A German Regiment Among the French Auxiliary Troops of the American Revolutionary War


Book Description

The Royal German Regiment Zweibrucken, led by Prince Christian von Zweibrucken, is the focal point of this publication, which is based upon a heretofore unpublished manuscript by H.A. Rattermann found among the papers in the Rattermann Collection at the University of Illinois-Urbana by the noted German-American authority, Don Heinrich Tolzmann, who also edited the manuscript for publication. Rattermann's account follows Prince Zweibrucken and his charges from April 15, 1780, when they sailed for America. After landing in Newport, Rhode Island on July 11, Zweibrucken's unit encamped at various places in New England. During the spring and summer of the following year, They were instrumental in launching feint attacks against British General Henry Clinton's forces in New York, while a large American army was beginning to amass against Cornwallis in Virginia. The German unit eventually arrived in Williamsburg on September 26, 1781, and from October 14-17, contributed to the U.S. victory at Yorktown.




German Troops in the American Revolution (1)


Book Description

During the American Revolution (1775–83), German auxiliary troops provided a vital element of the British war effort. Some 30,000 German troops served in North America, continuing a long-established relationship between Britain and various German principalities. These troops were widely referred to as mercenaries, implying that they sold their services individually, but they were in fact regular troops hired as a body by the British. Initially feared by the American population, the German troops came to be highly respected by their opponents. Their role in the fighting would inform the tactics and methods of a generation of German officers who returned to Europe after the war, many of whom went on to hold senior commands during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The largest body of German troops was from Hessen-Cassel. The only German contingent to be employed as a unit under its own general officers, they were clothed and equipped in the style of Frederick the Great's Prussians and were trained in much the same way. Many had seen active service during the Seven Years' War (1756–63) and served under career officers; they were well-disciplined and competent but showed little overt enthusiasm for the British cause. The troops of Hessen-Cassel would participate in every major campaign of the conflict, with the specialized skills of the famous Jäger being particularly in demand. Fully illustrated, this lively study examines the organization, appearance, weapons, and equipment of the Hessen-Cassel troops who fought for King George in the American Revolution.







Hessians


Book Description

Between 1776 and 1783, Britain hired an estimated 30,000 German soldiers to fight in its war against the Americans. Collectively known as Hessians, they actually came from six German territories within the Holy Roman Empire. Over the course of the war, members of the German corps, including women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North to West Florida and Cuba in the South. They shared in every significant British military triumph and defeat. Thousands died of disease, were killed in battle, were captured by the enemy, or deserted. Collectively, they recorded their experiences and observations of the war they fought in, the land they traversed, and the people they encountered in a large body of letters, diaries, and similar private and official records. Friederike Baer presents a study of Britain's war against the American rebels from the perspective of the German soldiers, a people uniquely positioned both in the midst of the war and at its margins. The book offers a ground-breaking reimagining of this watershed event in world history.




Toward Combined Arms Warfare


Book Description




The Hessians


Book Description

A study of the German auxiliaries who fought with the British against the American colonists.




The American Revolution, Garrison Life in French Canada and New York


Book Description

This eyewitness account by an ensign in the Braunschweig Prinz Friedrich Regiment brings the Northern Campaign of the American Revolution vividly to life. This journal tells about events around Fort Ticonderoga, military ways, life in Quebec, and crossing the Atlantic in the late 1700s. Helga Doblin has translated the work, and Mary C. Lynn provides an introduction and notes that put the account into the context of those times. A map and illustrations enhance the volume, made accessible by two indexes. Students of military history and of Colonial America, and those in upstate New York and Quebec who would like to know more about life there 300 years ago, will find this work informative and entertaining. It brings the Revolution and the Northern Campaign in New York and Quebec vividly to life.