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Germans in the American Revolution

People of German ancestry fought on both sides in the American Revolution. Many of the small German states in Europe supported the British. King George III of Britain was simultaneously the ruler of the German state of Hanover. Around 30,000 Germans fought for the British during the war, around 25% of British land forces.[1] In particular, 12,000 Hessian soldiers served as mercenaries on the side of British. However some European Germans as individuals crossed the Atlantic to help the Patriots, who were supporters of Congress.

Inside America, German Americans were largely concentrated in Pennsylvania and upstate New York. The majority supported Congress and the patriot cause. However many of the religious sects (such as the Amish) were neutral. Very few German Americans were Loyalists or supported King George. It is estimated that nearly 5,000 of the German auxiliaries permanently settled in the United States.

List of British units in the American Revolutionary War

compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History

Bibliography of the German Participation in the American Revolution

The Ansbach-Bayreuth Army in America

Seventy muster rolls and 15 additional letters and documents of the German regiments employed by the British to fight in the American Revolutionary War digitized by the William L. Clements Library

German Auxiliaries Muster Rolls, 1776-1786

at the U.S. National Park Service

German Auxiliary Units at Yorktown

– Numerous documents and letters concerning the participation of Hessians soldiers to the American Revolutionary War

Haldimand Collection

corps history

The Marechausee: von Heer’s Provost Corps

with Regiment history

Recreated Regiment Von Riedesel

Academic blog with original German sources, English translations, and commentary.

"Hessians:" German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.