Hessian ( soldiers ) The Hessians were 18th - century German mercenaries contracted for service under The Crown of the British Empire . About 30 , 000 German soldiers served in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War ; nearly half were from the Hesse region of Germany ; the others came from similar small German states . In the context of the British service , they were all referred to as " Hessians . " The American colonists and many historians called them mercenaries . They were regular members of the armies of their German princes who hired them out in units , not as individuals . They received wages , but the prince received most of the funds ; Britain found it easier to borrow money to pay for their service than to recruit its own soldiers . The British used the Hessians in several conflicts , including in Ireland , but they are most widely associated with combat operations in the American Revolutionary War . They provided extensive manpower to support the king ' s cause . The pro - independence side made propaganda use of the fact that the soldiers were non - British , and portrayed them as mercenaries . They also offered them land bounties to desert and join the Americans . Several more German units were placed on garrison duty in the British Isles to free up British regulars for service in North America . History . John Childs wrote : During the American Revolutionary War , Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse - Kassel ( a principality in northern Hesse or Hessia ) and other German leaders hired out some of their regular army units to Great Britain for use to fight against the Patriots in the American revolution . About 30 , 000 of these men served in America . They were called " Hessians , " because the largest group ( 12 , 992 of the total 30 , 067 men ) came from " Hesse - Kassel " . They came in entire units with their usual uniforms , flags , weapons and officers . Units were sent by Count William of Hesse - Hanau ; Duke Charles I of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel ; Prince Frederick of Waldeck ; Margrave Karl Alexander of Ansbach - Bayreuth ; and Prince Frederick Augustus of Anhalt - Zerbst . The Hessians did not act individually . Their princes determined whether to hire out the units . Many of the men were press - ganged into Hessian service . Deserters were summarily executed or beaten by an entire company . Hessians comprised approximately one - quarter of the forces fielded by the British in the American Revolution . They included jäger , hussars , three artillery companies , and four battalions of grenadier s . Most of the infantry were " chasseurs " ( sharpshooter s ) , musketeer s , and fusilier s . They were armed with smoothbore muskets , while the Hessian artillery used three - pounder cannon . Initially the average regiment was made up of 500 to 600 men . Later in the war , the regiments had only 300 to 400 men . About 18 , 000 Hessian troops first arrived in North America in 1776 , with more coming in later . They landed at Staten Island in New York on August 15 , 1776 . Their first engagement was in the Battle of Long Island . The Hessians fought in almost every battle , although after 1777 , the British used them mainly as garrison troops . An assortment 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 . The British use of Hessian troops rankled American sentiment , and pushed some Loyalists to favor the revolution . The British use of non - English speaking foreign troops to put down the rebellion was seen as insulting , as it treated British subjects no differently than non - British subjects . Pro - British Tories believed that the British colonists deserved more than mercenary foes . Hessian soldiers were famous for their feminine gait when marching , often credited with the stealth - like nature of their advance . This characteristic gait is still seen in many Germanic settlers to the United States and is most prevalent in Central Texas . Hessian captives . In the Battle of Trenton , the Hessian force of 1 , 400 was surprised and virtually destroyed by the Continentals , with about 20 killed , 100 wounded , and 1 , 000 captured as prisoners . General George Washington ' s Continental Army had crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack on the Hessians on the early morning of December 26 , 1776 . Family records of Johann Nicholas Bahner ( t ) , one of the Hessians captured in the Battle of Trenton , indicate that some of the Hessian soldiers were told they were needed to defend the American Colonies against Indian incursions . When they arrived in North America , they discovered they had been hired to fight against the British colonists , rather than the Indians . The Hessians captured in the Battle of Trenton were paraded through the streets of Philadelphia to raise American morale ; anger at their presence helped the Continental Army recruit new soldiers . Most of the prisoners were sent to work as farm hands . By early 1778 , negotiations for the exchange of prisoners between Washington and the British had begun in earnest . On a one - for - one exchange if a Hessian soldier deserted , there would be one less American who would return home . Nicholas Bahner ( t ) , Jacob Strobe , George Geisler , and Conrad Kramm are a few of the Hessian soldiers who deserted the British forces after being returned in exchange for American prisoners of war . These men were hunted by the British for being deserters , and by many of the colonists as an enemy . Americans tried to entice Hessians to desert from the British and join the large German - American population . The US Congress authorized the offer of 50 acres ( approximately 20 hectares ) of land to individual Hessian soldiers to encourage them to desert . They offered 50 to 800 acres to British soldiers , depending on rank . In August 1777 , a satirical letter , " The Sale of the Hessians " , was widely distributed . It claimed that a Hessian commander wanted more of his soldiers dead so that he could be better compensated . For many years , the author of the letter was unknown . In 1874 , John Bigelow translated it to English ( from a French version ) and claimed that Benjamin Franklin wrote it , including it in his autobiography , " The Life of Benjamin Franklin " , published that year . There appears to be no evidence to support this claim . When the British General John Burgoyne surrendered to American General Horatio Gates during the Saratoga campaign in 1777 , his forces included around 5 , 800 troops . The surrender was negotiated in the Convention of Saratoga , and Burgoyne ' s remnant army became known as the Convention Army . " Hessian " soldiers from Brunswick - Lüneburg , under General Riedesel , comprised a high percentage of the Convention Army . The Americans marched the prisoners to Charlottesville , Virginia , where they were imprisoned in the Albemarle Barracks until 1781 . From there , they were sent to Reading , Pennsylvania , until 1783 . Conclusion of the war . About 30 , 000 Hessians served in the Americas , and , after the war ended in 1783 , some 17 , 313 Hessian soldiers returned to their German homelands . Of the 12 , 526 who did not return , about 7 , 700 had died . Some 1 , 200 were killed in action , and 6 , 354 died from illness or accidents , mostly the former . Approximately 5 , 000 Hessians settled in North America , both in the United States and Canada . Ireland 1798 . After the Battle of Mainz in 1795 , the British rushed Hessian forces to Ireland in 1798 to assist in the suppression of rebellion inspired by the Society of United Irishmen , an organization that first worked for Parliamentary reform . Influenced by the American and French revolutions , its members began by 1798 to seek independence for Ireland . Baron Hompesch ' s 2nd Battalion of riflemen embarked on 11 April 1798 from the Isle of Wight bound for the port of Cork . They were later joined by the " Jäger " ( Hunter ) 5th Battalion 60th regiment . They were in the action of the battles of Vinegar Hill and Foulksmills . In 1798 , the Hessians were notorious in Ireland for their atrocities and brutality toward the population of Wexford . " Hessian " units in the American Revolution . Anhalt - Zerbst Ansbach - Bayreuth Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel Hesse - Kassel Hesse - Hanau Waldeck