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Hessian Soldiers In The Revolutionary War

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The Hessian soldiers were German soldiers hired by Great Britain to fight in the Revolutionary War. The colonists that settled in North America were fighting for their independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. The Hessian soldiers joined forces with Great Britain to fight against the colonists in present day North America. The Hessian name was derived from their original location of Hesse-Kassel, Germany. They were involved in the war because Landgraf Wilhelm II, the prince of Hesse-Kassel, was paid an amount equal to thirteen years’ worth of tax revenue for their services. Each soldier services equaled twenty-five cents a day payment to the prince. The prince enforced this policy so that he could keep taxes low and public spending high. As a result, the soldiers were not paid directly for their services to fight in the war. The Hessian soldiers made up one-fourth of the British Army. There were over 30,000 Hessian soldiers sent to North America to fight in the war. This was not an uncommon practice for an army to hire soldiers from another country. There were 535 Hessian soldiers killed in the action of the war. There were 900 Hessian soldiers captured at the Battle of …show more content…
The word mercenary has two definitions. The first definition of mercenary defines it as working or acting merely for money or other reward. Secondly, it is defined as being hired to serve in a foreign army or a guerrilla organization. The Hessian soldiers were hired to serve in a foreign army, but they were not being paid for fighting in the Revolutionary War. Payment for fighting in the war went directly to the prince of Hesse-Kassel, not to the soldiers. The mercenary dispute arises because these soldiers were required by their country to serve, but they did not do so for their own personal profit. However, payment was received by their country for their

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