Nelda -- I am sure there is something in the archives which would answer your question; however, I'll take a fresh cut.. First, many on this list take offense that these troops are called "mercenaries" for, with few exceptions, they were not -- the principal exceptions being "3. englisch-waldeckisches Soldregiment" from Waldeck and the 2,000 recruits rasied by Colonel von Scheither with served in British regiments. The preferred word in German is "Hülfstruppen" or "Auxillary Troops." The governments of the German states hired out units from their standing armies to serve in America. In a modern analogy, think of the situation as if the United States "hired" a bunch of regiments from other countries and deployed them assist in a military action in a country on the other side of the world. For example, guess who paid for the ROK troops in Vietnam. The soldiers were not mercenaries -- they simply were serving their government and going where sent. The auxilary soldiers were paid by their governments but their governments were paid far more than their costs. These "profits" from hiring their troops was the motivation to supply troops and generated the income necessary to payoff large state debts. Each state provided replacement troops for those killed, invalided, or deserted. These replacements joined annually and I would estimate that close to one-third of all the German troops who served in North America came as replacement troops. For example, The 1782 transport of replacements comprised 2,018 officers and men, 112 women and 33 children and they only made it as far as Halifax, except for the 247 Ansbach-Bayreuth and 227 Brunswick replacements (including servants and women) who were sent to Penobscot. The majority of the German soldiers were not conscripted; however, towards the end of the war the manpower pool dried up and there doubtless was some conscription. The story which has been propagated over time of young men being dragged from their homes and shipped to America is an exception to what normally had happened. My limited research indicates that of the initial cadre deployed in 1776, at least three-quarters of them had served in their regiments for over a year. Remember, the previous peace was 1763 so serving in a standing regiment was good pay for little work; consequenty, there were proverbial waiting lines of men wanting join the standing regiments. There are two arguments as to why all the Germans soldiers were called "Hessians." For a frame of reference, think of a Hessian as relating to Germany as a Virginian would relate to America. First, there were almost 30,000 German troops deployed during the war of which about 60% were from Hesse-Cassel. The simple fact that the majority were true Hessians certainly contributed to all being called "Hessians." There were six different states which provided auxillary troops: 1776 to New York Hesse-Cassel 15 regiments infantry, 4 battalions grenadier, artillery, & Jägers Waldeck 1 regiment infantry (non-native mercenaries) 1776 to Canada Brunswick [Braunschweig] 5 regiments infantry, 1 battalion dragoons, & Artillery Hesse-Hanau infantry, artillery, & Jägers 1777 to New York Ansbach-Bayreuth 2 regiments infantry, artillery, & Jägers 1778 to Canada Anhalt-Zerbst 1 regiment infantry (I did this list from memory so apologize in advance for any errors) The exact number of troops supplied by each state is controversial so from memory I give some very approximate numbers here: 18,000-19,000 Hesse-Cassel 5,000- 6,000 Brunswick 2,500- 3,000 Ansbach-Bayreuth 1,500- 2,000 Hesse-Hanau 1,000- 1,500 Waldeck 600- 700 Anhalt-Zerbst The second argument is that in the United States in 1776, the Germans were ALL Hessians (counting their Waldeck "cousins" as Hessians). All of the 1,000 men captured at Trenton were Hessians from Hesse-Cassel. It wasn't until the Ansbach-Bayreuth troops arrived in New York in 1777 that non-Hessian German troops were deployed. Among those troops surrendering with Burgoyne in Oct 1777 at Saratoga were troops from Brunswick and Hesse-Hanau. As part of the Convention Army they would be marched to Virginia in 1778-1779 so, with the exception of the troops from Anhalt-Zerbst, deserters from all the other continguents will be found throughout the original 13 United States. Bob Brooks ----- Original Message ----- From: Nelda Percival To: AMREV-HESSIANS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2004 2:23 PM Subject: RE: [HESSIAN] Hessian Soldier - Myth and Truth! Dear John, I was wondering if there was something on line/in archives (somewhere) that explained the difference between what we (like me) uneduicated descendants, knew of the term "Hessian"... In my experience that meant a German soldier who fought for the English King and was paid... like the term mercinary. But, I have learned from this list and primarly you that the term Hessian meant a soldier from Hessia/Kassel.... The money that was paid was paid to the Prince not the soldier.... <<clip>>Thanks Nelda