Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Loyalist

The other day I was driving along lovely Wylie Road on the other side of the Brandywine and spotted a fancy sign for a private road called "Queen's Ranger's Lane." My first thought that this was somehow related to the British soccer team the Queens Park Rangers, but I soon learned I was entirely wrong.
The Queen's Rangers were a military unit that fought on the Loyalist side during the Revolutionary War. "They distinguished themselves at the Battle of the Brandywine, suffering many casualties while attacking entrenched American positions," Wikipedia says. During the battle, the unit was led by Major James Wemyss, but a few weeks later he was replaced by John Graves Simcoe. Apparently that was a good move, because Simcoe "turned the Queen's Rangers into one of the most successful British regiments in the war."
Other streets in the vicinity of the Brandywine Battlefield that are named after leaders of the Loyalist/British side are General Cornwallis Drive (there's also one in East Goshen Township) and General Howe Drive.
As for the Queens Park Rangers (no apostrophe), they were last year's Football League champions and this year are competing in England's top division, the Premier League.

2 comments:

  1. Birmingham TownshipJune 21, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    If you liked Wylie, you will love Meetinghouse! (And ps for horse owners in search of property, there is a lovely house+barns+pastures for sale there.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, B-ham! Will do! It was pure chance that I found Wylie at all because I was headed to a friend's house on Revere Rd. and I usually take Brintons Bridge Rd., but I was coming from the north rather than the south for a change. MH had a "road closed" sign on it at Route 100, or else I would've taken it. Next time!

    ReplyDelete