Hessians

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During the American Revolution, Germany was made up of more than 300 small regions. These regions supplied soldiers to the British to fight against America. The largest group came from Hesse-Cassel. Because of this, all the German soldiers fighting with the British were called Hessians.

King George III of Britain paid for the services of the Hessians because he didn't have enough soldiers for his army in America. The German soldiers, although often thought of as mercenaries, didn't get much in return for their service. Most of them only received basic necessities. The Prince of Hesse-Cassel, Frederick II, made a good deal by selling the services of 12,000 Hessians to the English.

In total, around 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British in North America. When they arrived, they found a large German-American community of almost 200,000 people. Many Hessians were tempted to desert the British and stay in this new land with its growing German population, so about 5,000 Germans chose to remain in America, while the rest went back home.

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