----- Original Message ----- From: <Antiquariu@aol.com> To: <HESSE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 12:00 PM Subject: Re: [HESSE] Hessian Soldiers > In a message dated 11/6/2003 11:39:42 AM Eastern Standard Time, > drorer@fuse.net writes: > > > > 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. > > > > > Hmmm... Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much. As a Waldecker with a > number of ancestors who fought with the 3rd Waldeck, I am of the opinion that > the scholarship in this area is somewhat lacking. To this date, villages > throughout Waldeck list in their village and parish histories the conscription > campaigns during which the 'lange Jungs' were press-ganged. This was, to be > fair, not just a Waldecker measure, but also done by the British with the Scots > and the Irish. I would venture to say that the only professional soldiers one > would find in the three Waldeck regiments were von Dalwigk and a few other > officers. One must recall that the Leibeigenschaft was still in force throughout > Hessen, and that the notion of a professional standing army was still in the > process of development. I do appreciate your take on the numbers -- every > source, from the HETRINA archives on down -- has different figures. > > Werner Saemmler Hindrichs > Director of Operations > ALS, Inc > 1-540-592-7215 > Fax: 1-703-832-0692 > Thee hath spake upon that which thou ill knoweth: The standing army in Hesse-Kassel was formed under Landgrave Charles I (reigned 1670-1730) who sent a force of 1600 men to Christian V of Denmark in 1677. The first of many such contracts with various rulers. The standing army in England was formed by Cromwell, after 1660 when he created the New Model Army. Reference: "Indentured to Liberty, Peasant Life and the Hessian Military State, 1688-1815 by Peter K. Tayler, Cornell University Press "The Hessian Mercenary State," by Charles W. Ingrao, Cambridge University Press Go informe thy self such that when thou desireth to converse again thee canst speak from authority. And when thou desireth to converse upon this matter again pray take thy self to soc.history.war.misc where thou will findeth many and diverse persons who are much willing to engage in such discourse. Your obedient servant David Rorer