Boatner, Mark Mato, III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, (David McKay Company, Inc., 1966).
Burgoyne, Bruce E. The 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment in the American Revolution, (Heritage Books, Inc., 2008).
Coker, William S. and Robert R. Rea, editors. Anglo-Spanish Confrontation on the Gulf Coast During the American Revolution, (Proceedings of the Gulf Coast History and Humanities Conference, Vol. IX, 1982).
Dalrymple, Margaret Fisher, editor. The Merchant of Manchac: The Letterbooks of John Fitzpatrick, 1768-1790, (Louisiana State University Press, 1978).
Din, Gilbert C. Francisco Bouligny: A Bourbon Soldier in Spanish Louisiana, (Louisiana State University Press, 1993).
Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy. An Outline History of the American Revolution, (Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975).
Eelking, Max von. German Allied Troops: In the North American War of Independence, 1776-1783, (Applewood Books, Bedford, Massachusetts, 1893).
Haynes, Robert V. The Natchez District and the American Revolution, (University Press of Mississippi, 1976).
Katcher, Philip R.N. Encyclopedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units, 1775-1783, (The Stackpole Company, 1973).
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, 1999).
Lowell, Edward J. The Hessians and Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, (Corner House Historical Publications, 1997).
Padron, Francisco Morales, editor, Aileen Moore Topping, translator. The Journal of Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis During the Commission Which He had in His Charge from 25 June 1780 Until 20th of the Same Month of 1783, (The University of Florida Press, 1989).
Servies, James A., editor. The Log of H.M.S. Mentor, 1780-1781: A New Account of the British Navy at Pensacola, (University Presses of Florida, 1982).
Starr, J. Barton. Tories, Dons, and Rebels: The American Revolution in British West Florida, (The University Presses of Florida, 1976).
Uhlendorf, Bernhard A., translator and annotator. Revolution in America: Confidential Letters and Journals, 1776-1784, of Major Baurmeister of the Hessian Forces, (Rutgers University Press, 1957).
Wright, J. Leitch, Jr. Florida in the American Revolution, (The University Presses of Florida, 1975).
Wright, J. Leitch, Jr. William Augustus Bowles: Director General of the Creek Nation, (University of Georgia Press, 1967).
Part I of this related topic was posted on "06/19/2015" and is readily found below. The main focus of the post is to address two German soldiers, Karl Klein and Heinrich Weber, both of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, who appear in the Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, the section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina" and found between pages 135-170 of Lewis's work. Their names appear on the roster as Carlos Clain/Clayne and Enrique Veber. As pointed out in the earlier post, these are Spanish transcriptions of their names which, in the original German, must have been Karl Klein and Heinrich Weber.
(Note: Unlike Johann Conrad Dohla of the 4th Company of the Bayreuth Regiment, neither Karl Klein nor Heinrich Weber left any written diaries or journals to place their service and possibly cast light on the process whereby they came to serve on board the frigate South Carolina. Whereas Musketier Dohla left a very detailed and lengthy diary, we know of nothing that either Karl Klein or Heinrich Weber wrote that has survived to the readership or scholarship of the current time. Thus, we can only surmise what engagements, marches and captivities these two men experienced by examining the services of the regiment to which they were attached - the 3rd Waldeck Regiment.)
According to the post dated "06/19/2015", the 3rd Waldeck Regiment landed in Pensacola, FL on January 19, 1779. This area of West Florida would be their theater of operations until the fall of Pensacola, FL to Spanish forces under the command of Don Bernardo de Galvez on May 10, 1781. According to von Eelking's work, German Allied Troops, page 218, "the Waldeck Regiment went further south than any of the other German troops. It was sent to fight the Spaniards in Florida, as part of the reinforcements sent by [Sir Henry] Clinton to Pensacola at the end of 1778." A similar comment is contained in Kreb's work, A Generous and Merciful Enemy, page 218, when it states that "of all the German auxiliaries used by the British in North America, this unit served in the most distant, exotic, and foreign area of operations." Their area of operations would take them to the fighting at and surrender of the Mississippi River posts of Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA and Fort Panmure in Natchez, MS; to vicious, hand-to-hand fighting at La Aldea just east of Mobile, AL; and, ultimately, to Fort George in Pensacola, FL where they would endure the siege and surrender of that post. Their internment under the Spanish would take them first to New Orleans, LA; then Veracruz, Mexico; and, finally, Havana, Cuba.
