People of Detroit:
Robert Rogers

Note: There are conflicting accounts of Robert Rogers's birth year and birth place (and other data). Which, if any, account is true, I don't know. Decide for yourself.

Robert Rogers was born in 1727 in Dunbarton, New Hampshire (or in 1731 at Methuen, Massachusetts). His father was James Rogers, an early settler of Dunbarton from Ireland. He was married to Elizabeth Browne in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

In 1755, Rogers was commissioned to form and train a group of rangers. The group consisted of 35 volunteers, 15 Royal Americans (a New England military group), and 6 men selected by Rogers. The group became known as "Rogers' Rangers", and Rogers became known as the "New England Ranger".

Rogers' Rangers were cunning and successful. They celebrated many victories and experienced few casualties. The success gained Rogers' a promotion to major.

In 1760, General Jeffrey Amherst, ordered Rogers to take Fort Ponchartrain. He did so on November 29, 1760. On December 23, 1760, Rogers left Detroit for Fort Pitt where he joined General Grant's seige against the Cherokees.

Some time between 1760 and 1763, Rogers went to London where he published his journals. He didn't stay long. On July 29, 1763, he brought supplies to Fort Ponchartrain to help in their battle against Pontiac. On January 10, 1766, Rogers was made commandant of Michilimackinac (he assumed command that August).

While at Michilimackinac, Rogers was involved in several questionable incidents. He was arrested, brought to trial in Montreal, and acquitted of the charge of treason. Colonel Hopkins (?) had accused Rogers of planning to plunder the fort and desert to the French. After his arrest, Rogers' wife divorced him.

In 1775, Rogers wrote a letter to General George Washington offering his service to the revolutionaries. Many felt he was a British spy, and is offer was never accepted.

In 1775 or 1776, Rogers became lieutenant-colonel in the Queen's Rangers. His troop was captured at Mamoranec, Long Island Sound, but Rogers escaped. In 1778, Rogers was banished from New Hampshire colony. He returned to London, where he died in 1800.

More Information

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Glossary:
Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.
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Glossary:
arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.
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Glossary:
clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.
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Glossary:
Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.
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Glossary:
conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.
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Glossary:
coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.
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Glossary:
District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.
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Glossary:
Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."
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Glossary:
Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.
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Glossary:
Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"
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Glossary:
Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.
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Glossary:
Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.
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Glossary:
New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).
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Glossary:
Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).
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Glossary:
Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).
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Glossary:
Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.
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Glossary:
Renyard

See Fox
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Glossary:
ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.
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Glossary:
Sac

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sakis

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.
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Glossary:
Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Ryswick

September 20, 1697 treaty ending war between France and England.
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Glossary:
voyageurs

Early French explorers who traveled mainly by water.