Hessian Soldiers
German Soldiers in the British Army
On December 26, 1776, American soldiers marched into Trenton, New Jersey. It was early in the morning. They had crossed the icy Delaware River in the night. The soldiers guarding Trenton were not British. They were Germans. Their leader was Colonel Johann Rall. The Americans captured about 900 of them. Rall was shot and died.
Why Germans Fought for Britain
Americans called these soldiers Hessians. Most of them came from Hesse-Kassel. That was one of many small states in Germany. Germany was not one country then. Each state had its own ruler and its own army.
Britain did not have enough soldiers for the war. So the king made deals with German rulers. He paid each ruler money. In return, the ruler sent his soldiers to America. The soldiers did not get to choose. Many were drafted. That means they were made to join the army. Others joined for the pay.
About 30,000 German soldiers came to America. At times one of every three soldiers in the British army in America was German.
Where They Fought
The first Germans landed in New York in August 1776. They fought at Long Island that month. They fought in almost every big battle after that. Some marched with General Burgoyne from Canada. They gave up with him at Saratoga in 1777. Others fought in the South in 1781.
Germans taken in battle were prisoners of war. A prisoner of war is a captured soldier. Many of the Trenton prisoners were sent to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Many farmers there spoke German.
Many Never Went Home
About 7,500 German soldiers died in America. Most died of sickness, not in battle. Thousands more stayed when the war ended. Many settled near German farmers in Pennsylvania. The rest sailed home after the peace in 1783.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- On December 26, 1776, Americans surprised the German soldiers at Trenton and captured about 900.
- Americans called the German soldiers "Hessians."
- About 30,000 German soldiers fought for Britain.
For your Story
- The king paid German rulers money, and they sent their soldiers to America.
- The soldiers did not get to choose; many were drafted, and others joined for the pay.
- They fought at Long Island, Saratoga and in the South.
- Prisoners from Trenton were sent to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where many farmers spoke German.
For your Wrap
- About 7,500 German soldiers died in America, most from sickness.
- Thousands stayed in America when the war ended.
- Many settled near German farmers in Pennsylvania.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Baroness von Riedesel’s journal — the cellar at Saratoga October 1777; translated 1867
Frederika von Riedesel wrote this in her journal. A journal is a diary. She was a noble lady from Germany. Her husband led the German troops. They were part of General Burgoyne's army. She followed him to America. She brought their three small girls. In October 1777, near Saratoga, she hid in a cellar. American guns were hitting the house. She wrote the journal for her family at home. It was put into English in 1867.
Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.
At last we had to hide in a cellar. I lay down in a corner not far from the door. My children lay on the dirt floor with their heads in my lap. We spent the whole night that way. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house. We could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier was lying on a table. The doctors were about to cut off his leg. Then another cannon ball took off his other leg, right in the middle of the operation.
Read the original (the real words you can quote)
We were finally (forced) to take refuge in a cellar, in which I laid myself down in a corner not far from the door. My children laid down on the earth with their heads upon my lap, and in this manner we passed the entire night. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house, and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier, whose leg they were about to (surgically remove), having been laid upon a table for this purpose, had the other leg taken off by another cannon ball, in the very middle of the operation.
Make it yours: The Hessians were the enemy. This is a mother in a cellar. Retell one moment from her story. Then answer: how does the German side change the way your podcast tells Saratoga or Trenton?
Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, Letters and Journals (trans. William L. Stone, 1867) — the retreat to Saratoga · See the source
Early on the morning of December 26, 1776, about 2,400 American soldiers marched into Trenton, New Jersey. They had crossed the icy Delaware River during the night. The soldiers guarding Trenton were not British. They were Germans under Colonel Johann Rall. By the end of the morning the Americans had captured close to 900 of them. Rall was shot while trying to rally his men. He died of his wounds.
Why Germans Fought for Britain
Americans called all of these soldiers Hessians. More than half of them came from Hesse-Kassel, one of the many small states that made up Germany in the 1700s. Others came from Brunswick and four smaller states. Germany was not one country then. Each state had its own ruler and its own army.
Britain did not have enough soldiers to fight the war in America. So starting in 1776 Britain made treaties with these German rulers. Britain paid each ruler a subsidy, a yearly payment. In return the ruler sent his regiments to America. The soldiers did not make the deal. They stayed in their prince's army and went where he sent them. Some were career soldiers. Many were drafted, which means the state ordered them to serve. Others volunteered because the pay was better than farm work.
About 30,000 German soldiers crossed the Atlantic between 1776 and 1783. At times they made up about a third of the British army in America. Americans called them mercenaries, soldiers who fight for whoever pays them. The Declaration of Independence accused the king of sending "large Armies of foreign Mercenaries."
