Burke's Rangers
| Burke's Rangers | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1747–62 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Allegiance | British Crown |
| Branch | Provincial Irregulars; British Army Rangers |
| Type | Reconnaissance, Light Infantry |
| Role | Reconnaissance, Light Infantry |
| Size | One company |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort William Henry |
| Engagements |
King George's War
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
John Burke |
King George's War
French and Indian War
The Burke's Rangers was a company of colonial volunteers organized and led by Major John Burke in Massachusetts just before the French and Indian War. Burke was widely noted for his skill and daring in Indian warfare, and frequently served in campaigns against the Indians. Burke was initially commissioned as an ensign by Governor William Shirley and subsequently commissioned a lieutenant, then a captain. Toward the close of the French and Indian war, in 1760, he was commissioned a major by Governor Thomas Pownall.
At the close of King Philip's War the Massachusetts provincial government sought to defend its borders by settling groups of veterans on Indian lands. This was seen as an inexpensive deterrent to French aggression, a way to shore up English claims to contested ground, a good defensive strategy in the face of ongoing Indian resistance to British expansion, and a reward to the veterans of the war.
Bernardston, Massachusetts, initially known as Falls Fight Township, was a frontier settlement created by and for the families of soldiers who had fought in King Philip's Warm specifically in the Battle of Turner's Falls, which was a major engagement fought under Captain William Turner in 1676. John Burke was an early settler of the town, arriving with his father who was one of the veterans granted land in Falls Fight.
In November 1734, the following was presented to the General Court of Massachusetts:
"A petition of Samuel Hunt, of Billerica, for himself and other survivors of the officers and soldiers that belonged to the company of Capt. Turner, and the representatives of them that are dead, shewing that the said company in 1676 engaged the Indian enemy at a place above Deerfield, and destroyed above three hundred of them, and, therefore, praying that this court would grant them a tract of land above Deerfield suitable to make a township."
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Wikipedia