”What is a Ranger?” Rangers Lead the Way – RLTW!
Lieutenant Colonel J.D. Lock
U.S. Army (Retired)

Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of the Rangers.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move farther, faster, and fight harder than any other soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight, and I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be. One hundred percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, my neatness of dress, and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy, and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.

Rangers Lead the Way!
(RLTW!)

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ONE

LEADERSHIP

Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.
~Thomas Jefferson
Third U.S. president, 1743-1826

DATE: 15-23 January 1757

WAR/CONFLICT: French and Indian War

LOCATION: La Barbue Creek (to the French – “Putnam Creek” to the Americans and English), Lake George, New York.

MISSION: Reconnaissance and harassment of French, French Canadian and Indian enemy forces in the winter harshness of upper New York State.

BACKGROUND:
THE FRENCH AND INDIAN War lasted from 1754 to 1763. During that period a new, unconventional, and previously untested type of war was executed by the Native American Indian. The British, having seen how successful Ranger style units were against this new and unorthodox style of warfare, began recruiting American frontiersmen to form similar units to serve as auxiliaries of their regular army. The impact of the war upon British infantry techniques and tactics was far-reaching. Impressed by the successful combination of loose-knit Indian fighting and disciplined light-fighting skills, the British Army sought to incorporate this type of unit within their organizational structure.

The Ranger unit that eventually left an indelible mark on American military history and the lineage of the United States Army Ranger, was originally formed as the Ranger Company of the New Hampshire Provincial Regiment under the command of Robert Rogers. As a side note, Rogers was also immortalized in American literature as the main character of Kenneth Roberts’ classic novel, Northwest Passage.

In February 1755, the governor of New Hampshire commissioned Rogers to the top rank of captain of the 1st Company of a New Hampshire regiment, a group of men that Rogers had personally recruited on his own. Rogers’ company was composed of approximately fifty men, all skilled and accomplished in defending themselves and their homes against Indian raids. They were well trained in the back woods, having gained considerable experience from hunting and trapping beaver to hunting and pursuing Indians. Over time, due to these skills, they became known as Rogers’ Rangers, the Ranging Company of the Regiment. Rogers, a natural leader, soon set out to make a name for himself and his soldiers.

THE LEGACY
Rogers’ winter campaign began on 15 January 1757, with an operation that would eventually transform the company’s reputation from that of a scouting corps to that of a fighting organization. Ordered by Major Sparks, the Fort Edward commander, to conduct a reconnaissance of Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point and “harass the enemy in any way that he saw fit.” Rogers departed Fort Edward for Fort William Henry that day with fifty-two Rangers from both his companies.

Arriving at Fort Henry that night, Rogers informed Major Eyre, the fort commander, of the Ranger mission and his requirement to obtain additional Rangers for the patrol. From two additional companies of volunteers commanded by Captains Speakman and Hobbs, Rogers selected Speakman, his older brother Ensign James Rogers, and thirty additional men.

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The next two days were spent preparing for the operation. The uniform and weapons for Rogers’ men from Fort Edward were greenish buckskin battledress, individual musket flintlocks or firelocks, scalping knives, and hatchets or tomahawks. Rogers’ company officers also carried compasses in the large end of their powder horns, a practice that would soon be emulated by al of the Rogers’ Rangers officers. Hobbs and Speakman’s Rangers wore gray duffel coats with vests, buckskin breeches, leggings, and water resistant moccasins and socks. They also carried or wore regulation muskets, cartridge boxes, King’s regulation shoes, and hatchets—a multi-functional tool that could be used for cutting kindling for fires or for self-defense in close quarters combat.

Ammunition and provisions were issued. Each man was supplied enough powder and balls for sixty rounds. Food rations were carried in a knapsack strapped over a shoulder and consisted of a two weeks’ supply of dried beef, sugar, rice, cornmeal, and dried peas. Rum was carried in their wooden canteens. Though Rogers’ two Fort Edward companies had come prepared for the winter campaign, the newly acquired volunteers were untrained in the art of winter warfare. Consequently, Rogers’ experienced men had to teach them how to make snowshoes for the march. Forming his patrol of eighty-five men on the fort’s parade ground on the evening of 1 January, Rogers personally inspected each and every man to ensure that he was properly equipped and provisioned.

