Hessians

The "Hessians" were German mercenary soldiers hired by Great Britain first in the American Revolutionary War after 1775. They are named for the princely state of Hesse-Kassel, which supplied most of the Hessian troops, but many came from Hesse-Hanau, Hesse-Homburg, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Anhalt-Zerbst, Brunswick-Luneburg, Hanover, Waldeck, and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel as well. Hessians had been mercenaries since the start of the 18th century, with 10,000 fighting under imperial general Eugene of Savoy during the War of the Spanish Succession from 1706 to 1707, 6,000 troops fighting for Sweden in the Great Northern War in 1714, 12,000 fighting for King George I of Great Britain against the Jacobite rising of 1715, 6,000 fighting for Great Britain and 6,000 more for Bavaria in the War of the Austrian Succession in 1744, and 24,000 serving in the army of Brunswick in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. 30,067 Hessians would see service in the Revolutionary War, with 17,313 returning home, 1,200 killed in action, 6,354 dying of illnesses or from accidents, and 4,972 settling in North America.

Background[]

In the 18th century it was not unusual for the major European powers to hire foreign troops to supplement their armies at times of war. Britain had employed troops from the German principality of Hesse-Kassel in many of its wars. The British had previously been allied with forces of other German states in the Seven Years' War - the American theater of which was the French and Indian War. In addition to hiring Hessian auxiliaries, the British endeavored to increase the size of their army by enlisting the help of American loyalists. They also actively looked to Lord Dunmore's proclamation encouraged slaves to desert Patriot masters by promising liberty to those who earned it fighting in British uniform.

History[]

While the Patriots could muster more than 50,000 volunteers, the British had only around 20,000 troops stationed in the British Isles, half of whom were manning garrisons in Ireland. Britain turned first to Catherine the Great to make up the shortfall, but she refused. An attempt to hire the "Scots Brigade" from the Dutch also failed before the British turned to the German principalities.

Striking a deal[]

The man in charge of the negotiations for the British was Colonel William Faucitt. His instructions reflected the urgency of the situation as far as Parliament was concerned. "Great activity is necessary," they read, "as the King is extremely anxious to be at Certainty one Way or another as to the Possibility of obtaining Foreign Troops for America." Faucitt set to work, making his first agreement with Duke Charles I of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. The Duke agreed to supply Britain with 3,964 infantrymen and 336 "unmounted" dragoons - the British were to provide them with horses. Similar agreements were subsequently made with other German states: Ansbach-Bayreuth, Anhalt-Zerbst, Hesse-Hanau, Hesse-Kassel, and Waldeck and Pyrmont. The German auxiliaries, often conscripted, were supplied as entire units with their own commanding officers. They wore their own uniforms and took their own weapons, the manufacture of which created employment at home.

Mutual benefit[]

The contracts between Britain and the German states served the interests of both sides. The principalities needed the money. Hesse-Kassel, poor and agricultural, became increasingly militarized, as the hiring out of soldiers became its main way of raising money; seven percent of its population were under arms. The British, of course, needed troops. As Lord North told the British House of Commons, hiring troops from the German states was "the best and most speedy way of reducing America to a proper constitutional state of obedience." Whigs in Parliament were less certain. Lord Camden denounced the treaty with Hesse-Kassel, which agreed a payment of 20 million talers (around $180 million today), as "a mere mercenary bargain for the hire of troops on one side, and the sale of human blood on the other." Such protests were to no avail. In August 1776, Hessian contingents landed on Staten Island, ready to take part in the Battle of Long Island.

Hired hands[]

An estimated 30,000 German mercenaries fought for the British during the course of the war. Hesse-Kassel supplied by far the greatest number of troops - so many that the term "Hessian" became synonymous with auxiliaries from any and all German states. Hesse-Kassel sent four grenadier battalions and 15 infantry battalions, including those of Carl von Donop and Karl von Truembach, who led the 8th infantry regiment. Most Hessian regiments were named fro their commander, and thus changed names during the course of the war; von Truembach's unit became the Regiment von Bose after General Carl von Bose took command in 1778. Hesse-Kassel also sent artillery, grenadiers, and fusiliers - notably the fusilier regiments of von Lossberg and von Knyphausen, and Johann Rall's grenadiers. The most sought-after German regiments were the Jaeger corps, or "hunters," who were marksmen and woodsmen. By 1781, there were 821 Jaegers from Hesse-Kassel and 245 from Ansbach in the British Army in New York; they were also deployed on the Canadian border.

Poor mercenaries[]

Campaign life brought challenges for the Hessians. Some 5,000 soldiers from Hesse-Kassel alone would perish in the War of Independence, and as many as 80% of them died of diseases - Captain Georg Pausch, who commanded an artillery unit, wrote that many of his soldiers encamped with the British Army at Montreal suffered from dysentery. Smallpox and typhus were also rife among the ranks. Pausch's regiment was not only sick, but also poor. While his men found comfort in Canadian girls, Pausch complained about the lack of pay and resources: "Officers have to add money of their own, or else live poorly. A bombardier, for example, has to pay for a pair of boots 20 florins; for a coat, five times as much as in Hanau." But worst of all, to Pausch, was his own treatment by the British. "The National pride and arrogant conduct of these people allow them to command my men, while I am not permitted to command theirs!"

Looking to exploit such discontent, the Continental Congress tried to persuade as many as they could to defect. One proclamation from April 1778 promised 50 acres of land to every soldier who deserted, while any Hessian captain who brought 40 men over to the Patriot side was promised 800 acres of woodland, four oxen, one bull, two cows, and three sows. Such attempts to lure the Hessians were not in vain: some German prisoners even deserted to join their former captors upon their release.

Hessian losses[]

The Hessians saw action in almost every major battle. They fought with distinction in New York and at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776, but in Rhode Island and during the opening stages of the advance into New Jersey things did not go as well for them. Colonel Johann Rall was mortally wounded at Trenton at the end of 1776, and Colonel Carl von Donop, perhaps the Hessians' most respected leader, was killed at the Battle of Red Bank in October 1777. Also in 1777, Hessians were trounced at the Battle of Bennington in August, where they lost 900 men, including Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum. After General John Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, large numbers of Hessians formed part of the Convention Army, as the prisoners of war from Saratoga were known, in their march to the Albemarle Barracks; in Charlottesville, Virginia; they were kept prisoner in America until peace was formalized in 1783.

Aftermath[]

Many Hessians preferred to stay in North America after the war rather than return to Germany. Around 5,000 Hessians settled in North America - in Nova Scotia, thanks to British incentives, and in the United States, due to land grants from Congress. Many were claimed lost or dead by Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, whose treaty provided for compensation in such circumstances. The war failed to provide long-term solutions to the financial problems faced by the German states. The French Revolution, however, would have a transformative effect on these principalities.