Who Wants a Non-Hessian German Troops of the American Revolution Uniform Identification Flow Chart?
Now you too can roleplay as a harried British staff officer trying to identify which troops are encamped where, or a devious rebel spy collecting intelligence.
As folks may or may not know, only roughly 50% of the German state troops who served the British Crown during the American Revolution were âHessiansâ from Hesse-Cassel. There were six other states that provided âsubsidy troops.â Hereâs how to tell them apart at a glance.
Are their uniforms predominantly dark blue? If yes, go to the paragraph numbered 4. If no, go to the para numbered 2.
2. Are their uniforms predominantly white? If no, go to the para numbered 3. If yes, those are troops from Anhalt-Zerbst. The only German state involved in the war to take its uniform and organisational cues from Austria rather than Prussia, the single Anhalt-Zerbst line regiment deployed to America wore white regimental coats faced with red. Their grenadiers wore bearskins rather than metal-faced caps (the only other German state to do this was Waldeck). One battalion also, according to one shocked British officer, had one of the most outrageous-looking uniforms of the war, including hussar hats, red and yellow waist sashes and red cloaks - these may have been âpandourâ irregulars from the edges of the Austrian empire.
3. The coats are neither white nor blue, so they must be red. In this case, the troops are Hanoverian. While still mostly following Prussian style, because they shared a ruler with Britain, Hanoverian troops wore red. Five Hanoverian regiments assisted Britain with vital Mediterranean defence during the American Revolution, before going on to fight in India. They were the only redcoat Germans fighting for the Crown outside the British Army.
4. Your Germans are wearing blue coats. Are the buttons on the coat lapels arranged 1-2-1, and do the cuffs have a âSwedishâ style slit to them? If no, go to the para numbered 5. If yes, theyâre from Brunswick-WolfenbĂŒttel. Brunswick provided the most soldiers after Hesse-Cassel, and arguably the most rounded force, with four line regiments, one dragoon regiment, one grenadier battalion and one light infantry battalion. But whether jĂ€ger, musketeers or grenadiers, they almost all had coat buttons in groups of 1-2-1 and the slit-style cuffs. Fun fact; the Brunswick crest of a racing white horse on a red field was the same as neighbouring Hanoverâs.
5. Your Germans are wearing blue, but donât have buttons in 1-2-1 and Swedish cuffs. Do they have yellow facings, and cuffs with buttons placed both horizontally and vertically? If no, go to the para numbered 6. If yes, they are from Waldeck. This German state usually provided troops for the Dutch, but raised a new unit, the 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment, for service in America. They mostly fought against the Spanish in the Deep South, where they were decimated by disease. If the unusual position of the buttons on the cuff isnât enough, look for the belt plate bearing âFFâ for âFuerst Friedrich,â the stateâs ruler.
6. Do your blue Germans have red facings, cocked hats and unusual lace on their coats, shaped like a figure-of-eight? If no, go to the para numbered 7. If yes, theyâre from Hesse-Hanau. This state was closely related (in the sense of its ruler, literally) to Hesse-Cassel, yet remained independent. While it provided a small amount of artillery, jĂ€gers and freikorps light infantry, its main contribution was a single line regiment, Erbprinz. Their distinctive features were scalloped lace on their cocked hats and the figure-of-eight âBrandenburgâ style lace. There was also a Hesse-Cassel Regiment Erbprinz (even sharing the same colonel-in-chief), but they were fusiliers with caps rather than the Hesse-Hanau musketeers with their cocked hats. Check the mistake made by this artwork - these are Hesse-Hanau soldiers from the Infanterie Regiment Erbprinz, but theyâre wearing Cassel fusilier caps. Bonus fact; Hanau and Casselâs crest both features a rampant lion with red and white stripes, but there are subtle differences - they face opposite directions, the style of stripes are slightly different, and the Hanau lion lacks the Cassel oneâs crown, but does wield a sword.
7. Do your blue-coated Germans have a black eagle on their flags and grenadier cap plates? If no, theyâre probably from Hesse-Cassel. If yes, theyâre from Ansbach-Bayreuth. This German state consisted of two provinces, Ansbach and Bayreuth (funny that). Besides jĂ€gers and some battalion guns, their main contribution was two infantry regiments, one from each of the two provinces. Their rulerâs crest was a black eagle, similar to the Prussian one.
Of course these posts donât account for the uniforms of the jĂ€ger corps, or musicians, or any artillery, but it can serve as a rough guide. For the proper detail, youâll have to buy my forthcoming book on the topic!
Also would be pretty cool if someone made an actual flow chart out of this, just saying!
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