08/04/2024
Hessians fighting for American Independence – sort of. It is fairly well known that Hessian deserters joined Lauzun's Legion and fought at Yorktown. ("Hessians Fighting for American Independence? German Deserters recruited for Lauzun's Legion in America, 1780 - 1782." Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association vol. 7, no. 4, (2004), pp. 39-51.) But there were also a few Hessians who came with Admiral de Grasse in two French regiments from modern-day Haiti to Yorktown!
On 10 December 1778, Lt. Col. Dupleix de Cadignan of the Agenois Regiment recorded in his journal that an American and a Dutch vessel had arrived in Cap Francois in St. Domingue (Cap Haitien in Haiti) "avoit rencontre en mer un navire de transport anglois royaliste qui avoit ete separe de la grande flotte de l'amiral byron, peu des jours aprez leur sortie de new york. ce transport royaliste faisant voile pour halifax ou etoit le rendez-vous general fut assailli par un si furieux coup de vent, qu'il se trouve plusieurs fois en danger de perir lorsqu'il fut rencontre par le navire american ils n'avaient plus que pour deux jours de vivres, et la moitie de l'equipage avoit peri l'american leur donna des vivres suffisament pour en retourner a new york et pour soulager le batiment il prit a son bord 20 soldats c'etoit des troupes hessoises au service des anglois on leur proposa de s'engager dans les deux regnts d'agenois, et gatinois, ou d'etre traits comme prisonniers de guerre. Ils prefererent tous le premier parti."(Journal des differentes campagnes que j’aÿ fait soit par terre ou par mer, depuis que je suis entré au service, ainsi que des principaux evenements qui se sont passés dans les differents climats que j’aÿ parcouru, (2 volumes, 285 pp. and 141 pp.; Library of the Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, DC)
To make a long story short: these were 20 Hessians on a vessel that had departed from New York for Halifax in the fleet of Admiral Byron, got lost and drifted very far to the southward, were picked up by an American (privateer?), landed in Cap Haitien and joined French two regiments stationed there.
Acc. to Todd Braisted the only Hessians going to Nova Scotia at that time was the Garrison Regiment Stein (to 1778, then Seitz) which sailed out of New York harbor in early September 1778 and reached Halifax in Nova Scotia on 26 September 1778. Except, of course, for the one boatload that went to Haiti.
I looked at the Gatinois contrôles and low and behold: I indeed found four Hessians from Hersfeld and surrounding villages who enlisted in St. Domingue on 13 December 1778. One of them dies in April 1781, but the rest went with the regiment to Virginia where one died and two deserted on 16 October 1781.
The next step would be to look in the Monthly Reports of the regiment in Hetrina, but wouldn’t you know that no monthly returns for the regiment for 1778 exist ?! Without a monthly report their names will not appear among the losses for that month/year and thus also not in HETRINA. But fear not: this is not the first rabbit hole I am prepared to dive into. I have not yet checked the Agenois controles; need to do some paying work first.
