few occasions during the war did the Hessian soldiers
show either a want of courage or a want of discipline.
One difficulty was inevitable in the employment of
troops of different nationalities. Jealousy and ill-will
arose between the officers and between the soldiers.
We have seen how Heister was recalled, because he
could not get on with Sir William Howe, and how
Riedesel felt himself injured by Burgoyne. The British
were, moreover, accused of acting unfairly in the
matter of the exchange of prisoners, and of exchanging
their own officers while they left the Germans in
captivity. Riedesel went so far as to write to
Washington on the subject, and was politely reminded that
it was not a matter within the latter's control.[1]
We may take it for granted that the jealousy felt by the superior officers was shared by the subordinates. In a letter from Brookland (Brooklyn), dated the 7th of September, 1776, a Hessian chaplain writes: “Our dear Hessians learned to bear their hardships, and I endeavored in my prayers and sermons to strengthen them in their Christian heroism. The loitering of the English general made them impatient, but still more the proud and insulting looks which the English are wont to cast on the Germans. This often led to bloody scenes. A non-commissioned officer to whom an Englishman said over their cups, ‘—— —— you, Frenchman, you take our pay,’ answered coldly, ‘I am a German and you are a ——.’ Both drew, and the Englishman was so badly wounded that he died. Not only was the good German pardoned by the English general, but orders were given that the English
- ↑ Eelking's “Hülfstruppen,” vol. i. p. 340.
