German Battalion The German Battalion or German Regiment or 8th Maryland was an American infantry unit that served for about four and one - half years in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . Authorized in May 1776 as an Extra Continental regiment , the unit was recruited from ethnic Germans from Maryland and Pennsylvania . The Continental Congress appointed Nicholas Haussegger to command the battalion , which initially organized in the strength of eight companies . While the unit assembled at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , a ninth company was added . The battalion fought at Trenton in December 1776 , where its soldiers called out in German for the Hessians to lay down their arms . A week later , the German Battalion was in action at Assunpink Creek where a number of its troops were captured , including Haussegger . The next day , the unit fought at Princeton . After Haussegger defected to the British , George Washington appointed Prussian volunteer Henry Leonard d ' Arendt to command the battalion . The battalion served with the 1st Virginia Brigade at Brandywine and Germantown in September and October 1777 . The following June the German Battalion fought at Monmouth . Late in 1778 , the unit was assigned to Edward Hand ' s brigade and served in the Sullivan Expedition in the summer of 1779 . The battalion transferred to the New Jersey Brigade before being dissolved in January 1781 . History . Formation to Princeton . Unable to recruit sufficient numbers of soldiers to put down the American Revolution , the British government hired mercenary soldiers from Hesse - Kassel , Brunswick , and four other German states . Americans were infuriated by this policy and colonial propagandists made the most of their opportunity . Prompted by the controversy , the Continental Congress determined to raise a unit from Americans of German descent . What became known as the German Battalion was authorized on 25 May 1776 as an Extra Continental Regiment . Pennsylvania and Maryland each raised four companies from their ethnic German populations . Congress appointed field officers from prominent figures in the German community . Major Nicholas Haussegger of the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion was made colonel in command of the battalion . Captain George Stricker of Maryland was promoted lieutenant colonel and Ludowick Weltner of Maryland was elevated to major . On 17 July the ninth company was recruited from Pennsylvanians at the urging of George Washington as a way to employ French and Indian War veteran Lieutenant John David Woelper of the 3rd Pennsylvania Battalion . The German Battalion was assigned to the Middle Department on 27 June 1776 . The unit organized at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania during the period 6 July to 25 September and it was assigned to the main army on 23 September . The five Pennsylvania companies came from the eastern part of the state . Frederick and Baltimore Counties in Maryland each provided two companies . A Bernese Swiss veteran of the French and Indian War who settled in Lebanon , Pennsylvania , Haussegger was promoted on 17 July 1776 . Because he was serving in the north , he found out about his promotion in August and did not arrive in Philadelphia until October . A strength return from 22 December 1776 showed that the battalion mustered 374 soldiers under Haussegger ' s command . Together with the 254 - man 1st Continental Regiment of Edward Hand , the battalion served in Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy ' s brigade . The unit fought in the Battle of Trenton on 26 December . Fermoy ' s brigade marched with the left column which was accompanied by George Washington . When the column deployed for battle , Hugh Mercer ' s brigade was on the right , Adam Stephen and Lord Stirling ' s brigades in the center and Fermoy ' s brigade on the left . Early in the combat , Washington moved Fermoy ' s brigade to the east to prevent the Hessian defenders from retreating north to Princeton , New Jersey . When Hessian commander Johann Rall attempted to break out to the north on the east side of town , Washington shifted Fermoy ' s brigade farther east to outflank Rall . Toward the end of the battle , Haussegger ' s men yelled in German to the Hessians to lay down their weapons and surrender . With Rall and many of their higher officers wounded , the Hessians soon capitulated . As New Years Day 1777 dawned , a reinforced American brigade took position behind a creek south of Princeton , New Jersey , ready to block the advance of Lord Charles Cornwallis ' forces . Among the 1 , 000 Americans were Hand ' s riflemen , now called the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment , Charles Scott ' s Virginia Brigade , the German Battalion , and six artillery pieces under Thomas Forrest . During the morning hours , the Americans repulsed the 1st Light Infantry Battalion and two companies of Hessian Jägers . It was necessary to commit British and Hessian grenadiers before the Americans pulled back . The British suffered most of the 140 casualties lost during the action . The German Battalion reported 410 officers and men present for duty that day . The next day , Cornwallis brought on the Battle of the Assunpink Creek when he launched a major push with 8 , 000 troops and 28 guns . The alcoholic Fermoy abandoned his troops , leaving the capable Hand in charge . There was a clash at Little Shabbakunk Creek , where Cornwallis was forced to unlimber his artillery . As soon as British pressure became too great , Hand pulled back his men to a second blocking position . Later , they fell back to a third position at Stockton Hollow , outside Trenton . As dusk fell , superior British numbers forced Hand ' s troops into a hurried retreat through the town . During the withdrawal , the British captured Haussegger and some of his men near the lower fords of Assunpink Creek . Mark M . Boatner III wrote that the unit " disgraced itself " . That evening , columns of British and Hessians tried to storm the bridge and the lower fords , but were stopped with heavy losses . Washington posted German Battalion at the bridge in the second line , behind Scott ' s troops . The next day , 3 January , the battalion was present at the Battle of Princeton . Forage War to Valley Forge . Many Americans regarded Haussegger ' s capture with suspicion . He was considered to have defected to the British and was not employed by the American army after being sent home on parole . On 19 March 1777 , he was removed from the rolls . Colonel Henry Leonard d ' Arendt was appointed to lead the regiment on the same date . Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Stricker , the battalion fought in the Battle of Spanktown on 23 February 1777 during the Forage War . In a brilliant action , the Americans inflicted 75 casualties on the British while only losing five killed and nine wounded . By this time , the German Battalion shed its status as an Extra Regiment and was counted as part of two state establishments . One - half of the unit was credited to the Maryland Line while the remaining half became part of the Pennsylvania Line . When Washington began raising Additional Continental Regiments he refrained from raising any in Maryland because of that state ' s responsibility to the German Battalion . Weltner became lieutenant colonel on 29 April 1777 , replacing Stricker . On 9 April , two additional majors were added as Daniel Burchardt and George Hubley joined William Klein in that rank . On 22 May 1777 , Washington assigned the German Battalion to the 2nd Maryland Brigade , then he quickly changed his mind and reassigned it to the 1st Viriginia Brigade two days later . The unit would remain in the same brigade until the summer of 1778 . Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg was the commander of the brigade , which also included the 1st , 5th , 9th , and 13th Virginia Regiment s . Interestingly , Muhlenberg ' s 8th Virginia Regiment was also known as the German Regiment . At the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 , Muhlenberg ' s brigade formed part of Nathanael Greene ' s division near Chadds Ford . After Sir William Howe ' s heavy column reached a position in the American right rear , Washington sent the divisions of John Sullivan , Stephen , and Lord Stirling to block the thrust . After heavy fighting , Howe broke through , threatening to cut off the American retreat . In the crisis , Washington sent Greene ' s division to the right . George Weedon ' s brigade marched east , then north to arrive near Dilworth about 6 : 00 PM . To expedite the move , Muhlenberg ' s brigade was ordered to take a different route . South of Dilworth , the 2nd Grenadier Battalion ran into Weedon ' s brigade and other troops and its commander Henry Monckton had to call for assistance . James Agnew ' s 4th British Brigade came up and one its units , the 64th Foot was roughly handled . Greene ' s division finally retreated into the night . Muhlenberg ' s brigade fought in the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 . Together with Weedon ' s Brigade , it formed Greene ' s 1 , 500 - man division . Greene commanded the left wing , which included his own division , Stephen ' s 1 , 500 - strong division , and Alexander McDougall ' s 1 , 000 - man Connecticut Brigade . Though the other regiments of the brigade are listed , the German Battalion is not mentioned . Stephen ' s division advanced on the right , Greene ' s took the center , and McDougall moved up on the left . Part of Muhlenberg ' s brigade penetrated as far as the Market House . But , caught by converging British units , the 9th Virginia was surrounded and captured . Francis B . Heitman showed the 6th Virginia Regiment in Muhlenberg ' s brigade at Valley Forge , along with the German Battalion and the previously listed units . Lieutenant Colonel Weltner and Major Burchardt were listed as the field officers . Monmouth to disbandment . At the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778 , Weltner commanded the German Battalion . By this time , Muhlenberg ' s Virginia regiments were so shrunken that the 1st , 5th , and 9th Virginia were converged into a single tactical entity . The 1st and 2nd Virginia State Regiments also served in the brigade . The brigade numbered 1026 officers and men , but after detachments only 66 officers and 655 men remained . The others were parceled out to various light infantry detachments in the advance guard . The brigade arrived on the field after 6 : 00 PM and was not engaged . On 22 July , the battalion transferred to the 2nd Maryland Brigade . The unit was reassigned to Edward Hand ' s Brigade on 24 November 1778 . Klein served as lieutenant colonel from 3 September 1778 until 21 June 1779 , though Weltner held the same rank . Hubley ' s service as major came to an end on 7 February 1779 and Burchardt ' s tenure ended on 2 July 1779 . The German Battalion participated in the Sullivan Expedition against the Iroquois in 1779 . Henry Dearborn ' s journal listed the " German Regt " under Weltner in Hand ' s Brigade , together with Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hubley ' s 11th Pennsylvania Regiment and independent companies led by Captains John Paul Schott and Simon Spaulding . However , Boatner ' s order of battle for the 2 , 500 - man expedition only listed the 11th and 4th Pennsylvania Regiment s in Hand ' s Brigade . On 8 October 1779 , the German Battalion was detached from Hand ' s Brigade . The unit transferred to the New Jersey Brigade on 16 September 1780 . The battalion disbanded at Morristown , New Jersey and Baltimore , Maryland on 1 January 1781 . On this date D ' Arendt was still colonel and Weltner was still lieutenant colonel . Service record . < br > < br > References . < br > < br >