1.Testimonial letter from Jon Butler(click letter to enlarge);
2. Jon Butler, 5th great grandson of Col. John Butler & Zig Misiak holding Butlers Rangers Regimental Colours;
3. Zig Misiak & Scott Paterson with the Butler family at Niagara on the Lake – the unveiling of John Butler’s bronze
July 4, 2009.
The Butler’s Rangers were formed in 1777 by Colonel John Butler, during the American Revolution they continued to fight along side their allies and friends, the Haudenosaunee until they were disbanded in 1784. They were the “shock troops of their day and were the toughest, roughest and most focused soldiers of their time. Taught well by their Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) friends they were able to endure great hardship in a huge territory from Detroit to Albany and hundreds of miles south of the Great Lakes. These Ranger with green coats, red facings and buckskin clad men were shadow like rather than flesh and blood. Certainly the American Revolution was not forfeited by them as they never lost a major battle.
At the end of the American Revolution the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) ancestral territory was simply negotiated away, without consultation with the Confederacy, forcing many to move on to land given to them by the Crown north, east and west into what is now known as Canada. Even though the British were no longer at war with their rebellious cousins the Six Nations still clung to the possibility that they would be supported by the British if they continued to fight. Tired, outnumbered, no alliances outside of a few other First Nations the Six Nations yielded to the inevitable and were slowly and painfully robbed of their lands. These warriors, both Haudenosaunee and Butler’s Rangers, continued a friendship that lasted throughout the War of 1812. Though not officially Butlers Rangers during that period the ex-rangers of the American Revolution still maintained their friendship and alliances with their Haudenosaunee allies. The Ancestral friendship is maintained today with the recreation of the Butler’s Rangers re-enactors and the only sanctioned Mohawk re-enactment group known as The British Native Allies, lead by Okwaho.
A photo was taken at Niagara on the Lake in 1996 on the 200th anniversary of John Butlers death. Our fellow Butlers Rangers from the United States as well as the Kings Rangers paraded across a flooded road after we presented the colours over John Butlers burying ground. Zig Misiak is centre, Terry Hey to his left and Scott Paterson just behind Zig’s shoulder. We, McDonell’s Company, of Butlers Rangers were gifted the only known recreated stand of colours in the world by our honourary Colonel, Lorne C. Butler. Our colonel was laid to rest in Brantford in 2007. We were present at his funeral representing all Butlers Rangers re-enactment units on both sides of the border. Okwaho represented the Mohawk Nation standing by us as always. The colours are sewn to scale one being the Kings Colours and the other, to the right, the Butlers Rangers regimental colours. It is felt that the original colours were likely taken or destroyed during the War of 1812 when the Americans occupied Fort George near what is known today as Niagara on the Lake. John Butlers home has recently been excavated and appears to have been burnt during that time. No evidence of colours or uniform were discovered other than a small, dome shaped, gold plated button with the words “Butlers Rangers
Loyalist Gazette Articles
Zig Misiak and Six Nations friends, 1 of 2
Butlers Bronze unveiling Niagara on the Lake, 2 of 2
