> --- Original Message ----- > From: <Antiquariu@aol.com> > To: <HESSE-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 1:44 AM > Subject: Re: [HESSE] Hessian Soldiers > > > > More material from Burgoyne's book, confirmed by my memory as well, which > > seems to debunk that statement that these were very loyal folks with a low > > desertion rate. Fact is, many of them deserted. Then perhaps some quotes from Edward J. Lowell "The Hessians and the other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War" are in order. From Chapter XXIV the conclusion to this book Begin quotes "The force of German mercenaries which England maintained in America from 1776 to 1783 averaged not very far from twenty thousand men. In the course of that time about thirty thousand soldiers were brought over, and seventeen thousand three hundred and thirteen returned to Germany when the war was ended" It has sometimes been said that the German soldiers deserted in great numbers in America. This assertion is only partially borne out by facts. At the time when the first Hessians arrived at Staten Island, Congress caused papers to be distributed among them, encouraging them to desert.........These promises were not entirely without result. In August, 1778, two Hessian lieutenants came to Washington's camp, and held out hopes that other officers would follow them. These hopes were illusory for the most part. Even among the privates the desertion was less than might have been expected. It was proportionally large among the prisoners of war. The army that surrendered at Saratoga in October, 1777, numbered five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one men, of whom two thousand four hundred and thirty-one were Germans. From this army six hundred and fifty-five Englishmen and one hundred and sixty Germans had deserted by the 1st of April, 1778. Some of the desertion among the prisoners was only apparent. The German captives sometimes left the dreary huts in which they were confined and wandered away, in hopes of reaching New York, or one of the British armies. If it be true, as the German writers assert, and as seems to be the case, that the German soldiers deserted less than the English in this war, the cause is not far to seek. The troops were employed for the most part in neighborhoods where the inhabitants could speak no German. Moreover, the "Hessians," as the auxiliaries were indiscriminately called, were objects of peculiar abhorrence to the natives. There name might probably be sometimes heard as a term of reproach to this day in country districts. The English deserted became indistinguishable from the moment when he took off his red coat. The German could speak no word that did not betray him. We have seen that seventeen thousand three hundred and thirteen Germans or about fifty-eight percent of those who came over as mercenaries, returned safely to Europe. Of the twelve thousand five hundred and fifty-four that remained, a small proportion had been killed in battle or had died of their wounds, many had died of sickness, many had deserted, some had remained in America, after piece was concluded, with the consent of the authorities. Hessian officers and privates received grants of land in Nova Scotia, and the Duke of Brunswick inhumanely ordered that not only soldiers guilty of crimes and disorderly conduct, but those who were bodily unfit for military duty, should be left in Canada." End quotes Of necessity this is not the entire text of the conclusion. Those interested in reading more may want to obtain the book which is published by Corner House Historical Publications, Gansevoort, New York and is available in paperback. This book is a reproduction of the original book which was published in1884. The author traveled to Germany and read the original accounts of every major and many minor engagement that occurred during the war. The story that the German troops were unwilling conscripts ready to desert at the first opportunity is a myth. These were professional soldiers, whose first loyalty was to their regiment and their sovereign. At the conclusion they could expect to be returned to their homes and families, in Germany. Indeed the German troops could not understand why the Americans were revolting against their lawful sovereign when they lived so pleasantly and free of restrictions. The same stories are not told about the French troops which fought in America, which also included German regiments in their ranks. In the late nineteenth century, the Germans were still perceived as the "Terrible Hessians"; whole regiments of mercenaries who were brought to America to kill, plunder and ruin. The roots of these falsehoods were imbedded in rumor and nourished by jealousy and discontent. You-all do our ancestors no good service by perpetrating these falsehoods. David Rorer