Burgoyne, Bruce E. The 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment in the American Revolution, (Heritage Books, Inc., 2008)
von Eelking, Max. German Allied Troops: In the North American War of Independence, 1776-1783, (Applewood Books, 1893).
Krebs, Daniel. A Generous and Merciful Enemy: Life for German Prisoners of War during the American Revolution, (University of Oklahoma Press, 2013).
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (The Kent State University Press, 1999).
Lowell, Edward J. The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, (Corner House Historical Publications, 1997).
The first source cited above is a real gold mine of information concerning the 3rd Waldeck Regiment in North America during the period of 1776-1783. The author, Bruce E. Burgoyne, has gone to great lengths to translate and organize numerous volumes on Hessian/German topics and present them in a manner that a 21st century audience can comprehend. One of these genuine treasures for modern-day researchers is the first source cited in this post. This work will form the basis of the information cited in this specific post, with supporting background information also being provided by the Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution.
Prior to encountering this source of information, this blog writer had only hoped to make assumptions concerning the experiences and actions these two men had taken part in while they served in the far southern theater of operations during the course of the American Revolution. The source cited above makes those assumptions and speculations completely unnecessary. The source cited above contains hard information about these two men as well as other members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment who also served on board the frigate South Carolina.
The two Waldeckers mentioned in the title of this post have been cited and referred to since they were first located by this blog writer in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, the section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", pages 135-170. Thus, we will deal with these two gentlemen first, as is only fitting. First and foremost, the names of these two men do indeed appear on the roster of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment during the period of the American Revolution. The two names that appear in the section of Lewis's work, entitled "Appendix" are Carlos Clain/Clayne (page 141) and Enrique Veber (page 169). As stated earlier, these two names are almost certainly Spanish transliterations of their original Germanic names. This blog author guessed that these two men's original Germanic names were Karl Klein and Heinrich Weber. According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, Karl Klein's name is actually cited as "Karl Kleine" and Heinrich Weber's name is actually cited as Johann Henrich Weber. This blog writer feels confident that his initial guesses were reasonably close to the original names as cited.
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 16, Karl Kleine was 19 years old at the time of his enlistment in the company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Alexander von Baumbach, also known as the 3rd Company of the above stated regiment. This company was a musket company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. He was a native of the village of Bringhausen in Waldeck. Evidently, Karl Kleine was one of the original recruits of the regiment and marched for Korbach in Waldeck on May 20, 1776. Again, according to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 90, we also know that Joann Henrich Weber was a later recruit to the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, being enlisted on April 5, 1778 and appearing on the roster when the company was reviewed on Staten Island on September 21, 1778. There is no record of his age at the time of his enlistment but, according to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 90, we know that he was taken into the company commanded by Captain Konrad Albrecht von Horn, also known as the 1st Company of said regiment. This company was the grenadier company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. Weber was a native of the village of Wahlen in Waldeck.
Both of these men would have served in any actions that the 3rd Waldeck Regiment served in from, at the very least, September 21, 1778, when both of these men were known to be in New York City, until they landed in Pensacola, FL on January 19, 1779. These would have included any of the sorties and raids they participated in around the vicinity of New York City and into New Jersey. But, being that the attack on and capture of Fort Washington took place on November 16, 1776 and Johann Henrich Weber did not arrive as a replacement for his grenadier company until September 21, 1778, he would not have taken part in the assault on patriot positions at Fort Washington. Only Karl Kleine would have taken part in the assault and capture of the patriot positions at Fort Washington.
In the post dated "06/19/2015" below, the regiment boarded British transports on October 20, 1778 and actually left New York City harbor on October 31, 1778. Thus, they departed New York City harbor just over a month after the reinforcements, of which Johann Henrich Weber was one, arrived on Staten Island and were reviewed there by their commanding officers. Again, as cited in the above mentioned post, their voyage to Pensacola, FL was a long and trying one, with them being at sea for slightly over two months. Since the entire regiment was sent to Pensacola, FL, both Karl Kleine and Johann Henrich Weber would have experienced this difficult voyage.