From Long Island to the South
The first German regiments landed in New York in August 1776. They fought at the battle of Long Island that month. Over the next five years they fought in almost every major campaign. Brunswick troops marched south from Canada with General John Burgoyne. They surrendered with him at Saratoga in October 1777. A Hessian regiment fought at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, in March 1781.
Germans captured in battle were held as prisoners of war, captured soldiers kept until they were exchanged or the war ended. Many of the Trenton prisoners were marched to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The army chose Lancaster because it was far from the fighting. Many farmers there spoke German. Some of the prisoners were later traded for American prisoners.
Many Never Went Home
Of the 30,000 Germans who came, between 40 and 50 of every 100 never returned to Germany. About 7,500 died, but only about 1,200 of them died in battle. Sickness killed the rest. Thousands more ran away from the army or stayed behind when the war ended. Many settled among the German farmers of Pennsylvania and took up farms of their own. The regiments that remained sailed for home after the peace treaty of 1783.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- At Trenton on December 26, 1776, Washington's army captured close to 900 German soldiers.
- Americans called them "Hessians" because more than half came from Hesse-Kassel.
- About 30,000 German soldiers crossed the Atlantic to fight for Britain.
For your Story
- Britain paid each German ruler a subsidy, and the ruler sent his regiments to America.
- Some were career soldiers, many were drafted, and some volunteered for pay better than farm work.
- They fought from Long Island in 1776 to Saratoga in 1777 and Guilford Courthouse in 1781.
- Prisoners were held at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, far from the fighting and among German-speaking farmers.
For your Wrap
- Between 40 and 50 of every 100 German soldiers never returned to Germany.
- About 7,500 died, but only about 1,200 in battle; sickness killed the rest.
- Thousands stayed in America, many among the German farmers of Pennsylvania.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Baroness von Riedesel’s journal — the cellar at Saratoga October 1777; translated 1867
Baroness Frederika von Riedesel wrote this in her journal, a diary she kept for her family in Germany. Her husband commanded the German troops in General Burgoyne's army. She followed him across the ocean with their three small daughters. In October 1777, on the retreat to Saratoga, she hid in a cellar full of wounded men. American cannons fired at the house above. The journal was put into English in 1867.
Simplified version, not the source. These are not the writer’s words, so do not quote them. To quote, use the original words below.
We were finally forced to take shelter in a cellar, where I lay down in a corner not far from the door. My children lay on the earth with their heads in my lap, and in this way we passed the entire night. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house, and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier had been laid on a table so the surgeons could cut off his leg. In the very middle of the operation, another cannon ball took off his other leg.
Read the original (the real words you can quote)
We were finally (forced) to take refuge in a cellar, in which I laid myself down in a corner not far from the door. My children laid down on the earth with their heads upon my lap, and in this manner we passed the entire night. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house, and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier, whose leg they were about to (surgically remove), having been laid upon a table for this purpose, had the other leg taken off by another cannon ball, in the very middle of the operation.
Make it yours: The "Hessians" were the enemy, and this is a mother in a cellar. Retell one moment from her account. Then answer: how does hearing the German side change the way your podcast tells Saratoga or Trenton?
Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, Letters and Journals (trans. William L. Stone, 1867) — the retreat to Saratoga · See the source
Early on the morning of December 26, 1776, about 2,400 American soldiers marched into Trenton, New Jersey. They had crossed the ice-choked Delaware River during the night. The soldiers guarding Trenton were not British. They were Germans under Colonel Johann Rall, a career officer who had fought at Long Island and White Plains that year. By the end of the morning the Americans held the town and had captured close to 900 of the garrison. Rall was shot while trying to rally his men and died of his wounds.
Why Germans Fought for Britain
Americans called all of these soldiers Hessians, because more than half of them came from Hesse-Kassel, one of the many small states that made up Germany in the 1700s. Others came from Brunswick, Hesse-Hanau, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Waldeck and Anhalt-Zerbst. Germany was not one country then. Each state had its own ruler and its own army.
Britain did not have enough soldiers of its own to fight the war in America, so starting in 1776 Britain made treaties with these German rulers. Britain paid each ruler a subsidy, a yearly payment, in return for the use of his regiments. The ruler of Hesse-Kassel earned an amount equal to thirteen years of his state's taxes. The soldiers themselves did not make the deal. They stayed in their prince's army and went where he sent them. Americans called them mercenaries, soldiers who fight for any country that pays them, and the Declaration of Independence accused the king of "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries" to America.