(Note: A curious, and somewhat bizarre, episode occurred to the members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment after they had landed in Pensacola, FL and begun to familiarize themselves with their surroundings. According to Lowell's work, The Hessians, page 252, "among the Indians the Waldeckers found a countryman of their own, one Brandenstein, who had deserted in his youth from Waldeck service, and after many adventures had assumed the manners and the costume of an Indian warrior." The work of von Eelking, German Allied Troops, page 220, confirms the same experience by the Waldeck troops in Pensacola, though in slightly different terms: "among these savages, to their great surprise, the Waldeck soldiers found a countryman, from one of their own villages, Konigshagen; he had deserted from the army as a youth, and finally joined the Indians, serving as interpreter - his name was Brandenburg, and he was as little of a Christian as his Indian comrades." Hopefully, further research can answer the question as to exactly how a Waldeck youth would have been capable of deserting and reaching tribal peoples in the vicinity of Pensacola, FL and blending in with them, only to reveal himself to his newly-arrived Waldeck countrymen years later, thus creating for himself the risk of being arrested for desertion.)
(Note: The acquisition of Bruce E. Burgoyne's work, The 3rd English-Waldeck Regiment in the American Revolution, provided the necessary information in order for this blog writer to complete the story of the "errant" Waldecker a bit more, though not entirely. Burgoyne's work is very thorough in documenting any and all personnel who were enlisted in the 3rd Waldeck Regiment for service in North America during the course of the American Revolution. There is no "Brandenburg" cited at all as being a member of the regiment. There is a single "Brandenstein" - Daniel Christian Brandenstein - who is cited as having been an original enlistee in the regiment in 1776. He is cited on page 24 of the above mentioned work as being a private from the town of Koenigshagen. He was thirty-three years old at the time of his enlistment. It appears that in no list or roster contained within the work is he cited as being a "deserter" at any point in time. He appears to have been captured at Pensacola, sent to Havana, Cuba, and, ultimately, exchanged from there to New York City. On page 208 of the above mentioned work, his name appears on a roster of the 5th Company (Lieutenant Colonel von Horn's Company) signed by a Waldeck regimental officer at Newtown, Long Island on July 12, 1782. This information seems to confirm his correct, full name, his company affiliation, his town of origin in the province of Waldeck and the date of his enlistment in the regiment. But, there are a few discrepancies. First, in both the accounts cited in the above paragraph, he is described as having deserted in his youth. If he was indeed thirty-three at the time of his enlistment, he would have been slightly older when he reached North America and would not have been considered a youth by any means. Second, both accounts in the paragraph above seem to imply that he remained with the native peoples who he had initially joined after his defection from Waldeck service. Yet, not only is there no citation of him as being a "deserter" in any the lists contained within Burgoyne's work, The 3rd Waldeck Regiment, but, he also appears on rosters of active duty personnel as being a member of the regiment. This is somewhat baffling. It is completely possible that he was either convinced by someone to return to his original allegiance or that he was apprehended by representatives of the regiment and forced to return. This, of course, would have had to occur prior to the fall of Pensacola, FL to the Spanish on May 10, 1781 because he is cited on a roster prisoners-of-war to be repatriated to New York City in January 1782 on page 190 of the above mentioned work.)
After disembarking from their transport ships, the 3rd Waldeck Regiment was initially set to work in building and strengthening the walls of the various fortified sites to be found in the immediate vicinity of Pensacola, FL. But, these troops had been sent to West Florida for a purpose other than construction of defenses for the numerous British posts scattered through out the vastness of the region. Gradually, they began to be parcelled out piecemeal across the span of British-held West Florida. According to von Eelking's work, German Allied Troops, page 220, the company of Waldeck Grenadiers were sent to Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA. These were quickly followed by the company of Major Albrecht von Horn, fifteen men of the company of Colonel Johann Ludwig Wilhelm von Hanxleden, and, finally the company of Captain Christian Alberti. If one refers back to the post dated "06/19/2015" and examines the regimental organization of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, this contingent of troops would have possibly amounted to 309 Waldeck personnel, almost half of the 684-man regiment. This, of course, does not take into account any losses from disease, accidents, desertions, or enemy action up to this point in time. At least one source (Dalrymple, The Merchant of Manchac, page 330) cites that some of these troops were diverted to the British-held post of Manchac, about ten miles south of Baton Rouge, LA and on the Mississippi River. Others may have been posted to Fort Panmure in Natchez, MS (the former French fort, Fort Rosalie). This last mentioned posting could have been only a small detachment, certainly much smaller than company strength.
