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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 02/25/2003 5:33:40 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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The history of the American Ranger is a long and colorful saga of courage, daring, and outstanding leadership. It is a story of men whose skills in the art of fighting have seldom been surpassed.  Rangers came into existence in response to challenges that were far different than those faced in the Old World during the 17th century. The major differences were in the ruggedness of the terrain and the enemy they faced in the New World. The American Indian did not conceive of war as a long campaign of maneuver, and he despised pitched battles. Hardened by his environment, accustomed to traveling great distances on foot, he was more inclined to use stealth and reconnaissance to select his objective, then execute a swift and devastating raid that employed terror to maximum advantage. European tactics and methods were useless against this combination of terrain and enemy. Survival dictated the need for new methods. Small groups of men began to move out from the settlements to scout the surrounding territory for signs of enemy movement and to provide early warning. Reports of these groups include words such as: "This day, ranged 9 miles." Thus, the "Ranger" was born. As their skill in woodcraft and this new form of warfare was perfected, it was now the turn of the "Rangers" to use the raid. They were versatile from the start, able to move on foot or horseback. In addition to over-land raids, they conducted over-water operations against the French and their Indian allies.  Rogers' Rangers Standing Order #19: Let the enemy come till he's almost close enough to touch. Then let him have it and jump out and finish him up with your hatchet. In the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the famous Robert Rogers developed the Ranger concept to an extent never known before. A soldier from boyhood, Rogers had a magnetic personality. Operating in the days when commanders personally recruited their men, he was articulate and persuasive, and knew his trade. He published a list of 28 common sense rules, and a set of standing orders stressing operational readiness, security, and tactics. He established a training program in which he personally supervised the application of his rules. In June 1758, Robert Rogers was conducting live-fire training exercises. His operations were characterized by solid preparation and bold movements. When other units were bivouacked in winter quarters, Rangers moved against the French and Indians by the use of snowshoes, sleds, and even ice skates. In a time when the English colonists were struggling, Rogers' Rangers carried the war to the enemy by scouting parties and raids. His most famous expedition was a daring raid against the fierce Abenaki Indians. With a force of 200 Rangers, traveling by boat and over land, Rogers covered 400 miles in about 60 days. Penetrating deep into enemy territory, and despite losses en route, the Rangers reached their objective undetected. On September 29, 1759, they attacked and destroyed the Indian settlement and killed several hundred Indians; the Abenaki were no longer a threat. Rangers continued to patrol the border and defend the colonists against sporadic Indian attacks for the next decade. When the time came for the colonies to fight for their independence, the American Rangers were ready. On June 14, 1775, with war on the horizon, the Continental Congress resolved that "six companies of expert riflemen be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia." In 1777, this force of hardy frontiersmen provided the leadership and experience necessary to form, under Dan Morgan, the organization George Washington called "The Corps of Rangers." According to British General John Burgoyne, Morgan's men were ". . . the most famous corps of the Continental Army, all of them crack shots."  Also active during the Revolutionary War were Thomas Knowlton's Connecticut Rangers. This force of less than 150 hand-picked men was used primarily for reconnaissance. Knowlton was killed leading his men in action at Harlem Heights. Another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element was organized by Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." Marion's partisans, numbering up to several hundred, operated both with and independent of other elements of General Washington's army. Operating out of the Carolina swamps, they disrupted British communications and prevented the organization of loyalists to support the British cause, thus substantially contributing to the American victory. During the War of 1812, Congress called for the Rangers to serve on the frontier. The December 28, 1813, Army Register lists officers for 12 companies of Rangers.  John S. Mosby. He and his men did not carry sabers and were armed with multiple revolvers rather than cavalry carbines. It was said that a Ranger could be riding at full gallop and fire 3 rounds into a tree trunk before he passed. This accounted for many empty Federal saddles. Fighting behind enemy lines, the Rangers usually didn't carry a flag, but on the Berryville raid, riding beside Mosby was 17 year-old Robert Stockton Terry who carried the battalion's new flag. The best known Rangers of the Civil War period were commanded by the Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby. Mosby's Rangers operated behind Union lines south of the Potomac. From a three-man scout unit in 1862, Mosby's force grew to an operation of eight companies of Rangers by 1865. He believed that by the use of aggressive action and surprise assaults, he could compel the Union forces to guard a hundred points at one time. Then, by skillful reconnaissance, he could locate one of the weakest points and attack it, assured of victory. On his raids, Mosby employed small numbers, usually 20 to 50 men. With nine men, he once attacked and routed an entire Union regiment in its bivouac. Equally skillful were the Rangers under the command of Colonel Turner Ashby, a Virginian widely known for his daring. The Rangers of Ashby and Mosby did great service for the Confederacy. Specialists in scouting, harassing, and raiding, they were a constant threat and kept large numbers of Union troops occupied. Rangers who fought for the United States during the Civil War should also be mentioned. Although often overlooked in historical accounts, Mean's Rangers captured Confederate General Longstreet's ammunition train, and even succeeded in engaging and capturing a portion of Colonel Mosby's force.
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Rangers Lead the Way!
I'm still angry about what the Clinton-era DOD did to the Rangers in Mogadishu, dropping them in the middle of indian country with no plan or means of immediate U.S. armor and air support in the event of trouble.
Absolutely shameful. I refuse to post the images.
True.
The very eloquent tribute to the Pledge to our Flag
by the great Red Skelton
Click the Pic
That broke my parents heart.
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