Calnek, W. A., History of the County of Annapolis, (Belleville, Ontario: Mika Publishing Company, 1980.)
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
Reuters, Claus. Brunswick Troops in North America, 1776-1783: Index of All Soldiers Who Remained in North America, (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1999.)
Smith, Clifford Neal. German Mercenaries Expatriates in the United States and Canada, 3 Volumes in 1, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2006.)
(Bibliographical Note: the third source cited above is a compilation of three distinct, separate, monographs that have been combined into this single publication. The title of the publication pertinent to this post is:
"German-American Genealogical Research Publication Number 1: Brunswick Deserter-Immigrants of the American Revolution", (publ. dates 1973-1997.)
The topic of the German marines who served on board the frigate South Carolina and were drawn from the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz of Hesse-Hanau was addressed in the previous post of this overall blog. Of the just over fifty German marines recruited to serve on board the frigate South Carolina for her second, brief voyage to sea, fully thirty of these marines are cited as coming from the above mentioned Hessian regiment. Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, pages 87-89, confirms that thirty of these marines came from this specific regiment. In fact, the writer of this blog was able to locate thirty-one German personnel of this infantry regiment that signed on board the patriot frigate for her final voyage to sea. Either way, this single Hessian regiment accounted for almost 60% of the total German marine presence on board the frigate South Carolina for her final voyage. But, Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 89, states that the next German auxiliary regiment to provide a significant number of marines to the patriot frigate was the Infantry Regiment von Reidesel of the principality of Brunswick. It will be the focus of this post to locate and record information regarding the fourteen German marines that issued out of this German auxiliary infantry regiment and note that down here.
The readership of this blog could easily imagine that the recording of less than half the number of personnel of the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz with its thirty-one members present on board the frigate South Carolina should be quite easy. But, a preliminary survey of the recorded material indicates that this may well not be the case for the Infantry Regiment von Reidesel. The information recorded on the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz was thorough and somewhat extensive, so that, in conclusion, a rather complete picture of these thirty-one German marines was presented to the readership of this blog. Yet, the information on the Infantry Regiment von Reidesel seems to be more scattered and disjointed. The writer of this blog will do his utmost to present this information in as coherent a manner as he presented the information on the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz.
The information recorded concerning the Infantry Regiment von Reidesel is also of a different nature than that recorded for the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz. Whereas the information for the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz concerned a more personal military aspect of each German marine - such as his birthplace, associated company affiliation, and his rank - , the information recorded concerning the individual German marines of the Infantry Regiment von Reidesel is also personal in nature but, different. The birthplace of each individual German marine is usually recorded but, also their age at the time the roster was drawn up (at some undefined point in time in 1780), and, possibly more importantly, their reasons for leaving the service of their German prince - the how, where, and when they left his service.
Again, the information cited below is taken from Clifford Neal Smith's work, "German-American Genealogical Research Monograph Number 1: Brunswick Deserter-Immigrants of the American Revolution", (publ. dates 1973-1997.) This collected information is as follows:
Behrens, Heinrich -
(variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 137, is Behens.) Lewis's work, page 137, cites him as "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel.". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 8, cites him as "Behrens, Heinrich" and that his birthplace was Gebhardshagen. At the time the roster was composed, he was 51 years and 1 month old. The notation associated with his name, at the time the roster was composed, is "...in the service of the (American) enemy.". Reuters work, page 5, confirms all the above personal information for Heinrich Behrens but, also includes that he was born in 1732 and was a member of Capt. Morgenstern's Company.
(Note: there is another Heinrich Behrens cited as being a non-returned soldier to Brunswick at the end of the American Revolution. His birthplace is cited as being Markoldendorf and, at the time the roster was composed, he was cited as being 22 years and 4 months old. He is cited as having deserted at Winterhill barracks in Cambridge, MA on April 7, 1778. The reasoning for the writer of this blog not choosing him as the individual in question here is that he deserted over four years prior to the visitation of Commodore Alexander Gillon to the German auxiliary troops prisoner-of-war camps in Lancaster and Reading, PA. This time frame could have easily given him time to "fade" into the overall population of the colonies, as did so many of the deserting German troops. Yet, there is always the possibility that this is indeed the man, so his vital information is cited here, in this footnote.)
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Bohnsack, Christoph -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 138, are Bohnensack, Bonsack, and Bohnzak.) Lewis's work, page 138, cites him as being a "German marine, private in a Brunswick Regiment". There is no citation for a "Christoph Bohnsack" or any variant spelling of his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 or Reuter's work.
