLONEL
August 26, 1776 to January 29, 1777.
Former Commander of Rogers Rangers of the French and Indian War. |
|
| FRENCH, Christopher |
MAJOR
January 30, 1777 to May 4, 1777.
From the 22nd British Regiment. Returned to 22nd British Regiment. |
|
| WEMYSS, James |
MAJOR
May 5, 1777 to October 14, 1777.
From the 40th British Regiment. Transferred to the 63rd British Regiment. |
|
| SIMCOE, John Graves |
LIEUTENANT COLONEL
October 15, 1777 to October 13, 1783.
From the 40th British Regiment. |
MAJORS (EXECUTIVE OFFICERS)
| Name |
Data |
Sources |
| GRYMES, John Randolph |
MAJOR
September 25, 1776 to October 20,1777. |
Public Archives of Canada, "Muster Rolls", Series C, Record Group 8, Vol. 1861 to 1864. |
|
Born in 1746. Son of Phillip Grymes, Receiver General and Privy Councillor of Virginia.
Brought up at Brandon, Virginia. Had three brothers and three sisters. Educated at Eton in England. |
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, "Virginians in the Queens Rangers", Vol. 30, 1920, p. 375. |
|
In July 1776 Lord Dunmore and his Virginia Loyalists, after being driven from the area of
Norfolk, Virginia, landed on Gwynn's Island in Chesapeake Bay. John Grymes, a resident, then had an estate of 1160 acres on the island and was living as a private gentleman without following any trade or profession. He raised a troop of 10 light horse and decided to join Dunmore in his effort to maintain a foothold in Virginia waters, until he could secure hoped for help from the British army. When Dunmoe was forced to evacuate the island due to patriot pressure, Grymes decided to accompany him, rather than risk falling into patriot hands. Dunmore finally decided that help was never going to come and set sail, with the other loyalist refugees for New York where, the British Army having recently landed on nearby Staten Island, they put themselves under British protection. |
Coldham, Peter, "American Loyalist Claims", National Genealogical Society, 1980, p. 205. |
|
On September 26, 1776, Grymes was appointed as Major and Executive Ofricer of the Queens American Rangers, then commanded by Lt Colonel Robert Rogers. He served with the Rangers until his resignation on October 26, 1777. He participated in the battle of Brandywine, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777 where he was wounded in actiion. Major John Graves Simcoe, who assumed command of the Rangers after Brandywine, stated that Grymes had distinguised himself in his successful attempt to extracate his men from a precarious postion, while under enemy fire. Grymes, apparently suffering from what today would be called "post traumatic stress disorder", repeatly requested to resign his commission until it was finally granted on October 26, 1777. He subsequently returned to England in the following year. |
Simcoe, John Graves, "Operations of the Queens Rangers", NY, 1844, p 30.
Coldham, "American Migrations", p 205. |
|
Some time after the end of the war, he returned to Virginia and became a wealthy planter
in Orange County. He died in 1820. |
Loyalist Transcripts, New York Public Library, Vol. 58, p. 587. |
|
| ROSS, Arthur |
MAJOR
November 16, 1777 to October 24, 1778. |
Muster Rolls. |
|
Lieutenant in 35th Regiment since April 29, 1775. |
1777 Army List. |
|
Appointed Captain-Commandant (Executive Officer) in Queens American Rangers on November 16, 1777, replacing John R. Grymes, resigned. |
Simcoe, p. 30.
Kemble Journal, p. 544. |
|
Assumed overall command of the Rangers at the battle of Monmouth, in June 1778, when
Lt. Colonel Simcoe was taken out of action due to wounds. |
Simcoe, p. 72. |
|
Promoted to the rank of Major in the Rangers in early August 1778. |
Ibid, p. 79. |
|
Participated in the Ranger skirmish with the Stockbridge Indians in Westchester County on
August 31, 1778. |
Ibid, pp. 83-86. |
|
Participated with the Rangers in their skirmishes with Colonel Mordecai Gist's patriot
forces in the Kingsbridge area in mid September 1778. |
Ibid, pp. 86-88. |
|
Returned to the regular army in late September 1778 and joined Major General James Grants's expedition to the West Indies as Brigade Major. He was killed at the seige of
St. Christopher's in December 1778. |
Ibid, p. 91.
Sabine, Vol. 2, p. 239. |
|
| ARMSTRONG, Richard |
MAJOR
October 25, 1778 to October 13, 1783. |
Muster Rolls. |
|
Born in Ireland. |
Muster Roll dated August 24, 1780. |
|
Commanded the Grenadier Company of the Rangers from August 6, 1776 to October 24, 1778. He was the only officer, orginally appointed by Lt. Colonel Robert Rogers, who
served with the Regiment for the entire duration of the war. |
Analysis of the Muster Rolls. |
|
Formerly had been a Lieutenant in the 19th Regiment and had served as an officer at Belize, British Honduras, during the period of the French and Indian War. |
Public Record Office, WO 42, Vol. 15, folio 74-75 "1783 List of Queens Ranger Officers". |
|
At skirmish with enemy forces under General Anthony Wayne, near Haddonfield, New Jersey
and Coopers Ferry on March 2, 1778. |
Simcoe, p. 45. |
|
At skirmish at Crosswick's, New Jersey on June 23, 1778. |
Simcoe, p. 65. |
|
At battle of Monmouth, New Jersey on June 28, 1778. |
Simcoe, p. 71. |
|
At skirmish with Stockbridge Indians at Kingsbridge, Westchester County, New York on August 31, 1778. |
Simcoe, p. 85. |
|
Promoted to the rank of Major of Ranger Infantry on October 25, 1778, replacing Major
Arthur Ross. |
AHR, "Roll of Queens Ranger Officers"
Kemble Journal, p 544. |
|
On October 26, 1779, he commanded the infantry rear guard at South Amboy, New Jersey
when Simcoe led the Huzzars and other attached cavalry on a raid to the Upper Raritan River to destroy some flat boats. On the return to South Amboy, Simcoe was captured by the militia, and Armstrong assumed command of the Rangers until Simcoe was exchanged on December 31. |
Simcoe, pp. 111-112 and 119. |
|
On February 10, 1780, he again commanded a rear guard of some infantry and attached
cavalry, when Simcoe took the bulk of the infantry on diversionary raid of enemy outposts in New Jersey. This diversion was to support a British cavarly raid, which hoped to capture General George Washington, whose headquarters was reported to have been established far from the patriot main encampment. The cavalry raid was called off, while in progress, due to a severe change in weather. |
Simcoe, pp. 132-133. |
|
At Burrell's Landing, Virginia skirmish on April 17, 1781. |
Simcoe, p. 191. |
|
On June 25, 1781, he was in charge of the German Yagers and Queens Ranger Infantry enroute to Spencers Ordinary, Virginia, while Simcoe was traveling with the cavalry. |
Simcoe, pp. 226-228. |
|
At the Yorktown surrender on October 19, 1781. |
Analysis of the Muster Rolls. |
|
Rank of Major made permanent in the Army on December 25, 1782. |
1783 Army List. |
|
On British Half Pay in 1784. |
1784 Army List. |
|
Settled in Fredericton, New Brunswick after the war. He became a Lt. Colonel of York
County militia and finally attained the Brevet Rank of Lt. General in the British Army. Died on April 7, 1817 in Fredericton. |
New Brunswick Museum Archives, "New Brunswick Royal Gazette" dated April 8, 1817. |
Click here for ---> Regimental History Main Page
More Queen's American Rangers History
Top of Page
The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies
For information please contact Todd Braisted
Copyright Restrictions Document Formatting Optimal Viewing
|