Wrapped in blankets—the Ranger winter campaign coat—the patrol moved out in single file, marching the few miles to the first narrows on Lake George. The patrol encamped in an exceptionally defensible position with a steep mountain slope to its rear and the frozen surface of the lake to its front. Sentry posts consisting of six men each were positioned around the perimeter. Two of them were to remain alert at all times. Relief would be done noiselessly and, in the event of needing to sound an alarm, one of them was to retreat silently to notify Rogers in the hope that he could deploy his Rangers quietly to turn the tables on their attackers. Small fires could be built at night but they had to be placed in the heavy part of the woods and in pits three feet deep.

At the break of dawn, the men were roused—the precursor to what would be called “stand-to”—as that was the favorite time for the French and Indians to attack. The still-warm colas from the night-time fires were rekindled, and the Rangers had a hot breakfast of cornmeal gruel washed down with a swig of rum. Rogers made his way around the camp as his men ate, asking about their condition, having noted that several of them had fallen during the evening march. None would admit to any disability, and it was not until the march was started once again that Rogers, standing to one side, was able to identify eleven lame men as the patrol filed past. In spite of their protests, Rogers ordered them to return to Fort William Henry under the charge of one of their number. The stricken Rangers departed, mumbling their protestations as they hobbled away.

Having already ascertained with small reconnaissance parties that the local area was secure, Rogers and his now reduced seventy-four man Ranger detachment marched within sight of the lake’s shoreline in single file, increasing the separation between each man to keep any two from being hit by the same musket ball. An advance guard preceded the main body and flanking parties moved on both sides, at approximately twenty yards. They encamped that second night at a location three miles from Sabbath Day Point.

The following morning, donning their snowshoes, the Rangers moved northwest cross-country through the hills for eight miles to their next camp. By the evening of the 20th, Rogers’ force found itself three miles west of Lake Champlain. A few more miles of marching the next morning brought the Rangers to Lake Champlain at Five Mile Point, midway between Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point, which were five miles away in opposite directions—hence the name.

The weather was bad. Rain and mist reduced visibility. Almost immediately upon their arrival, Rogers’ scouts reported two sleighs from Fort Ticonderoga coming toward their position. Ironically, it was from this same location that Rogers had captured two sleighs the previous winter. Rogers quickly organized an ambush. Sending Lieutenant John Stark—who would eventually be considered by many to be as fine a warrior as Rogers—and twenty of Rogers’ men farther up, past the point of the shoreline toward Fort Crown Point, Rogers took thirty men with him and moved toward Fort Ticonderoga to cut off the enemy’s escape route. Captain Speakman, in the center with his men and positioned where Putnam Creek-La Barbue Creek joined with the lake at a point that jutted out, lay in wait. When the sleighs were opposite his position, Stark was to move out onto the frozen lake to block their movement, thus allowing Speakman to capture them easily.

Unknown to Rogers, however, was a rather significant problem. Earlier that morning, the Fort Ticonderoga commandant had ordered a resupply mission to proceed to Fort Crown Point to load some brandy and hay. A total of ten sleighs, eighty horses, and thirty men set out. The two sleighs and ten men that Rogers’ men were preparing to attack were only the advance party of the main force. The two advance sleighs were almost abreast of Speakman’s position before Rogers saw the other eight sleighs slowly emerging from the cover afforded by the mist and falling rain.

Rogers quickly dispatched his two fastest men on snowshoes in an attempt to inform his other two sections to execute the ambush when the main body of eight sleighs passed by. Cutting through the woods and successfully gasping out Rogers’ orders to Speakman, the two Ranger messengers couldn’t reach Stark in time. Unable to see the other eight sleighs because of the bend in the point, Stark and his Rangers sprang from the north side of the lake, and with blood-curdling war cries, spread out on the ice and headed toward the two advance sleighs.