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Brunig, Johann -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 139, are Brugnig and Brenich.) Lewis's work, page 139, cites him twice. The first citation is "Marine?". The second citation is "German marine, private in the Regiment von Specht.". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page --, does not cite Johann Brunig at all. Reuters work, page 13, cites him as Johann Conrad Buhring and that he was born in Braunschweig in 1747. He was employed as a gunsmith attached to the General Staff and deserted his prisoner-of-war status at Cambridge, MA on November 30, 1778. He was a member of the "Convention Army" which were the troops under General John Burgoyne and were captured by General Horatio Gate's forces at Saratoga, NY in October 1777.
(Note: In Calnek's work, pages 246-247, there is a lengthy list of the first men to whom land grants were made in the township of Clements, Ontario in 1784. On page 246, there appears the name of "Jacob Bruen". This could be a mis-transcription of the name of Johann Brunig as some of these former Brunswickers did take land grants in Canada that had been offered by King George III.)
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Doerges, Heinrich -
(variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 145, is Dorges.) Lewis's work, page 145, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel.". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 13, cites him as "Doerges, Heinrich and that his birthplace was Vorwohle. At the time the roster was composed, he was 38 years and 6 months old. The notation associated with his name, at the time the roster was composed, is "...prisoner of war; whereabouts unknown.". Reuter's work, page 16, confirms all the above personal information for Heinrich Doerges but, also includes that he was born in 1745 and was a member in Capt.von Geusau's Company of the Combined Battalion (Light Infantry Battalion) von Barner.
(Note: This is a very interesting unit and composed the elite battalion of the Brunswick troops in North America. According to Reuter's work, page xxi, all members of this unit were recruited from other Brunswick units, including the officers and NCOs. The battalion was formed of five companies. One company (the 2nd Company) served as jaegers and the other four companies served as musketiers. The battalion commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Albrecht von Barner. No "Capt. von Geusau" is cited as being a commanding officer of a company within this Combined Battalion. But, a Lieutenant Wilhelm von Geiso is cited as being the Adjutant of the battalion. It may well be that due to casualties being sustained by the Regiment von Reidesel in the battles of the Burgoyne campaign in the Hudson River Valley, Lieutenant Von Geiso may well have been promoted to a company command position while he was in American captivity.)
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Dreyer, Conrad Heinrich -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 145, are Dreger, Dreyter, Treutter, and Treiter. Lewis's work, page 145, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 14, cites him as "Dreyer, Conrad Heinrich" and that his birthplace was Hessdorf in Hesse. At the time the roster was composed, he was twenty-six years and zero months old. The notation associated with his name, at the time the roster was composed, is "...discharged in Canada in 1783.". Reuter's work, page 17, confirms all the above personal information for Conrad Heinrich Dreyer but, also includes that he was born in 1757 and was cited as being a member of "2.Rec".
(Note: This is a rather cryptic entry for a unit of German auxiliary troops sent to North America to suppress the rebellion. The writer of this blog has not yet been able to locate the exact meaning of this reference but, thinks that he might have a logical explanation. As the war drug on, replacements were sent from their respective German principalities to bring the depleted regiments back to full strength. These were referred to a "recruit shipments" and these were several of these shipments of new recruits during the course of the war. Evidently, Conrad Heinrich Dreyer was a member of the "2nd recruit shipment".)
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Grimm, August (Wilhelm) -
(no variant spellings of his last name cited by Lewis's work, page 149.) Lewis's work, page 149 cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 19, cites him as "Grimm, August" and that his birthplace was Braunschweig. At the time the roster was composed, he was forty-one years and eleven months old. The notation associated with his name, at the time the roster was composed, is "...deserted, Winterhill barracks in Cambridge, MA in 1778.". Reuter's work, page 27, confirms all of the above personal information for August (Wilhelm) Grimm but, also includes that he was born in 1741 and that he was a member in Capt. Morgenstern's Company of the Regiment von Reidesel. This same source cites that he was a part of the "Convention Army" and deserted his prisoner-of-war status on May 26, 1778.