About 30,000 German soldiers crossed the Atlantic between 1776 and 1783. At times they made up about a third of the British army in America. Some were career soldiers. Many were drafted. In Hesse-Kassel, men between 16 and 30 had to report every year to see whether they would be taken into the army. Others volunteered, because the pay was better than farm work and a soldier's family paid lower taxes.
From Long Island to the South
The first German regiments landed in New York in August 1776 and fought in the battle of Long Island on August 27. Over the next five years German units took part in almost every major campaign. Brunswick troops marched south from Canada with General John Burgoyne and surrendered with him at Saratoga in October 1777. The Hessian Regiment von Bose fought at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, in March 1781.
Germans captured in battle were held as prisoners of war, soldiers kept by the enemy until they were exchanged or the war ended. Many of the Trenton prisoners were marched to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The army chose Lancaster because it was far from the fighting and because much of the countryside around it spoke German. Some of the prisoners were later exchanged for American prisoners held by the British.
Many Never Went Home
Of the 30,000 Germans who came, between 40 and 50 percent never returned to Germany. About 7,500 died, but only about 1,200 of them died in battle. Disease killed the rest. Thousands more deserted during the war or stayed behind when it ended. Historians' estimates of how many stayed range from about 3,000 to 6,000. Many settled among the German-speaking farmers of Pennsylvania and took up farms of their own. The regiments that remained sailed for home after the peace treaty of 1783.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- The soldiers Washington captured at Trenton on December 26, 1776, were Germans under Colonel Johann Rall, who died of his wounds.
- Americans called them "Hessians" because more than half came from Hesse-Kassel; the rest came from five other German states.
- About 30,000 Germans served, at times about a third of the British army in America.
For your Story
- Britain paid subsidies to German rulers; Hesse-Kassel's ruler earned the equal of thirteen years of taxes.
- The Declaration of Independence accused the king of "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries."
- In Hesse-Kassel, men aged 16 to 30 reported every year to see if they would be drafted; soldiers were paid and their families paid lower taxes.
- Trenton prisoners were held around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and some were later exchanged.
For your Wrap
- Between 40 and 50 percent of the German soldiers never went home.
- About 7,500 died, only about 1,200 of them in battle.
- Estimates of how many stayed in America range from about 3,000 to 6,000.
- The regiments that remained sailed home after the peace treaty of 1783.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Baroness von Riedesel’s journal — the cellar at Saratoga October 1777; translated 1867
Frederika von Riedesel followed her husband — commander of the German troops — across the ocean with three small daughters. At Saratoga she sheltered in a cellar full of wounded men while American guns hammered the house above. Her journal is the war from the German side — and from a mother’s eye level.
We were finally (forced) to take refuge in a cellar, in which I laid myself down in a corner not far from the door. My children laid down on the earth with their heads upon my lap, and in this manner we passed the entire night. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house, and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier, whose leg they were about to (surgically remove), having been laid upon a table for this purpose, had the other leg taken off by another cannon ball, in the very middle of the operation.
Make it yours: The "Hessians" were the enemy — and this is a mother in a cellar. Retell one moment from her account, then answer: how does hearing the German side change the way your podcast tells Saratoga or Trenton?
Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, Letters and Journals (trans. William L. Stone, 1867) — the retreat to Saratoga · See the source
Before dawn on December 26, 1776, about 2,400 American soldiers with eighteen cannons finished crossing the ice-choked Delaware River and marched south to Trenton, New Jersey. The garrison there was German, commanded by Colonel Johann Rall, a career officer who had fought at Long Island and White Plains that year and who had been warned that his post was exposed. After about two hours of fighting the Americans held the town. The Germans lost 22 men killed and 86 wounded, and close to 900 were taken prisoner. Rall was mortally wounded while trying to rally his men. The Americans had only five men wounded.
Why Germans Fought for Britain
Americans called all of the German soldiers Hessians, because more than half of them, about 18,000 to 19,000 men, came from the state of Hesse-Kassel. The rest came from Brunswick, Hesse-Hanau, Ansbach-Bayreuth, Waldeck and Anhalt-Zerbst. Germany in the 1700s was a collection of separate states that shared a language but not a government. Each ruler kept his own army, and several of them earned money by renting regiments to larger countries.
Starting in early 1776 Britain signed treaties with these rulers. Under each treaty Britain paid the ruler a subsidy, a yearly payment, in return for his regiments, and the soldiers were known as subsidy troops. Frederick II, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, earned an amount equal to thirteen years of his state's tax revenue from the deal. The soldiers remained in his army and under his officers. The Declaration of Independence accused George III of "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny," and the name stuck. A mercenary is a soldier who hires himself out to a foreign army for pay. Most of the Germans had not hired themselves out. Their prince had.