With the ambush sprung, both Speakman and Rogers had no other choice but to join in the attack on the two sleighs. Of the ten accompanying soldiers, seven were captured. The other three, upon seeing and hearing Stark and his men, had jumped on the backs of three horses, cut their traces, and galloped away toward Fort Ticonderoga. Spotting the second group of sleighs, the Rangers removed their snowshoes and gave chase across the ice after the fleeing men and the other eight sleighs. Observing the pack of Rangers bearing down on them, the empty sleighs were able to outdistance Rogers’ men quickly and make their way back to the safety of Fort Ticonderoga. Rogers wisely halted the pursuit.

The prisoners were kept isolated form one another and brought before Rogers one at a time. His interrogation revealed that two hundred Canadians and forty-five Indians had just arrived at Fort Ticonderoga with an additional fifty Indians to join them from Fort Crown Point that evening or the following morning. Combined with the three hundred fifty Regulars at Fort Ticonderoga and six hundred Regulars at Fort Crown Point, Rogers realized that there was a formidable force that could soon make him the pursued, rather than the pursuer.

Rogers was caught in a dilemma. He could not just wait while looking for an escape, as it would provide the French an opportunity to gather their forces and catch him between both fortresses. He could not cross the lake and return by way of Wood Creek for fear of being observed from Fort Ticonderoga and subject to ambush. Despite the opposition of some officers, Rogers believed there was only one reasonable recourse left: retreat by the same route in hopes of slipping by Fort Ticonderoga unobserved.
Marching quickly through the snow, the Rangers returned to their previous night’s encampment, rekindled the fires, and dried their powder and weapons. Rogers gave orders to Sergeant Walker, commander of the security detachment, to kill their prisoners should the Rangers be attacked in force—a standard practice of that time. Gulping down a hasty meal, the force moved off in single file with its weapons held under blanket-coats to keep them dry in the soaking rain. Rogers led the way with Speakman in the center and Stark bringing up the rear of the main formation. Sergeant Walker followed with the prisoners and a rear guard.

As the Rangers were withdrawing, the angered French were moving to engage. The supply sleigh commander, Major De Rouilly, dispatched a soldier on horse to ride ahead and inform the Fort Ticonderoga commandant, Major De Lusignan, that Rogers had just attacked the supply train from the west. Surmising correctly that Rogers would return west of Fort Ticonderoga through the mountains, Lusignan dispatched a total of 104 Indians, Regulars, and Canadian volunteers under the dual command of Captains De Basserode and La Granville to intercept them.

Eager to have an opportunity finally to engage Rogers, the French force departed Fort Ticonderoga with only a few rounds of ammunition per man and very little in the way of supplies. A half hour later, De Lusignan dispatched an additional ten men loaded with ammunition and supplies to follow. Basserode’s scouts located Rogers’ column at around 2 PM, three miles northwest of Fort Ticonderoga. Realizing that the Rangers’ route would require them to cross a 75-foot-wide ravine through which Putnam Creek ran, Basserode moved to the location and established a crescent-shaped ambush among the trees and bushes that ran along the crest of the far side gully where it took a turn.

Though a dangerous tactic, Rogers chose to pass through the ravine in an attempt to remain concealed rather than continue along the high ground. This decision resulted in one of the Rangers’ bloodiest battles of the war. Having traveled a mile and a half from where they had briefly halted to dry their weapons, the Rangers descended into the ravine. Holding his fire long enough to allow Rogers and the following twelve men to almost reach the summit of the ravine, Basserode’s force of 114 men opened fire. The ambush found Rogers caught in the upper kill zone of the ravine—a narrow area inundated with heavy weapons fires and difficult to maneuver through. Speakman with the center section on the floor of the ravine, and Stark’s and Walker’s rear elements on the opposite hill had yet to enter the ravine.

The vast majority of muskets were probably aimed at Rogers. While half of them misfired because of the rain, the other half amazingly failed to do more than place one glancing shot across his forehead. Wiping the blood from his eyes, Rogers shouted orders to withdraw back across the ravine. Unfortunately, there were those who could not obey—the initial barrage having killed two and wounded several more.