On June 21, 1779, Spain officially declared war on Great Britain. Spanish communications evidently travelled much more quickly than did British communications and Don Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, received instructions from his king to act and act quickly so as to catch the British by surprise. Several sources (von Eelking, German Allied Troops, page 221; Lowell, The Hessians, page 252; Haynes, The Natchez District, page 114; Starr, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 152; Wright, Florida in the American Revolution, pages 77-78) indicate that the first action involving troops of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment as a result of this new Spanish aggression took place on Lake Ponchartrain and involved the capture by the Spanish forces of a transport ship carrying 54 men of Captain Christian Alberti's company. After this minor action, the Spanish moved quickly indeed. According to Dupuy and Dupuy, An Outline History, page 312, between August 27 and September 21, 1779, the Spanish forces under Galvez's command captured all of the British posts along the Mississippi River - first Fort Bute in Baton Rouge, LA after a relatively brief but, brilliant siege; then the post at Manchac, MS through a surprise attack; and, finally, Fort Panmure in Natchez, MS by means of surrender of the post to the Spanish. All of these surviving garrison troops became prisoners-of-war in Spanish hands, including the troops of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. All of these captured British and German troops were initially sent to New Orleans, LA for incarceration by the Spanish.
(Note: Most of the sources seem to agree that the capture of the 54-man contingent of Captain Christian Alberti's company of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment took pace on Lake Ponchartrain. But, one source (Wright, Florida in the American Revolution, pages 77-78) indicates that the capture of "... a cumbersome British supply ship laboriously making its way westward on the shallow Iberville River with munitions and fifty-two Waldeck reinforcements aboard..." actually took place on the above named river, which geographically lies west of Lake Ponchartrain and empties into the lake, rather than on the lake itself.)
As the Spanish forces under Don Bernardo de Galvez marched inexorably onward, eastward from the Mississippi River along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Mobile, AL was the next geographical British-held post they invested and laid siege to. According to Boatner's work, Encyclopedia, page 710, the Spanish invested and later captured the 300-man British Crown garrison at Fort Charlotte (old French Fort Conde) on March 14, 1780. According to von Eelking's work, German Allied Troops, page 221, "...the Spaniards attacked...twice , but were repulsed, with heavy loss, and then offered terms of capitulation, very favorable to the gallantry of the defenders, which were accepted." According to Din's work, Francisco Bouligny, page 115, Francisco Domingo Joseph Bouligny, a Spanish high-ranking officer and Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, carried the surrender terms from Don Bernardo de Galvez into Fort Charlotte. This was most probably because Bouligny actually knew Captain Elias Durnford, the commanding officer of the British garrison of Fort Charlotte. It is not known for sure but, some of the British garrison were certainly men of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. This blog writer does not know exactly how many there were at the time of the surrender of Fort Charlotte to Don Bernardo de Galvez and his victorious troops, but there must have been at least a detachment of men belonging to the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. Now, the British garrison of Pensacola, FL, including the remaining troops of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, stood alone against the might of the victorious Spanish forces under Don Bernardo de Galvez.
