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Kenneth Roberts' "Newsworthy" Influence: Northwest Passage and the Rebirth of the American Rangers







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Best Bets Of The Week


Milwaukee Sentinel - Jul 4, 1937
Rased on the tumultuous career of Maior Robert Rogers, Colonial Rangers helped hold New England against the French, "NORTHWEST PASSAGE" is a tale you must ...

Best Bets Of The Week


Youngstown Vindicator - Jul 4, 1937
Based on the tumultuous career of Major Robert Rogers, whose colonial rangers helped hold New England against the French, "NORTHWEST PASSAGE" is a tale you must not miss. ...

Best Bets Of The Week


Sunday Morning Star - Jul 4, 1937
Based on the tumultuous career of Major Robert Rogers, whose colonial rangers helped hold New England against the French,  "NORTHWEST PASSAGE" is a tale you must not miss. ......
 

KENNETH ROBERTS NEW NOVEL; " Northwest Passage" Is an Adventurous Tale of Two Words...


$3.95 - New York Times - Jul 4, 1937
WHEN Kenneth Roberts really lays himself out to tell a story in his own chosen field of early American history, the reader may be pretty sure that there be no adulterants in the entertainment. ...By the time one is through with "Northwest Passage" one has done a considerable amount of vivid living in the eighteenth century. ...
 

Kenneth Roberts Presents Tragic Hero


Pay-Per-View - Los Angeles Times - Jul 4, 1937
... Kenneth Roberts Presents Tragic Hero Robert Rogers Colonial Indian Fighter is Central Figure in Great Drama Out of America's Historic Past -  "The Northwest Passage, in the imagination of all free people, is a short cut to fame, fortune and romance--a hidden route to Golconda and the mystic East." This it was in the vision of Maj. Robert Rogers, epic figure and tragic hero over-looked by historians as he was quickly forgot by his contemporaries , who find his immortality at the hands of Kenneth Roberts. ...

A Rogue Hero Enlivens This Historical Tale


Milwaukee Journal - Jul 11, 1937
his desire to find the Northwest Pas sage was a plan of making peace among and with the Indians The story is told by one of Rogers Rangers Langdon a Maine ...

BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Finding a Story


$3.95 - New York Times - Aug 7, 1937
THROUGH a majority of the weeks since June 26, 1933, a historical novel has led all bestseller lists. After Hervey Allen's "Anthony Adverse," published by Farrar .Rinehart in June, four years ago, have come "Gone With the Wind," by Margaret Mitchell; "Drums Along the Mohawk," by Walter D. Edmonds, and "Paradise," by Esther Forbes. Now Kenneth Roberts's "Northwest Passage" is in the lead, selling some tens of thousands of copies weekly.

"Old Put" - Israel Putnam -  By Elmo Scott Watson


Entiat Times - Jan 13, 1938
He became a member of that remarkable corps of backwoods warriors who took their name from their commander, Maj Robert Rogers, and who have been immortalized in Kenneth Roberts recent book Northwest Passage One of Putnam's narrowest escapes from death ...
[E.S. Watson was the preeminent historical journalist of his day]
- Warren Tribune - Oct 19, 1923
THEY fought on water but they were not sailors. For the water was the frozen surface of lake George in New York and they were "Rogers' Rangers" commanded by Maj. Robert Rogers one of the most successful colonial leaders who ever fought under the British flag against the French...

Rogers For Hero - Author Seems a Bit too Harsh in Treatment of Johnson


Windsor Daily Star - Jan 18, 1938
... the book has little to do with the actual Northwest Passage,  that almost legendary waterway north of the Canadian mainland, which it was hoped would prove a short-cut from Europe to the Orient. Nevertheless, ... the story held me to the end....there was little love lost between Rogers and  Sir William Johnson, whom Roberts makes the villain of his book... Johnson was undoubtedly harsh in his treatment of Rogers.  Mr  Kenneth Roberts, one thinks,  goes a little too far in his criticism of the domineering old Irish baronet. Sir William Johnson was a great figure in colonial days and his amazing influence over the warlike Iroquois who had held to the British side against the French did much in shaping the destiny of the North American continent....

Thrilling 'Northwest Passage' Has Special Wisconsin Interest...
Milwaukee Journal - Feb 4, 1940
Northwest Passage, Kenneth Roberts best seller of 1937, has been made into a motion picture. The thrilling story of the experiences in the last half of the eighteenth century of Maj. Robert Rogers and his Rangers ...

