I have a few questions that I hope someone will be able to help me with. I've read that at times, German officials delayed reporting Hessian desertions in order to continue receiving payment from the British. How likely is this to happen? How long could this have been delayed? Conscript vs. Kidnap: There are many accounts of young German men being forced or tricked into the Army during the time period of our Hessians, however there is also evidence that they were conscripted, or drafted into service upon reaching a certain age. Generally, did this depend on which state the lad came from? Were certain German princes more apt than others to have done this? If a Hessian POW signed an oath of allegiance and paid his $80 for freedom at the end of the war, would the German Army records still reflect him as being a "deserter"? I read that upon doing this, the prisoners received a certificate from the Minister of War enabling them to stay in America. Where would one search for evidence of this certificate, in the national military archives, or locally in the county where this would have taken place? I'm searching for a good researcher in the Frederick, Md. area. If anyone has any experience with a particular one, please email me privately. Thanks, Marie Rasnick Fetzer descendant of Johann Ruehrschneck of the Ansbach-Bayreuth Troops

> -----Original Message----- > From: Marie Rasnick Fetzer [mailto:mariefetzer@tds.net] > Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 8:01 PM > To: AMREV-HESSIANS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [HESSIAN] Conscript vs. Kidnap > > I have a few questions that I hope someone will be able to > help me with. > > I've read that at times, German officials delayed reporting > Hessian desertions in order to continue receiving payment > from the British. How likely is this to happen? How long > could this have been delayed? > It really depends. Some captured troops were still listed as prisoners of war after they deserted out of the prisoner of war camps. I believe that Brunswick officers were still trying to find some deserters from the convention army as late as 1783. > Conscript vs. Kidnap: There are many accounts of young > German men being forced or tricked into the Army during the > time period of our Hessians, however there is also evidence > that they were conscripted, or drafted into service upon > reaching a certain age. Generally, did this depend on which > state the lad came from? Were certain German princes more apt > than others to have done this? > This depended upon the state in question. The Hesse-Kassel Army was based upon a system that did conscript men, as well as recruiting 'volunteers'. Recruiting practices amounting to kidnapping certainly existed during the period, but it depends on who, where, and when. > If a Hessian POW signed an oath of allegiance and paid his > $80 for freedom at the end of the war, would the German Army > records still reflect him as being a "deserter"? Mostly, yes. I read that > upon doing this, the prisoners received a certificate from > the Minister of War enabling them to stay in America. Hesse-Kassel certainly didn't do anything like that. But at least in Pennsylvania, there are recorded oaths of allegiance, and one can find some German deserters showing up on militia muster rolls by the end of the war. Hope that helps some, Robert Sulentic