Soldiers for Sale

German "Mercenaries" with the British in Canada during the American Revolution (1776-83)

Jean-Pierre Wilhelmy

• Publisher: Baraka Books
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781926824321
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Early American History
• Index: History

A fascinating study that uncovers an important aspect of the history of the American Revolution, this account reveals how the British Army that fought the American Revolutionaries was, in fact, an Anglo-German army. Arguing that the British Crown had doubts about the willingness of English soldiers to fight against other English-speaking people in North America, the book details how the task of providing troops fell upon the princes of German States, who were relatives of England's ruling family. In return for large amounts of money, German princes and barons provided about 30,000 soldiers, many of whom were dragged unwillingly from their families and sent to fight in a war in which they had no interest. While some of the soldiers eventually melted into the French and English-speaking societies of Canada, little history has been available, not even to the descendant families. These soldiers' experiences offer new insight into the battles that took place between 1776 and 1783 and had an impact that spanned four countries.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Credits
• Notes
• Preface by Virginia Easley Demarce, ph.d.
• Preface by the late Marcel Trudel
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• England’s search for mercenaries
• Recruiting the German mercenaries
• The Germans and the war from 1776 to 1778
• The germans and the war from 1778 to 1783
• The Germans after the war: return or settlement and their lasting contribution in Canada
• Conclusion
• The german military corps in canada, 1776-1783
• The names and companies of the regiments of the German corps
• Organization of the Hessians in the U.S.A.
• List of the mercenaries’ professions
• List of the mercenaries by country of origin
• General description of the German uniforms worn in North America, 1776-83
• Names of German soldiers who remained in Canada and their main quarters during the American revolution
• A citadel called temporary...
• Bibliograpy (with supplementary notes)
• More nonfiction from Baraka Books
• Footnotes