Robert Rogers (soldier) - The Legacy of Rogers

The Legacy of Rogers

• John Paul Jones' ship during the American Revolutionary War was named USS Ranger in honor of Robert Rogers and his famous rangers. The few early triumphs of the Continental Navy during the War for Independence were achieved by The Ranger. Under John Paul Jones' command, this famous ship would later witness the second salute to the American flag by a foreign country.

• Rogers' heroics in the French and Indian War and his later life are depicted in the novel Northwest Passage (1936) by Kenneth Roberts. The novel inspired a movie of the same title (1940), starring Spencer Tracy as Major Rogers.

• In the 1958-1959 television season, NBC aired Northwest Passage, a fictionalized half-hour series about Rogers and men seeking the Northwest Passage during the French and Indian War. Keith Larsen (1924–2006) played the lead role, with Buddy Ebsen, later of CBS's The Beverly Hillbillies and Barnaby Jones, as Sergeant Hunk Marriner.

• On 30 May 2005, (Memorial Day in the U.S.), a statue of Rogers was unveiled during a ceremony on Rogers Island in the Hudson River, 40 miles (64 km) miles north of Albany, New York. This is near to the site where Rogers penned his "Rules of Ranging."

• Rogers is mentioned respectfully in "The Ranger Handbook" which is given to every soldier in the U.S. Army's Ranger School, and is referred to in that publication as the originator of ranger tactics in the American military. The Handbook summarizes Rogers' principles of irregular warfare as presented in "Robert Rogers' 28 "Rules of Ranging"."