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, pages 114-123, the end of active, warlike service to the British Crown of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment companies posted along the Mississippi River in far western West Florida came at the fall of Baton Rouge, LA and its outlying fortifications, beginning on September 21, 1779 with the surrender of Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA, and extending until, at least, October 5, 1779, when Fort Panmure in Natchez, MS also surrendered. All of the surviving Waldeck troops in this region and stationed among the various posts along the Mississippi River were made prisoners-of-war of the Spanish forces at this point in time.
(Note: According to Lowell's work, The Hessians, page 252, the garrison of Fort Bute in Baton Rouge numbered about four hundred men - British, German, Loyalists and loyal militia. Again, according to his work, "nearly one half of the capitulating garrison were Waldeckers, and more than thirty of the regiment had been killed or wounded". This would have meant that around 150-200 of the troops surrendered at Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA were members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment.)
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 119, both Johann Henrich Weber of the 1st or Grenadier Company as well as Karl Kleine of the 3rd Company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment were made prisoners-of-war at the fall of Fort Bute at Baton Rouge, LA and the other posts in this area of the Mississippi River. According to von Eelking's work, German Allied Troops, page 220, only the Grenadier Company is cited as having been sent as reinforcements to Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA. That would certainly have placed Johann Henrich Weber there at the time of the siege and fall of the fort to the Spanish. Karl Kleine's 3rd Company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment is not mentioned as being sent to the Mississippi River region of West Florida. This may have been due to Kleine's company having been sent to another of the posts rather than to Baton Rouge, LA such as Manchac, LA or Fort Panmure in Natchez, MS. Also, it is possible that Karl Kleine may have been transferred to another company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment in the mean time and that this company was assigned to the lower Mississippi River region. Since all of these posts fell to the Spanish within two weeks of each other, these Waldeckers are all considered to have been made prisoners-of-war at the same time. At this point in time, October 1779, active duty as a soldier of the German auxiliary forces serving the British Crown, was concluded for Karl Kleine of the 3rd Company and Johann Henrich Weber of the 1st or Grenadier Company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment.
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 123, "the soldiers made prisoners of Spain in the fall of 1779 in the Mississippi region were held for a time in New Orleans, where the Waldeckers were allowed to enjoy a relative freedom of the city". This same source also states that the prisoners-of-war were held there in New Orleans for "several months". Again, according to the above cited source, page 123, "some, if not all, of the Waldeck prisoners of war were sent to Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1780, aboard the Nuestro Senora del Carmen, and in August 1780, from Vera Cruz to Havana on El Caymen". According to Krebs's work, A Generous and Merciful Enemy, page 219, "before their exchange in 1782, the Waldeck prisoners of war spent ten months in New Orleans, a month in Vera Cruz, and more than a year in Havana, Cuba". This was certainly a shorter period of time than the Germans troops captured with General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, NY in October 1777. But, for the Waldeckers under Spanish authority, it was still over two years in length and in a truly foreign land under Spanish control. Their services had been the most remote and exotic of any experienced by German troops in North America during the American Revolution. In the same way, their imprisonment would also be the most remote and exotic.
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, pages 129-130, "while the number of combat deaths suffered by the Waldeck Regiment was minimal during 1779, non-combat deaths [due to sicknesses contracted by the prisoners-of-war] took a heavy toll, desertions from the Grenadier Company had increased sharply, and nearly one-half the regiment was in prisoner of war camp at New Orleans". Again, according to the text, personnel were transferred between companies to fill out the depleted or captured companies. On page 132 of the above cited source, it states that "individuals transferred from 3 Company to 5 Company during December 1779 were..." The accompanying list contains the names of seventeen men, among whom is listed Karl Kleine. Earlier, on page 130, this same source states that these specific transfers took place on paper only since the men involved, including Karl Kleine, were prisoners-of-war in New Orleans. Evidently, Johann Henrich Weber remained in the Grenadier Company and did not experience a transfer to another company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. Thus, as of December 1779, these two men were still listed on the active-duty roster of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, even though they were officially prisoners-of-war of the Spanish in New Orleans.
