Germans in the American Revolution Ethnic Germans served on both sides of the American Revolutionary War . Many supported the Loyalist cause and served as allies of Great Britain , whose King George III was also the Elector of Hanover . Other Germans came to assist the rebelling American patriots , but most of the Germans who were patriots were colonists . Allies of Great Britain . During the American Revolution , there were many German states loosely unified under the Holy Roman Empire . Many of these German states were officially Protestant , making them traditional allies of other Protestant nations , such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain , whose king , George III , was also the Prince - elector of Hanover . King George III came from an ethnic German line , and was the first of the House of Hanover to speak English as his first language . Great Britain formed strong German alliances during the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 , and had combined forces with Frederick the Great during the Seven Years ' War to form a coalition that functioned as one Army . When the British colonies in America rebelled a decade later , several German states contracted for the temporary loan of German soldiers to the British Army . Although the leasing of German soldiers to a foreign power was controversial to some Europeans , the German people generally took great pride in their soldiers ' service in the war . Americans were alarmed at the arrival of German troops on American soil , viewing it as a betrayal by King George III . Several American congressmen declared they would be willing to declare independence if King George used German soldiers . German soldiers provided American patriots with a propaganda tool ; they were derogatorily called " mercenaries , " and were referred as such in the Declaration of Independence : Despite American propaganda , contemporary writers suggested that German soldiers were well respected and well cared for , both by Americans and British . At the conclusion of the war , Congress offered incentives for German soldiers to stay in the United States . Great Britain also offered land and tax incentives for German soldiers willing to settle in Nova Scotia . Hessen - Kassel . The Landgraviate of Hessen - Kassel , under Frederick II , uncle to King George III , initially provided over 12 , 000 soldiers to fight in the Americas . Like their British allies , the Hessians had some difficulty acclimating to North America ; the first troops to arrive suffered from widespread illness , and forced a delay in the attack on Long Island . From 1776 on , Hessian soldiers were incorporated into the British Army serving in North America , and they fought in most of the major battles , including those of New York and New Jersey campaign , the Battle of Germantown , the Siege of Charleston , and the final Siege of Yorktown , where about 1 , 300 Germans were taken prisoner , although various reports indicate that the Germans were in better spirits than their British counterparts . It has been estimated that Hessen - Kassel contributed over 16 , 000 troops during the course of the Revolutionary War , of whom 6 , 500 did not return . Hessian officer ( later General ) Adam Ludwig Ochs estimated that 1 , 800 Hessian soldiers were killed , but many in the Hessian army intended on staying in America , and remained after the war . Because the majority of German troops came from Hessen , Americans sometimes refer to all German troops generically as " Hessians " . Hessen - Kassel signed a treaty of alliance with Great Britain to supply fifteen regiments , four grenadier battalions , two jäger companies , and three companies of artillery . The jägers in particular were carefully recruited and well paid , well clothed , and free from manual labor . These jägers proved essential in the " Indian style " warfare in America , and Great Britain signed a new treaty in December 1777 in which Hesse - Cassel agreed to increase their number from 260 to 1 , 066 . German armies could not quickly replace men lost on the other side of the Atlantic , so the Hessians recruited African - Americans as servants and soldiers . There were 115 black soldiers serving with Hessian units , most of them as drummers or fifers . Perhaps the best - known officer from Hessen - Kassel is General Wilhelm von Knyphausen , who commanded his troops in several major battles . Other notable officers include Colonel Carl von Donop ( mortally wounded at the Battle of Red Bank in 1777 ) and Colonel Johann Rall , who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Trenton in 1776 . Rall ' s regiment was captured , and many of the soldiers were sent to Pennsylvania to work on farms . Hessen - Hanau . Hesse - Hanau was a semi - independent appendage of Hesse - Kassel , governed by the Protestant