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Burke's Rangers was a company of colonial volunteers organized and led by Major John Burke in Massachusetts just before the French and Indian War. Burke was widely noted for his skill and daring in Indian warfare, and frequently served in campaigns against the Indians. Burke was initially commissioned as an ensign by Governor William Shirley and subsequently commissioned a lieutenant, then a captain. Toward the close of the French and Indian war, in 1760, he was commissioned a major by Governor Thomas Pownall. ==Background== At the close of King Philip's War the Massachusetts provincial government sought to defend its borders by settling groups of veterans on Indian lands. This was seen as an inexpensive deterrent to French aggression, a way to shore up English claims to contested ground, a good defensive strategy in the face of ongoing Indian resistance to British expansion, and a reward to the veterans of the war. Bernardston, Massachusetts, initially known as Falls Fight Township,〔 was a frontier settlement created by and for the families of soldiers who had fought in King Philip's Warm specifically in the Battle of Turner's Falls, which was a major engagement fought under Captain William Turner in 1676.〔 〕 John Burke was an early settler of the town, arriving with his father who was one of the veterans granted land in Falls Fight. In November 1734, the following was presented to the General Court of Massachusetts:〔Everts 1879 〕 The petition was granted and the proprietors of the new township began recruiting 60 families to settle in the town. John Burke, Samuel Connable, Lieutenant Ebenezer Sheldon, and Deacon Sheldon, built the first four houses, in 1738. They were made of hewn logs, with port-holes in the walls for defense against the Indians.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Burke Fort: Bernardston, MA )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Burke's Rangers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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