The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the 
Revolutionary War, by Edward J. Lowell

Published: New York, Harper and Brothers, 1884

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                               THE HESSIANS
                               and the other
       GERMAN AUXILIARIES OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

                                    by
                             Edward J. Lowell

                      Harper and Brothers Publishers
                                 New York
                                   1884




CONTENTS:

PREFACE
I. THE PRINCES
II. THE TREATIES
III. THE TREATIES BEFORE PARLIAMENT
IV. THE SOLDIERS
V. FROM GERMANY TO AMERICA
VI. THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND, AUGUST, 1776
VII. FROM THE OCCUPATION OF NEW YORK TO THE TAKING OF FORT WASHINGTON,
     SEPTEMBER 15TH TO NOVEMBER 16TH, 1776
VIII. OPERATIONS IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA; TRENTON, DECEMBER 26TH,
     1776
IX. THE WINTER OF 1777
X. THE BRUNSWICKERS IN CANADA, 1776
XI. BARONESS RIEDESEL'S JOURNEY, 1776 AND 1777
XII. TICONDEROGA AND BENNINGTON, JULY AND AUGUST, 1777
XIII. STILLWATER, SEPTEMBER 19TH AND OCTOBER 7TH, 1777
XIV. SARATOGA, OCTOBER 11TH TO 16TH, 1777
XV. THE BRUNSWICKERS IN CAPTIVITY
XVI. BRANDYWINE, GERMANTOWN, AND REDBANK, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, 1777
XVII. THE BRITISH RETREAT ACROSS NEW JERSEY, JANUARY TO JULY, 1778
XVIII. NEWPORT, NOVEMBER, 1776, TO OCTOBER, 1779.
XIX. THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF NEW YORK, 1777 TO 1779
XX. WIEDERHOLD'S VOYAGE - AN EPISODE - SEPTEMBER 1779
XXI. SAVANNAH, CHARLESTON, AND PENSACOLA, 1779 TO 1781
XXII. NEW YORK IN 1780 AND 1781
XXIII. THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN OF 1781
XXIV. CONCLUSION
APPENDIX A, B, C, D, E




PREFACE

The history of the German auxiliaries, who fought for Great Britain in the 
Revolutionary War, has not received from American writers the amount of 
attention which its importance would seem to deserve. Much has been made 
of the fact that seven thousand French soldiers and nineteen thousand 
French seamen assisted the United States in the siege of Yorktown, but we 
have forgotten that a force of between fifteen and twenty thousand Germans 
served for seven years against us; that more than twenty-nine thousand 
were brought to America for this purpose; that more than twelve thousand 
never returned to Germany. I know of no American historian but Bancroft, 
who has made any thorough study of this subject in the original 
authorities, and the general nature of his work does not call on him, and, 
indeed, would hardly permit him, to write the history of the German troops 
in detail. Doctor George Washington Greene has published interesting 
reviews of three of Kapp's books, and the narrative of Baroness Riedesel 
has been translated into English by William L. Stone, Esq., who has also 
translated that part of Eelking's "Life of Riedesel" which relates to the 
Revolutionary War.

In preparing the following book, I cannot claim to have used nearly all 
the very voluminous stores contained in the libraries and archives of 
Germany. I have, however, found original German accounts of every 
important engagement, and of almost every skirmish of the Revolutionary 
War, from the year 1776 to the end, except of some of those battles which 
occurred in the Carolinas and Georgia, and in which few, if any, Germans 
were engaged. Some of these accounts, I believe, had never yet fallen 
under the eye of an American writer.

In Germany the treaties for the letting of soldiers to Great Britain, and 
the history of those soldiers have received more attention than in 
America. Two writers are especially prominent among those who have dealt 
with these subjects. One of these writers is Friedrich Kapp, now a member 
of the Reichstag, and formerly an exile in America. To his books I am 
largely indebted, both directly and indirectly, for information embodied 
in this volume, and especially in the first five chapters. The other 
writer is Max von Eelking, captain in the service of Saxe-Meiningen, and 
corresponding member of the New York Historical Society. His two works, 
"Die deutschen Hulfstruppen im nordamerikanischen Befreiungskriege," and 
"Leben und Wirken des Herzoglich Braunschweigischen General Lieutenants 
Friedrich Adolph von Riedesel," constitute a history of the war from the 
German point of view. Captain von Eelking had access to a very rich store 
of material. His list of manuscripts for the first-mentioned work alone 
(many of them the property of private persons) comprises thirty-eight 
numbers. In writing the life of Riedesel he was allowed to consult or copy 
all the letters and papers left by that general. Had Captain von Eelking 
shown as much care in the use of materials as he did industry in their 
collection, his works would be very valuable contributions to American 
history. Unfortunately the results of his labors are marred by 
inaccuracies. I have often been obliged to depend upon him, but I have 
done so with caution.

The reader will find in this book many passages which belong rather to 
biography or to anecdote than to history. The adventures of comparatively 
unimportant persons, such as Wiederhold, Ewald, or Baroness Riedesel are 
related at some length. It has been my object to give an idea of what sort 
of people the auxiliaries were, and of what impression America and the 
Americans made upon them. To this end I have not hesitated to introduce 
apparently trivial matter, where it has seemed characteristic, nor to 
quote opinions or descriptions which, though genuine, were mistaken.

I take this opportunity heartily to thank Doctor Duncker, Librarian of the 
Standische Landesbibliothek at Cassel, and the secretary, Herr 
Schultheiss; Doctor Konnecke, Keeper of the Archives at Marburg, and his 
assistants; and Doctor Speyer, Court Librarian to his Most Serene Highness 
the Prince of Waldeck, through whose kindness I have obtained copies of 
manuscripts in their respective keeping.

A part of the contents of this volume appeared in the form of letters to 
the New York Times in the winter of 1880-1881.