Nelda et al -- > MONEY... were the German soldiers (Hessians) paid money or did the prince > of the area they came from get it all..??? As I write this, no one has chosen to reply to your querie so, although no expert on the matter, I will opine. There is no relationship between the amount of money paid by the British to the treasuries of the various German States and the amount paid by the German States to the troops that were supplied. Think of it as a company subcontracting personal services on a time and material basis -- the workers don't get anything like the amount paid to the Temp Services Provider. At The National Archives at Kew (T 31/812) is a volume titled "Pay and Stoppages" as it applies to the Ansbach-Bayreuth troops. "Pay" would be the composite of pay and allowances. I believe that the base pay for the various German States was the same as the British which was higher than the pay in peacetime garrisons in Germany. The British Private's base pay was something like six pence per day or 15 shillings per 30 day month to which he would have stoppages for food, etc. Officers had a "bat and forage" allowance intended, I believe, to cover the cost of their horse(s) and groom(s). The Brunswick Privates sent to Penobscot in 1782 had a half-penny per day allowance for "land supplies which is destined for the small pieces of regimentals" (see JSHA Journal, 7:1 [2001], p. 55); however, Captain HU Cleve, the detachment commander complained "With 2 pairs of shoes and one shirt in the period of 13 Eng. months, the soldier will already be in debt here." (Ibid.) Another consideration is that while the Continental Congress issued paper currency without holding the wealth to back it; therefore, it became subject to runaway inflation, the British banking system continued to operate as before. Payment was made either in hard currency of by discounted note drawn on some bank or merchant house. The discount at Penobscot on the British Paymaster General was 8% in 1782; i.e., for a note in the value of £100, the merchant would deliver only £92 in hard currency. The merchant then had to get the note to Halifax and present it to Paymaster General Alexander Thompson whereupon he would receive £100 in hard currency, of which £8 was his profit. In peacetime, the same transaction probably would have a discount of about 3%. When the British evacuated New York in Nov/Dec 1783, HMS SOPHIE (Captain Hon'ble Alexander F.I. Cochrane) reported brought away the residual British Treasury valued at £320,000. I am not sure of the exact rate he received but 1% to 1-1/2% was common which meant the future Lord Cochrane received, say, £4,800; however, If he lost it, he would have been liable for the entire amount (of course, there were loopholes). Although he was only age 25, he was a son of the Earl of Dundonald who was rich enough to cover the potential losses. Incidentally, HMS SOPHIE almost didn't make it back, getting damaged in a gale and having to divert into Lisbon for repairs. Although plundering was prohibited, it was an ongoing problem for the commanders; however, it was rife. The problem was that a soldier could only carry so much gold on his person and, if captured, could expect to have it confiscated by the captors. The Journal of Conrad Döhla discussing getting paid at Frederick MD in May 1783, just days before repatriation. As I recall, some "deserters" came in to draw their pay then they took off again. Bob Brooks

Thank you Bob... very informative...and interesting. Helps one to understand more about how they survived.. Regards Nelda Pax et bonum! Nelda L. Percival nee Gilpin http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gillock/ http://doodleartgraphics.com