[hannay] history of THE QUEEN'S RANGERS 125 



Prior to this, however, and while the American army still occupied 

 the strong position on the heights west of the Bronx on the night of the 

 21st October, 1776, the Queen's Hangers under Colonel Rogers were 

 lying at Mamaronec on Long Island Sound, a few miles to the north of 

 New Rochelle. Here they were surprised by a force of Delaware and 

 Maryland troops under Colonel Haslet, and a number of them killed or 

 captured. The Americans claim that the Rangers on this occasion lost 

 almost eighty men and sixty stand of arms, but very little reliance is to 

 be placed on American accounts of the losses of their enemies in the wax 

 of the Revolution. In the action at Spencer's Ordinary in which the 

 Rangers were engaged in 1781, the Americans returned a British loss of 

 60 killed and 100 wounded, the actual loss as shown by the official re- 

 turns being 33 killed and wounded. We may conclude, therefore, that 

 the loss of the Rangers at Mamaronec was probably much exaggerated. 

 I have not been able to discover any British account of this affair, which 

 in the presence of the larger operations which Howe was carrying on 

 would hardly be regarded as worthy of notice. 



The Queen's Rangers at this period and for a long time aftei-wards 

 formed a part of General Knyphausen's command. This general was a 

 German Baron, a native of Alsace, the son of the Colonel of the German 

 Regiment of Dittforth, which served under the Duke of Marlborough. 

 General Knyphausen was bred a soldier, and saw much service in the 

 Prussian army. When the British Government hired twelve thousand 

 German troops for service in America, he came in command of the force, 

 and continued in America until the end of the war. He was about sixty 

 years of age when he came to America. John J. Watson, author of the 

 annals of Philadelphia, says of him : " General Knyphausen was much 

 of the German in appearance; not tall but slender and straight. His 

 features were sharp; in manner he was very polite. He was gentle and 

 much esteemed." 



Fort Washington was captured by the British on the 16th Novem- 

 ber, 1776, its reduction being effected with a loss to the British of 78 

 killed and 380 wounded. The Americans had 54 killed and 93 wounded 

 and 2,818 of them surrendered as prisoners of war. In the operations 

 which led to the capture of Port Washington, the Queen's Rangers had 

 a share, but naturally enough, as a newly levied force, their part was 

 not an important one. They continued with Knyphausen as part of the 

 force which guarded New York on the land side, but took no share in 

 any important engagement for several months. In this period, however, 

 they became efficient soldiers and fitted themselves for the conspicuous 

 part they had to play in future actions with the enemy. 