As the Rangers in the ambush attempted to retire back across the ravine, the attackers, not taking the time to reload after their initial volley, charged down into the ravine with fixed bayonets. Again, it was another miracle that the sections under Rogers and Speakman did not find themselves cut off from the rear. This miracle did not save them from a serious beating, though. Rogers’ advance column had just linked up with Speaker’s center section when the enemy fell upon them, slashing, stabbing, and shouting. Veteran French Regulars, French Canadians in buckskin, and Indians in war paint joined in the fierce melee within the creek’s little ravine.

Rogers’ loaded muskets, which had yet to be fired, greeted the cold steel of French and Indian bayonet and tomahawk, but that did not stem the enemy tide. Outnumbered in the ravine nearly two to one, the Rangers heard the welcome volleys of Stark’s rear formation from the opposite hill. Having discharged their muskets, Rogers again ordered the advance and center sections to withdraw. The men moved back across the creek and up the gully’s side as quickly as they could in their snowshoes. But the going was not easy, for they not only had to fight the enemy that was on their tail, but they were also struggling through four feet of snow. Moving only a few feet at a time up the ravine, a Ranger would have to turn and fight before he could move farther up. The frenzy of the pursuers and the raging survival instincts of the Rangers made for many fierce duels. Captain Speakman fell wounded but managed to conceal himself under a bush as the shouting enemy horde passed him by.

The screams of bayoneted and tomahawked Rangers rose from the ravine floor. With the Rangers below finally spreading out, Stark’s men were better able to place supporting fires from above without fear of hitting their own men. Rogers and the survivors made it to Stark’s position just as Basserode attempted to envelop the Ranger position with a flanking movement. Upon being informed by Stark of the threat, Rogers dispatched a detachment of marksmen to deal with it. Led by Sergeant Bill Phillips, a noted mixed-blood Indian, the marksmen placed such devastating fire into the flankers that they halted their pursuit abruptly and promptly withdrew back to the main body.

Despite their failure to flank the Ranger position, the French and Indians were still flushed enough with their initial success to attempt a new attack along Rogers’ entire front. The enemy slowly worked their way up the ravine, firing from behind trees and bushes until they were within a few yards. Rising en masse, they charged. The high ground and dense cover provided Rogers with the advantage now. The charge failed to advance against what seemed like constant firepower. One of the secrets to Rogers’ success was a unique tactic he used to control his fires. Rather than allow all of his men to fire in a single volley, half would discharge their weapons. Then, while they were reloading, the other half would fire, after which the first section would be ready to fire again, having reloaded its rifles. The attack dissolved as the French and Indians turned and ran back down the ravine where they established positions from which they could take potshots at the Rangers.

Following a lull in the fighting, the firing soon increased on Rogers’ left as another flanking maneuver was attempted. Ensign James Rogers and twelve Rangers were dispatched to counter this attack. Having gained some time, Rogers reorganized his defenses, placing Stark in the center, Ensign Brewer on the left, and Ensign Rogers and fourteen men on the summit to the rear of the hill, while he took the traditional place of honor on the right side of the formation.

Out of his original force of seventy-four Rangers at the start of the battle, fifty-seven remained. Ten had been killed and seven captured in the ravine. Of the fifty-seven who survived, two were too seriously wounded to fire a weapon. The remaining wounded occupied a place on the line. Security of the seven prisoners was no longer a concern, for they had indeed been executed as per orders and the normal conduct of the day, at the outset of the battle.

Neither Basserode nor his men had any stomach left to try a fourth attack. They had suffered heavy losses in their three previous attempts and could no longer muster and overwhelming force at any point along Rogers’ perimeter. Sending off to Fort Ticonderoga for reinforcements, Basserode tried another stratagem and attempted to talk Rogers and his men into surrendering. Calling Rogers by name and flattering him and his Rangers’ bravery, Basserode and his officers attempted to convince them that they would be humanely treated if they gave themselves up. If they did not do so, the only alternative was to die when the requested reinforcements arrived. In response, Rogers assured the French that he had plenty of men and supplies left and he himself would “do some scalping and cutting to pieces” if another charge were attempted.