Northwest Passage and Kenneth Roberts in LIFE - Mar 18, 1940

http://books.google.com/books?id=nj8EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA50
Northwest Passage
p. 50
Motion picture reviews (Single works)



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Boy's Life Mar 1940
Northwest Passage - Rogers' Rangers - Movie Review
http://books.google.com/books?id=L4qk-SY_V1sC&lpg=PA22


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LIFE May 25, 1942 - American military tradition - Page 88  

LIFE - May 25, 1942 - Page 90




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April-June 1942

"The title "Ranger" was selected, Truscott later writing
that the legendary actions of the colonial frontiersmen Rogers's Rangers in the French and Indian War were his inspiration."
America's Elite Troops in World War II - The Rangers

http://www.worldwar2history.info/Army/elite/Rangers.html

"At some point Truscott settled on a name that had blazed its way into history during the French and Indian War when Major Robert Roger led a band of irregulars known as "Rober's Rangers." In 1937 they moved from the pages of the history books into American popular lore in novelist Kenneth Robert's Northwest Passage.  The best seller had inspired a 1940 movie of that title starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young..."
Onward We Charge: The Heroic Story of Darby's Rangers in World War II, by H. Paul Jeffers, 2008, p.37
http://books.google.com/books?id=hpF_OvKCKm4C&printsec=frontcover

Was this really the case or inference?

There are any number of online versions of this famous Truscott's quote - often rendered as abridgments, abbreviations or incomplete fragments.
The fullest statement indicating Truscott's reasoning comes from his own pen - on page 40 of his book Command Missions  - made available online by those wonderful folks at full at archive.org
 

The quote if anything, as expected,  demonstrates Truscott's wider historical mindedness and  knowledge of Army unit lineage:


"Before leaving Washington, I had discussed with General Eisenhower the organization of American units along Commando lines. In one of our discussions General Eisenhower had said: "If you do find it necessary to organize such units, I hope that you will find some other name than 'Commandos' for the glamor of that name will always remain and properly so British." Accordingly, when the organization of such a unit was decided upon we sought a designation more typically American. Many names were recommended. I selected "Rangers" because few words have a more glamorous connotation in American military history. In colonial days, men so designated had mastered the art of Indian warfare and were guardians of the frontier. In Revolutionary days, others so designated were noted for desperate ventures, and many military formations among the Continentals wore the name proudly. Some of the oldest units in the Regular Army were originally organized* as Rangers, and have carried the tradition into every war in which the nation has been engaged. On every frontier, the name has been one of hope for those who have required protection, of fear for those who have lived outside the law.** It was therefore fit that the organization destined to be the first of American ground forces to battle the Germans on the European continent in World War II should have been called Rangers, in compliment to those in American history who exemplified such high standards of individual courage, initiative, determination, ruggedness, fighting ability, and achievement." p. 40
Command Missions A Personal Story,  by L. T. General L. K. Truscott, Jr., E.P. Dutton, 1954
 


http://www.archive.org/details/commandmissionsa007525mbp

[*Cavalryman Truscott most probably referring to the fact that a Mounted Ranger Battalion (1832-33) preceeded the First Dragoons - later the 1st Cavalry Regiment.
**Born in Texas - this is a good short description of the legacy of the famous and infamous Texas Rangers as a military and later frontier police force.

Note also that there is no direct reference to Rogers' Rangers...but if Roger's did "Master Indian warfare" so did a number of other less well known Rangers - north, south and west - consider for example James Smith of Pennsylvania (included in my post Revolutionary Rangers, Riflemen & Light Infantry
or a short summar at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Boys

..or further south, see Andy's All Points West: blog post on James McPherson: Ranger and Rancher on the Southern Colonial Frontier


Additionally, as astute as he was, Truscott could not have helped but have been aware of the popular name recognition afforded the Rangers name by the popularity and success of Northwest Passage the relatively recent 1937 Robert's novel and the more recent, stirring 1940 movie, starring Spencer Tracy, which no doubt showed at the local Post Theater or elsewhere nearby (by the way -  from personal historical experience, the best popcorn in the world was to be had there - a nickle or a dime at most - I know this because, as an army brat, in the early to mid sixties, I used to go to those movies - Merrill's Marauders I remember vividly - with a just quarter in hand! - but I digress)

For "broad" overviews of Ranger history online see:

Ranger History - Special Operations.Com

The name RANGER was selected by General Truscott "because the name Commandos rightfully belonged to the British, and we sought a name more typically American. It was therefore fit that the organization that was destined to be the first of the American Ground Forces to battle Germans on the European continent should be called Rangers in compliment to those in American history who exemplified the high standards of courage, initiative, determination and ruggedness, fighting ability and achievement."
www.specialoperations.com/Army/Rangers/History.htm



US Army Ranger Association, Inc. - Ranger History

The U.S. Army Rangers eventually left our shores to spearhead Allied invasions and battles that changed the face of history. ...
www.ranger.org/Default.aspx?pageId=585834
 
Army Ranger History - ArmyRanger.com
http://www.armyranger.com/index.php/history/history-introduction

RangerRing.com

Ranger Ring Features Extensive Graphics, And Load Times May Vary, Your Patience Will Be Rewarded By The Artistic Content. ...
www.rangerring.com/

SuaSponte.com
http://www.suasponte.com/

United States Army Rangers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


 

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  1. US Rangers Toughened To Deal Death To Enemy


    Miami News - Aug 19, 1942
    They were Rogers' Rangers, an 18th version of the modern Commandos, a militia outfit raised by an American frontier soldier, Robert Rogers, ...