The capture of Mobile, AL by the Spanish forces under Don Bernardo de Galvez set in motion a series of events that would lead to the engagement that would lend a stellar performance in combat to the 3rd Waldeck Regiment on the distant northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico but, would also end tragically for the regiment. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 183, "after the Spanish had captured Mobile, Galvez had built a post on the east side of Mobile Bay, known as the Village of Mobile or Spanish Fort. His purpose was to prevent a surprise attack on Mobile from Pensacola. [General John] Campbell (British commanding officer at Pensacola, FL), tired of waiting for the Spanish to attack, decided to take the initiative without waiting for reinforcements". General Campbell ordered Colonel Johann Ludwig Wilhelm von Hanxleden, commanding officer of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, to take a mixed force of German and British regulars, Provincials, and native peoples and attack the post at the Village of Mobile on Sunday, January 7, 1781. Again, according to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 183, "the colonel [von Hanxleden] waited until Sunday morning in order to allow the [HMS] Mentor to arrive in Mobile Bay to prevent the Spanish crossing the bay to the aid of the Village of Mobile". According to Servies's work, The Log of the H.M.S. Mentor, pages 149-150, the HMS Mentor reached the mouth of Mobile Bay in plenty of time to support the land attack but, inexplicably, chose not to enter Mobile Bay to support Colonel von Hanxleden in his attack on the Village of Mobile. Instead, Robert Deans, Captain of the HMS Mentor, chose to send some of his naval personnel and marines to attack the Spanish post on Dauphin Island, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Again, according to Servies's work, The Log of the H.M.S. Mentor, pages 149-150, the entry for January 8, 1781 reads as follows: "The boats returned from attacking Dauphin Island with several prisoners, small arms & the colours. Burnt their barracks & block house, the rest escaped..." A little further on in this same entry, one reads, "...saw a large smoak [smoke] at The Village ocasioned [occasioned] by our troops attacking it. Sailed, the Mentor's tender". It is almost impossible that the HMS Mentor could have been positioned to see any smoke rising from action taking place at the Village of Mobile due to the fact that at this point in the action, she would have been positioned about 30 miles south of the Village of Mobile. Thus, it appears that the HMS Mentor did not fulfill its role of supporting the forces under Colonel Johann Ludwig Wilhelm von Hanxleden in their land attack on the Village of Mobile.
(Note: This location, "The Village of Mobile", is referred to by a couple of different names. Many of the sources cited above refer to this Spanish post as "The Village of Mobile". But, there are other sources, some not referenced in this post, that refer to this post as "La Aldea". This Spanish name means "hamlet" or "small village". Hence, the translation of the name as "The Village of Mobile". The name of the modern town built on the location of this original Spanish defensive position is "Spanish Fort, AL".)
In the research that has been conducted to this point in time, this blog writer has formed the opinion that Colonel von Hanxleden was a man of a decisive mind and determination. Whether or not he knew his assault on the Village of Mobile on Sunday morning, January 7, 1781 would have no naval support was probably beside the point. He ordered his men to attack anyway. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 183, "at dawn on the seventh, von Hanxleden attacked the 150-man force at the Spanish post with bayonets. British forces penetrated the Spanish works before the surprised defenders recovered and manged to repel the attack in bitter hand-to-hand combat". There exists a contemporary Spanish account of this action and its outcome. According to Padron's work, The Journal of Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, page 120, "our troops were surprised by the first blows of so unexpected an attack, but they rallied quickly, and, separated into several groups, they repulsed the English, many of whom had already penetrated the moat and stockade". All the sources that address this action agree that early in the intense, early morning fighting at the Village of Mobile, Colonel Johann Ludwig Wilhelm von Hanxleden lost his life. According to Katcher, Encyclopedia of British, Provincial, and German Army Units, page 126, indicates that Colonel von Hanxleden had been the original commanding officer of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment from the time of its inception in May 1776 until this assault on a minor Spanish post on the eastern side of Mobile Bay. His death in the early fighting was a true tragedy for the 3rd Waldeck Regiment and the undoing of the overall British assault. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 183, the Spanish defenders also killed one other Waldeck officer, Lieutenant Sterlein, and wounded another. Also killed was Lieutenant Gordon of the British 60th Regiment of Foot. The loss of Colonel von Hanxleden and the other officer casualties caused command of the operation to devolve onto Captain Philip B. Key of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists who thought it best to break off the action and retreat. The British Crown forces began their painful and sad withdrawal to Pensacola, FL, 120 miles away.
(Note: It is interesting to note that the Loyalist captain, Philip B. Key, of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists, is a familial uncle of Francis Scott Key, the writer of the poem that eventually became better known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and our national anthem. Philip's middle name was Barton.)
With the return of the disheartened detachment sent to seize the Village of Mobile/La Aldea, General John Campbell knew that it was just a matter of time before the Spanish made their final move on Pensacola, FL, the capitol of West Florida. He did not have long to wait. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons and Rebels, page 196, on the morning of March 9, 1781, the HMS Mentor "...fired seven shots to inform Pensacola that the Spanish fleet had arrived off of Santa Rosa Island". The above named island is a long, narrow sand bar that is situated just off Pensacola and forms a type of barrier to entering the harbor directly from the open Gulf of Mexico. Galvez disembarked his troops on the seaward side of the island that same evening. The next day, March 10, 1781, he ordered a battery to be set up in order to drive off the HMS Mentor and the HMS Port Royal from bombarding the Spanish camp. This was successfully accomplished the next day, March 11, 1781.
