"Hessians: Reluctant Soldiers " Topic

"The Hessian soldiers who fought for the British in the American Revolution did not come to the New World of their own free will.

The troops comprised conscripts—school dropouts, servants without masters, bankrupts, idlers, drunkards, the unemployed, troublemakers, and any other "expendable" man who was healthy and under 60. Their societies saw them as anything but the best and brightest.

"Hessian" is catch-all term for soldiers rented out to the British by Frederick II, the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and five other German rulers. In Hesse-Kassel, the fee was the equivalent of 13 years of tax revenue, and Landgrave Frederick used it for the public good. He left a full treasury, founded museums and schools, and had a taste for expensive buildings.

About 30,000 soldiers crossed the Atlantic between 1776 and 1783. At first, they were well trained and well equipped. As the war dragged on, it became harder to find men who would make good soldiers…"
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Amicalement
Armand

The above describes recruits of most armies in all ages. After all during the F&I war Massachusetts impressed "common idlers" into its ranks, and a friend of mine (in his youth), was offered a prison term or the Armed Forces.

The article gave a common view on the Hessian army in the War of Independence but that view is very debatable. If there was any forced conscription that was very rare. Almost all Hessians were volonteers and therefore were professional soldiers. Many soldiers even preferred the duty in America because they got about double of salary then the soldiers at home. An mainly unknown fact was that hundreds of families followed their soldiers and were transported to America too.

The Hessian gig was a good way for German princelings to add to the state coffers and as noted the soldiers- kind of an early sort of private military contractors – did OK as well

Plus of the 30,000 odd who served about 10,000 decided that the prospect of a farm on the frontier beat marching to the Landgrave's beat, and stayed – including my many times removed great-grandpappy

I'd say the first batch of German soldiers were professional and mostly well trained.

From Ewalds diary, its clear the second batch that came in 1777 were not well trained or professional as a group over all.

If there was a morale problem, it would have been after the disaster at Red Bank, for example. The idea of them being reluctant is rather overblown for reasons already stated.

Years ago, I read a memoir of a Brunswick officer--he talked about taking the oath to the crown before they sailed to America--they knew what they were doing and what they were getting into.

And they were NOT mercenaries.

Never regarded them as reluctant based on the resources that I checked. The number of Shanghais for German units were no higher than other nationalities of the era.