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GERMAN STATES' FORCES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 090. Few armsstudents understand the many, almost feudalistic, Germanic states that made up north-central Europe in the 18th century. These states were ruled by various princes, dukes, landgraves,and electors. Many small groupsof states were interdependent and intertwined by marital and blood relationships as well asby economic and defense treaties. By conquest and by consent, these states would evolve into two major powers, centered around Prussia in the north and the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the south. The unification of most of these states into the nation of Germany did not occur until 1870, almost a century after the American Revolution. The German states' soldiers who served in North America were usually referred to as "Hessians." About two-thirds of the German states' forces were from Hesse Cassel and Hesse Hanau. The remaining one-third came from four other states. These soldiers have also been labeled mercenaries. This is not strictly true. Although some of the officers and senior enlisted men certainly fought for career advancement and profit, the average private enlisted because his ruler needed men, for the small enlistment bonus, and for the steady employment of such service. The monthly wages he received from his ruler were quite small. The rulers contracted with Great Britain and received payment for supplying the services of their soldiers. In August 1775 British Minister of State Lord Suffolk appointed Colonel William Faucitt as minister plenipotentiary to the German states. Faucitt had served in the Netherlands during the War of Austrian Succession and in the western German states duringthe Seven Years' War. Followinghis appointment, Faucitt mustered four battalions of Hanoverians for duty in Gibraltar and Minorca. King George III was also elector of Hanover and had ordered the Hanoverian troops to relieve British soldiers there for duty elsewhere. Colonel Faucitt then went to the other German states with whom Great Britain had close ties: Brunswick,Hesse Cassel, Hesse Hanau, Ansbach-Bayrenth, Waldeck, and Anhalt-Zerbst. Duke Carl William Ferdinand of Brunswick was married to the daughter of the Prince of Wales. He contracted to provide soldiers for service in North America on January 9, 1776. The rulersofHesse Cassel had rented soldiers abroad since the reign of Prince (also Landgrave) Carl (1670-1730). William III, who ruled Hesse Cassel as landgrave from 1751 to 1760, had been an ally ofGreat Britain during the Seven Years' War. At the time of the American Revolution, Prince Frederick II was AMERICAN MILITARY SHOULDER ARMS, VOL. 1 the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, and he followed the precedent of hispredecessors by contracting with Faucitt on January 15, 1776. Prince Frederick II was also the reigning Count of Hesse Hanau, and this undoubtedly influenced that state to contract with Faucitt on February5. The tiny state of Waldeck was contiguous to Hesse CassePs western border. Since 1748 the landgrave of Hesse Cassel also had rights of sovereignty over this principality, a factor, no doubt, when Waldeck contracted with Faucitt on April 20, 1776. King George III was ultimatelysuccessful in obtaining the followingquantities of soldiers for service in North America: Hesse Cassel 16,992 Brunswick 5,723 Hesse Hanau 2,422 Ansbach-Bayreuth 2,353 Waldeck 1,225 Anhalt-Zerbst 1,152 Total 29,867 An additional 2,365 Hanoverians were sent to Gibraltar, Minorca, and India to relieve British soldiers there for duty elsewhere. The six German states whose troops served in North America were located in western Germany. Brunswick was the furthest north, with Hesse Cassel immediately to the south. Waldeck wasan enclave in western Hesse Cassel, and Hesse Hanau was contiguous to the south. Waldeck, Hesse Hanau, and Hesse Cassel are all now in the present province of Hesse. The province of Anhalt extended from Brunswickin the west,to Potsdam,near Berlin, in the east.Zerbst is a town within this central German province and is about seventy kilometers southwest of Potsdam. The towns of Ansbach and Bayreuth are about 100 kilometers apart in the Franconian section of northern Bavaria. This is now in southern Germany. For each of the soldiers supplied by Duke Carl of Brunswick, Great Britain paid seven pounds, four shillings, and six pence, per month. "All extra ordinary losses in battle or otherwise" were to be compensated by Britain. It is believed that similar contracts were made with the rulers of the other German states. HESSE CASSEL 090.3 Hesse Cassel initially sent 12,000 men in fifteen infantry regiments, four grenadier battalions, and two Jager companies...

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