65-11,378 SLAGLE, Robert Oakley, 1925- THE VON LOSSBERG REGIMENT: A CHRONICLE OF HESSIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The American University, Ph. D ., 1965 History, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE VON LOSSBERG REGIMENT: A CHRONICLE OF HESSIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION by Robert Oakley Slagle Submit ted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Signatures of Committee: Chairman: Graduate Dean: 72), fa* Date: '■? i/ . / ? 6 < r The American University AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Washington, D. C. LIBRARY MAY 2 1 1 9 6 5 WASHINGTON. D. C. # 3 / 6 (■> Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE The historical treatment of German participation in the American Revolution has not been either as accurate or exten­ sive as the available facts and the significance of the sub­ ject would appear to warrant. Early American accounts typed the Hessians as plundering barbarians or as comic slaves to be pitied. British military historians usually touched only lightly on the German mercenaries, as if the authors were some­ what embarrassed by their existence. Many histories which are otherwise sound are so distorted on the subject of the Hessians as to be grossly inaccurate. Americans of the last century who attempted to revise the historical view of the Hessians, namely Lowell, Rosengarten,' and Greene, probably carried their revision too far toward glorifaction to be assessed as objective. Similarly, German historians like Eelking and Kapp also overground their axes during thi3 period. Only since 1900, with the publication of many diaries and journals of Hessian soldiers, has a significant amount of factual material been made readily available. However, most of these go to the other extreme of being completely lacking ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. in interpretive analysis. Despite the ample material available from these sources and the great mass of original documents in the German archives, scholarly unit histories remain largely unwritten, although there has "been a revival of interest in this subject on the part of some German scholars like Dr. Joachim Fischer of Frankfurt. The von Lossberg Regiment took part in most of the significant military engagements in the Middle Atlantic area of the American Revolution, and its surrender at Trenton precipitated one of the most prolonged and well-documented courts martial in military history to that time. Therefore, the story of this regiment provides an excellent vantage point from which to view the activi­ ties of the German forces serving the British during this period. The principal single original source on which this work is based is the journal of the von Lossberg Regiment written during the period I776-I783 by its quartermaster, Georg Ludwig Heusser, now kept in the archives at Marburg, Germany. Another original journal, that of Jacob Piel, for a time the regimental adjutant, was also helpful. Next in order of importance is the work on the von Lossberg Regiment done by Karl Vogt, late Schulrat of the town of Rinteln, Germany, which includes four published articles and considerable iii with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. unpublished material which he and later his son personally made available to the author. Of the published works, Stryker's authoritative work on the Battle of Trenton, Lowell's coverage of the Hessians in general, and Eelking's German view of the subject were key sources without which the writing of the von Lossberg history would have been difficult. In addition to Karl and Reinhard Vogt, I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Otto Fink of Gutenberg University for his assistance in locating and copying the Heusser manuscript; to Dr. Walter Schuck of Heidelberg University for his help in de­ ciphering it; and to Professor Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr., Chairman, and Professors Dorothy D. Gondos, William R. Hutchison and Albert D. Mott, members of the dissertation committee for this work at the American University, Washington, D. C. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION........................... 1 CHAPTER I. TO AMERICA....................... 10 II. LONG ISLAND............. 27 III. WHITE PLAINS.................... kb IV. FORT WASHINGTON.............. ,. .. 53 V. ACROSS THE JERSEYS............... 66 VI. THE TRENTON DISASTER............. 88 VII. THE PRISONERS................... 105 VIII. THE COMBINED BATTALION......... 126 IX. CALAMITY AT SEA.......... 151 X. CANADA.......................... 165 XI. THE COURT MARTIAL................ l8 l EPILOGUE............................... 197 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................... 203 APPENDIXES A. The von Lossherg Battle Record 212 B. The von Lossherg Companies......... 213 C. Biographic Sketches of the Original Officers of the von Lossberg Regiment........................ 21^ D. Consolidated Rolls of the von Lossberg Regiment, 1776-1783....... 218 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES FIGURE PAGE 1. Map— Hesse-Cassel in 1775............. 12 2. Map— Areas of Origin of the Troops of the von Lossberg Regiment............. lU 3. Map— The Rinteln Enclave.............. 15 L. Map— Two Recruiting Areas in Hanover... l6 5. The von Lossberg Regimental Flags 18 6. Map--March to the Sea of the von Lossberg Regiment, 1776............... 22 7. Map— Route of the von Lossberg Regiment on Long Island, August, 1776.. 32 8. Map— Action of October 28, 1776........ ^8 9. Map— The Attapk on Fort Washington November 16, 1776.................... 59 10. Map— Movements of the von Lossberg Regiment, August-November, 1776....... 65 11. Map— The Route of the von Lossberg Regiment Across New Jersey, 1776...... 72 12. Map— Trenton, 1776 (December 2 5 )....... 76 13. Map— Trenton, 1776 (December 26)....... 97 ll+. Table— Prisoners Taken at Trenton 107 15 . Map— Movements of the Hessian Prisoners, 1776-rl778..... ............................. 125 16. Map— Position of the Units of the Knyphausen Corps, Sept. 11, 1777...... 137 17. Map— Movements of the Combined Battalion, July, 1777-July* 1778..... I 50 18. Map— The Canadian Theater............. 168 1 permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION During the summer of 1775; the British Government began to realize that it was faced with the prospect of a real war with its American colonies. By this time it was already becoming evident that England must strengthen its armies in America or give up the contest there. In 1775, over 3;000;000 Americans lived in an area extending from New England to Georgia. To control this huge region, England had less than 15,000 men under arms in all of North America. ^ Although the useful towns were situated on the coast, there were few inland strongholds on which to base lines of communication for command of large areas in the interior. To British military men, the task of subduing the whole of the American colonies appeared an impossible one. They calculated that the colonies could raise and army of 150,000 men, which was not an extravagant 2/ estimate when calculated on the basis of total population. However, the governors of the colonies reported the existence of significant loyalist strength in America and Governor Martin was convinced that he could regain North Carolina. Another optomistic gentlemen, Governor Dunmore, although he had been driven from 1/ Henry Belcher, The First American Civil War (London: The MacMillan Company, 1911); I; p. 25 W. Sir John Fortescue, A History of the British Army (London: The MacMillan Company, 1902), III, p. 167. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 Virginia, also swore that he could recover his province with 300 me It was eventually concluded by the high command that the presence of a greater number of British troops in Worth America might be sufficient to rally the entire population to the royal standard. Thus, British military policy in the American colonies came to rest largely on hopes for the cooperation of significant num­ bers of American loyalists. However, even this pol y demanded troops that were not available at that time. In the summer of 1775* the total effective strength of the British Army was less than 50,000 men.-V Regiments were scattered throughout the Empire and the most significant single concentration of troops was be­ sieged in Boston. When, in August, 1775; it was finally resolved to increase the strength of the army to 55;000, recruiting efforts were unable to supply sufficient new men.— ^ The economic situation in Scotland made it the best recruit­ ing ground, but recruiting moved slowly in Ireland and almost imperceptibly in England, where hardly any enthusiasm for the war existed among the classes from which soldiers were drawn. The King had agreed to transfer four Hanoverian battalions to Minorca — ■I Ibid., p . 168. k/ — ' Belcher, op. cit., p. 259- 'iJ Sir George 0. Trevelyan, The American Revolution (London: Longmans, 1903); Part II, Vol. I, pp.