    Rangers Are Tough Guys, Versed In Supreme Niceties Of Mayhem


    Milwaukee Journal - Aug 19, 1942

    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantic fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, ...
      

    Robert Rogers, In The Seven Year War


    Telegraph-Herald - Aug 19, 1942
    Rogers' daring leadership in the campaigns around Lake George in upper New York State, those early-day Rangers became known for their courage and ...


    Tough Us Rangers Trained Secretly By British


    Gettysburg Times - Aug 19, 1942

    They have taken both their tac tics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantle fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, ...



    Rangers Were Toughened By British Commandos


    Tuscaloosa News - Aug 19, 1942

    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantic fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, ...
     

    It's Tough Going With The Rangers - Men Trained For Commando Raiding Are Given the Works


    Lawrence Journal-World - Aug 19, 1942
    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantic fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, ...
     

    US Soldiers Land In France Backed By Tanks And Planes


    Youngstown Vindicator - Aug 19, 1942

    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers's Rangers, who, under Robert Rogers, stalked Northern America in the French and Indian Wars. ...

    Americans Again Fight In France


    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Aug 20, 1942
    The American Rangers, selected from a flood of volunteers, take their name from Robert Rogers Rangers, intrepid band of men famed for their courage and endurance...

    Rangers Took Harrowing Lessons In Preparation For Dieppe


    Pay-Per-View - Hartford Courant - Aug 20, 1942
    Rangers Received Harrowing Lessons... was Immortalized by Kenneth Roberts In Northwest Passage Working with ...

    HOW RANGERS GOT READY FOR DIEPPE--THE HARD WAY!


    Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - Aug 20, 1942
    Most of the original Rangers were Westerners but they also Included Pvt Chico Fernandez of Havana an expert machine gunner Pvt Sampson One Skunk a Sioux ...

    Rangers Drill On Live Nazis - Americans Join British Commando Raid After Intense Practice


    Palm Beach Post - Aug 20, 1942
    ... British counterparts the Commandos went along to Dieppe Wednesday on a ... the French and Indian Wars was immortalized Kenneth Roberts in Northwest Passage ...


    US Commandos Secretly Trained


    Edmonton Journal - Aug 20, 1942

    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantle fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, ...


    US Rangers In Commando Unit - Long Seasoned For Dieppe Raid


    Montreal Gazette - Aug 20, 1942

    They have taken both their tactics and their name from Rogers' Rangers, one of America's most romantic fighting outfits who, under Robert Rogers, stalked North America in the French and Indian Wars.... 

    Greatest Commando Raid .


    Lewiston Daily Sun - Aug 20, 1942
    The American Rangers, selected from a flood of volunteers, take their name from Robert Rogers' intrepid band of men famed for their courage and endurance .

    French Officials Get Excited, Hear Texas Rangers in Attack


    Edmonton Journal - Aug 20, 1942
    The wild west touch was contributed to French speculations by Lon don radio reports that American Rangers had participated in the i action. ...

    American "Rangers" Underwent Gruelling Training For First Land Attack Against Nazis


    Lewiston Daily Sun - Aug 20, 1942
    They took their name from Rogers' Rangers, crafty Indian fighters whose raid against the St. Francis Indians during the French and Indian wars was immortalized by Kenneth Roberts In Northwest Passage" ...

    Pattern Of Offense - The Prominent Part taken By American Rangers


    Meriden Record - Aug 22, 1942
    The prominent part taken by American Rangers, named for the famous Rogers Rangers who figured so largely in our history as a hard boiled outfit, ...

    Rogers' Rangers - Founder Of Group Remained Loyal To Britain in Revolution


    Windsor Daily Star - Aug 26, 1942
    Americans raiding with British Commandos into German-occupied France called themselves "Roger' Rangers."... Persons who have read "Northwest Passage," Kenneth Roberts' great novel about the French and Indian wars, will have a pretty vivid picture of the "Commando" activities of that day - the silent, secret invasion deep into enemy territory, the quick, savage thrust at the objective, and the long and hazardous retreat...Robert Rogers, who organized the rangers named after him, and led them, was one of the most remarkable of all that remarkable group of frontier soldiers America produced.  It is a group which includes Daniel Morgan, George Rogers Clark, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Alexander Doniphan, George Crook and nelson A. Miles....Rogers led Tory rangers against the revolutionaries with bravery and skill. Eventually, however, he withdrew to England, where he died shortly after the war ...

