The 1st regiment of Riflemen was an experiment in a new kind of light infantry soldier. Although the idea of light infantry solders was nothing new and, while still a rare weapon, the rifle was likewise basic technology, the paring of the two into a professional, disciplined, and well trained military entity was revolutionary for the United States Military. Light infantry tactics were the antithes
is of linear warfare in which two groups of combatants would line up across from one another and fire almost aimlessly in each other’s direction. The First Rifle Regiment like their counterparts in Europe were trained to use the terrain around them to hide and to pick their targets carefully with rifles, much more accurate than the average soldier’s musket of their day. Their specialized green uniforms and light infantry tactics were reminiscent of their counterparts from the American War for independence. In fact, the recommendation for the formation of the regiment came from former President George Washington. Their armament, the .54 caliber 1803 Harper’s Ferry rifle was the first weapon contracted specifically for use by the U.S. Although President Jefferson’s Republican government was leery of having a large military, the Chesapeake affair in 1807, the attack by British frigate HMS Leopard on the U.S. Chesapeake, forced the presidency and congress to authorize an expansion of the military and the first ever dedicated rifle regiment in the history of the U.S., on 12 April, 1808. The 1st Rifle Regiment was to be made up of experienced woodsmen, from Louisiana, the Mississippi territory, Kentucky, Ohio, the Indiana Territory, New York, and Vermont. They were a new type of solider given the training of regular soldiers plus specialized light infantry tactics, and provided with specialized equipment meant to make their way through the forest and deer trails of the north east easier. Benjamin Forsyth (about1760-1814), their leader in Northern New York, of North Carolina made a name for himself as one who was an effective light infantry leader and something of a scoundrel. Although he earned the respect of his men, he encouraged his men to shoot the enemies’ officers and plunder whatever money, valuables, and even gold lace they may have possessed. Backhandedly Insulted by one as “brave as any brute in the woods”, and complimented as “an excellent officer” by General Henry Dearborn. His mythic appetite for plunder was probably fueled by his circumstances, explaining his divergent identity. Forsyth’s one hundred and fifty men strong company of the 1st Rifle Regiment, along with a company of the 1st Light Artillery, were the first detachments of regular solders ever to be garrisoned in the northern New York. Ogdensburg was part of the main British supply line on the Saint Lawrence between Elizabethville, modern Prescott Ontario, and British interests south. As a result of the city’s proximity to the British boarder and the dire economic times that the federal government’s trade embargo, or blockade on foreign trade, many in the area’s citizenry turned to smuggling goods like beef and timber across the yawing gaps created by the forest and open water ways of the St. The economic situation had deteriorated such that, although uniform changes and resupply were supposed to be implemented in February of 1812, troops would have not been issued new equipment until 1813, if at all. The supply situation was exacerbated by Forsyth’s inadequate housing placement in Ogdensburg at the site of ca. 1740 French fort in De La Presentation turned Fort Oswegatchie in the A.W.I. , which was then a ruin. Forsyth commented on the destitution of his men: “Of course our guards and patrols must be strong, and are so by day and night, altho’[sic] almost naked” ...”I must protest that I am ashamed to see them in their present clothing” That economic situation coupled with the negative sentiments most of the local inhabitants held toward the regiment meant that Forsyth had to get creative in his acquisition of arms and supplies, leading to a series of raids into Ganoque and Elisabethville. Although operations like these and others lead to eventual defeat at Ogdensburg, the victories of the rifle regiment provided much needed morale boosts to an army and nation whose campaign in the south had been up to that point, comparatively, a failure. Whether due to a stereotypically American disregard for authority or an eminent need to clothe his regiment, Forsyth and his men made an infamous name for themselves as a cutthroat, effective, and professional military force, a name which was appropriately imposed.
