Does anyone know if there is a list of Hessians Washington captured at Trenton?

Question

Is there a list of Hessians captured in Washington victory in Trenton, NJ. I know some when to Massachusetts and some, I believe to PA. Also, i have not had luck looking for reference to British Soldiers in the Revolution. If any on happens to know where to start for that, I wold appreciate any tips anyone might forward.

 

Thanks,

Jim

Comments

Hi Jim,

Some people who might know the answer to that could be found by visiting the 1776 Project.  There might even be a link right there that would suit you.

I hope it shows up!

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I haven't found an actual list. One site claims there were 1000, while this one claims 948  http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/761226-trenton/.  This gives a list of Hessian units in the Revolutionary War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian_%28soldier%29. " p>By 1776, Rall belonged to the infantry regiment of the 1st Division under General Phillip Leopold von Heister and commanded approximately 1,200 men fighting for Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. He was at the Battle of Brooklyn at Flatbush, the Battle of White Plains, the Battle of Long Island, and figured prominently in the Battle of Trenton.</p>"  -but this account puts the 'captured' toll at 906 via http://theamericanrevolution.org/commanderdetail.aspx?commander=24.  I am sorry, but these might be a start-at least contacts that might be more aware.  I too am curious...my gggggggrandfather apparently had problems with his militia duty, but his family of like 11 kids stayed, yet his death date reeks of the war.  Good Luck

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I found one of my Hessian Soliders in here. Only problem is on wikitree can’t find his daughter who married my Callahan family. This book great for looking up people.

Billie 

https://archive.org/stream/namesofpersonswh00west#page/92/mode/2up

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Here is another website that has few listed.

http://jsha.org/jshacomb.htm

Billie

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My ancestor, Christian Mueller, who was captured at Trenton, NJ was supposedly moved along with 1,000+ others to Carlisle, PA and held there until after the war.  It is true that many, if not most, stayed in the US.  Mine stayed in PA and went on to have about 10 children.  If you look up Carlisle online, there is a picture of one building still standing from that era.

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Almost 2/3 of the 1500 Hessians were captured at Trenton.

You can get more details at Wikipedia by searching the Battle of Trenton.

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Hello Elaine;

I am happy to find someone else related to Christian Mueller.

 One of his sons was Abram Miller, and one of his sons was Daniel Miller. One of Daniel's sons was Michael Miller. My grandmother, Zella Miller Hulbert, was Michael's daughter. She had my father, Wayne Hulbert.

  Just wondering where you are in the lineage. Also do you have much of the family history

  BTW I live in Lansing, Michigan

  Hope to hear from you,  Jerry Hulbert

Answer 1

Jim, 

I have seen such a list but do not recall at the moment.

A Google search of Hessians captured at Trenton returned this, which has some interesting links.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=383002

You can contact the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association for better sources.

http://www.jsha.org/

Let us know what you learn!

Comments

And Jim,  Keep in mind that the "Hessian Capture at Trenton" is one of those questionable genealogical stories that get passed down.  Like we have Indian Blood, descendant of Pocahontas, Royal Blood Lines, etc.  Stories to be tracked down but often no proof.

My ancestor, Baltzer Culp has stories that he was Captured at Trenton by Washington and that he was a Teamster for Washington and watched over Hessian prisoners.  Schwalm did a search and found no Baltzer.  And I have no proof of Rev. War. Service.

Good Luck.

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jsha.org has some of the best detailed information on Hessian P.O.Ws that stayed here in America to start anew.

Sadly allot of list type records were destroyed by order of that Scoundrel Banister Tarelton..

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Banastre Tarleton?

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tarleton-115

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William - do you have a source for your statement that these records were destroyed by order of Tarleton?

Answer 2

Wasn't Rob Lowe's ancestor "Christopher East" one of the Hessians? You might check out his episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?

Answer 3

Bruce Burgoyne has written a number of books on Hessian Soldiers in America, including some comprehensive records of who went where. My ancestor served in the 3rd Waldeck Regiment--which has a book that traces every soldier, every battle.

And don't forget HETRINA, the website/database maintained by the German state of Hesse to share their records of the original regiments!

https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/index/sn/hetrina

Answer 4

While this doesn't directly apply, there is an excellent book that relates the daily life of a common Hessian Solider.   It is called.

"A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution" By Johann Conrad Dohla. 

It details the daily life of a solider and at the same time it gives a good number of names of other Hessian Soldiers who served.  That may be of particular interest to anyone who wants to compile a list of Hessian Soldiers.

It is a good read, and at times rather fun.

At one point the author details a fellow Hessian named Zimmerman who was caught "getting busy" with a girl from the town while he was supposed to be on duty.   He got caught and punished.

craig

Answer 5

Barth, Richard C., William E. Dornemann, and Mark A. Schwalm. "The Trenton Prisoner List." Journal of the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association 3 (1985):1-21.

The transcription is taken from a Library of Congress copy of the original list in the Archives in Marburg. "The list represents a wealth of information on the prisoners, having been prepared by the Germans for a consolidated report on the prisoners taken as a result of the Battle. It is dated 27 February 1777, and was assembled from company and/or regiment reports by the Hessian Staff at Headquarters in New York. In summary, it lists over 1000 Hessians and states the disposition of nearly ever soldier who was captured, died during the Battle, or died between the Battle and 26 February, 1778, the date the lists were compiled... sometimes the personal servants of the officers were included, as well as the wives of privates... those ill or suffering from wounds as well as those who died either from wounds or illnesses are noted."

I have access to this if you need a lookup, but you can also contact the Johannes Schwalm Historical Association for research help.

This is an old question but I just stumbled onto it. 

Comments

Heather hi I'm a Brit (I hope we're allowed on here!)... one of my son-in-law's ancestors was in the Heister regiment, but got back home. Is it possible to see if he's in that list---should I send his name here? I have also written to the JSHA

Answer 6

https://www.lagis-hessen.de/en/subjects/xsearch/page/3/pageSize/50/sn/hetrina?q=YToxOntzOjU6ImRhdHVtIjtzOjY6IjIuMTc3NyI7fQ==