Simcoe The Governor Summary

In reinforcing the claim that Simcoe was indeed forward thinking, a look at his latter governing position in northern Canada provides much insight. In his journal he writes, “The Governor is very anxious to oblige and please the Indians; his only son, a child of four years old, is dressed as an indian, and called Tioga, which name has been given by the Mohawks. This harmless farce may be of use in the intercourse with the Indians.” While the Americans typically destroyed relations with the native population, Simcoe went so far as to name his only son after a Mohawk. Though this was many years after the year, this helps illustrate Simcoe’s acceptance of different cultures. This respect for culture, especially amongst minority groups is seen …show more content…
He states that the basic branches utilized by the British Regular Army in America were the infantry, cavalry, and artillery. All these were separate battalions, unlike the Queen’s Rangers who had all three of these basic army branches in one corps. These branches made up the basics of all armies during the eighteenth century and the fact that the Queens Rangers had all three made them extremely effective from a command standpoint. This meant it was harder for commanders in regular units to coordinate actions since there were more gaps in coordination between the leaders of each battalion. Officers in Regular units also used the purchase system which “had a noteworthy effect upon the character of the officers in the lower and higher grades of the army.” Officers such as Simcoe would not have made it to his rank had it not been for his command of a partisan unit. In a typical unit of the line; lieutenants, captains, and majors were typically middleclass and had almost no chance of reaching a battalion command. This meant all regimental officers came from nobility, meaning they came from the rural aristocracy or the mercantile classes in major cities. Generals Howe, Clinton, and Cornwallis are examples of this nobility practiced in the purchase system. Many line units had trained and fought with each other in other engagements prior to the war, Simcoe did not have this luxury with his Rangers. The demographics of a typical line unit were consistent of men from the same general social class and region. It was extremely hard to receive promotion and typically regulars would stay with their units for very long periods of time, with very little freedom to switch units. It is clear that Simcoe’s Rangers were vastly different from a typical line unit, it is also obvious why they were utilized in so many campaigns.