According to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 188, an agreement for exchanging prisoners-of-war was worked out between the Spanish and British in January 1782. A list was sent to Lieutenant Colonel Albrecht von Horn at Newton, Long Island that same month, which he counter-signed. The list contains all the personnel of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment that the Spanish were sending to New York City for repatriation to the British Crown forces as the war was winding down. In the list of the 1st or Grenadier Company appears the name of Johann Henrich Weber. In the list of the 5th Company also appears the name of Karl Kleine. It would seem that both of these men were about to receive their long awaited freedom and a happy return to their home villages in the province of Waldeck. Yet, when a subsequent muster of the regiment took place at Newton, Long Island on July 12, 1782, neither of these two men were present and accounted for. As a matter of fact, according to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, page 224, both of these men appear on a list of twenty-six deserters and have the date of March 31, 1782 cited next to their respective names as the date of their having deserted their prisoner-of-war status. The event responsible for these two men deserting their prisoner-of-war status occurred on January 12, 1782 and was the arrival of the frigate South Carolina in Havana, Cuba on January 12, 1782.
According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 63, when Commodore Gillon reached Havana, Cuba, he "...took extraordinary steps to keep and increase his personnel. These "extraordinary steps" included not settling pay accounts with anyone who expressed a wish to leave the frigate South Carolina. He "...prevailed upon Spanish authorities to confine several key petty officers in guard boats in the harbor and to house other crewmen in the infamous Morro prison. But, he also "...requested permission to exchange his prize captives for German prisoners, members of the Waldeck Regiment whom the Spanish had captured at Pensacola. This proposal must have been accepted since at least three Waldeckers signed on; indeed, one eyewitness maintained that twenty-two did so". This last statement will be fully addressed in a subsequent post but, for now, we will complete the investigation of the desertions of Johann Henrich Weber and Karl Kleine, both of whom are cited as having deserted their prisoner-of-war status on March 31, 1782.
Some of the prisoners-of-war of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment had been in Spanish captivity for over two years by the time that the frigate South Carolina arrived in Havana, Cuba. Again, among these men were Karl Kleine and Johann Henrich Weber. Both men are cited as having deserted on March 31, 1782, after the arrival of the frigate South Carolina in Havana, Cuba and, certainly, after Commodore Gillon had received Spanish permission to recruit from among the Waldeck prisoners-of-war. Previous posts have indicated that Commodore Gillon preferred recruiting among Dutch/German-speaking populations, probably because of his own fluency in both languages. Many of his current marines, members of the Voluntaires du Luxembourg, spoke Dutch as their native language. At the same time he was recruiting among the Waldeckers in Havana, Cuba, he was also luring Dutch-speaking soldiers away from the Spanish Regiment of Flanders, currently stationed in Havana. He knew his strong points and used them well, to his advantage.
It would seem likely that the two men in question here, Karl Kleine and Johann Henrich Weber, most likely deserted under the influence of Commodore Alexander Gillon of the frigate South Carolina rather than at an earlier date - while in New Orleans, LA or at Vera Cruz, Mexico. Yet, the transcription of their names into Spanish might indicate that they made their decision earlier and were taken into the Spanish forces possibly before the arrival of the frigate South Carolina and Commodore Gillon with his fluency in both Dutch and German. But, according to Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, pages 188 and 224, their desertions, as well as the other Waldeckers cited on these two pages, took place at Havana, Cuba and are dated after the arrival of the frigate South Carolina on January 12, 1782. Also, Commodore Gillon had received Spanish approval to recruit among the German prisoners-of-war rather than among Spanish troops, whatever their points of origin. Thus, these two men almost certainly deserted under the influence of Commodore Gillon of the frigate South Carolina.
Why these two men's names appear in transliterated Spanish form rather than in their true German form is a mystery. This may have been standard Spanish practice to emphasize, to the individual soldier as well as their German prince, that this man had decided against his former allegiance. Or, it could have been to potentially protect the deserter while they used that new name, a type of "disguise" if he was recaptured by the now-enemy. Thus, Karl Kleine became "Carlos Clayne/Clain" and Johann Henrich Weber became "Enrique Veber" on the roster of the frigate South Carolina at some point after the arrival of the frigate in Havana, Cuba on January 12, 1782.
Yet, the source cited above, Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 63, clearly indicates that more than two of these Waldeckers deserted to the patriot cause and served on board the frigate South Carolina. Dr. Lewis cites with certainty that at least three of them served so and possibly as many as twenty-two did so. A closer investigation of Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, finds that there were certainly more than three but, probably less than twenty-two. It is these men that will form the focus of the next post.