Welcome to The Ranger Gazette. Designed to be a newsletter for unit members, it is also a means to provide information to casual site visitors. While there is no guarantee that it will be published on a regular basis, I am plan to update it each quarter with newly learned content.

Submissions for future issues would be welcome. They should focus on notices and reviews of events, research in progress, recent acquisitions, media events, and publications of interest. They may be submitted by anyone who has an interest and I will consider them. They may be sent to my email address george@frontiernet.net.

250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War Has Begun

Last year marked the beginning of the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War which will run through the year 2010.  A website has been created for this anniversary and can be found at  http://www.frenchandindianwar250.org/ .  At this site, you can find a timeline of the conflict and scheduled events for the year, as well as other information.

New York State - Governor Pataki Signs Bill Creating Commission Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War - Signed November 23, 2004.   Major Bray has been honored with an appointment to this Commission from the New York Assembly on August 3, 2005 as one of eleven reenactors who are members.

On March 28, 2006, the New York State French and Indian War 250th Anniversary Commemorative Commission held its recognition ceremony and kickoff for the events commorating the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War at the New York State Capitol War Room in Albany, NY.  Governor George Pataki made an unscheduled appearance along with NY Senators Mary Lou Rath and George Maziarz and Assemblyman Joseph Morelle.  Major Bray was present at this event as a member of the commission.   The website for the Commission can be found at:  NYS F&I War 250th Anniversary Commemorative Commission

The Commission has been responsible for supporting the 250th anniversary of the following events:  Fort Bull, Fort Ontario, and Fort William Henry.  They are currently working on providing support for the upcoming events at Forts Ticonderoga and Niagara.  They have also been responsible for the digitized version of the Sir William Johnson Papers. 

Fort Ticonderoga

1) Previous issues of  The Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum contain important F&I War articles.  Volume XVI, Number 1, 1998, is dedicated to the 1758 attack by Major General James Abercromby on the French fortress.  It features never before published documents edited by director Nicholas Westbrook.  It also contains an article by Lt. Col. Ian McCulloch about the spin put on the attack by Brigadier General James Prevost which were previously published in French, but not in English.  The other issue, Volume XVI, Number 2, 1999, also is filled with French and Indian War content.  It has another article by Ian dealing with two soldiers of the 27th Regiment of Foot (Inniskilling).  It also has an article on the roles of  Blacks in the northern campaigns of  New York by Scott A. Padeni, and a study on 18th century powder horns in the Fort Ticonderoga Collection by Curator Christopher Fox.  Included is information about the Robert Rogers' horn which also adorns the cover of the bulletin.

2) Fort Ticonderoga owns, and hopes to publish in the near future, the journal of Connecticut regimental clerk Jesse Parsons. It should be interesting reading.

3) Fort Ticonderoga acquired the orderly book of Captain Goose Van Schaick's Company of Colonel James DeLancey's New York Provincial Regiment. It covers the period of 1 June - 27 October 1758. It is a yet unpublished account of the campaign against the fort in that year by Major General Abercromby.

4) Future dates for the Fort Ticonderoga War College of the Seven Years' War will be:
       2008 -  April 26 - 27
       2009 -  May 16 - 17
       2010 -  May 22 - 23
It is expected that each of these War College's will focus on the years 1757 - 1760, respectively, during this 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War.  This year's War College is expected to be held in the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center within the fort's interior.  It represents the reconstruction of the magaisin du Roi destroyed in 1759 by the French upon their evacuation of the fort.  Groundbreaking for the building took place on October 9, 2005.  Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center

5)  Future dates for the Fort Ticonderoga Grand Encampment of the French and Indian War will be:
       2008 - June 27 - 29 (this will be the 250th Anniversary of the attack)
       2009 - June 27 - 28 (this will be the 250th Anniversary of  Amherst's capture of the fort and the 400th Anniversary of Champlain's arrival on the site)
       2010 - June 26 - 27

6)  Fort Ticonderoga, in conjunction with the Historical Division of Mars, the Colonial Chocolate Society, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and the University of California at Davis have developed a historical chocolate collection representative of what 18th century society would have consumed.  More information on this collection may be found at http://www.americanheritagechocolate.com.

7)  Fort Ticonderoga's Fife and Drum Corps recently debuted in their new musician uniforms of the French Royal-Roussillon regiment from the French and Indian War period, thanks to an anonymous doner. The new Carillon Corps also performs French military music and commands.

Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara is selling its newly revised and expanded edition of Captain Pierre Pouchot's Memoirs on the Late War in North America between France and England translated by Michael Cardy and annotated by the fort's former director Brian Leigh Dunnigan.  It includes new research, updates to the annotations, an appending of a "Journal of Indian Affairs, 1757", and additional illustrations.  It is hard covered, contains 640 pages, and is $39.95 (or $29.95 for Old Fort Niagara members).

Fort Niagara is currently preparing for its 250th Anniversary of the Siege of Fort Niagara in 2009.

