Butler’s Rangers Badge – 1780, Brass
Insignia like this were attached to the lids of British soldiers’ cartridge boxes for ornamentation and practical use. The heavy brass badge helped keep the leather flap top of the cartridge case closed. The initials “GR” stand for Georgius Rex (King George III).
From 1777 to 1784, Butler’s Rangers were a British provincial military unit led by Loyalist John Butler fighting in the American Revolutionary War. The majority of the regiment’s members were Loyalists from upstate New York, as well as African American former slaves.
Butler’s Rangers took place in a number of engagements during the war, including the Wyoming Valley massacre in July 1778 and the Cherry Valley massacre of November 1778.
It was these and other actions, primarily in western New York, which earned Butler’s Rangers a reputation for utilizing ruthless “anything goes” warfare tactics.
Butler’s Rangers were disbanded in June 1784, and its veterans were given land grants in the Nassau District, now the Niagara region of Ontario, as a reward for their services to the British Crown.