The Hessians Are Coming!

“The Hessians are coming,” was in the 18th century a chilling statement.

The Hessians were among the most disciplined and feared mercenaries of that century.  Mercenaries were important to the European armies of the 18th century to augment the infantry.  For the principality of Hesse-Cassel, the services provided by their loaned men to the empires of Europe provided the equivalent of thirteen years of tax revenue. This enabled the prince, Landgraf Fredrich II to provide free public education and a comprehensive welfare system as well as keep taxes low. The Hessians were well trained, disciplined, and most importantly, feared – good value for the money.(1)

Hessian Grenadiers

In 1776, the Americans were well aware that the Hessians would be part of any army that was fielded in the coming conflict.  The Declaration of Independence actually mentions mercenaries as one of the violations that the Crown has made against them. So when the British arrive in large numbers in June of 1776, the Hessians and their reputation came with them.

The Howe brothers came on a dual mission: one their own and one the Crown’s. Theirs was to make peace with the Americans so the Hessians were a problem for General Howe due to their reputation for plunder. This will push many Americans on the fence into the Patriot cause.  Certainly, George Washington was concerned about the Hessians and their impact on those colonists who were from Germany.

Washington ordered pamphlets dispersed among the Hessians in order to promote desertions to the American cause.  He had also contemplated raising German American units that would specifically be aimed at encouraging desertions among the Hessian ranks.  Certainly, as the British harassed the Americans through Pennsylvania and the South, some Hessians did desert.  But what Washington did not take into account were the enormous benefits to Hessians’ families in Hesse. Desertion would mean that their families would also loose their special privileges a strong inducement to stay in the ranks.

The Americans were right to fear the Hessians.  They were an important and infamous part of the Battle of Brooklyn whose anniversary is this weekend. Under the command of General Leopold von Heister, the Hessians held the line distracting the Americans from the flanking maneuver of the rest of the British army.  Their frequent use of the bayonet while chasing after Americans led to great panic among the American ranks especially along the Gowanus Creek.(2) The Hessians treatment of Americans captured in the aftermath of the Battle of Brooklyn would cement their reputation in American historic memory.

1. Head, David. “Hessians,” The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, accessed August 25, 2017, http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/hessians/-Hessians.
2. O’Donnell, Patrick K. Washington’s Immortals: The Untold Story of an Elite Regiment – Who Changed the Course of the Revolution. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016, 63-68; 90-97.