From: fr@compu.com (Fred Rump from home)
Subject: Re: Hessian soldiers
Organization: CompuData Inc.
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 19:25:05 GMT

fdavison@SFSUVAX1.SFSU.EDU (Frieda Davison) writes:

>Last Friday, I found a copy of Clifford Smith's "Mercenaries from
>Ansbach and Beyreuth, Germany who remained in America after the
>Revolution".  In it there is one entry for a "Johann Ruerhersneck".
>There is only one person listed with that name.  Since the family
>legend was that the ancestor was kidnapped in his wheat fields, this
>would make sense that there might be only one.

>i.e. Raversnuck, Rareschnicht, and finally Rasnake, Rasnick, Rasnic.

>Thanks to everyone.  Will begin anew on searching this once dead line
>and see if it has arisen!

First let's get the poor guys name right: R"urschneck or at worst Ruerschneck.

Since he served in the Ansbach regiment under the regimental commander's own 
company and disappeared sometime after June, 1783, he may have known about the 
pending return to Germany in Sep of that year. Since the regiment's last 
location was at Yorktown, any of those intending to NOT! go back would surely 
have deserted into the Virginia countryside. 

It should be noted that the Ansbachers were not Hessians and were pretty much 
the private army of the Margrave Karl Alexander von Ansbach. He rented parts 
of his army to the highest bidder. The Dutch got some and so did the British.

Since the joint principality of Ansbach-Bayreuth was deemed to fall to Prussia 
according to the Treaty of Teschen (1779) upon the death of the Margrave, it
did not please Frederick the Great to have troops from his domain cavorting
around the world to the personal benefit of the heirless Margrave.  I mean 
they might get killed and be lost to the crown.  Prussia's interest was to
secure its borders and keep its troops at home.  But contracts were contracts.

The soldiers knew of course that upon their return home they would be in the 
Prussian army. As far as I have been able to discover, enlistment (active 
service) was for the duration. In peacetime some troops could go home so that 
the government wouldn't have to pay them, but they were still in the service 
and could be required to report at a moment's notice. Not a nice situation to 
be in.

It is still not clear to me as to exactly how the Ansbachers were recruited. 
There seems to be no indication that these people were forcibly kidnapped and 
sold off.  More than likely they were recruited via financial inducement.  I
will have more on this as it is of interest to my research to know where 'my'
Ansbacher came from and why and how he got into in the Ansbach Jaegercorps.  I
also need to find out how he escaped the condition of lifetime service.  I'm
not sure if marriage and kids etc was the raison d'tre or if he simply had 
connections.

But to finish this story - the Margrave was finally induced to resign his 
position in 1791 via a 300,000 Gulden annual pension and was able to travel 
with his girlfriend (Madame Clairon and her successor Lady Elisa Craven) to
the nicest places. His wife stayed home. :-) It just happened that he had 
different sisters with him. That whole business did not please the king and he 
was glad to get rid of this philanderer. 

Also, after the Ansbachers got back to Germany, they had to contend with 
Napoleon. Not a pretty prospect. The Ansbachers were now integrated into the 
Prussian regime and the best (and tallest) were sent to the Imperial Garde, 
the rest made into proper Prussian regiments. Voigt's regiment let go of it's 
Englisch troops (they must have had officers at least) and the troops from the 
Dutch service were also integrated into a new regiment in Mainz in 1794. It 
was then called the Regiment von Laurens and would have contained our friend, 
Private Ruerschneck if he hadn't got out of that mess in Virginia while he had
a chance.  Such makes for another American genealogy.  And then he started 
telling stories ...

Fred
-- 
W. Fred Rump 	office:	   fred@COMPU.COM     "A man's library is a sort of 
26 Warren St.   home: fr@icdi10.compu.com 	harem" - Emerson (1860) 
Beverly, NJ. 08010                          		 
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