The first Spanish attempt to enter Pensacola harbor was foiled due to the arrangement of sandbars at the mouth of the harbor. Initially, the San Ramon, a 74-gun ship-of-the-line struck ground but, was quickly and successfully brought off. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 198, Galvez may have been the overall expedition commander but, "...Captain Jose Calbo de Irozabal was responsible for the safety of the fleet". These two men argued with the latter holding the position that he refused to risk the ships of the expeditionary fleet "...due to insufficient knowledge of the channel, lack of pilots, and the enemy battery on the Red Cliffs". The Red Cliffs was a prominent rise of ground directly north of the westernmost tip of Santa Rosa Island and guarding the mouth of the harbor. Galvez was desperate to support the Spanish encampment on Santa Rosa Island with the naval forces at his disposal, so, on March 18, 1781, he boldly sailed four shallow-drafted ships of the fleet, minus the deep-drafted San Ramon, into Pensacola harbor. His example heartened the other Spanish commanders to do the same and the remainder of the fleet followed him into the harbor. He began that same day to land troops inside of Pensacola harbor.
From March 22-24, 1781, another fleet of Spanish ships-of-war arrived from New Orleans at Pensacola. These vessels brought reinforcements and resupply for Galvez's forces. The additional reinforcements brought Galvez's total troops compliment up to 3,857 men. Brigadier General John Campbell, commander of the Crown forces defending Pensacola had only between 1700-1800 men. On March 24, 1781, confident of success, General Galvez had all of his troops except for two hundred cross Pensacola Bay and begin to establish the first of several camps. From March 29- April 14, 1781, the Spanish worked to constantly improve their positions and advance closer and closer to the main fortifications guarding the town of Pensacola, FL.
On April 19, 1781, a third fleet appeared off of Pensacola, FL. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 205, it turned out to be a combined Spanish-French fleet of twenty-three ships-of-war commanded by Jose Solano, carrying 1600 Spanish troops under Juan Miguel de Cagigal and an additional 750 French troops. This brought Galvez's forces to well over 6,000 men under his command at Pensacola, FL. The Spanish spent the rest of April until May 2, 1781 moving their trenches closer to a major outlying fortification known as the Queen's Redoubt and began to bombard this position. Bitter fighting took place by means of attacks and counter-attacks as each side attempted to drive the other one back into their positions and hold them there. Heavy shelling was exchanged by each side as the intensity of the fighting increased.
According to Coker's and Rea's work, Anglo-Spanish Confrontation, page 177, on the morning of May 8, 1781, between 8:30 and 9:00AM, "a red hot Spanish shot rolled into the magazine at the Queen's Redoubt... touching off an unprecedented explosion on the Gulf Coast and forcing the British garrison defending Pensacola to surrender". According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 209-210, "[Brigadier General] Campbell reported that '48 military [mainly Pennsylvania Loyalists], 27 seamen, and one Negro' were killed by the explosion and 24 others were wounded - 'most of them dangerously' ". Shortly, after this devastating explosion, the Spanish secured the remains of the Queen's Redoubt and opened fire the Prince of Wales's Redoubt. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 210, at 3:00PM that day, May 8, 1781, Brigadier General Campbell ordered a white flag to be displayed and "...proposed a truce until noon the following day, May 9, 1781". According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, page 211, the following day, May 10, 1781, "...the formal surrender took place at 3:00PM...whereby all of what was once British West Florida became Spanish again".
