White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery and Vengence in Colonial America

[Duty Honor Country]

White Devil: A True Story of War, Savagery and Vengence in Colonial America
by Stephen Brumwell

Being a Last of the Mohican's fan (both book and movie), I wanted to know the truth about the French and Indian War. White Devil is the name the Abernaki Indians gave to Major Robert Rodgers when he and his Rangers sacked the village of St. Francis, over 100 miles inside enemy territory. The book concentrates on Rodgers' Rangers and their actions in the French and Indian War. It gives a good introduction to Indian relations before the War kicked off. I found the book beyond fascinating. There are several stories of settler hardship. One that stood out was a pregnant woman who was taken captive by some Indians just days before child birth. She and her child survived the ordeal. A unrelated male captive was adopted by an Indian family after his reaction to being ordered to tend to some crops. He threw the tools in the river declaring that work should only be done by Squaws. Then there is nothing like reading about an expedition where the shoes rot off your feet because it was so long and soggy.

Major Rodgers was the most famous fighter in the Colonies before the Revolutionary War and this book details why that is. If you like Colonial history then go read this book.

 

[Gary of CA]

I read Stephen Brumwell's White Devil and enjoy his writing very much. It's a well needed and updated biography of Robert Rogers.

Roberts didn't invent ranging as he served as a ranger in the previous French & Indian War (the 1755-1760 was the fifth and last one). He is however, the most famous of all rangers and his memory is honored by both the British and we Americans. The Brits because he was a loyalist during the Revolution and by us because, by the same token, he was here in America. Roger's weakness is his poor record keeping which resulted in the crown refusing to honor his debts and his frequent spells in debtor's prison (requiring his brother assistance to get him out). Still, as a fighting man, Roger was well above the average redcoat and it is not without reason that he had numerous cadets (officers and gentlemen volunteers from regular regiments) given to him to learn the ranging techniques.

I don't recall if the book discussed Roger's quest for a regular commission (a commission in the rangers did not mean one could transfer to a regular regiment) and while he did get one in the 60 Royal Americans (later the King's Royal Rifle Corps, then the Royal Green Jackets and today The Rifles), I don't think he ever really accepted it and went on half-pay. Roger offered his sword to the colonist but because he was on half-pay, he was suspected of divided loyalties and the Americans never accepted his offer. He then re-raised the rangers as The Queen's Rangers, which wore green jackets with the white trousers mandated by the Royal Warrant. Command was subsequently taken from Rogers and ultimately given to John Simcoe. Simcoe was present with Cornwallis at the surrender of Yorktown.

 

[LeMask]

hey guys, can you please get out of the "between fans" chat...

When you loved something, you want to share it with the others. Dont start a fanclub and tell us why it was so interesting... tell us what you got out of it.

Well, share...

I personnaly dont have much interest in the colonial era... And I'm sure I'm wrong, and that I think that it's not interesting because I dont know much about the topic... So tell me.

Why should I care? please tell me.

 

[Duty Honor Country]

Most people like to think of war as large battles. I bring up Last of the Mohicans because it centers around what other than a large battle, the fall of Fort William Henry.

White Devil details war of skirmishes. Small tribes of Indians raiding unprotected settlements all over the American frontier and bands of settlers striking back at the Indians. COL Rogers takes his men on numerous and daring raids. He only recruits men who have experience in living off the land. He paid his men well, 2 times the rate of your normal soldier, and the British looked down upon this. The British tried to copy Roger's Rangers but met with total failure. The battles were very personal. Men could here the wounded begging for a quick death as the Indians prayed upon them. Other men begged to be shot by their own men when they were wounded. Others just fell over and died from exposure.

White Devil sheds light on to the mysteries and misconceptions of Colonial War. If you read it you may find an appreciation for the Colonail Era because it actually makes it very interesting.

 

[LeMask]

Good post, thanks... It's true that we think that wars are just a few big battles... We forget about the little skirmishes.

And we dont see much about the preparation before the battle.

 

[Duty Honor Country]

And we dont see much about the preparation before the battle.

Preparation was something Roger's was very good at. Each man was inspected before departing on any military expedition. Each man had to have at least 60 rounds, powder, a hatchet and a bunch of other things. He had a list of standing orders which are more detailed than the ones you find on the internet.

A big sticking point at St. Francis was the men took plunder instead of food. Roger's gave the order to take food but that order was ignored. Plunder was a means of profit in Colonial battles. The men were already low on food when they conducted the raid. The book details the men eating their leather on the return trip.

I failed to mention that Roger's men began to build rafts to cross the river right near St. Francis. The men stopped because they thought the woodchips in the water would give away their position to the Indians down stream at St. Francis. A few squaws saw the wood chips in the river but did not recognize their significance.

 

[Gary of CA]

I enjoyed Brumwell's works. However, the best book I've found on Roger's Rangers and Robert Rogers is A True Ranger by Zaboly. It can be hard to get and I think only 1,000 were printed.

BTW, in the St. Francis raid, some men took corn, but didn't bother to cut the kernels from the cob. So, while they had some bulk, the bulk of the bulk was not edible. Had they done so, the likelihood of starvation would have been much less.