This book lists the English and [¬Hessian[¬ regiments which served in the colonies during the American Revolutionary War and the names of their officers. It also includes a list of all English ships in the Navy.

In the closing days of 1776, the future looked gloomy for the American colonists; their Revolution was in dire straits. The remnants of the American army in Pennsylvania, led by General George Washington, were fading away. Across the Delaware River, the English forces had gone into winter quarters and were awaiting the start of a final campaign in the spring of the coming year, when they would crush any remaining American force. A brigade of Hessian hirelings was stationed at the most exposed English outpost at Trenton; their commander was Hessian colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall, hero of White Plains and Fort Washington. On 26 December, however, the course of history took a sharp and sudden change when the two commanders, Washington and Rall, clashed. Washington's army of 6,000 men crossed the Delaware River in a blinding winter storm and attacked Rall's brigade. In the fighting which followed, the Americans had only a handful of casualties, while Hessian casualties amounted to about 900. The Hessian soldiers kept numerous diaries in which they recorded their impressions of America and Americans, as well as their daily military activity. Here, Mr. Burgoyne has translated some of these documents to provide descriptions and opinions of the senior commanders at Trenton. These pages are packed with fascinating description and insight concerning these two men. Researchers and history buffs alike will love this chance to "get to know" the men behind the history. You'll find that neither Washington nor Rall was quite what we were taught in school. Mr. Burgoyne is a recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Revolution Roundtable of Philadelphia.

This author enjoys a unique and pre-eminent position in the study of Hessian records of the American Revolution, having translated literally thousands of pages of the journals and writings of Dohla, Prechtel, Waldeck, Pausch, Von Feilitsch, Bartholomai, Piel, Wiederhold, Rueffer, "J.R." Steuernagel, and many other Hessian soldiers. To this impressive list he now adds the writings of Lieutenant Friedrich Julius Von Papet, a young Brunswick officer whose journal spans the period from May of 1776 to October of 1783. "One of the most significant and important effects of the English employment of Hessians during the American Revolutionary War was the retention of English control of Canada. General John Burgoyne had taken most of the British] military strength from Canada for his command when he marched against the American colonists in 1777. However, even after France entered the war on the American side], the residents of that former French colony were not strong enough to openly resist the military control exercised by a small English and Hessian command. As a result, England retained Canada under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1783." Troops from Hesse-Cassel, Waldeck and Ansbach-Bayreuth were sent to Howe's command, as well as some troops from Hesse-Hanau and Anhalt-Zerbst, while troops from Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick and Anhalt-Zerbst provided the forces sent to Canada, together with some troops from Hesse-Cassel which were sent from New York to Canada later in the war. The Brunswick troops, numbering 4,300 men, sailed for America in two divisions, one departing in late March 1776, and the other, including Von Papet, departing on 31 May 1776, two weeks after the start of this journal. Von Papet was one of the Hessians (only 600+ officers and non-commissioned officers) who remained behind in Canada when John Burgoyne began his march against the American colonists in 1777. Though only twenty-one years old, Von Papet was assigned the important position of brigade major. Because he kept a diary throughout his English service (all the way up to his return march to Brunswick), we have a picture of the military, social and cultural life in Canada at that time. As a very young man in a very demanding position, Von Papet records the inner reactions among his superiors with a noteworthy caution and understanding not to let his position cause him harm. As there is a scarcity of information concerning military affairs in Canada during the American Revolution, Von Papet's journal provides much-needed insight into why Canada never became a very large fourteenth American colony.

The ultimate outcome of the American Revolutionary War was foreordained when England turned to the European continent to obtain soldiers. Rulers of six small German states (Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick, Waldeck, Ansbach-Bayreuth and Anhalt-Zerbst) signed treaties with England whereby troop units were placed in English service. These Hessians represented one-third of all combatants serving the Crown during the American Revolutionary War. They were good soldiers; however, they may have been one of the primary reasons that England lost her American colonies. They came as enemies, but many became compatriots and fellow-fighters for freedom and the independence of the United States. This detailed account of the Hessian's contribution to this nation's growth includes the Waldeck Articles of War, 1775 (both the German and English versions); and examines the role of women with the Hessian units. Seven color plates and a bibliography enhance the text. The author has researched the role of the Hessians in the American Revolutionary War for more than fifty years; published thirty books, primarily based on his translations of Hessian documents; and lectured on Hessians. He is a recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Revolution Roundtable of Philadelphia and the Gold Good Citizen Medal from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

This book comprises two accounts of the Mirbach Regiment and its involvement in the Revolutionary War. Firstly, there is the regimental journal, kept by quartermaster August Schmidt, which spans the period from the unit's departure from regimental headquarters in Melsungen on March 1, 1776 to its return home May 30th 1784 at the close of the war. Secondly there is the journal kept by Ensign (later Lieutenant) Karl Reuffer. Although it covers a shorter time span (March 1, 1776 to December 28, 1777), it goes into much greater detail, and occupies three quarters of the book. Thus we are able to compare two accounts of the same events. As an appendix to his journal, Rueffer included a list of all Hesse-Cassel officer deaths up to the end of 1777, giving the officer's unit, place, time and cause of death.

