Allendorf was in Kurhessen, now Hesse Nassau. It was never part of Prussia. Prussia at the time was a separate independent Nation. Hessen Soldiers were recruited from the area and leased to the King of England, a close relative of the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel. The troops were not mercenaties as we use the term. They were auxillary troops hired from the Langrave by the King of England. ( By the way, King George did not speak English) Carl

King George III of England did most definitely speak English! He was born and spent his entire life in England. His grandfather King George I did not speak English and King George II, his father, spoke both German and English. The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel did not become the Electorate of Hesse (Kurhessen) until 1803. The Landgrave of Hesse was only one of the German princes who furnished troops to fight in America. This was not an unusual practice for the time as other rulers also hired out their troops. There was a German regiment, the Deux-Ponts Regiment, among the French troops at Yorktown. For more on the German troops in the American Revolution see the series of books by Bruce Burgoyne available fro Heritage Books Inc. David Rorer ----- Original Message ----- From: <Clwdee@aol.com> To: <HESSE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 4:20 AM Subject: Re: [HESSE] Hessian Soldiers > Allendorf was in Kurhessen, now Hesse Nassau. It was never part of > Prussia. Prussia at the time was a separate independent Nation. > Hessen Soldiers were recruited from the area and leased to the King of > England, a close relative of the Landgrave of Hesse Kassel. The troops were not > mercenaties as we use the term. They were auxillary troops hired from the > Langrave by the King of England. ( By the way, King George did not speak English) > Carl > > > ==== HESSE Mailing List ==== > Don't overlook the Hesse mailing list taglines at the > bottom of each list E-Mail you receive. Valuable infor- > mation is presented there! > >