Essay Example on Hessians in the Revolutionary War

The armed forces service was not particularly popular as Hesse slowly recovered from its bruising And that convalescence was limited it was so limited it was difficult to sustain a personal sufficient to protect Hesse s political sovereignty and reserve integrity In 1676 its regular army totaled a mere 23 companies When the young men children turned seven they were registered for armed forces and each year men ages from sixteen to thirty had to present themselves to an official for possible initiation into the defense organization Some men were exempted because their occupations were considered vital to the state of matter But others such as school dropouts bankrupts servants without masters idlers and the unemployed were deemed expendable people and could be forced into service at any time Life in the Hessian Army was harsh The system aimed to instill iron discipline and the punishments could be brutal Still morale was generally high Officers were well educated promotion was by merit and soldiers took pride in serving their prince and their people Furthermore military service provided economic benefits The families of soldiers were exempt from certain taxes wages were higher than in farm work and there was the promise of booty the money that was earned through the sale of captured military property and plunder property taken from civilians To begin with the Declaration of Independence was wrong the Hessians were not mercenaries in the generally accepted sense of the term men serving the British as individuals under specified conditions of enlistment Instead they were classified under international law as auxiliaries subjects of a ruler who assisted another by providing soldiers in return for money In a modified form this process remains recognized in law and practice to the germans The penchant for plunder made the Hessians unpopular with the Americans colonists 

Where 6 345 were killed by sickness or from wounds Where only a total of 20 000 american soldiers lives were lost in the war A reason why the germans stayed in america was because of the rich land america had Over 44 million german farmers are farming the grounds of the united states So that is my guess on why some of the hessians stayed in america Over 4 972 hessians stayed in america where over 17 313 returned back to home in germany The Hessians fought in almost every battle although after 1777 the Brits used them mainly as garrison and patrol troops An compartmentalisation of Hessians fought in the battles and campaigns in the southern states during 1778 80 including Guilford Courthouse and two regiments fought at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781