Hessians at New York

 Fun Fact:

Of the 30,000 Germans who fought for the British during the revolutionary war, about 65% came from Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. 8,000 Hessians arrived at Staten Island in August of 1776 and engaged in action shortly thereafter in The Battle of Long Island. With the help of the Hessian auxiliaries, the battle was a tremendous success for the British.

Howe had divided his forces into three divisions. Howe set out with Clinton and half his army toward Jamaica Pass. At sunrise his two other divisions, British Regulars under General James Grant and Hessian troops under General Philip von Heister, began an artillery barrage and attack on the American lines. The Americans held until Howe's troops appeared on their flank as the redcoats and Hessians attacked from the front. Panic took the Americans. They broke and ran. Many Americans sought out redcoats to offer their surrender because it was rumored that the Hessians gave no quarter.

Hessians under Colonel John Rall led the attack on the Americans at White Plains. Rall's charge scattered the militia on the American right which exposed the flank to attack, and the Americans were forced to retreat. General Wilhelm von Knyphausen had secured King's Bridge between Manhattan and White Plains. 

At Fort Washington, when American Colonel Robert Magaw's adjutant, William Demont, defected to provide the British crucial information about the status of the fort, Hessians under Knyphausen and regulars under Cornwallis and Lord Percy assaulted the fort. It was a rough climb to the fort, and Knyphausen led his men in heavy fighting. Knyphausen allowed Colonel Rall the honor of requesting the fort's surrender. As the Americans left the fort, Hessians stripped some of them of their baggage and beat them.

_________________

I've started writing chapter 5 in Book 6 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. This one is loaded with excitement. Alex and Lucette face deadly peril in a bold move to give the cause of Liberty a fighting chance. I haven't settled on a name for this one yet. I expect at some point a phrase will leap forth from the prose and demand to be made into the title.

On the miniature's front, I've got a cardboard tavern in the making for my skirmish game. It's got stairs, railing, banister, rugs and chandeliers, along with tables and chairs, a fireplace, and a bar--everything required for tavern swashbuckling. The invitees to the festivities are yet to be determined.