Other Forts and Sites

Rogers' Island, Fort Edward, New York, is working toward building a museum to be a lasting memorial to the Rangers and other units that were part of the Fort Edward complex. In 1758, the number of troops there made it the third largest city in British North America.  The latest on developments there can be found at the following newspaper site.   Post Star article

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site in Statesville, NC., was built in 1756 to protect newly arrived settlers on the NC frontier. It was also used as the provincial NC frontier headquarters. The men at the fort participated in the first Ohio expedition and later in the Forbes expedition. The fort was attacked by Cherokee in Feb. 1760. By 1761, Col. Hugh Waddell, the commanding officer, was with his men, including 30 Catawabas, in the Holstein River Valley defeating the Cherokee.  Fort Dobbs is now undergoing development. They have two special events a year and plan to have the 1756 block house fort reconstructed by 2009. The NC's Museum of Frontier History opening date is 2010.  For more information contact Beth L. Carter, Historic Site Manager at fortdobbs@bellsouth.net. The fort is located at 438 Fort Dobbs Road, Statesville, NC  28625.  Telephone number is (704) 873-5866.

Publications

1) The Pine Tree Shilling is a newsletter featuring several items which impact in some way on the life in the American Colonies during the years 1650-1780.  The editors are Jeffrey & Louise Miller who were formerly associated with Fort Number 4, in Charlestown, NH.  It will be published 4 times a year (Feb, May, Aug, and Nov), and may be subscribed to for $15 per year (US), and $19 outside of the US.  Send payments to The Pine Tree Shilling, Subscription Dept., PO Box 1005, Charlestown, NH 03603-1005.

2) Artist Robert Griffing, in conjunction with Timothy J. Todish, has just published a followup book to his previously published The Art of Robert Griffing.  Entitled The Narrative Art of Robert Griffing, The Journey Continues, Volume Two, it will be available January 15, 2008.  More information can be found at  http://www.paramountpress.com. The Paramount Press site also has  many of his earlier works, and also carries prints, postcards, and note papers featuring several of his works as well.

3) A newly published work on the French and Indian War is entitled "Empires at War: The Seven Years' War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763 by William M. Fowler, Jr.  It is published by Douglas & McIntyre, comprises 332 pages, and costs $37.95.  Initial reviews seem to rate it highly.

Items for Sale

1) For those who might be interested in a a fine watch for reenacting, contact Stuart Christians, 4419 Thirteen Mile Road, Rockford, MI 49341. These watches have the British Crown and GR stamped on the bezel and have a nice eagle design engraved on the cover.

2) If you are looking for "a lighter blue bonnet, heavily felted, thick and heavy for extended wear" of navy or plain blue color and with or without the red trim, contact Judy DeJonge at mdejonge3@aol.com.   Bonnets are $32 plus $4 for shipping and handling.

3) For muskets and other military hardware, consider contacting James Brown, NYS dealer for Loyalist Arms, at jbrown_14105@yahoo.com.  He has a wide assortment of items to include a 1740's officers carbine in .62 caliber, a 1728 46 inch barrel musket with wooden rammer, a 1753 46 inch barrel musket with steel rammer, and other military accessories to include compasses, telescopes, and swords.

Additional French and Indian War Events

Films of the French and Indian War

1)  A film produced by Mind Labs Films entitled "The Battle on Snowshoes" in now available.  It documents the famous engagement that took place near Fort Ticonderoga in March 1758.  Captain Mike Fitzgerald, fellow reenactor and friend, plays Robert Rogers.  His unit members and other reenactors provide great footage in the original locations to give the viewer an idea of what this wilderness fight was all about.  It also features historical comments by authors/historians Tim Todish, Bob Bearor, Ed Dodge, and Major Bray.  Also featured is artwork by artist/author/historian Gary Zaboly.  Go to Mind Lab Films website for more information at  http://www.mindlabfilms.com/.

2)  Another film in which Major Bray and Capt Fitzgerald participated in was for the BBC series "Ray Mear's Extreme Survival".  It is supposed to air on Travel Channel, though no dates are available at this time.  It documents the conditions and methods of survival that the rangers endured on Rogers' most famous expedition of the war.

3)  Another British film on the French and Indian War, part of the series The History of Warfare, is entitled "The French and Indian Wars".  It also portrays reenactors covering various campaigns of this war and Major Bray also provides historical input for it.  It was produced by Cromwell Productions in 1999, and has been aired on the History Channel in the past.

4)  "The Battle of Bushy Run" was produced in 1997 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.  You can probably obtain a copy of this film about an incident during the Pontiac War from them by writing PO Box 1026, Harrisburg, PA 17108.

5)  Two recently made films about the war entitled "When the Forest Ran Red" and "George Washington's First War: The Battle for Fort Duquesne (sequel to the Forest Ran Red)" are available from Paladin Films @ http://www.paladincom.com/ordernow.html.

6)  A new film  to commemorate the French and Indian War entitled "The War That Made America " was aired by PBS in January.   For more information, go to the following link:
http://www.pbs.org/thewarthatmadeamerica/index.html.

Manuscripts by Major Bray

If you would like to read a couple of articles by Major George A. Bray III pertaining to the French and Indian War, click on the links below:

Major George Scott's Irregulars at Louisbourg 1758

 Scalping During the French and Indian War

If any readers desire to comment on anything found in this newsletter, please contact me at my email address george@frontiernet.net. Also, if anyone has anything they would like to contribute feel free to do the same.