Rangers
Rangers, in the United States, a body of troops especially trained for scouting and raiding. The term was in use as early as 1742, but was made famous by the battalion organized by Major Robert Rogers under General James Abercromby in 1756 for the French and Indian War. Adopting features from Indian methods of warfare, they became experts in forest warfare. Their most notable exploit was the successful raid in 1759 on the Indians of the village of Saint Francis who had been attacking frontier settlements.
During the American Revolution both sides used rangers. Loyalists made up the Queen's Rangers under Colonel John Graves Simcoe.
The United States Army employed 17 independent companies of rangers during the War of 1812. In 1832 a battalion of mounted rangers was raised under Major Henry Dodge for frontier duty. It was replaced the following year by a regiment of dragoons. The Texas Rangers, the first state police force, were originally used to defend the frontier against Indians.
The U.S. Army adopted the historic name rangers for specially trained raiding units, first organized in 1942. (Such units are often called commandos in other countries.) Rangers were volunteers, chosen for physical toughness and trained rigorously.
Ranger units were disbanded in 1952 because it was felt that men with this training would be of more value if distributed throughout the army. Accordingly, a ranger training course was continued, but for individuals rather than units.
In 1974 the Army reintroduced ranger units of small battalion size (about 600 men). Such units are lightly armed, equipped with nothing heavier than mortars, machine guns, and antitank weapons.