The Hessians (German Mercenaries) in the American Revolution

In response to the eruption of violence at the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), the British Parliament voted an army of 55,000 to be raised to suppress the rebellion. Men were needed quickly, but the British army was already below strength, and recruiting and training would take time. Moreover, many English subjects were not eager to take up arms against their North American brethren, nor could the government count on filling the ranks through traditional methods such as press-gangs and judicial sentencing. Parliament chose instead to hire foreign troops to augment the British regulars. Many European rulers entered into treaties by which they supplied auxiliary troops in exchange for financial subsidies to benefit their realm. This arrangement was different from that of hiring individual mercenaries, who received certain sums of money or special conditions for their services, and who were also among the forces sent to North America.

Americab revolution research papers covers the years though some ministers argued that the Germans might desert once in North America, Parliament granted generous sums of money in the hope of acquiring troops quickly to crush the colonial rebellion in one campaign and return the hirelings to Europe at relatively little expense. More than half of the German troops hired came from Hesse-Cassel, with princes from Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick, Waldeck, Anspach-Bayreuth, and Anhalt-Zerbst also sending soldiers to Britain. Among the units assembled for service in North America were grenadier battalions, a field hospital, three artillery companies, field regiments, garrison battalions, and two Jager companies. The men in these units had various skills and degrees of experience. The field regiments were made up of professional servicemen enrolled for 24 years, while garrison battalions were similar to colonial militia or modern army reserve units. These men, mostly farmers, assembled four weeks a year between sowing and harvest times in order to drill, and they served as a local police force to quell disturbances. In times of war, they were used for home defense and performed garrison duties. The Jagers were skilled marksmen, recruited from foresters and huntsmen, who were capable of acting independently as light troops.

The situation of the German mercenaries remained awkward throughout the war. On the one hand, anti-British propaganda promoted revolutionary Americans' fear and loathing of hired killers; on the other hand, Congress urged the Hessians to desert. Relations between the British and Hessians were also strained. British officers were condescending to the Germans, excluding their officers from councils, giving their troops unpleasant posts to occupy, and sending them on missions without proper support. Indeed, Hessian officers were not of the same caliber as those in the British army, many being considerably older than their English counterparts and showing no particular genius for independent command. A second weakness was that their close-order Prussian training inhibited their fighting a more mobile enemy.

American revolution research papers covers the years of the Hessians served throughout the war with mixed results. They performed well in the Battle of Long Island (August 27-30, 1776) and with gallantry at the Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776) and at Fort Washington (November 16, 1776), but they suffered devastating defeats at Trenton on December 26, 1776, and at the Battle of Red Bank on October 22, 1777. Most of the war, however, was spent in dull garrison duty, interspersed periodically with marching, intense activity, and moments of boredom and monotony. Approximately 18,970 Hessians were actually mustered into British service between 1776 and 1782, with only 292 returning home during the war. Hessian battle casualties were approximately 535 killed and 1,309 wounded, but, from all causes, including disease, the Hessian dead amounted to a staggering 4,983. Approximately 10,492 returned to Europe between 1783 and 1784, while roughly 3,014 chose to remain in the United States. About 190 went to Canada and settled in Nova Scotia.