The Hessians in America. War of Independence, The Revolutionary War, Hessen Germany, Hesse, History, Family History, Hessen Deutschland. Hessians. Das Deutschland Geschichte Netz. The Germany History Network.

       In order to quell the disturbances in the American colonies, in 1775 British King George III purchased the services of 30,000 German Soldiers to augment his British regulars. These German soliders were transported to America where they made up approximately one-third of the King’s army in the colonies. The British paid the equivalent of $150,000 for the services of the German soldiers, all of which went into the royal treasuries of the German Princes. The German soldiers profitted little from the arrangement.

       The American colonists were offended that King George III had turned foreign enemies loose on them. The colonists referred to all of the German soldiers as Hessians and as mercenaries. There were a great many pro-Britain, pro-Crown Tories and politically neutral people in the colonies. The introduction of foreign mercenaries into the mix did did not sit well with the colonists and even today, we can find distain toward the Hessians here in the United States. The term Hessian has entered our lexicon of regional English, especially in the area of New England southward to Georgia.

       Not all of the German soldiers came from principalities other than Hesse-Kassal and Hesse-Hanau. Since the command of the German force was Hessian and the Hessians made up the majority of the soliders, the term Hessian was applied to of the German soliders.

       These troops came from Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Hanau, Brunswick, Anspach, Bayreuth, Anhalt Zerbst and Waldeck.