(Note: Another significant individual in American history who actually witnessed the explosion and obliteration of the Queen's Redoubt on May 8, 1781 was a young ensign of the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists, William Augustus Bowles. Ensign Bowles was a scion of a prominent Loyalist family in Frederick County, Maryland, just north of the Potomac River. His family was well-acquainted with the Key family from whence came Philip Barton Key, uncle of Francis Scott Key, as mentioned earlier. According to Wright's work, William Augustus Bowles, page 15, on the morning of May 8, 1781, young Ensign Bowles was reportedly about to enter the Queen's Redoubt when he witnessed a tremendous explosion "...and forty seamen from British ships in the harbor and forty-five men from the Pennsylvania and Maryland Loyalists, their bodies mutilated, were blown into the air". Ensign Bowles, shaken and stunned, narrowly avoided becoming one of the fatalities or casualties of this unprecedented explosion along the Gulf Coast. He was certainly among the British/German/Loyalists prisoners taken into Spanish captivity on May 10, 1781 and ultimately repatriated back to New York City. Bowles would go on to be selected as the "Director General of the Creek Nation" by the British government and operated and lived among the native peoples of the southeast for many years. According to Wright's work, William Augustus Bowles, page 166-167, in 1803, at a conference of native peoples at the Hickory Ground"...a sacred meeting place in the heart of the Upper Creek country near present-day Montgomery, AL...", Bowles was captured by Upper Creek warriors, escorted to Mobile, AL, and turned over to the Spanish. The Spanish transported him to New Orleans and then to Havana on board the Aguila. There in Havana, he was placed in the infamous Morro prison, where he died under obscure circumstances in the military hospital on December 23, 1803. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 63, this was the same Morro prison in which Commodore Alexander Gillon would prevail upon Spanish authorities in Havana, Cuba "...to confine several key petty officers in guard boats in the harbor and to house other crewmen in the infamous Morro prison" in January 1782. This measure was taken on Gillon's part due to his not having paid his crew in several months and wanting to prevent desertions from among his crewmen. Thus, in another of those ironies of history, crewmen of the frigate South Carolina in early 1782 and William Bowles in late 1803 spent time in the same prison.)
(Note: Just as an aside, J. Leitch Wright, Jr. has written an article which is included in the work edited by William S. Coker and Robert R. Rea, entitled Anglo-Spanish Confrontation on the Gulf Coast During the American Revolution. This article, cited in the bibliography for this post above, is entitled "The Queen's Redoubt Explosion in the Lives of William A. Bowles, John Miller, and William Panton". According to this article, "The Queen's Redoubt Explosion", page 177, it is historically factual that "only one of them, William Augustus Bowles, was actually in Pensacola when the magazine went off; John Miller had left some months beforehand; and William Panton was alternating between Georgia and East Florida". Thus, only Ensign Bowles actually witnessed this spectacular explosion and only narrowly missed being seriously injured or killed in the blast.)
The entire British garrison of Pensacola, FL, estimated at just over 1100 uninjured men, went into Spanish captivity. According to Starr's work, Tories, Dons and Rebels, page 212, "the British embarked on Spanish transports....and left Pensacola four days later. After a fifteen-day voyage to Cuba and a ten-day layover there to take on provisions and water, the British prisoners left Havana on June 30 and arrived in New York on July 12, 1781". This arrangement between the British and Spanish was due to the fact that Spain was not officially allied to the rebelling, American colonies and thus not under any stipulations as to the disposal of these military prisoners-of-war under their control. Thus, these troops were under the stricture to not fight against the Spanish again but, not so against the American forces around New York City. But, according to Starr's work, Tories, Dons, and Rebels, footnote - page 212, "fortunately, for Spanish-American relations, after the troops arrived in New York, they performed mainly common garrison duties and saw little, if any, actions". These repatriated Crown force troops would have contained among them the surviving members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment.
Two rather lengthy posts, one dated "06/19/2015" and the other one dated "07/14/2015" have attempted to address the presence of these two individuals, Karl Klein and Heinrich Weber, both members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, on board the frigate South Carolina after she left Havana, Cuba bound for the invasion and occupation of New Providence, Bahamas on April 22, 1782. This blog writer has assumed that these two men have been lost by the passage of so much time since their purported services on board the frigate South Carolina. Neither of them left any journal or diary, like Johann Conrad Dohla of the 4th Company of the Bayreuth Regiment, reported in the post just above this one. By enumerating at great length on the service of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, this writer had hoped to give some type of background for educated guesses and to form possible assumptions as to what these two men may have experienced during their time in North America with the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. This writer had never even hoped to find a source that mentioned these two men and how they came to be on board the frigate South Carolina - until now. That source has been located and secured by this blog writer and, thus, calls for another post concerning these two men, Karl Klein and Heinrich Weber, and others of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment, and their service on board the frigate South Carolina.