Joseph Gorham (sometimes recorded as Goreham; 1725–1790) was an American colonial military officer during King George's War and later a British army commander during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading a company of British imperial Rangers, called Gorham's Rangers, during the 1750s and early 1760s. Gorham's unit played an important role in the French and Indian War and were early practitioners of American frontier warfare, more commonly known as petite guerre or Guerrilla warfare. He also became Governor of Placentia.
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Family
The Gorham family (from Cape Cod) had a distinguished history in the New England colonial military. Serving alongside the early colonial military innovator Benjamin Church, John Gorham I died while fighting in the famous Great Swamp Fight during King Philip's War. Joseph's grandfather, John Gorham II, also served with Church during the fourth Eastward Expedition into Acadia, which involved the Raid on Chignecto (1696) during King William's War and again during Queen Anne's War. His father Shubael Gorham was also a provincial military officer in Queen Anne's War and again in King George's War. Joseph and his brother John Gorham III fought as rangers in Acadia/Nova Scotia throughout the 1740s as well as at the Siege of Louisbourg (1745) as officers in the Massachusetts provincial forces.
The Gorham family traces its origins to France, descending from the noble lineage of De Gorron in the town of Gorron. Over time, members of the family adopting the name Gorham have established themselves across the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Spain. Notable variations and collateral branches of the family include Gorham, Gorron, de Gorron, Gorr, and Dieu de Gorron
