British Desertion during American Revolution

[DesertFox]

Discussing various subjects in a private e-mail and was told something I had never heard about:

 

One can't rule out issues of supply lines for the British forces or the corruption or the fact that they had to rely on

Hessian mercenaries because impressed soldiers from Scotland and Ireland (as well as England) kept deserting to join the Americans.

 

Wonder if anyone else has read anything about this? Was there a problem with British soldiers deserting during the American Revolution?

[67th Tigers]

Discussing various subjects in a private e-mail and was told something I had never heard about:

Wonder if anyone else has read anything about this? Was there a problem with British soldiers deserting during the American Revolution?

 

There was a small amount (but more in the other direction ISTR). However, the person you're talking too seems unaware that there was no such thing as an impressed soldier. All troops in the British and Irish Armies were volunteers.

 

http://americanrevolution.org/britisharmy.html

[67th Tigers]

See also: http://books.google.com/books?id=SL1cZnU4O...rLEvnw#PPA20,M1

[Jim Martin]

There was a small amount (but more in the other direction ISTR). However, the person you're talking too seems unaware that there was no such thing as an impressed soldier. All troops in the British and Irish Armies were volunteers.

 

http://americanrevolution.org/britisharmy.html

 

 

German mercs were NOT necessarily volunteers, and they were considered most prone to desertion. They did not "hire on" voluntarily as mercenaries, they were impressed into their principality's army, and their prince then hired them out to the British Crown. So you're a German farm boy, guys in uniform show up and drag you off to military service, next thing you know, you're in New Jersey getting shot at by people you never even heard of.

[KingSargent]

Of course 'Hessians' had problems deserting because they were definitely unpopular and couldn't speak English well enough to "pass" as a civvie (or explain that they were deserting before somebody killed them), if they spoke it at all .

 

By 'deserting' I'm assuming you mean changing sides. Americans deserted a lot, but it was more of "I want a break" than serious hang-em-high desertion. Sometimes whole companies would desert during harvesting and then come back. Lots of people were "Summer Soldiers" who went home in the winter.

 

BTW 67th pussycat, "volunteering" for the British Army often amounted to having a few drinks with friendly soldiers and waking up in the Army. "Impressment" as such was legally limited to people who worked on water - ie, known sailors could be hauled off the streets (the garb was distinctive), but ordinary civilians weren't supposed to be swept up. There were illegal exceptions of course. And you are right that the Press was used to man the RN, not the Army.

[67th Tigers]

German mercs were NOT necessarily volunteers, and they were considered most prone to desertion. They did not "hire on" voluntarily as mercenaries, they were impressed into their principality's army, and their prince then hired them out to the British Crown. So you're a German farm boy, guys in uniform show up and drag you off to military service, next thing you know, you're in New Jersey getting shot at by people you never even heard of.

 

My current reading book (Strachen's European Armies and the Conduct of War) covers the then European practices quite well. It was normal to hire on as much of the army as possible from abroad (France's army was about 50% foreign, Prussia's 67% during the SYW), and the areas of Europe with more population than could be gainfully employed (Switzerland the western German states) were the prime exporters of military manpower at this time.

 

It's also interesting to note a shift in agricultural patterns underlying the shift towards "Napoleonic"warfare (potatoes supplanting wheat, a decreasing availability of horse etc.)

[Richard Lindquist]

It really was quite easy for Hessian soldiers to desert (and blend in with the locals) when the Brits were deployed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania which had large German-speaking population. The "Pennsylvania Dutch" farmers of rural eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey were actually "Deutsch" and not "Hollanders". Germantown (now a suburb of Phiily) was named after having a pretty much 100% German population. Many German religious "dissenters" such as the Amish, Mennonites, and Anabaptists migrated to eastern Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley prior to 1776.

[mikegolf]

That is where my mother's ancestry on the American Continent began. According to an old family Bible, a Hessian merc deserted and fought for the Americans. After the war he settled in Brandywine, NY and then the move west began. PA for a bit, then NW Ohio, and here I am.

 

I would love to find out more, but lack the patience for geneaology.

[Old Tanker]

From my readings on the subject the Brits had a hard time getting the Brit English to fight the American English or at least in an enthusiastic manner.

But not so with the Scotch fighting the Americans. The Brits then recruited among the Scotch and Irish for the campaign when possible.

The Black Watch being an example. Plus importing Hessians.

 

Richard is correct on the Germans in Pa. fighting for the U.S.

In the TV movie about Wash. crossing the Delaware German- Americans were involved. An ancestor of mine was a Capt. Turnbach involved in that campaign.

 

The most desertions was prior to and during the War of 1812. The Brits had reasonable cause to go after deserters on American ships and American ships were well stocked with deserting Brit Tars. The Brit fleet was frequently anchoring in American Harbors to replenish and Tars were jumping ship quite often.

 

Reference : The Cousin's Wars.

