Cover Artwork by leading American Revolutionary War artist Don Troiani. In war and conflict, Europeans had used battle axes and hand held throwing axes for over a thousand years by the time the Americas were colonized [see Tomahawks & Hatches parts 1 & 2 of this series for more detail of this history]. The original iron and later steel hatches were introduced to America by the Spaniards as early as 1500, followed by the French. By the early 1600’s, they had spread throughout North American from Canada to the southeast and far southwest. These hand held axes and throwing axes were eventually termed tomahawks (Virginia Algonquin tamahak meaning stone cutting implement and Nova Scotia Algonquin tomehegen meaning a striking instrument). The first axes introduced were made in northern Spain and southwest France in the Bay of Biscay region and were termed Biscayne Axes. They were solely to be used in trade with the Native Americans for furs and other resources plentiful in America. Stone age war clubs were a common weapon in native tribal battle so it was natural that these metal axes would also be used as such.
Eventually, the European trade was not limited to Native Americans as white settlers saw a need in these hatches as useful tools and in war. Local blacksmiths were employed to provide them not only to hunters and trappers, but to local military organizations. From as early as the mid 1600’s, every settlement throughout the Americas had organized militias to act as magistrates and to protect against the local native population. Many of these militiamen began to carry hatchets or tomahawks along with their standard weaponry. Frontier military organizations eventually required men to include a tomahawk along with their firelock, knife, and other essential gear to wage war. Colonial militiamen employed by the British to fight their frequent wars with France combed the wilderness equipped with tomahawks. So too, the French voyagers, trappers, and wilderness warriors carried tomahawks. The tomahawk eventually became standard equipment for British rifle units and light infantry deployed to the Americas including later German riflemen employed by the British to fight in the American Revolution.
Rangers, originally were soldiers who “ranged” or traveled between the early colonists’ settlements and Native American villages to alert each of raids from hostile tribes. Benjamin Church, captain of the first ranger force in America, changed this concept in 1676. Instead of acting as an early warning system, Rangers became unique units of mixed groups of colonists and friendly Native Americans who fought against hostile Native Americans. Church designed his forces to emulate Native American practices of warfare. He worked to adopt ‘savage’ techniques of small, flexible forces that used the woods and ground for cover, rather than mounting frontal attacks in military formation. Along with the native population’s techniques, he required his rangers to equip themselves accordingly, including carrying tomahawks. They embellished the local militia and government military forces, even spearheading an attack when these forces faltered. As hostilities played out in America between the British and French, these ranger forces were employed in King Phillip’s, King Williams’, and Queen Anne’s Wars. By the 1740’s, ranger units of frontier huntsmen and backwoods fighters honed their skills in wilderness fighting. They developed hit and run guerrilla tactics to mainly combat French and Native American forces that roamed the interior and fringes of colonial settlements that pushed inland from the coast. The most renowned among these early ranger units was ‘Rogers’ Rangers’, who gained notoriety during the Seven Years War or what has been called in America, the French and Indian War.
Rogers’ Rangers. “All Rangers are to be subject to the rules and articles of war; to appear at roll-call every evening, on their own parade, equipped, each with a firelock, sixty rounds of powder and ball, and a hatchet…” “…by firing from the shore, gave an opportunity to some of my party to swim on board with their tomahawks, and took one of the vessels…” Major Robert Rogers wrote in his journals of an action on Lake Champlain, New York, during the French & Indian War in which his men successfully attacked a French vessel through the use of close combat using the tomahawk. Robert Rogers had perfected his wilderness skills roaming the frontier and Abenaki trails of northern New England. By the 1750’s, he had recruited ranging companies of trappers and frontiersmen to scout and fight for the British in their war with the French. They became highly successful at battling French wilderness troops and tribes aligned with the French. Rogers and his companies of backwoods fighters were better suited for the tangled wilderness, more so than their encumbered British allies. They became so adept at guerrilla-style combat tactics that Rogers’ 28 Rules of Ranging are still used to this day in the United States Military – modernized somewhat and reduced to 19.
Rogers’ Rule Number 13 pertains directly to the use of the tomahawk: “In general, when pushed upon by the enemy, reserve your fire till they approach very near, which will then put them into the greatest surprise and consternation, and give you an opportunity of rushing upon them with your hatchets and cutlasses to the better advantage.” The modern version of Rule Number 13 reads: “When lying in ambush, wait for the enemy to get close enough that your fire will be doubly frightening, and after firing, the enemy can be rushed with hatchets.”
King’s Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in North America. After General Braddock’s defeat by the French and Native American allies in 1755 in what has been called the French & India War, British authorities recognized that they needed to approach the wilderness warfare in America with tactics differently than in Europe. A regiment of four battalions were recruited in Germany, England (particularly those stationed in Ireland), and among American colonists, mainly from German descent. At the time, Germany was known for their grove-bore rifle design that produced a weapon that could fire farther and with greater accuracy than the smooth bore musket. German gunsmiths in America had been producing these rifles for a number of years, making modifications, and putting out a superior rifle which would become known as the Kentucky Long Rifle (a mainstay in rifle corps of the later American Revolutionary War).