Hereditary Landgrave William , eldest son of the Catholic Frederick II of Hesse - Kassel . When William received news of the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775 , he unconditionally offered a regiment to King George III . During the course of the war , Hanau provided 2 , 422 troops ; only 1 , 441 returned in 1783 . A significant number of Hessian soldiers were volunteers from Hanau , who had enlisted with the intent of staying in the Americas when the war was over . Colonel Wilhelm von Gall is one well - known officer from Hesse - Hanau ; he commanded a regiment from Hanau under General John Burgoyne . Among the units sent to North America were one battalion of infantry , a battalion of jägers , a battalion of irregular infantry known as a Frei - Corps , and a company of artillery . Braunschweig - Wolfenbüttel ( " Brunswick " ) . Braunschweig - Lüneburg , or Brunswick ( - Lüneburg ) , was a duchy divided into sub - districts , one of which was ruled by George III . Duke Karl I of Brunswick - Bevern was Duke of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel ; his son and heir , Charles William Ferdinand , was married to Princess Augusta of Great Britain , the sister of George III . The territory , called a " Duchy , " was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1775 Charles William Ferdinand ( " Prince Carl " ) told King George III that Braunschweig had soldiers who could be used to help put down the rebellion in the Americas . Braunschweig was the first German state to sign a treaty supporting Great Britain , on 9 January 1776 . It agreed to send 4 , 000 soldiers : four infantry regiments , one grenadier battalion , one dragoon regiment and one light infantry battalion . The Brunswick treaty provided that all troops would be paid in German Thaler s – including two months ' advance pay , but required that all troops take an oath of service to King George III . A controversial clause in the agreement stipulated that Charles I would be paid ₤ 7 4s to replace each Brunswick soldier killed in battle - with three wounded men equal to one dead man ; Charles , however , would pay to replace any deserters or any soldier who fell sick with anything other than an " uncommon contagious malady . " Duke Karl I provided Great Britain with 4 , 000 foot soldiers and 350 heavy dragoons ( dismounted ) under Lt - Colonel Friedrich Baum , all commanded by General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel . These soldiers were the majority of the German regulars under General John Burgoyne in the Saratoga campaign of 1777 , and were generally referred to as " Brunswickers . " The combined forces from Braunschwieg and Hesse - Hanau accounted for nearly half of Burgoyne ' s army , and the Brunswickers were known for being especially well - trained . Riedesel ' s Braunschweig troops made a notable entry in the Battle of Hubbardton , singing a Lutheran hymn while making a bayonet charge against the American right flank , which may have saved the collapsing British line . Riedesel ' s wife , Friederike , traveled with her husband and kept a journal , which remains an important primary account of the Saratoga campaign . After Burgoyne ' s surrender , 2 , 431 Brunswickers were detained as part of the Convention Army until the end of the war . Braunschweig sent 5 , 723 troops to North America , of whom 3 , 015 did not return to Germany in the autumn of 1783 . Some losses were to death or desertion , but many Brunswickers became familiar with America during their stay as the Convention Army , and when the war ended , they were granted permission to stay by both Congress and their officers . Many had taken the opportunity to desert as the Convention Army was twice marched through Pennsylvania German settlements in eastern Pennsylvania . As the duke received compensation from the British for every one of his soldiers killed in America , it was in his best interest to report the deserters as dead , whenever possible . The Duke of Brunswick even offered six months ' pay to soldiers who remained or returned to America . Ansbach - Bayreuth . The dual Magraviates of Brandenburg - Ansbach and Brandenburg - Bayreuth , under Margrave Charles Alexander , initially contributed 1 , 644 men to the war in two battalions of infantry , one company of jägers and a company of artillery , of whom 461 did not return . A total of 2 , 353 soldiers were sent from Ansbach - Bayreuth , including an entire regiment of jägers . These troops were incorporated into Howe ' s army in New York , and were part of the Philadelphia campaign . Ansbach - Bayreuth troops were also with General Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown , with a force of nearly 1 , 100 troops . The Ansbach and Bayreuth regiments are remembered for a mutiny that occurred in Ochsenfurt . The soldiers were