German mercenaries.
Soon after the opening of the British Parliament in the autumn of 1775, that body, stimulated by Lord North, the premier, and
Lord George Germain, secretary for the colonies, and at the suggestion of
Admiral Howe, promptly voted 25,000 men for service against the
Americans.
It was difficult to obtain enlistments in
Great Britain, and mercenaries were sought in
Germany.
At the close of the year, and at the beginning of 1776, bargains were effected between representatives of the
British government and the reigning princes of
Hesse-Cassel,
Hesse-Hanau,
Brunswick,
Anhalt, Anspach, and
Waldeck.
In the bargains, the fundamental law of trade—supply and demand—prevailed.
The
King of
England had money, but lacked troops; the German rulers had troops, but wanted money.
The bargain was a natural one on business principles; the morality of the transaction was another affair.
About 30,000 German troops, most of them well disciplined, were hired.
The German rulers were to receive for each soldier a bounty of $35, besides an annual subsidy, the whole amounting to a large sum.
The British government agreed to make restitution for all soldiers who might perish from contagious disease while being transported in ships and in engagements during sieges.
They were to take an oath of allegiance to the
British sovereign during their service, without its interfering with similar oaths to their respective rulers.
Their
chief commanders, when they sailed for
America, were
Generals Baron de Riedesel,
Baron Knyphausen, and
De Heister.
The general name of “Hessians” was given to them by the
Americans, and, because they were mercenaries, they were heartily detested by the colonists.
When any brutal act of oppression or wrong was to be carried out, such as a plundering or burning
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expedition, the Hessians were generally employed in the service.
The transaction was regarded by other nations as disgraceful to the
British.
The
King of
Great Britain shrank from the odium it inflicted, and refused to give commissions to German recruiting officers (for he knew their methods of forcing men into the service), saying, “It, in plain
English, amounts to making me a kidnapper, which I cannot think a very honorable occupation.”
All
Europe cried “Shame!”
and Frederick the
Great, of
Prussia, took every opportunity to express his contempt for the “scandalous man-traffic” of his neighbors.
Without these troops, the war would have been short.
A part of them, under
Riedesel, went to
Canada (May, 1776); the remainder, under
Knyphausen and
De Heister, joined the
British under
Howe, before New York, and had their first encounter on
Long Island, Aug. 27.
See
Hessians.
