AMREV-HESSIANS-L Archives

From: John Helmut Merz <>
Subject: The Virginia Germans by Klaus Wust.
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 22:13:35 -0800

Chapter Six - Revolutionary War - page 87:

"An unexpected reinforcement of the Virginia Germans was provided
from the ranks of the enemy. The British used a great many hired
troops from German states, particularly from Hessen-Cassel and Ansbach-
Bayreuth, for their North American operations. These soldiers naturally
lacked the determination to fight to the last which a struggle against
an often desperate revolutionary foe required. Large contingents of
these German troops fell into American hands in the course of the war.
The western parts of Virginia and Maryland were deemed the safest areas
for their confinement. Early in 1777, some of these "Hessians," as
they were called indiscriminately although they hailed from many
different parts of Germany, were marched from Dumfries to Winchester
when the British fleet appeared in the Chesapeake Bay. Again in Sept.
1777, another group was transferred to Winchester from Pennsylvania.
Three hundred men were quartered on nearby farms, and they were
accorded six hours of freedom daily. The officers found more congenial
housing in local hostelries. A British advance in the Carolinas in
October 1780 caused the removal of British and Hessian prisoners from
their camps in Albemarle County to the Shenandoah Valley. Finally,
toward the end of the war many of the Yorktown prisoners were taken
to Frederick County. Whenever permitted by the military authorities,
these Germans found ready work on the farms in western Virginia. A few
skilled ones worked as stonemasons and some were employed in the
planting of orchards. Attempts were also made to use their skills for
the American war effort. In February 1781 Major Richard Claiborne
informed Governor Jefferson: "In establishing manufacture of
wagon-harness, I have fixed one at Charlottesville for the purpose of
employing the German Workmen among the Convention troops."
Throughout the war special efforts were made to encourage desertion
among the German auxiliary troops in order to weaken the British
forces. The Continental Congress in 1776 offered fifty acres of land
to any Hessian private soldier deserting the British colors. In 1781
Governor Jefferson renewed and enlarged this offer during the invasion
of Virginia. "further promising to all such foreigners who shall leave
the armies of his Brittanic majesty while in this state and repair
forthwith to me at this place, that they shall receive from this
Commonwealth a further donation of two cows, and an exemption during
the present war from all taxes for the support therof and from all
militia and military service." These offers, of course, did not apply
to Hessians who were already prisoners of war. Inevitable contacts
with the civilian population and with German-speaking militia guards
resulted in the defection of many during the war. Some espoused the
American cause wholeheartedly and soon differed in no way from the
local Germans. As individuals, deserters from the German auxiliary
units of the enemy armies found ready acceptance in German neighbor-
hoods, but collectively these hirelings were looked down upon and the
term "Hessian" long carried unpleasant connotations in Virginia.
Military commanders were sometimes at a loss as to what to do with
prisoners who wandered off from the compounds. Stern General von
Steuben promptly shipped nine Germans back to camp in Charlottesville
after they had been found roaming the streets of Richmond. Colonel
Wood confined them separately and suggested their release because
"they are under great apprehensions of being delivered to their own
Officers. I really believe they wish to remain in the country, and I
think they would be useful Labourers." There were indeed a number of
escapees from these camps who, for fear of being returned to their
interned regiments, fled to remote and secluded valleys among the
mountains where they were sheltered by German settlers.-------------

Klaus Wust, the author of this book, gives us another perspective
of how the Hessians were looked upon by Virginians, and I do not
want to comment on his view one way or another. Regards, John Merz.

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• The Virginia Germans by Klaus Wust. by John Helmut Merz <>