    Rogers And The Original Rangers - American Commandos


    Milwaukee Journal - Aug 27, 1942
    Only Robert Rogers seemed able to do it, and even the most inept British generals recognized that fact. Thus Rogers' Rangers grew from one company in 1755  to eight companies before the war was over in 1766 and those eight companies of Rangers were the eyes, the ears, The flashing spearpoints, and the avenging furies of the armies that eventually drove the French from North America....
     
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Unkillable And Unbeatable - Roberts' Story Of The Original American


    Miami News - Aug 29, 1942

    Thus Rogers' Rangers grew from one company in 1755 to eight companies before the war was over in 1766 and those eight companies of Rangers were the eyes, the ears, The flashing spearpoints, and the avenging furies of the armies that eventually drove the French from North America....


    Kenneth Roberts' Story Of The Original Rangers

    Toledo Blade - Aug 29, 1942
    In the following story, Kenneth Roberts, author of "Northwest Passage" and other historical novels, tells how Rogers' Rangers were created, ...
     

    U.S. Rangers in United Kingdom - Train Under Combat Conditions
    - The Pentwater News, Oct 16, 1942
    http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BOpFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Zb0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=941%2C1887428




    Junior Commando Gets Some Help Right From The Top Man


    Milwaukee Journal - Dec 31, 1942
    "I am also sending you a set of rules from that fine American soldier, Maj. Robert Rogers, who commanded the renowned Rogers Rangers many years ago in your history. His regulations were drawn up in the days of Indian warfare in America, but many of them are applicable today." - Lord Mountbatten  
    [Previously, Mountbatten had "also laid claim  to the designation..." - RANGER - which  General Truscott chose to bestow on the American "fledgling battalion." undergoing Commando training See:  Onward We Charge: The Heroic Story of Darby's Rangers in World War II, by H. Paul Jeffers, 2008. p. 37]
    http://books.google.com/books?id=hpF_OvKCKm4C&lpg=PP1&pg=PT37

     


    Boy Scouts Get Commando Plans


    St. Petersburg Times - Dec 31, 1942

    Lord Mountbatten also enclosed a set of rules handed down by America's Maj. Robert Rogers, who commanded the famed "Roger's Rangers" in the days of Indian warfare. So today Carl and his nine comembers are studying instructions on night work, concealment, unarmed combat and self-reliance...







    Life- Nov 8 1943

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    Boy's Life Feb 1943
    Skill, Silence and Speed - Instructions in Commando tactics from Lord Louis Mounbatten to an American Boy Scout
    http://books.google.com/books?id=dVD0sleMfvIC&lpg=PA8

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    Boy's Life - Apr 1943
    Rangers Then and Now
    http://books.google.com/books?id=3Wd2DzX1baQC&lpg=PA10

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    -Tuscaloosa News - Feb 1, 1945
    Put Lt.-Col. Henry Mucci's Sixth Rangers with Roger's Rangers. Put 'em with JEB Stuart's cavalry. Put 'em with Allen's Green Mountain boys. After what happened last night that is where they belong.


    Rescue By Rangers Is A Golden Chapter In US Army History...


    Ludington Daily News - Feb 1, 1945

    the way back ran the number of Japanese dead up to 633.Colonel Mucci, of Bridgeport. Conn, and Denver, Colo,, ... Filipinos furnished the news of and ...
    - Free Lance-Star - Feb 1, 1945

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    Over Mr. Roberts' Shoulder Author Of Northwest Passage'...


    Milwaukee Journal - May 1, 1949
    By Kenneth Roberts 3.50 YOU don't have to be a Kenneth Roberts fan, or even someone who "wants to write," to enjoy this book. Through it masquerades as a ...
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    Army Revives Hard-hitting Ranger Outfits For Special Combat...


    Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Jan 26, 1951

    Army Ranger companies, made up of the keenest, toughest fighters to be found, ... Training stresses use of nea-acme . at Fort Benning, for assignment to ...

    Army Rangers Back In A Vital New Role - By Douglas Larsen


    Portsmouth Times - Mar 9, 1951

    nea)— The Rangers are back in the US Army with a new and important assignment, born out of a big lesson we learned in Korea. They're super-soldiers, ...





    Was Ranger Deactivation A Concession To Marines?

    Times-News - Aug 28, 1951 Early in Korean war, Army's Ranger training program was greatly expanded. ... A special Ranger Training Command was set up at Army's big infantry training ...