loaded onto boats on the Main River , but could not cross the bridge , which the Bishop of Würzburg , Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim , refused to open . In the morning , 8 March 1777 some Ansbach soldiers managed to get to the bank of the river , and pulled the other boats to land . The officers tried to address their concerns , but some men deserted . Chasseur s were posted to keep men from deserting , and fired warning shots ; the mutineers returned fire . When the Margrave of Ansbach received word of the riot , he rode through the night to get to Ochsenfurt . The Margrave convinced his soldiers to reboard the boats , and sailed with them as far as Mainz , where he succeeded in getting a bridge opened in that city , without the consent of the Elector , Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal . The Margrave of Ansbach - Bayreuth was deeply in debt when the war broke out , and received more than £100 , 000 for the use of his soldiers . In 1791 he sold both Ansbach and Bayreuth to Prussia and lived the rest of his life in England on a Prussian pension . Waldeck . Waldeck had made a treaty to support Great Britain in London on 20 April 1776 . Prince Friedrich Karl August of Waldeck kept three regiments ready for paid foreign service . The first of these regiments , 684 troops and officers , sailed from Portsmouth in July 1776 , and participated in the New York campaign . During the campaign the Waldeck regiment captured wine and spirits belonging to American General Lee , and were embittered towards British General Howe when he made them empty the bottles by the roadside . The Waldeck troops were integrated into the German auxiliaries under Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen . Waldeck contributed 1 , 225 men to the war , and lost 720 . Electorate of Brunswick - Lüneburg ( " Hanover " ) . Five battalions of troops of the Electorate of Brunswick - Lüneburg , whose Elector was none other than British King George III , were sent to Gibraltar and Minorca to relieve the British soldiers stationed there , who could then be sent to fight in America . This was not ordered by King George , but was part of a treaty authorized by Parliament with Hanover , in which Great Britain agreed to pay the wartime expenses and protect German allies . These Hanoverian soldiers were defenders during the Great Siege of Gibraltar , the largest and longest battle of the war , and in the defense of Minorca . Late in the war , two regiments from Hanover were sent to India , where they served under British command in the Siege of Cuddalore against a combined French and Mysorean defense . Anhalt - Zerbst . The Prince of Anhalt - Zerbst , Frederick Augustus signed a treaty to provide Great Britain with 1 , 160 men in 1777 . The Regiment of two battalions was raised in five months , and consisted of 900 new recruits . One battalion of 600 – 700 men arrived at Canada in May 1778 to guard Quebec City . The other , consisting of some 500 " Pandours " ( irregular soldiers recruited from Slavic lands within the Austrian Empire ) was sent in 1780 to garrison British - occupied New York City . Whether these troops could function as irregular light infantry has been much debated , although they were described by contemporary accounts as Pandours . Congressional Allies . German Americans . German immigration to the British colonies began soon after English colonists founded Jamestown . In 1690 German colonials built the first paper mill in North America , and the Bible was printed in America in German before it was printed in English . By the mid - 18th century , approximately 10 % of the colonial American population spoke German . Germans were easily the largest non - British European minority in British North America , but their assimilation and Anglicisation varied greatly . During the French and Indian War , Great Britain utilized the large German population in North America by forming the Royal American Regiment , whose enlisted men were principally German colonists . The regiment ' s first commander was General Henry Bouquet , a Swiss native . The regiment would later be commanded by General Howe . Other Germans came to North America during the French and Indian War , including Frederick , Baron de Weissenfels , who settled in New York State as a British officer . When the Revolutionary War began , Weissenfels deserted the British forces and served with the rebellion from 1775 until the end of the war , obtaining a Congressional commission as a Lieutenant Colonel . As with other ethnic groups in the British colonies , German - speaking colonists were divided , supporting both the Patriot and Loyalist causes . German loyalists fought in their local militias , and some returned to Germany in exile following the war . New York had a notably large German population