Simcoe's Military Journal: A History of the Operations of a Partisan Corps Called the Queens Rangers

Born in 1752, John Graves Simcoe joined the British Army in 1770 and was immediately dispatched to the North American British Colonies. Rising through the ranks, he saw action during many battles of the America War for Independence, including the Seige of Boston, the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia Campaigns, the battles of Crooked Billet, Monmouth, and Brandywine, as well as the Seige of Yorktown. Legend has it that Simcoe ordered his men at Brandywine to refrain from firing upon three fleeing rebels, one of whom was believed to be General George Washington. He became Commanding Officer of the Queen’s Rangers in 1777, about which he wrote in his book Simcoe’s Military Journal. Following the war, Simcoe was appointed Lieutenant Goevernor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and played a foundational role in the establishment of Canada. In addition, he lead the legislative assembly of Upper Canada to abolish slavery more than 20 years before the Crown abolished it throughout the British Empire.