John Gorham (military officer)
| John Gorham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 December 1709 Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts |
| Died | December, 1751 (aged 41–42) London, England |
| Allegiance | Massachusetts Bay Colony; England |
| Service/branch | Ranger |
| Rank | captain (of Independent Company in the British army); lieutenant-colonel (in Massachusetts provincial forces) |
| Commands held | Gorham's Rangers 1744–1751, and 7th Massachusetts Provincial Infantry Regiment--second in command (1745), acting commander (1746) |
| Battles/wars |
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| Other work | representative |
John Gorham (Goreham, Gorum) was a New England Ranger and was the first significant British military presence on the frontier of Nova Scotia and Acadia to remain in the region for a substantial period after the Conquest of Acadia (1710). He established the famous "Gorham's Rangers". He also commissioned two armed vessels: the Anson (Captain John Beare) and the Warren (70 tons, Captain Jonathan Davis), who patrolled off Nova Scotia.
Gorham was first commissioned captain of a provincial auxiliary company in June 1744, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the 7th Massachusetts provincial Infantry Regiment in February 1745. Two years later, in 1747, he was commissioned captain of an independent company in the British Army when his unit was adopted into the regular army. He is sometimes confused with his brother, Shubael Gorham (born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, 2 September 1686; died at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, 20 February 1746), a provincial colonel during King George's War. He was the one of only a handful of American rangers - including, Gorham, his younger brother Joseph Gorham, Benoni Danks, and later Robert Rogers - to earn commissions in the British Army. John Gorham was active during King George's War and Father Le Loutre’s War.
The Gorham family had a long history of ranging which began under Benjamin Church. John Gorham I died while fighting alongside Church in the famous Great Swamp Fight. (Gorham, Maine and Gorham, New Hampshire are named for John Gorham I.) John Gorham II also served with Church during the fourth Eastward Expedition into Acadia, which involved the Raid on Chignecto (1696) during King William's War. His son Shubael Gorham was a provincial officer of note during Queen Anne's and King George's War, during the latter he commanded the 7th Massachusetts Provincial Regiment at the Siege of Louisbourg (1745). Finally, John Gorham III, the subject of this article, and his brother Joseph served in Acadia as rangers, as well as in their father's regiment about Louisburg.
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