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    EULOGIES

    Popular Novelist Kenneth Roberts Succumbs At 71


    Modesto Bee - Jul 20, 1957
    .. Roberts first hit the best seller list in 1937 with his Northwest Passage

    Author Kenneth Roberts Dies At 71


    Herald-Journal - Jul 21, 1957
    Prior to "Northwest Passage," a story of French and Indian War days. Roberts produced a scene of romantic-realistic novels dealing with the Revolution and War of 1812 .. 

    Author Roberts Is Dead At 71


    Kentucky New Era - Jul 22, 1957
    Maine - author Kenneth Roberts, whose best-selling novels brought the drama ... Roberts first hit the best seller list in 1937 with his Northwest Passage. ...

    Kenneth Roberts, 71, Dies; Author Of Best-Sellers


    Pay-Per-View - Hartford Courant - Jul 22, 1957
    Kennebunkport Maine July 21 AP  -Author Kenneth Roberts, whose historical novels have repeatedly made the best-seller lists since 1937, died today. He was 71.

    Historian of America


    Youngstown Vindicator - Jul 22, 1957
    Kenneth Roberts set high standards for himself as a journalist, novelist and historian...It was not until "Northwest Passage," published in 1937, when Mr. Roberts was 52 years of age, that he achieved literary and financial success.... Journalists, novelists and historians of the future will not want a finer epitaph than that which applies to Kenneth Roberts: "He was a great writer, and painstakingly accurate in his work." ...

    Novelist Kenneth Roberts 


    Deseret News - Jul 22, 1957
    ...none of them approached the fame ofNorthwest Passage In Northwest passage as in all his historical novels Roberts labored for complete accuracy ...

    Kenneth Roberts Dies; Author Of Best Sellers


    Youngstown Vindicator - Jul 22, 1957
    author of northwest Passage and other historical novels died Sunday at his home His niece Miss Marjorle Mosser said he had not felt good for several weeks ...

    Author Kenneth Roberts Dies 


    Warsaw Times - Union - Jul 22, 1957
    with Northwest Passage in 1937 His last published novel was Boon Island....

    Kenneth Roberts, Northwest Passage' Author, Dead At 71


    Lewiston Morning Tribune - Jul 22, 1957
    Maine —author Kenneth Roberts, whose historical novels have repeatedly notched the "best seller" lists since 1937 died Sunday. ...

    Kenneth Roberts, Historical Novelist, Dies; Author Of Northwest Passage


    St. Petersburg Times - Jul 22, 1957
    Kenneth Roberts, author of the best selling novel 'Northwest Passage" and other stories based on Amrican history, died yesterday at his home in the New England town where he was born 71 years ago....

    Author Of Best Sellers Kenneth Roberts Dies


    Ottawa Citizen - Jul 22, 1957
    Roberts first hit the best seller list in 1937 with his Northwest Passage, ... Northwest Passage, he said, required three years if the hardest kind of research ...

    Best Seller Kenneth Roberts Dies .Longtime Maine Historical


    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jul 22, 1957
    Roberts first hit the charmed circle of the literary "best seller" with "Northwest Passage" in 1937 His last published novel was Boon Is land. ...

    Author Kenneth Roberts Dies


    Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Jul 22, 1957
    A six footer, a rapid conversationalist and eager worker, Roberts first hit the charmed circle of literary "best seller" with Northwest Passage" in 1937  ...

    Author Kenneth Roberts Dies


    Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Jul 22, 1957
    Roberts first hit the charmed circle of literary "best seller" with Northwest Passage" in 1937... His last published novel was Boon Island. ...

    Kenneth Roberts, 71, Noted Novelist, Dies; Kenneth Roberts


    $3.95 - New York Times - Jul 22, 1957
    Kenneth Roberts, whose accuracy and colorful style gave the historical novel ... He once said that for "Northwest Passage," a spirited tale of Rogers' Rangers ...

    Kenneth Roberts, Historical Novelist, Is Heart Victim


    Free Lance-Star - Jul 22, 1957
    Roberts first hit the best seller list In with his Northwest Passage." a story of French and Indian War days. Prior to this he had produced a series of ...

    Kenneth Roberts


    Pay-Per-View - Christian Science Monitor - Jul 22, 1957
    By AP Kenneth Roberts, who passed on here July 21, was an author whose ... He first hit the best seller list in 1937 with his' "Northwest Passage," a story ...

    Kenneth Roberts 


    Schenectady Gazette - Jul 23, 1957
    Roberts would put nothing on paper that was not demonstrably accurate. Northwest Passage", probably his best known work, required three years of research "for the reader to iunderstand in two days, " he said. ... Kenneth Roberts is dead and he will be greatly missed but his books remain to carry the story of early America and Americans to future generations.