Basserode’s request for reinforcements incredibly only brought an additional twenty-six soldiers to his position, bringing the French total to 115 by their account and 250 by Rogers’ Rangers’ estimate. Bush-fighting warfare continued throughout the afternoon as the French and Indians crawled as close as they dared and traded shots with the Rangers. This sniping was not without its consequences, for Basserode was mortally wounded.

At sundown, Rogers was wounded with a shot along the hand that went through his wrist. Though no longer able to load a musket, Rogers hid the true nature of his wound to ensure the men would not become discouraged. Two other Rangers were seriously wounded with one, Private Joshua Martin, suffering a shattered hip.

Calling a council of war of his officers after sundown, as he was prone to do, Rogers and his officers agreed that the most prudent action to take was to “carry off the wounded of [their] party and take the advantage of the night to return homeward, lest the enemy should send out a fresh party upon them in the morning, [besides, their] ammunition being almost expended [they] were obliged to pursue this resolution.”

Gathering in the dark their seven wounded men, the Rangers were relieved to find three arm wounds, two head wounds, and one each in the mouth and side, but none had sustained any wounds to his legs. Under the cover of darkness, Rogers and his men moved off, making fairly good progress. Seeing a fire in the middle of the woods and concerned that it might represent a hostile party, Rogers decided to take a long route around it to place some distance between a potential trouble spot and his exhausted Rangers. The next morning found them on the shore of Lake George, six miles south of the French advance guard positions in the vicinity of the second narrows. Physically drained and unable to advance much farther on foot, the wounded needed to rest.

Despite their fatigued condition, Stark and two others volunteered to march on to Fort William Henry to bring back assistance. Discarding their snowshoes, the three Rangers took to the frozen lake, and despite the effects of the previous long marches, the battle, and their long march during the night, they covered the forty-mile distance to the fort by evening. Exhausted, they stumbled into the fort to inform Major Eyre of the engagement and Rogers’ situation.

Sixteen Rangers immediately set forth with sleighs to bring the wounded home. Their journey was not long, for the following morning, 23 January, they linked up with Rogers and his fifty-four survivors as they came staggering through the narrows of Lake George, wounded in tow.

Soon after Stark’s departure, Rogers had reconsidered his position. With the French and Indians so close and Fort William Henry so far, he dared not wait for the sleighs to arrive. Gathering the wounded, the Rangers trudged tiredly after Stark down the lake. Happening to glance behind him, Rogers noticed a dark form following the group. Believing it was a straggler from their column, Rogers sent some men back to get him.

Rather than a straggler from their column, it turned out to be Martin, the private who’d had his hip shattered by a bullet through the stomach. Left for dead on the field of battle, he had recovered enough to make off to the woods. There he built a fire to keep from freezing to death. It was his fire that Rogers had skirted at it was this skirting that slowed Rogers down thus allowing Martin, as wounded as he was, to drag himself after his comrades and to overtake them. The moment the Rangers reached him, he collapsed from exhaustion. Much to everyone’s surprise, Private Martin survived what appeared to be mortal wounds. Later promoted to sergeant, Martin would ultimately earn his ensign rank in the Ranger Corps.

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Despite the Rangers’ efforts to ensure that none of their men had been left behind alive after the engagement, others were not so fortunate as Martin. Having concealed himself under a bush during the enemy assault up the ravine, Captain Speakman managed to crawl down the gully and followed the creek out of the battle area. This distance, however, proved to e farther than Rogers’ men could look for survivors. Later that day, Speakman was joined by Robert Baker, a British volunteer who had tagged along to see how American Rangers operated, and Private Thomas Brown of Speakman’s own company; both men were seriously wounded.