[KingSargent]

It really was quite easy for Hessian soldiers to desert (and blend in with the locals) when the Brits were deployed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania which had large German-speaking population. The "Pennsylvania Dutch" farmers of rural eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey were actually "Deutsch" and not "Hollanders". Germantown (now a suburb of Phiily) was named after having a pretty much 100% German population. Many German religious "dissenters" such as the Amish, Mennonites, and Anabaptists migrated to eastern Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah Valley prior to 1776.

True, but the Hessians who came down from Canada with Burgoyne had problems. Hessians found in New England were dogmeat. Not many made it home after Bennington.

 

I think most of the "German dissenters" were recent immigrants who fell into John Adams' category of the "third (of the colonial populace) who didn't care."

 

As for the Scots, part of the 'reconciliations' after the '45 was swearing an oath to support the UK Crown. This was necessary to be allowed to emigrate to America or to enlist in the British Army. Scots tend to take oaths seriously. One reason a lot of Scots in America joined Loyalist units named "Highlanders of Suchandsuch" was because of their oaths to support the Crown.

 

As for the Irish, except in Maryland America was not Catholic-friendly. "No Irish need apply" was as common then as after 1848.

[History Buff]

I've read that of the 30,000 troops from various German states that were sent to America, nearly 7700 died while in service and 5000 settled here.

Edited February 7, 2008 by History Buff

[BP]

As for the Irish, except in Maryland America was not Catholic-friendly. "No Irish need apply" was as common then as after 1848.

 

Not true. Large parts of the Carolinas and Georgia had a large Irish-Catholic population even prior to the various famine years, and were quite friendly (Savannah, Charleston, any seaport town). Look at the various Hibernian Halls and lodges that alternate between an RC and Protestant president every year.

[BP]

German mercs were NOT necessarily volunteers, and they were considered most prone to desertion. They did not "hire on" voluntarily as mercenaries, they were impressed into their principality's army, and their prince then hired them out to the British Crown. So you're a German farm boy, guys in uniform show up and drag you off to military service, next thing you know, you're in New Jersey getting shot at by people you never even heard of.

 

"Ja, wilkommen to der Vietnam, Dieter. Try not to get malaria."

[KingSargent]

Not true. Large parts of the Carolinas and Georgia had a large Irish-Catholic population even prior to the various famine years, and were quite friendly (Savannah, Charleston, any seaport town). Look at the various Hibernian Halls and lodges that alternate between an RC and Protestant president every year.

In the 1770s?

 

The Continental Congress was making very anti-Catholic noises in 1775-6. This was hardly politic when they were trying to woo Canada into becoming the Fourteenth Colony. In fact it queered their pitch - the Canadians basically said "Which words of the Continental Congress are we supposed to heed? Your promises of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity, or your Congress's 'Destroy the Evil Papists!' speeches?"

[Old Tanker]

You have to be carefull in what you call Irish.

 

The best clue would be Orangemen or Hibernians but both can be Irish to some people especially I believe the Brit Army at that point in time.

Weren't the Irish Guards primarly Orangemen ?

 

On this side of the pond we call those of the 6 counties surrounding the Irish Sea Scotch-Irish even though they are mixes of all the ethnic groups in that region.

 

Many Scotish siding with the crown during the ARW left the country . Many of those were retired veterans of the Brit Army that the crown had deeded land to for their military service. I suppose many eneded up in Canada or the Carib. But it seems ethnic ties between Brit English and American English caused the crown to favor Hessians and Scots over here and send the English elsewhere like India or wherever .

[67th Tigers]

You have to be carefull in what you call Irish.

 

The best clue would be Orangemen or Hibernians but both can be Irish to some people especially I believe the Brit Army at that point in time.

Weren't the Irish Guards primarly Orangemen ?

 

No, they're drawn from the whole of Ireland, and indeed aren't formed for over 120 years after this date. The R Irish Rifles are the closest thing to a "protestant regiment" post-1881: http://www.geocities.com/littlegreenmen.geo/ICR.htm

[BansheeOne]

German mercs were NOT necessarily volunteers, and they were considered most prone to desertion. They did not "hire on" voluntarily as mercenaries, they were impressed into their principality's army, and their prince then hired them out to the British Crown. So you're a German farm boy, guys in uniform show up and drag you off to military service, next thing you know, you're in New Jersey getting shot at by people you never even heard of.

 

Actually most of the original Hessian contingent did sign up for the money and adventure. But Hesse being a small principality, there was an increasing need to staff the replacement contingents via the cantonal draft (not actual impressment either, though the draft was somewhat arbitrary, and the act could be quite sudden and forceful ...). Volunteers became mostly recruited from non-Hessian Germans.

[DKTanker]

Discussing various subjects in a private e-mail and was told something I had never heard about:

Wonder if anyone else has read anything about this? Was there a problem with British soldiers deserting during the American Revolution?

During the winter of 1775/76 and the siege of Boston, more than a few brits deserted. The irony of course was that if they'd stayed around another month or two they could have hauled ass with Howe after the Dorchester Heights were occupied.