This volume contains translations of two versions of the Revolutionary War diary of Johann Ernst Prechtel: the first from the "original" document, and the second from an author-revised later version. Both are included here "to provide an easily comparable

A largely unexploited source of information on life in colonial America is to be found in the diaries of those German soldiers who came to America as the so-called Hessians during the American Revolutionary War. Of all the diaries, that of Philipp Waldec

This book comprises two accounts of the Mirbach Regiment and its involvement in the Revolutionary War. Firstly, there is the regimental journal, kept by quartermaster August Schmidt, which spans the period from the unit's departure from regimental headqua

Six German states furnished troops to Britain to serve in America during the Revolutionary War. Those states were Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick, Waldeck, Ansbach-Bayreuth, and Anhalt-Zerbst. By far the largest contingent was provided by Hesse-Casse

Contains the wartime diaries of Lieutenant Johann Heinrich von Bardeleben, the company Church Book of the von Donop Regiment compiled by Chaplain Georg Christoph Coester, and the regimental journal of Quartermaster Johann Georg Zinn. Johann von Bardeleben

Foreword by John Gardner. Presents parts of the diaries, letters and regimental records from 34 individual sources from five of the six German states which rented their armies to Great Britain. The reader experiences the war in chronological order, from t

Mr. Burgoyne continues to add to our knowledge of the Germans' participation in the Revolutionary War. Although these auxiliary soldiers came from many different areas of Germany, they were generally lumped together under the term "Hessians." They fough

Ludwig Alberti was born around 1767 or 1768 in Pyrmont, Germany. He sailed as captain commandant of the Colonel's Company of the 5th Waldeck Battalion in the service of the Batavian Republic (Holland). He then served at the Cape as commander of the Jaeger

This fascinating journal begins 14 January 1776 when the illustrious Prince Charles Regiment receives orders to augment prior to marching out of the garrison at Hersfeld, Germany, to begin its march to America, and continues with an account of what transp

The two diaries contained in this volume were written by Lieutenant Jakob Piel of the Hesse-Cassel von Lossberg Regiment and Captain Andreas Wiederhold of the Hesse-Cassel von Knyphausen Regiment. Their careers in America paralleled each other for a part

The order book is an excellent source of information on promotions and transfers throughout the Hessian army, and provides a picture of the daily life in an infantry regiment. It also reveals detailed accounts of battle plans, drill instructions, discipli

By the late eighteenth century, continental armies had adopted a unit comprised of men who were familiar with nature, lightly armed, and able to move quickly. They were also excellent marksmen. To fill the ranks of these units, foresters-jaegers in German

Having collected considerable information on the 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment and having translated the diary of the regimental chaplain, Philip Waldeck; the memoir of a quartermaster sergeant, Karl Philipp Steuernagel; and an autograph book of the unit's

When England was faced with the necessity of trying to suppress the revolt in the American Colonies in 1775, there were not enough men in the kingdom to fulfill all the English military commitments. Therefore, England turned to the continent of Europe and

This unique diary, written by one of the thirty thousand Hessian troops whose services were sold to George III to suppress the American Revolution, is the most complete and informative primary account of the Revolution from the common soldier's point of view. Johann Conrad Dohla describes not just military activities but also events leading up to the Revolution, American customs, the cities and regions that he visited, and incidents in other parts of the world that affected the war. He also evaluates the important military commanders, giving readers an insight into how the enlisted men felt about their leaders and opponents. Private Dohla crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1777 as a private in the Ansbach-Bayreuth contingent of Hessian mercenaries. His American sojourn began in June 1777 in New York. Then, after several months on Staten Island and Manhatten, the Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments traveled to the thriving seaport of Newport, Rhode Island, where they spent more than a year before the British forces evacuated the area. The Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments returned briefly to the New York New Jersey area before they were sent to reinforce the English command in Virginia. Eventually Dohla participated in the battle of Yorktown-of which he provides a vivid description-before enduring two years as a prisoner of war after Cornwallis's surrender. Bruce E. Burgoyne has provided an accurate translation, helpful notes for scholars and general readers, and an introduction on the Ansbach-Bayreuth regiments and the history of Johann Conrad Dohla and his diary. This first edition of the diary in English will delight all who are interested in the American Revolution and the thirteen original colonies. Bruce E. Burgoyne, a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, holds a master's degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. His military career was spent mostly in military intelligence, with service in the United States Navy, Army, and Air Force. Since retirement, he has spent many years researching the role of the Hessians in the American Revolution and has translated numerous Hessian diaries published by the Johannes Schwalm Association.