    Death Of An Author


    Oxnard Press-Courier - Jul 24, 1957
    So the Arundel series of novels, as well as Northwest Passage, Oliver Wiswell, Lydia Bailey, are stories founded on truth. Kenneth Roberts wanted to do more than write swashbuckling tales about fabulous heroes and busty beauties. He wanted to tell history.

    Kenneth Roberts


    Newburgh News - Jul 27, 1957
    Kenneth Roberts, irascible genius at making the past come alive, ... Northwest Passage," Rabble in Arms," "Oliver Wiswell" little in literature can match them for revealing the thundering drama in history ...He believed that a thing is not necessarily so because another man says it is, or because history says it is...No matter how times change, there is always the same passionate need for the talented dissenter, the man who pricks our conceit, untangles our history, roars against injustice.  Such a man was Kenneth Roberts.

    A Look At The First Fruits Of Fall


    Milwaukee Journal - Jul 28, 1957
    Shortly before his death a week ago Kenneth Roberts turned over 1800 manuscript pages, maps and notes to the library of congress ... Roberts most widely read novel is "Northwest Passage." .....
     
     

    Review Of The Week - 900 Men Who Shook An Empire


    Lewiston Morning Tribune - Apr 6, 1958
    ...the most successful of all of his books was Northwest Passage," ....Robert's posthumous book "The Battle of Cowpens," is brief, and oddly enough it is not a novel but an historical account of one of the most crucial moments in the final year of the Revolution..In 104 pages..Robert's tells the story of how 900 ragged and ill-equipped riflemen led by the American colonel, Daniel Morgan, defeated the highly trained British troops...

    Rendezvous at Cowpens - Author's Final Work Evokes Day Of Battle


    Spokane Daily Chronicle - Apr 17, 1958
    the true importance of their victory at the Cowpens Kenneth Roberts argues was that it at last aroused  the northern colonies  to the almost-lost war in the south... He died last summer bequeathing to his countrymen a priceless legacy oif historical fiction depicting the courage and fortitude of colonial Americans in times of of adversity - "Arundel," "Rabble in Arms," "Northwest Passage."  His last book is a fitting epilogue to such an achievement ... 

    Roberts Last Book Scores Posthumously


    Vancouver Sun - Apr 12, 1958
    Two years before his death last year Kenneth Roberts of Maine published Boon Island ...Roberts eight novels....the most succesful of all his books was Northwest Passage...."Northwest Passage alone was reprinted in America 32 times and published in 28 foreign countries ...




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    Rogers' Rangers Ride Into TV Today


    Milwaukee Journal - Sep 14, 1958
    ... a run of the prairie western the series is based on Kenneth Roberts novel ... to achieve his cherished goal discovery of the Northwest Passage made him ...

    New Outdoor Epic To Start .


    Victoria Advocate - Sep 14, 1958
    Northwest Passage," historic story of Major Robert Rogers' Rangers and their ... The thrilling pages of Kenneth Roberts' widely acclaim ed historical novel ...

     

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    Channel Swim - Tv's Northwest Passage" Starts Poorly, Has Hope

    Oxnard Press-Courier - Sep 15, 1958
    North west Passage was obviously a half hour film into which a good deal of money had ... staffed by Keith Larsen and Buddy Ebsen and it is as slickly turn ...

    Northwest Passage .

    Spokesman-Review - Sep 21, 1958
    NORTHWEST PASSAGE See Rogers Rangers in a hair-raising episode tonight
     

    Rangers Come To Rescue Woman Sold In Bondage .

    Victoria Advocate - Oct 12, 1958
    A woman prisoner, Rose Carver (Angie Dickinson), lets herself be sold to a frontiersmen to protect her sister

    History Mixed With Brutality .


    News And Courier - Charleston SC - Nov 9, 1958
    "a ripely flavored adventure series...based on the novel, by the late Kenneth Roberts, who must also be spinning in his [grave] ... In addition to a smidgen of history, Northwest Passage" is filmed in color so you can see the blood in authentic shades of red.

    Critic Is Weary Of Brutality In Westerns .


    Modesto Bee - Nov 20, 1958
    find dialogue like that no more unless you tune in Northwest Passage a ... based on the novel by the late Kenneth Roberts who must also be spinning in his [grave] ...


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    Modesto Bee - Nov 4, 1959
    p. 34....Northwest Passage By Kenneth Roberts.. On every side of us are men who hunt perpetually for their personal Northwest Passage too often sacrificing health, strength and life itself to search; and who shall say they are not happier in their vain but hopeful quest than wiser, duller folks who sit at home, venturing nothing and, with sour laughs, deriding the seekers that fabled thoroughfare? ...