(artist: R.J. Marrion – copyright: Canadian War Museum)
In December, 1755, the regiment was at first named the 62nd, or Royal American Regiment of Foot, and was renamed the 60th in February 1757. They were originally ordered to dress exactly like a regiment of the British Army with some exceptions. Eventually, over the years, the regiment would garnish green coats and beeches when deployed throughout Britain’s wars right up until the twentieth century. This new regiment of royal riflemen had no regimental lace (which distinguished it as a corps designed for forest warfare), a wide buff leather belt crossed over the left shoulder to support a black ammunition pouch on the right hip, a narrower buff leather waist-belt, worn over the waistcoat which supported a ‘double frog’ on the left side from which hung a bayonet and short brass-hilted hanger (small sword). Over his blue regimental breeches were green cloth ‘Indian leggings’ (mitasses) which were fastened at the ankles below the knee. Moccasins replaced regulation shoes and the black felt tricorn had been cut down, leaving only the crown and a narrow brim. Soon after this design, the useless brass-hilted hanger had been replaced by a hatchet or tomahawk. Finally, their packs were worn high on their backs, ‘Indian fashion’, as used by British General Wolfe’s similar battalion of light infantry.
By 1776 and the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress urged their officers to require the rank and file to carry either a tomahawk or cutting sword or knife. Muskets and more so rifles were inefficient in close quarter fighting (the American army was sorely in need of bayonets), and the hatchet and tomahawk proved necessary in hand to hand or ‘melee’ combat. However, the image of backwoods, wilderness fighters equipped with leggings and hatchet, including rifle prevails throughout American history.
Rangers with their unique wilderness tactics, including weaponry, were employed in both the Continental and British Armies. Many of those leading the American rebellion had served in Rogers’ Rangers of the previous war; such as Major General Israel Putnam, Brigadier Generals John Stark, Moses Hazen, and Colonel Thomas Knowlton – under Putnam, including Robert Rogers himself who organized the British Queen’s Rangers. Though small ranger units were active throughout the south, mainly South Carolina and Georgia (later transforming into mounted infantry), the Continental Army had two specific ranger units: Whitcomb’s Rangers and Knowlton’s Rangers.
Connecticut farmer and veteran wilderness fighter, Thomas Knowlton, raised a regiment of skilled scouts and backcountry fighters known as Knowlton’s Rangers. They became America’s first intelligence gathering outfit; Knowlton’s sculpture would later grace the entrance to the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s Headquarters in Washington, DC. The youthful spy, Captain Nathan Hale, was a member of Knowlton’s Rangers. He was caught and hanged uttering Cato’s famous line: “I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Knowlton was ordered to raise his ranger company on August 12, 1776, by General Washington from mainly backwoodsmen and officers from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to carry out reconnaissance missions and probe enemy lines. Their outfit included muskets and rifle, and were garbed in backwoods, non-military uniforms complete with tomahawk and hatchets. At the Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776, Knowlton was killed in action. His corps was later decimated and ceased to exist a month later when Fort Washington was captured by British and Hessian forces.
Major Benjamin Whitcomb’s Rangers was organized on the 15th of October, 1776 into two companies from New Hampshire rangers stationed at Fort Ticonderoga, New York. They fought at the Battles of Hubbardton, Bennington, and Saratoga. They remained in the northern reaches of the colonies, acting mainly as spies and scouts. Small groups would travel behind enemy lines for days or even weeks at a time. They often traveled into Canada to gain intelligence and raise havoc among the British and their Tory allies. Garbed in “Indian dress” including leggings and tomahawk, they remained as an effective fighting and were disbanded near war’s end, January 1, 1781; the officers retiring and enlisted men joining the ranks of the infantry.
British Light Infantry Companies: Following the successful use of Light Infantry in the French & Indian War, the British War Office revised the establishments of British regiments to formally add a Light Infantry Company in late 1771. At the beginning of the American War for Independence, the Light Infantry Companies saw heavy service in operations around Boston. After the evacuation of that city, Gen. Sir William Howe issued orders from Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 14, 1776 to form two light infantry battalions by temporarily withdrawing the companies from their regiments and assigning the companies to composite battalions.
The 1st Lt. Infantry Battalion was initially commanded by Maj. Thomas Musgrave, 64th Regt., and the 2nd Lt. Infantry Battalion by Maj. the Honorable John Maitland, Marines. The following orders were issued that “Each Man must have a sufficient Number of Cartridges made up, but as it may be necessary to have recourse to the Horn, The Men are to be taught to load from it. Every part of the Accoutrements must be kept in Constant repair, the Tomahawks Sharp, and fit for Use. The Hatchet Men of the Light Infantry Companies must be able Active Men and they should know how to Make Use of their Axes.”
