Leopold Philip de Heister | |
---|---|
Born | 4 April 1716 Homberg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel |
Died | 19 November 1777 61) Kassel, Hesse-Kassel | (aged
Allegiance | France Hesse-Kassel |
Rank | Generalleutnant |
Commands | Hessian Corps |
Battles/wars | War of the Austrian Succession Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War |
Leopold Philip de Heister (4 April 1716, Homberg - 19 November 1777, Kassel) was a Hessian general who notably fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War. [1]
Heister originally chose his native Hessian service before joining the French for the War of the Austrian Succession, being wounded and captured at Braunau. Back in Hessian service he fought in the Seven Years' War, leading the Guard Cavalry Regiment, and being wounded in the battles of Hastenbeck, Krefeld and Bergen. When the war ended he was promoted to Major General. [2]
In 1776, when Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel decided to rent out troops to the British government for service against the American colonies in what would become the American Revolutionary War, Heister was chosen to command the corps. He landed on Long Island near New Utrecht with two full Hessian brigades on 25 August 1776, three days after the arrival of Gen. William Howe with the British troops.
Soon after debarking, the invading army prepared for marching, the Hessians under De Heister forming the centre, or main body. They cannonaded the works at Flatbush Pass (today Battle Pass), and De Heister ordered Carl von Donop to storm the redoubt, while he pressed forward with his troops. “Our Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarter,” wrote a British officer, “and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they despatched the rebels with their bayonets, after we surrounded them so they could not resist.” Heister also commanded the Hessians at White Plains on 28 October 1776.
He was removed from command in 1777, after the Battle of Trenton and continued disagreements with General Howe. He was replaced by his second-in-command Wilhelm von Knyphausen. [3]
The Baron Friedrich Adolf Riedesel zu Eisenbach was a senior officer of Brunswick–Luneburg troops who commanded jägers in the Northern theater of the American War of Independence.
Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army in several major wars in the 18th century, most notably the American Revolutionary War. The term is a synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. Known for their discipline and martial prowess, around 30,000 to 37,000 Hessians fought in the war, comprising around 25% of British land forces.
The Battle of White Plains took place during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from New York City, British General William Howe landed troops in Westchester County, intending to cut off Washington's escape route. Alerted to this move, Washington retreated farther, establishing a position in the village of White Plains but failing to establish firm control over local high ground. Howe's troops drove Washington's troops from a hill near the village; following this loss, Washington ordered the Americans to retreat farther north.
Count Carl Emil Ulrich von Donop was a Hessian colonel who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds during the Battle of Red Bank.
The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington. Howe was successful in driving Washington out of New York, but overextended his reach into New Jersey, and ended the New York and New Jersey campaign in January 1777 with only a few outposts near New York City under British control. The British held New York Harbor for the rest of the Revolutionary War, using it as a base for expeditions against other targets.
Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr von Innhausen und Knyphausen was a German general officer who served in Hesse-Kassel. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, during which he commanded Hessian auxiliaries on behalf of Great Britain.
Johann Gottlieb Rall was a German colonel best known for his command of Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of Fort Washington near the north end of Manhattan. It was one of the worst Patriot defeats of the war.
The Battle of Long Island was a significant British victory in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War over American forces under the command of General George Washington, and the opening battle in a successful British campaign to gain control of New York City in 1776. The Americans had lined New York's harbor with various levels of entrenchment and fortification, which were defended by an array of Continental Army forces and militia companies from New York and nearby states. After the British made an unopposed landing on Long Island in mid-August, Washington reinforced forward positions in the hills of central Brooklyn.
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Ludwig von Wurmb was a lieutenant general in the army of Hesse-Kassel during the Napoleonic Wars. In the English-speaking world he is probably best known for his service for the British in North America during the War of American Independence, when, as a lieutenant colonel, he commanded the Hessian Jäger corps in campaigns throughout the war. His military service career spanned more than 50 years.
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