    MEN AT WAR


    Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - Jul 24, 1960
    Like their spiritual ancestors, Rogers' Rangers of Revolutionary war fame, Darby's Rangers of World War II were a "kiss my foot," devil take-the-hindmost ...
    [ Roger's Rangers were famous during the French and Indian War NOT during the American Revolution!]




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    Front Cover
    LIFE Magazine Jan 6, 1961
    86 pages
    Vol. 50, No. 1

    Published by Time Inc
    Civil War - 48

    United States (History, Civil War, 1861-1865)

    Gallant men in deeds of glory - 50

    United States (History, Personal narratives, Civil War, 1861-1865)


    Life - Jan 20, 1961 - Civil war: now history, the battles - 38
    United States (History, Campaigns and battles, Civil War, 1861-1865)

    Who fights brush-fire wars? - Editorial - 43
    Foot soldier  - 81
    United States Army (Equipment), United States Army Infantry, Military training
    Army Rangers
    Life - Feb 3, 1961 - Civil War - 64
    United States (History, Civil War, 1861-1865)
    Soldier's life North and South - 64
    United States (History, Personal narratives, Civil War, 1861-1865)
    Warriors' wardrobes - 67
     

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    Frontier Fight Recalled - by Ralph McGill


    Tri City Herald - Jul 13, 1961
    Robert Rogers' Rangers had made one of the historic marches of all the history of this continent to reach that Indian village undetected. ...

    Ralph McGill ..The Attack On St. Francis


    Toledo Blade - Jul 15, 1961
    The late Kenneth Roberts ...As a writer of early American history he and Harvey Allen were the best. Robert's was the most prolific...
    flyleaf map of the "Route followed by Robert Rogers and his Rangers on the  Expedition against St. Francis September-October 1759" from Kenneth Robert's famous historical novel "Northwest Passage"













     

     

     

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    Army Uses Yank Guerrilla Lore  
    - Lewiston Morning Tribune - Dec 19, 1965

    US Troopers Following Orders Issued By Rogers Back In 1759


    Reading Eagle - Dec 22, 1965
    Guerrilla Lore that Rogers imparted to his Rangers in the flintlock era is helping GIs cope with the Red enemy in Viet Nam. The U.S. is passing out orders Rogers' issued in 1759.........

    Guerrilla Killers .


    Fort Scott Tribune - Mar 7, 1966
    Officers and men from many different units, they are students at a training school for guerrilla warfare operated by the Army's Ranger Department on acres ...


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    "
    The truth about the 'Rogers' Standing Orders' is that nearly two decades later, Robert Rogers served as the role model for Kenneth Roberts' protagonist in the 1936 novel Northwest Passage. Within the written conversation between the fictitious characters Langdon Towne and Sergeant McNott one can find the foundation for the wording of what were to become the 'Standing Orders.' This passage from the novel apparently struck a cord with an officer assigned to The Infantry School as a doctrine writer for the 1960 version of Field Manual (FM) 21-50, Ranger Training and Ranger Operations. Within this FM was an appendix on Ranger History that included a paraphrased version of the novel's passage attributed to Rogers and titled 'Standing Orders'. A year or two later, a review of the reprinted Journals of Major Robert Rogers by The Infantry School led the staff to question the validity of 'Roger's Standing Orders.' Despite an attempt on the part of the school to clarify the record, their efforts proved fruitless. Rogers' Standing Orders had become…and now remain…part of lore and legend..." - from PRE-AMERICAN REVOLUTION in Army Ranger History by LTC JD Lock,  ArmyRanger.com website

    http://www.armyranger.com/index.php/history/early-years 

    ArmyRanger.com - For and by the Ranger Community - Pre-American Revolution ...

    The truth about the 'Rogers' Standing Orders' is that nearly two decades later, ... an appendix on Ranger History that included a paraphrased version of the ...
    www.armyranger.com/index.php/history/early-years - Cached - Similar




    "Originally included in a 1936 Kenneth Roberts historical fiction novel, “Northwest Passage,” Rogers’ Standing Orders were never actually penned or spoken by Rogers himself. Instead, Roberts based his hero’s standing orders off of Rogers’ real-life writings, published as 28 “Rules of Discipline” in Rogers’ 1765 “Journals,” a fact most recently revealed in a re-released version of Rogers’ autobiographical book.
        In “The Annotated and Illustrated Journals of Major Robert Rogers,” editor Timothy J. Todish exposes the Standing Orders as fiction based on fact.
        “‘While they make for interesting reading and do bear some resemblance to Rogers’ real ranging rules, the Standing Orders are definitely a modern creation,’” Todish wrote in the book’s annotated notes....." -  "Unlawful orders?    Rangers' "Standing Orders" historically inaccurate," By Sgt. Kyle J. Cosner,   U.S. Army Special Operations Command, May 15, 2003
    originally at -http://news.soc.mil/releases/News%20.../030515-01.htm
    http://www.warriortalk.com/showthread.php?40090-Robert-Rogers-standing-orders-circa1757/page2


    Roger's Rangers (pdf)

    File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
    Rangers were organized in 1756 by Major Robert Rogers, a native of New Hampshire


    , .... Passage" popularized and paraphrased Roger's Standing Orders as this: ... cook up a story...
    www.ranger.org/Resources/Documents/History-Roger's%20Rangers.pdf between'em. 11. Don't ever march home the same way.
       


