The Corps of Rangers commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Butler was raised in 1777 and served until the general reduction of the British Army in North America in 1784, in conjunction with the Indians. The Rangers were head quartered at Fort Niagara, first living in garrison, and then in barracks on the west side of the Niagara River.

While the Corps fought as a major unit at Wyoming, Cherry Valley, Chemung, on Sir John Johnson's and Major John Ross's raids, most of three expeditions were mounted by company or company plus sized units. A key factor in the successes of the Rangers was the close co-operation of the various Indian nations with which it served. The Corps fought in what is now New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan. It has been described by military historians as the most active and successful Provincial Corps in the Northern Command during the Revolution.

On disbandment, over 800 men served in the Rangers, and most of them took up new residences in Upper Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Many of the officers and men, and their sons, served their King in the militia of Upper Canada, in particular the Lincoln Militia, during the War of 1812. Their descendants have continued to serve the Crown in both regular and reserve units until the present day. The Lincoln and Well and Regiment (Canadian Army), with headquarters in St. Catharines, Ontario, is the military descendant of Butler's Rangers.

Source:

The STORY OF DUNDAS being a History of the County of Dundas, Ontario, Canada From 1784 to 1904, by J. Smyth Carter. Iroquois: THE ST. LAWRENCE NEWS PUBLISHING HOUSE 1905.