Britain Hires German Mercenaries

Britain Hires German Mercenaries
Greetings, today I will talk about the Germans agreeing to send mercenary troops to the colonies to fight the American rebels.

This is an excerpt from my book, 1776.
I have finished the book and am in the editing phase. I hope to release it in Mid May.
Timeline of United States History Series
Meanwhile, you can enjoy the book 1775, which is available on the website, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. Just click the “Timeline of United States History” on the lower left-hand side of the home page.
A box set that includes all six volumes of the series is available at that link at an economical price.

Transcript:

Greetings, today I will talk about the Germans agreeing to send mercenary troops to the colonies to fight the American rebels.

To help buttress their Army the British imported large numbers of German mercenary troops to fight. Prince William of Hesse-Hanau had agreed to send troops to America in early February. On April 20, 1776, Prince Frederick Karl August, prince of the German principality of Waldeck, agreed to send 670 infantrymen to America.

At the beginning of hostilities, the British Army consisted of 48,647 soldiers composed of 39,294 infantry, 6,869 cavalry and 2,484 artillery soldiers. These soldiers were well trained, with many veterans that had fought against the French and Spanish armies and had defeated both. Some historians estimate that Britain used up to 50,000 soldiers in the fight against their rebellious colonies during the entire war. During the war a regiment consisted of 600 soldiers organized into companies of 60. The British commonly kept their army small during peacetime, but had these troops well trained, armed and of high quality. They had their army deployed over their vast empire and at the beginning of the Revolution it was stretched pretty thin. Thus, they needed the German mercenaries to fight the rebels. The British arsenal consisted of the following weapons:
Pattern 1776 Infantry Rifles
Ferguson Rifles
British Short Land Service Muskets (aka Brown Bess musket)
Flintlock muskets
Bayonets
Halberds (a long handled ax topped by a long needle like spike)
Spontoons (similar to a pike, the spontoon was a pole type of weapon, about six feet long with a spear type tip and two smaller blades alongside. More symbol than weapon during the Revolutionary War, British officers carried them as an indicator of their rank. They used them primarily to signal troops in battle and like a mace during close combat.)
The British used up to 30,000 German mercenaries during the conflict. Many of these German soldiers deserted and remained in America. Others received permission from the government to remain in the country after the war ended.

After hostilities began, the Continental Army grew quickly from zero to 37,363 soldiers. The bulk of these, 16,449, were from Massachusetts. A daily ration for each soldier consisted of one pound of beef/fish or three-quarters of a pound of pork, a pound of bread, three pints of dried vegetables, a pint of milk and a quart of spruce beer of cider or a gill of whiskey. A gill was about five ounces. About 230,000 soldiers served during the course of the war, of which only about 48,000 were in the field at any given time. A Continental regiment consisted of regiments of 728 soldiers organized into companies of 90 soldiers. A captain commanded each company, with lieutenants, ensigns and cornets also belonging to the command structure. A colonel commanded the regiment, assisted by lieutenant colonels and majors. The Continentals were not as well trained as their British counterparts, however many had fought in the French and Indian War which ended about thirteen years earlier. Many also had experience fighting Indians. At the beginning of the war the colonies did not have their own standing army. The men that had gathered at Boston consisted of militia troops that mainly came from Massachusetts, but also traveled in from other colonies. After the Continental Congress formed the Continental Army, local militia troops still supported the Army during the various campaigns. Generally, younger men enlisted in the Continental Army and older men with family and farms to tend served in the local militia.
The British had trained their troops to fight against organized European armies. They were not prepared to fight the Continentals, which employed guerilla tactics learned by fighting the native tribes. They also had to transport their troops over an ocean, which was slow and expensive. The Continentals knew the terrain better than the British.

Other happenings during this week include:

Rufus Putnam arrived in New York to take over the construction of the defensive works in and around the city on April 20, 1776 .

April 22, 1776 – John Adams “Thoughts on Government” Advertised for Sale
Adams’ pamphlet, Thoughts on Government, Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies,” evolved in Adams’ mind in the early months of 1776. He penned a series of letters early in the year in response to delegates William Hooper and John Penn; of the North Carolina Provincial Congress request his ideas on the formation of a government. Adams developed his ideas on the design of a government over the next several weeks. The pamphlet was first advertised for sale on April 22, 1776 in the Pennsylvania Packet.

British sailors stationed on ships outside New York harbor frequently came ashore at Sandy Hook to replenish their water supply. On April 23 and 24 American soldiers captured British watering parties that had come ashore.

General Washington had suggested that Congress approve an expedition against Detroit and on April 23, Congress approved the operation.

The Continental Congress had chosen Daniel Morgan to act as an agent to the Indian tribes in the Ohio River Valley. Morgan traveled to Pittsburg, arriving in early May. Once there, he sent various messengers into the Indian country inviting various chiefs to travel to Pittsburg for a council. Several of the Shawnee chiefs arrived in Pittsburg in April and met with Morgan.

In a letter from General Washington to John Hancock, Washington indicated that a report issued to him from General Gates reported a total of 10,192 soldiers of the Continental Army had gathered in defense of New York.

I would encourage you to visit and subscribe to the Mossy Feet Books You Tube channel for more great content. If you like my videos, please hit the “Like,” button. The more likes I get the more You Tube will show it to other people, allowing me to grow the channel. I also invite you to visit my website, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. There you will find sample chapters, podcasts, a slew of content and links to where you can buy my books. While visiting the web site you can subscribe to it and receive email notifications of when I publish a new book or other content, like this video and podcast. If you like what I am doing, please purchase a book, as it helps fund my work.