    Robert Rogers' 28 "Rules of Ranging" - Wikipedia, the free ...


    They also form the basis of the "Standing Orders" taught to US Army Rangers today ... The true Plan of Discipline, extracted from Major Rogers's journal and ...
    en.wikipedia.org/.../Robert_Rogers'_28_%22Rules_of_Ranging%22 - Cached - Similar



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    Glamour Troops Cut Back Again - Daily News - May 1, 1974

    Special Forces Cut To To 5,000 - [Planned Formation of 3 Ranger Battalions] - Southeast Missourian - May 5, 1974


    Rangers An Elite Army Force .

    Ocala Star-Banner - Oct 28, 1974
    First Ranger Battalion a deep penetration force is being welded into an elite unit here among the pine woods swamps and sandy hills of this vast fort The ...
     

    Army Welds Elite Unit For Rapid Deployment Anywhere In...

    Bangor Daily News - Oct 31, 1974
    STEWART Ga The First Ranger Battalion a deep penetration force is being welded into an elite unit here among the pine woods swamps and sandy hills of this ...

    Anchorage Daily News - Jan 23, 1976

    Black Berets Tough, But Gentlemen, Too


    Victoria Advocate - Aug 4, 1977

    ...there is at least one vestige of good old gung-ho: the airborne Rangers. Heads shaved, uniforms crisp even man from Krypton, the "Black Berets" are a mirror of of what sentimentalists say the Army once was: the best trained and toughest fighting force on the globe..In short, the Rangers are traditionalists, and of the best customs of the military experience. Conceived as British allies before the Revolution, they have fought in every American conflict, including both sides in the war of the states.....
    Strike Force Keeps .Loir Profile .Black...- Daily News

    Black Berets: ..Low Profile, Steely Discipline


    Prescott Courier - Aug 24, 1977
    ..there is at least one vestige of good old gung-ho: the airborne Rangers. Heads shaved, uniforms crisp, every man from Krypton, the "Black Berets" are a mirror of what sentimentalists say the Army once was: the best trained and toughest fighting force on the globe..In short, the Rangers are traditionalists, and of the best customs of the military experience. Conceived as British allies before the Revolution, they have fought in every American conflict, including both sides in the war of the states.....




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    Veterans Criticize Monument Plan


    Spokesman-Review - May 30, 2005
    FORT EDWARD, NY  Robert Rogers, a frontiersman whose 18th century manual on guerrilla warfare has become a blueprint for Army Ranger tactics, is getting what some consider a long overdue honor; a statue.




    Memorial Day plan to unveil statue - msnbc.com

    USATODAY.com - War in Iraq a theme at ceremonies


    USA TODAY - May 30, 2005
    The unveiling of a statue of Robert Rodgers on Memorial Day was criticized by some because Rogers, who fought valiantly with American Colonial forces ...

    Travel Life - 18th-century war noted


    Free Lance-Star - Jun 11, 2005
    Robert Rogers' Rangers fought a bloody guerrilla war against French, Canadian and Indian partisans along nearby forest trails. Some 800 French and Indian ...
     

    A Warrior Elite For the Dirty Jobs - TIME


    TIME - Jun 21, 2005
    "...The Army's Rangers take their name from Rogers' Rangers, the New Hampshire militiamen under Major Robert Rogers, who skillfully used the Indians' tactics of stealth and surprise against them during the French and Indian War of the 1750s and '60s. From the irregulars under Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox"), who harassed the British in the Revolutionary War, to Brigadier General Frank Merrill's Marauders, who bedeviled the Japanese in Burma during World War II, old-time American fighting men often proved adept at unconventional warfare...." By Evan Thomas. Reported by Michael Duffy and Bruce van Voorst/Washington


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    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032851/quotes

    Hunk Marriner: [upset] But I'd hate to be a man and always be as right as you are.
    Maj. Robert Rogers: I'm not a man now, Sergeant. I'm a soldier and commander of men.
    [pause]
    Maj. Robert Rogers: If you ever meet me when I'm just a man, you may have to use a little charity.
    Hunk Marriner: [shocked] Yes, sir.
    [pause]
    Hunk Marriner: I'm sorry, sir.  


    "I'll see you at sundown..." 

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