during the war . Other colonies formed German regiments , or filled the ranks of local militias with German Americans . German colonists in Charleston , South Carolina , formed a fusilier company in 1775 , and some Germans in Georgia enlisted under General Anthony Wayne . German colonists are most remembered in Pennsylvania , partly due to friendlier naturalization terms for immigrants , and also because the German soldiers in Pennsylvania stand in contrast to the large , pacifist Quaker population in Pennsylvania . Brothers Peter and Frederick Muhlenberg , for example , were first - generation Pennsylvanians . Provost Corps . Pennsylvania Germans were recruited for the American Provost corps under Captain Bartholomew von Heer , a Prussian officer who had immigrated to Reading , Pennsylvania , prior to the war . During the Revolutionary War the " Marechaussee " Corps were utilized in a variety of ways , including intelligence gathering , route security , enemy prisoner of war operations , and even combat during the Battle of Springfield . The Corps also provided security for Washington ' s headquarters during the Battle of Yorktown . German Regiment . On 25 May 1776 , the Second Continental Congress authorized the 8th Maryland Regiment ( aka the " German Regiment " ) to be formed as part of the Continental Army . Unlike most continental line units , it drew from multiple states , initially comprising eight companies : four from Maryland and four ( later five ) from Pennsylvania . Nicholas Haussegger , a major under General Anthony Wayne , was commissioned as the Colonel . John Adams hoped the German Regiment would free " natives of the country who were needed for Agriculture , Manufactures , and Commerce . " The regiment saw service at the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton , and took part in campaigns against American Indians . The regiment was disbanded 1 January 1781 . Europeans . European Germans also came to the United States as allied soldiers . Some Germans came to the United States under the French flag . Johann de Kalb was a Bavarian who served in the armies of France before receiving a commission as a general in the Continental Army . France had eight German - speaking regiments with over 2 , 500 soldiers . The famous Lauzun ' s Legion included both French and German soldiers , and was commanded in German . There were also German soldiers and officers in the French Royal Deux - Ponts Regiment . Other Germans came to the United States to utilize their military training . Frederick William , Baron de Woedtke , for example , was a Prussian officer who obtained a Congressional commission early in the war ; he died in New York in 1776 . Gustave Rosenthal was an ethnic German from Estonia who became an officer in the Continental Army . He returned to Estonia after the war , but other German soldiers , such as David Ziegler , chose to stay and become citizens in the nation they had helped found . Perhaps the most well - known German to support the Patriot cause was Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben from Prussia , who came to America independently , through France , and served under George Washington as inspector general . General von Steuben is credited with training the Continental Army at Valley Forge , and he later wrote the first drill manual for the United States Army . In June 1780 he was given command of the advance guard in the defense of Morristown , New Jersey from General Knyphausen – a battle briefly led by two opposing German generals . Von Steuben ' s native Prussia joined the League of Armed Neutrality , and Frederick II of Prussia was well appreciated in the United States for his support early in the war . He expressed interest in opening trade with the United States and bypassing English ports , and allowed an American agent to buy arms in Prussia . Frederick predicted American success , and promised to recognize the United States and American diplomats once France did the same . Prussia also interfered in the recruiting efforts of Russia and neighboring German states when they raised armies to send to the Americas , and Frederick II forbade enlistment for the American war within Prussia . All Prussian roads were denied to troops from Anhalt - Zerbst , which delayed reinforcements that Howe had hoped to receive during the winter of 1777 – 1778 . However , when the War of the Bavarian Succession erupted , Frederick II became much more cautious with Prussian / British relations . US ships were denied access to Prussian ports , and Frederick refused to officially recognize the United States until they had signed the Treaty of Paris . Even after the war , Frederick II predicted that the United States was too large to operate as a republic , and that it would soon rejoin the British Empire with representatives in Parliament .