How Did The Hessian Soldiers Impact The American Revolution

Whenever you ask someone about the Revolutionary War they think of one thing and one thing only... the Americans fighting off the British for their independence. And although it is true that they fought of the British for their independence, a lot of people miss the fact that there were others fighting on the British side that greatly added to their number. These men were the Hessian soldiers, or as other historians call them, “German Mercenaries”. These men were hired by the British and made up a large portion of Britain’s mobilized armies (American). So who are these Hessian soldiers and how did they impact the British in the American Revolution? Every army has a beginning, and with the beginning comes rules to set it straight. The
Before the Revolution even began, Britain had made negotiations with Hesse-Kassel and paid 20,000,000 thalers into Hesse-Kassel’s treasury. They also paid the troops sent over at British standards of pay and guaranteed to not place the troops outside of North America. And to sweeten the deal even further, they promised to aid Hesse-Kassel if it were ever attacked by a foreign nation (Showalter). Once the Revolution broke out, Hesse-Kassel sent an initial fleet of 17,000 troops to aid the British in America (McCullough). Throughout the course of the war they sent a total of approximately 30,000 soldiers and about 17,000 never returned both because of death and remaining in America (Reese). By the time the Hessians arrived in America, they were known throughout the world to be brutal, and to bayonet captured soldiers to trees. The first battle that the Hessian soldiers would experience in America took place on Christmas in 1776. Having been used to partying on Christmas, the Hessians drank much beer, and were very sleepy in the morning. Crossing the river during the night, Gen. Washington decided to launch a surprise attack on the hung-over Hessians. Being aware of the attack but too hung-over to put up much of a fight, the Hessians became jittery and the Commander of the Army was still sleeping as the Americans arrived. He was woken up and threw on his clothes at the last minute with the news that Washington had crossed the river. When he walked outside it was reported that the Americans had surrounded the city and captured the picket guard, and the Hessian artillery. Not knowing what to do, the Hessians launched a bayonet charge because their flints were wet from the night before and therefore they could not fire their muskets. But the American troops had