The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, during the American Revolutionary War.
The King's Royal Regiment of New York was formed by exiled Loyalist leader, Sir John Johnson, from American refugees, fleeing rebel persecution, the regiment served with distinction throughout the war, launching raids and relief missions into the Mohawk Valley of New York.
The regiment was instrumental in the siege of Fort Stanwix, during the expedition of Colonel Barry St. Leger, down the Mohawk River Valley, in the summer of 1777, and saw action, that same year, in the Saratoga Campaign, at the Battle of Oriskany, Carleton' s Raid, in 1778, and the devastating raid on the Schoharie Valley, in 1780. Along with American Indian allies and fellow provincial regiments, such as Butler's Rangers, the regiment fought a series of low-level raiding campaigns, through the Mohawk Valley. This region was a major agricultural area of New York, and these raids were intended to interdict the supply of foodstuffs to General George Washington's army while pressuring the Revolution's political leaders in the region, who were actively persecuting Loyalist residents as traitors aiding and supplying British troops.
The regiment eventually comprised two battalions. Following the war, the first battalion was disbanded in 1783 and the second battalion in 1784. Members of the regiment relocated to the British province of Quebec. They were granted land along the St. Lawrence River valley and Bay of Quinte, today within the province of Ontario in Canada.
Raising the regiment: 1776
On 19 May 1776, Sir John Johnson left his home at Johnson Hall in the Mohawk Valley and travelled with his family and approximately 200 retainers through the Adirondack Mountains to Montreal, Quebec. They arrived on 15 June, just days after Governor Sir Guy Carleton's army recaptured the city. Johnson soon left Montreal to chase the retreating Continental Army southwards down the Richelieu Valley towards Lake Champlain. He met Carleton at Fort Chambly, where the Governor authorized Johnson to raise the King's Royal Regiment of New York.
Initially, the members of the regiment comprised Johnson's refugee retainers from his estates in the Mohawk Valley, but the steady stream of Loyalist refugees fleeing to Montreal provided a ready source of recruits for the King's Royal Yorkers.
St. Leger Expedition: 1777
Part of the British Army's strategy to defeat the Continental forces under General Washington involved invading New York from Canada along the traditional Lake Champlain and Lake George water route. A main army from Canada, under the command of Sir John Burgoyne, advanced southwards along this route towards Albany. A second army, under the command of Colonel Barry St. Leger, advanced from Carleton Island in the Saint Lawrence River to Oswego with the intention of descending the Mohawk River valley. St. Leger's army included a small force of regular British soldiers, a large American Indian contingent comprising Six Nations and Canadian Indian warriors, a contingent of Hessian soldiers, volunteers under Joseph Brant's command, and the King's Royal Yorkers under Johnson's command.
St. Leger's army besieged Fort Stanwix (located in modern Rome, New York), which was defended by a sizable contingent of Continental Army troops. During the siege, a relief column of 800 men under the command of General Nicholas Herkimer and comprising New York militia advanced towards Fort Stanwix. On 6 August 1777, this relief force was ambushed by American Indian and King's Royal Yorkers at the Battle of Oriskany. During the battle, the relief column was decimated and suffered over 400 casualties, including Herkimer himself, who eventually died of wounds. Routed, the surviving American militia retreated from Oriskany.
During the Oriskany engagement, the garrison of Fort Stanwix attacked the encampment of the Crown forces. Johnson and his family were nearly captured, and large quantities of material were seized. Having suffered heavy casualties during the battle, St. Leger's American Indian allies were demoralized by the loss of their camp. The Crown and Indian forces retreated back towards Lake Ontario when reports of another relief force under the command of Benedict Arnold was received.