By Mark Stolzenburg
This article explores how some Hessian soldiers, both prisoners of war and deserters, who had fought for the British under John Burgoyne during the 1777 Saratoga campaign came to reside in the Schoharie Valley (then Albany County) and the Mohawk Valley (Tryon County). It has been adapted from two articles by Mr. Stolzenburg first published in the Schoharie County Historical Review, Fall-Winter 2021, Vol. 85, No. 2., and Spring-Summer 2022, Vol. 86, No. 1. Please refer to them for the complete version and source materials. markstolz1014@gmail.com
Who were the Hessians?
The term “Hessian” became commonplace even during the Revolution to represent the nearly 30,000 German soldiers who fought for the British in the War of American Independence. Germany in the 1770’s was not one unified country, but a group of independent states. Only about 65 percent of these soldiers were truly “Hessian” and hailed from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. Others, however, were from other German duchies and principalities, especially, as we will see in the case of Schoharie and Mohawk Valley immigrants, the Duchy of Braunschweig. The name Braunschweig was anglicized to “Brunswick”. Over the course of the Revolutionary War 5723 Brunswickers served with the British in America.
Hessians in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777
Hessian troops fought alongside the British in 1777 as the war of the American Revolution was brought to the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys by a three-pronged British campaign in the State of New York. Their plan was for British General Barry St. Leger to take the Mohawk Valley by invading from Lake Ontario, Sir Henry Clinton was to come up the Hudson River from New York City and John Burgoyne was to use the Lake Champlain corridor to descend southward from Canada on Albany. There the three would meet, effectively dividing New York State and severing ties between New England and the rest of the thirteen states. Fierce resistance by Patriots, from the Battle of the Flockey, to Oriskany, and to Fort Schuyler drove St. Leger back to Canada, cutting off one of the three avenues of attack. Clinton stalled after taking Fort Montgomery on October 6 along the Hudson highlands in present-day Orange County.
This left Burgoyne on his own with an impossibly long supply line spread over rugged Adirondack terrain and with unreliable communication with St. Leger and Clinton. By the conclusion of the second battle of Saratoga on October 7, known as the Battle of Bemis Heights, it was clear that Burgoyne’s situation was dire. He was seriously outnumbered by the American Northern Army and militias under Major General Horatio Gates. Burgoyne could not advance; he could not retreat. Provisions for the British and Hessian troops were critically low. Gates’ forces stood between Burgoyne and Albany and blocked his possibility of return to Canada.
The principal engagements of the Saratoga campaign commenced with the British taking of Fort Ticonderoga on July 2 and terminated with the two battles of Saratoga, the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7. The British and Hessian forces under Burgoyne surrendered to Gates on October 17. In June 1777 at the start of his march from Canada, Burgoyne’s Brunswick regiments numbered 3291 men and the Hesse-Hanau artillery under his command was about 600 strong.
Hessian Desertion from Burgoyne’s Army
From the early days of the war, the Continental Congress had decided to welcome deserters of the “foreign” troops, another name given to the Hessian troops who fought for the British. By October of the 1777 Saratoga campaign, Hessian deserters walked from Burgoyne’s British lines in increasing numbers daily. The intractable strategic position that Burgoyne found himself in and the shortage of food certainly contributed to low morale and high rates of desertion. This situation was amply identified by American General Gates, who from camp at Saratoga, October 12, 1777, wrote to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress:
“I am happy to acquaint your Excellency that desertion has taken a deep root in the Royal Army, particularly amongst the Germans, who come to us in shoals.”
Another factor likely contributed to Hessians voluntarily walking over to the Americans, and Gates was indeed happy because he probably felt he could, in part, take credit for it. A few days before he wrote the letter to Hancock, the Major General had hatched and carried out a plan with the help of his German interpreter, John Tilghman, to infiltrate the Hessian lines to distribute propaganda designed to encourage the Hessians to desert. Tilghman, who was born in Germany, wrote a poignant propaganda letter dated October 1, 1777 to his “countrymen,” Burgoyne’s Hessians. An English translation of the lengthy letter exists in the Gates Papers Collection housed at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan. In his prose, Tilghman appealed to all the sensibilities that may have been going through the mind of a discouraged Hessian soldier who was thinking about deserting to live in America.
“Come only to one of our armies you will be received and rewarded + a free men [sic]”
The letter is signed: “from a friend and wellwisher to the German nation.” The timing of Tilghman’s work makes it probable that it is one of the letters, perhaps the only one, described by historian Jeptha Simms as having been discreetly carried to the Hessian camp and distributed. But someone had to get it there.
Christopher Fischer of Col. Schuyler’s regiment was requested by Tilghman to deliver the letter to the Hessian camp. He was a German-speaking private from a Schoharie German family. According to Jacob Van Alstyne in an interview by Simms, Fischer accepted the dangerous mission knowing he would be treated as a spy by the British if his purpose was discovered. An elaborate ruse was concocted for Fischer to gain entry to the Hessian camp. To bolster Fischer’s cover in preparation for the mission, plans were made for some choreographed maneuvers by Col. Morgan’s Riflemen that would be in full view of the Hessians shortly after Fischer would be arriving in the Hessian camp. Fischer would pose as a local Loyalist with information for the Hessians about American troop movements, specifically those that Col. Morgan would be executing. He would bring Tilghman’s letter and some freshly killed mutton, to ensure he would be welcomed since everyone knew that provisions in Burgoyne’s army were in short supply. Fischer crossed the no man’s land between the two armies and was met by the sentries of the Hessian camp.
The ruse was a success. Fischer was taken by the Hessian sentries to their officers whom he convinced of his hatred for the American rebels and that he offered the officers truthful intelligence about American plans and troop movements. After all, everyone could see the Riflemen maneuvering as Fischer had told the officers they would. The Hessians were, of course, unaware of the pre-arranged plan which Col. Morgan’s men were acting out. Fischer convinced the officers he was not a threat and was given liberty to wander the enemy camp, presumably distributing Tilghman’s letter and talking up the propaganda points to convince the rank-and-file Hessians to desert.
Since Christopher Fischer was both of German descent and had ties to Schoharie, it is possible that the topic of Schoharie and the Mohawk Valley might have come up as a potential welcoming destination for Hessian deserters. Could Fischer’s mission have coaxed some Hessian deserters to the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys? It seems possible that those who had not already heard about the not-to-distant German communities southwest of Saratoga knew of them after Fischer’s visit.
Late in the day a diversion created by Col. Morgan’s Riflemen kept the Hessians busy, allowing Christopher Fischer to slip away from the enemy camp and return safely to the American lines. He was rewarded with gold and discharge papers. The date was probably between October 1, the date on Tilghman’s letter, and October 7, 1777, the day of the Battle of Bemis Heights. Christopher Fischer’s accomplishment was particularly impressive given that the Hessians were under orders as of August 23, 1777 to be on the lookout for just such an intruder in their midst. In fact, they were offered bonuses for exposure of enemy agents who might try to entice German soldiers to desert.
Tilghman’s promise to reward Hessians for desertion was no joke. In the Horatio Gates Papers, Series 2, there is a return (list) of 111 deserters, 100 of them by name, and the amount of cash paid to each of them by Deputy Quartermaster General Udney Hay. In total £555.4 was doled out to the deserters. There is evidence that other Hessians were sent to the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys involuntarily.
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