Speakman’s and Baker’s wounds were so serious they could no longer move. Brown, being the only one still capable of movement, built a fire. Speakman called to Rogers and the Rangers but to no avail. Their only answer was from the enemy. Realizing they could not travel or escape, they decided they would surrender to the French, hoping this could be accomplished prior to being found by the Indians. Just as this decision was reached, Brown observed an Indian moving toward them from over Putnam Creek. Crawling away from the fire, Brown observed the Indian come up to Captain Speakman. Unable to offer any from of resistance because of his wounds, Speakman was stripped and scalped alive. Baker, nearly just as helpless, attempted to pull out a knife and stab himself but he was stopped by the Indian and carried away.

Speakman, still alive, called out to Brown, begging him “for God’s sake!” to give him [Speakman] a tomahawk with which he could end his life. Brown could not bring himself to do so and could, in the end, only “[exhort] him as well as I could to pray for mercy, as he could not live many minutes in that deplorable condition, being on the frozen ground, covered with snow.” Speakman’s final request was to “let his wife know, if [Brown] lived to get home, the dreadful death he died.” Following Speakman’s demise, Brown attempted to flee the area but was once again captured. His freedom was finally achieved at a later date with an exchange of prisoners.

As it so happened, Speakman was not the only Ranger to be tortured in such a manner. Lieutenant Samuel Kennedy had been mortally wounded and also left on the field of battle. Incapacitated and unable to defend himself, he died under a hail of tomahawks.

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Both sides claimed victory. Rogers’ Rangers had sustained fourteen killed, nine wounded, and seven captured of seventy-four engaged. The French force of Regulars, Canadians, and Indians numbered anywhere from 145 to 250 men, depending on whose numbers one is to believe. Either way, Rogers was outnumbered a minimum of two to one. French losses based on their reports—which were always a bit suspect—were put at eighteen killed (to include the seven prisoners) and twenty-seven wounded. When one considers the significant advantage the French had both in surprise and numbers, it would seem that the Rangers’ claim to victory, based upon turning a desperate situation into a well-formulated plan of stubborn defense, had greater validity. While the battle that would be known as the Battle of La Barbue Creek proved to be strategically of no consequence, word of the fight traveled throughout colonial America, raised spirits, and enriched Rogers’ warrior reputation.

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OBSERVATION

Military leadership can be defined as “the process of influencing men in such a manner as to accomplish the mission.” [FM 22-100, Military Leadership, 29 June 1973, page 1-2, signed by General Creighton W. Abrams, Chief of Staff]. Few leadership traits can be more influential and more conducive to mission accomplishment than those of a commander who remains “cool and unruffled” under fire.

The Battle of La Barbue Creek serves as an excellent example of those leadership traits in action. Whether it was maneuvering sections as they fell back through the ambush site, controlling innovative volley fires to hold a defensive position against superior enemy forces, or demonstrating exceptional physical perseverance under extremely adverse weather conditions while leading the retreat of a seriously mauled force, Rogers’ cool and unruffled leadership style first demonstrated at La Barbue Creek was a proving ground in making him one of the greatest Ranger leaders in history.

Rogers’ personal and aggressive direction throughout the operation also epitomizes another valued leadership trait—the active involvement of the commander. Rogers was in constant motion, checking the status of his men and equipment, shifting his men to threatened areas, ensuring the security of the unit was not relaxed, and exhorting his men to persevere—despite the odds. In this case, Rogers continually adapted to the dynamic situation and maintained the initiative. His successful escape could be ultimately attributed to keeping the enemy off balance.

Robert Rogers

All rangers are to be subject to the rules and articles of war; to appear at roll call every evening on their own parade ground, each equipped with a firelock, 60 pounds of powder and ball, and a hatchet, at which time an officer from each company is to inspect them to see that they are in order, so as to be ready to march at a minute’s warning; and before they are dismissed the necessary guards are to be chosen, and scouts for the next day appointed.
~ Rule #1
Rogers’ Rules of Discipline

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Excerpts above are from Rangers in Combat: A Legacy of Valor copyright © 2007 by JD Lock, published by Wheatmark. All rights reserved.