Daniel Morgan’s riflemen. “During the Revolutionary War, Americans were intrigued and inspired by the rugged frontiersmen who lived on the fringes of civilized society. These frontiersmen – equipped with a tomahawk in their belts and a Kentucky rifle in their hands – were a symbol of American vitality and self-sufficiency.” In 1757, during the French and Indian War, Ensign Morgan was on his way to Winchester, Virginia with dispatches. He became engaged in a fierce woodland fight with a band of Native Americans, in which nearly all his comrades were slain and Morgan himself was shot through the neck with a musket-ball. Almost fainting with the wound, he fell forward with his arms tightly clasped about the neck of his horse. “He spurred through the forest paths, until his foremost Indian pursuer, unable to come up with him, hurled his tomahawk after him with a yell of baffled rage, and gave up the chase. This was the only wound he ever received.” Colonel Daniel Morgan, made general towards war’s end, would go one to become one of the most celebrated warriors of the American cause.
Morgan’s defeat of the British at the Battle of Cowpens has been considered pure genius by his fellow colleagues and future historians. With years of back woods experience fighting the French and their Indian allies, including serving in Lord Dunmore’s war on the frontier, he was commissioned a captain of a company of Virginia riflemen and arrived in Cambridge in the middle of July, 1775. He would accompany Benedict Arnold in his memorable march against Quebec, was captured, exchanged, and would be one of the leading forces in British General Burgoyne’s defeat in October, 1777. Images handed down throughout history portray his rifle corps equipped with tomahawks hanging at their belts.
Hessian Jaeger riflemen were among the first Hessian troops hired by the British crown to be deployed to America. These “Jaeger” companies—German for “hunter” —contained specially trained riflemen experienced at operating in forestlands and mountains.
The most famous of these units, the 2nd Jaeger Company under Capt. Johann Ewald, arrived in New York on Oct. 14, 1776, and saw its first action just nine days later. As with most Jaegers, Ewald’s men saw action in every campaign in the war. Although described as a corps, the Jaegers operated in small groups of not more than 30 riflemen, and served alongside conventional British or Hessian smoothbore-armed infantry units. Their grove-bored rifles, of shorter barrel, were not as accurate nor did they fire with the same velocity of the Kentucky Long Rifles used by many American rifle companies. Many of these huntsmen carried small axes and hatches designed and modified in Europe. Similar to the trading tomahawk axes, they were worn at the belt like their American rifle counterparts.
Present use of Tomahawks in US military: Presently, the U.S. military adopted a modern tomahawk for use in current hostile situations in the mid-east. The U.S. Army Stryker Brigade employs tomahawks in Afghanistan and the device is used by several American reconnaissance platoons in Iraq. A tomahawk is included in each Stryker fighting vehicle as part of a “tool kit.” They are to be used for hand-to-hand combat and for taking down doors and entering buildings. In addition to combat, soldiers use tomahawks to open crates, dig trenches, remove road obstacles and knock out improvised explosive devises (IED) and detonate landmines. Tomahawk’s used by the U.S. military are manufactured by the American Tomahawk Company based in Byesville, Ohio and the Gerber Corporation.
Click Here for Gerber Downrange Tomahawks on Amazon
Also on Revolutionary War Journal
Tomahawks & Hatches: Part 1 of 3 – Early History of Axes and Battle Axes.
Tomahawks and Hatches: Part 2 of 3 – Trade Axes of America
Muskets & Rifles of the American Revolution: Difference and Tactics
Matchlocks & Flintlocks: Weapons That Tamed a New World & Claimed an American Revolution
Loading and Firing a Brown Bess Musket in the Eighteenth Century
SOURCES
Baglole, Joel. Web article in Balance Careers site: www.thebalancecareers.com/tomahawk-ancient-weapon-used-in-modern-combat-3357263 Tomahawk, Ancient Weapon Used in Modern Combat. Updated March 19, 2019.
Coote, Eyre. Capt. Eyre Coote’s 37th Light Infantry Company Order Book, 1778 – 1781 Eyre Coote Papers, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan Transcribed and Edited by Paul L. Pace, June 15, 2011 (1778 account tables transcribed by Don Hagist).
Riflemen of the Revolution. www.americanrifleman.org
Rogers, Major Robert. Journals of Major Robert Rogers. 1765: Reprint from original 1961: Corinth Books, New York, NY.
Smith, William Henry. The St. Claire Papers, the Life and Public Services of Arthur St. Claire. 1882: Robert Clarke & Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Summers, Jack L, Chartrand, Rene. History and Uniform of the 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot, 1755-1760 http://www.militaryheritage.com/60thregt.htm Canadian War Museum.
William J. Wood, William J. Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775-1781. 2nd Ed.(Chapel Hill: Da Capo Press, 1990).