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Widely revered for his exploits during the French and Indian War, where he fought alongside the British Army and American colonists, Major Robert Rogers was a skilled and imaginative guerrilla warfare fighter. His innovative tactics remain a part of the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook today.
Early in the Revolutionary War, Rogers volunteered his services to George Washington, who turned him away, unconvinced of the man’s loyalty and character. Rogers then approached the British, who agreed to employ their former ally as a lieutenant colonel and authorized him to raise a battalion of Loyalist rangers in Long Island. The unit became known as the Queen’s American Rangers, a counterespionage force that operated throughout Long Island and the greater region. Though he managed to capture the American spy Nathan Hale, Rogers never reclaimed his stature from the previous war, and soon fell out of favor with his British superiors. Later captured and jailed by the Americans, he eventually fled to England and led a mostly wretched life, dying in 1795.