Hesse-Kassel kept its army full by conscription, a system that requires men to serve. Boys were registered for service at age seven, and men between 16 and 30 reported every year to see whether they would be taken. Men without a master or steady work could be taken at any time. Soldiers were paid, the wages were better than farm work, and their families paid lower taxes. Some men were career soldiers, and some volunteered for the pay or the chance to see America. Between 1776 and 1783 about 30,000 German soldiers crossed the Atlantic, and at times they made up about a third of the British army in America.
From Long Island to Guilford Courthouse
The first German regiments landed at New York in August 1776 and fought in the battle of Long Island on August 27. Over the next five years German units served in almost every major campaign. Brunswick troops under General Friedrich Riedesel marched south from Canada with General John Burgoyne and surrendered with him at Saratoga in October 1777. Riedesel's wife, Frederika, had followed him to America with their three small daughters. During the retreat before the surrender she sheltered with wounded men in a cellar while American guns fired on the house. "Eleven cannon balls went through the house," she wrote in her journal, "and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads." In the South, the Hessian Regiment von Bose fought at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, in March 1781.
Germans captured in battle were held as prisoners of war, soldiers kept by the enemy until they were exchanged or the war ended. Most of the prisoners were held around Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The site was chosen because it was far from the fighting and because much of the countryside around it spoke German. Some prisoners were later exchanged for Americans held by the British. Some slipped away from the prison towns and stayed.
Many Never Went Home
Between 40 and 50 percent of the German soldiers never returned to Germany. About 7,500 died, but only about 1,200 of them died in combat, and disease killed the rest. Thousands more deserted during the war or stayed behind when it ended. Estimates of how many settled in America range from about 3,000 to 6,000. Many took up farms among the German-speaking communities of Pennsylvania. The regiments that remained sailed for home as peace came in 1783, and the Riedesels sailed with them.
Key facts to use in your script
For your Hook
- At Trenton on December 26, 1776, the Germans lost 22 killed, 86 wounded and close to 900 captured; the Americans had five wounded.
- About 18,000 to 19,000 of the 30,000 Germans came from Hesse-Kassel, so Americans called them all "Hessians."
- At times the German regiments made up about a third of the British army in America.
For your Story
- Britain's treaties paid each prince a subsidy; the soldiers stayed in the prince's army, so "mercenary" describes the ruler better than the men.
- Hesse-Kassel registered boys for service at age seven and called men aged 16 to 30 every year.
- Baroness Riedesel, at Saratoga in October 1777, wrote that "Eleven cannon balls went through the house."
- Prisoners were held around Lancaster, Pennsylvania; some were exchanged, and some slipped away and stayed.
For your Wrap
- Between 40 and 50 percent of the Germans never returned; about 7,500 died, only about 1,200 of them in combat.
- Estimates of how many settled in America range from about 3,000 to 6,000, many among Pennsylvania's German-speaking farmers.
- Soldiers drew pay, but the British subsidy went to their princes.
- The last regiments sailed home after the peace treaty of 1783.
Source Spotlight: A Document from the Time
Baroness von Riedesel’s journal — the cellar at Saratoga October 1777; translated 1867
Frederika von Riedesel followed her husband — commander of the German troops — across the ocean with three small daughters. At Saratoga she sheltered in a cellar full of wounded men while American guns hammered the house above. Her journal is the war from the German side — and from a mother’s eye level.
We were finally (forced) to take refuge in a cellar, in which I laid myself down in a corner not far from the door. My children laid down on the earth with their heads upon my lap, and in this manner we passed the entire night. […] Eleven cannon balls went through the house, and we could plainly hear them rolling over our heads. One poor soldier, whose leg they were about to (surgically remove), having been laid upon a table for this purpose, had the other leg taken off by another cannon ball, in the very middle of the operation.
Make it yours: The "Hessians" were the enemy — and this is a mother in a cellar. Retell one moment from her account, then answer: how does hearing the German side change the way your podcast tells Saratoga or Trenton?
Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, Letters and Journals (trans. William L. Stone, 1867) — the retreat to Saratoga · See the source
Where these facts come from
Find a Face
Your topic is a group. Pick one real person from this list. Read about them. Add one fact about them to your Fact Bank, with the source.
- Johann Rall, commander at Trenton. Wikipedia · Britannica
- Wilhelm von Knyphausen, top Hessian general. Wikipedia · Britannica
- Johann Gottfried Seume, drafted and shipped to America. Wikipedia