The Hessians Are Coming

By Raymond C. Wilson

Hessian troops served throughout the Revolutionary War, and were both feared and admired for their discipline and ferocity. They played important roles in many battles. After the war, most of the Hessian soldiers went home to Germany to wait to be called to fight in another war in some other place and to spend some time enjoying their new wealth with their families. However, some of them decided they liked America and wanted to stay there, and after the war, Americans were willing to let bygones be bygones. Over 3,500 Hessian soldiers stayed behind after the war and made America their home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond C. Wilson
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005470036

Raymond C. Wilson

Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College. While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.

Book preview

THE HESSIANS ARE COMING

Written by

RAYMOND C. WILSON

Author of:

Out of Necessity

Commander in Chief

Martyr of the Race Course

America’s Five-Star Warriors

The Men Who Saved West Point

The Men Who Saved the Liberty Bell

Pennsylvania Bucktails: Civil War Sharpshooters

Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence

European Royal Bloodlines of the American Presidents

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume One)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Two)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Three)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Four)

If These Walls Could Talk: Huling Hotel and Pack Horse Inn

Beyond the Bighorn: The Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Presidential Edition)

Custer’s Luck Has Run Out: George Armstrong Custer’s Changing Image

THE HESSIANS ARE COMING

Published by Raymond C. Wilson at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Raymond C. Wilson

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Cover artwork by Carl Röchling

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge two members of my family who helped me tremendously with the research for this book: Antoinette ‘Toni’ Lelito Hackenberger (cousin) and Nathaniel Wilson (grandson).

Antoinette ‘Toni’ Hackenberger (who is married to my wife’s cousin Richard ‘Rick’ Hackenberger) has been the Hackenberger family historian for many years. For as long as I can remember, Toni has taken an active role in organizing the Hackenberger family reunion held annually in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. I am so grateful to Toni for passing a lot of her research about the Hackenberger family on to me. Rick Hackenberger (Toni’s husband) was my best friend in high school and has kept in touch with me for more than fifty years.

Nathaniel Wilson (my grandson) began taking an interest in our family’s history at a very young age. Not only did Nathaniel assist me with the research for the Hackenberger family, he also helped design many of the graphics featured in this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Great Britain’s Reliance on German Manpower

Equipment for the Hessian Soldier

From Europe to North America

Employment of Hessian Troops in America

General Burgoyne’s Surrender at Saratoga

Destiny of the Convention Troops

New Life in United States of America

Bibliography

About Raymond C. Wilson

Introduction

Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow

Hessian soldiers played a large role in the American Revolutionary War. They were hired mercenaries, used by the British to fight American colonial forces. The Hessian soldiers were known for their brutality during the American Revolution. They were highly trained soldiers and had a take no prisoners attitude. They were being paid to kill, not take people prisoner, and they took this job very seriously. They had every reason to be as ruthless as they could, as the British paid them well for what they did.

The brutality of the Hessians even made it into popular culture in the story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, where the man who would become the Headless Horseman was a Hessian soldier fighting Colonial troops in the American Revolution. This particular Hessian was decapitated by a cannonball during the Battle of White Plains in 1776.

Possible site of incident where Hessian soldier lost his head

As the story goes, the corpse of the beheaded Hessian was buried soon after his death at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, near the small village of Tarrytown, New York. It was believed that the Hessian would arise at night in search of his head and anyone who was ill-fated enough to be visited by his apparition was condemned to death.

Old Dutch Church and graveyard in Sleepy Hollow

While skeptics of the supernatural could argue against the existence of this headless horseman, historical records show that there actually was a real decapitated Hessian soldier. In his 1798 memoir, Major General William Heath wrote: A shot from the American cannon at this place [White Plains] took off the head of a Hessian artilleryman. Another soldier, Anthony Maxwell, is said to have witnessed the unfortunate death firsthand and talked about it for years after. The haunting tale of the headless Hessian soldier was well-known in the northeast. Coincidentally, about 10 miles from White Plains, New York where the gruesome death is said to have happened, a teenage boy named Washington Irving was living with a friend in the small town of Tarrytown. Irving would later incorporate the Headless Horseman into his famous tale.

Irving’s story takes place in the New York village of Sleepy Hollow, in Westchester County. In it, lanky newcomer and schoolmaster Ichabod Crane courts Katrina van Tassel, a young heiress who is also being pursued by the Dutchman Brom Bones. After being rebuffed by Katrina at a party at the Van Tassel farm where ghost stories are shared, Ichabod is chased by a headless horseman who hurls a pumpkin at the man, throwing Ichabod from his horse. The schoolmaster vanishes.