(Note: In Lewis's work, page 149, this individual is cited as "Wilhelm Grimm". In both Smith's work, page 19, and Reuter's work, page 27, he is cited as "August Grimm". In neither of the last two works does a "Wilhelm Grimm" appear nor in the first work cited does an "August Grimm" appear. Yet, Lewis's work cites him as being a member of the Regiment von Reidesel. In both Smith's work and Reuter's work, there are six Grimms cited but, only one is cited as being a member of the Regiment von Reidesel - August Grimm. The writer of this blog has decided to use this individual's personal information here for the Grimm in question. Hence, the composite name August Wilhelm Grimm.)
(Note: Also, of note is the "rank" given to August (Wilhelm) Grimm by each of the above sources. Lewis's work cites him as being a "private" while both Smith's work and Reuter's work cite him as being a "Captain des Armes". The writer of this blog is unclear as to what exactly is meant by this last reference. One reference source cites a "Captain des Armes" as being a soldier in charge of the weaponry of a unit.)
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Hennecke (Heinecke), Christoph August -
(variant last name spellings, according to Lewis's work, page 150, are Heneke and Henneke.) Lewis's work, page 150, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 21, cites him as "Christoph Heinecke" and that his birthplace was Gross Rhuden. At the time the roster was composed, he was twenty-nine years and three months old. The notation associated with his name is "...deserted in Virginia in 1779.". Reuter's work, page 32, confirms all the personal information for Christoph Heinecke but, also includes that he was born in 1753 and was a member of the Lieutenant-Colonel's Company of the Grenadier Battalion Breymann. The same source cites that he was a part of the "Convention Army" and deserted his prisoner-of-war status in Virginia on December 13, 1779.
(Note: Lieutenant-Colonel Christoph von Breymann was killed at the Battle of Freeman's Farm on October 7, 1777. He was succeeded in command of the battalion by Lieutenant-Colonel von Mengen, who commanded and led the grenadiers into American captivity. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 89, "...These new marines came primarily from two German regiments, that of Erbprinz (thirty) and von Reidesel (fourteen). Lieutenant Colonel de Menge's (sic: writer's notation) battalion of Grenadiers and the regiment von Specht provided most of the others.". Christoph Heinecke may be one of these few grenadiers who followed Lieutenant-Colonel de Mengen into American captivity and would later serve on board the frigate South Carolina. The correct spelling of de Mengen's name is properly cited above.)
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Lohsecke, Ferdinand (Frederich) -
(variant spellings of the last name are, according to Lewis's work, page 155, Loesecke, Lasaecke, and Lahaecke.) Lewis's work, page 155, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Specht". There is no citation for a "Ferdinand (Frederich) Lohsecke" or any variant spelling of his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 or Reuter's work.
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Meyer, Heinrich -
(no variant spellings of last name cited by Lewis's work, page 158.) Lewis's work, page 1508, cites him as a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 33, cites him as "Heinrich Meyer" and that his birthplace was Deensen. At the time the roster was composed, he was thirty years and eleven months old. The notation associated with his name is "...in the service of the (American) enemy.". Reuter's work, page 54, confirms all the personal information for Heinrich Mayer but, also includes that he was born in 1752 and was a member of Capt. Conrad Anton Alers's Company of the Regiment von Rhetz. The same source cites that he had been a prisoner-of-war but, had deserted his status and was serving with the enemy Army.
(Note: there are numerous Meyers who were a part of the Brunswicker regiments. The writer of this blog searched through all of these entries and selected this specific individual due to his being a unique entry of service with the enemy. None of the cited men with the name of "Heinrich Meyer" are cited as being members of the Regiment von Reidesel. There are at least seven other individuals with the name of "Heinrich Meyer". The specific individual addressed here could be any one of these men but, the writer of this blog has chosen the one he thinks more properly fits this specific situation.)
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Neil, Heinrich -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 159, are Niel and Neuf.) Lewis's work, page 159, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". There is no citation for a "Heinrich Neil" or any variant spelling on his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No.1 or Reuter's work.
(Note: see note for "Daniel Neil" below.)
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Neil, Daniel -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 159 are Niel and Neuf.) Lewis's work, page 159 cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". There is no citation for a "Daniel Neil" or any variant spelling on his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, or Reuter's work.
(Note: the two individuals cited here and immediately above - Heinrich Neil and Daniel Neil - appear only in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 159. Their names are found in neither Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 nor in Reuter's work. But, both of their names appear on the prisoner-of-war roster of the HMS Quebec as recorded around December 20, 1782 after the capture of the frigate South Carolina off the Capes of the Delaware. This list of captive American prisoners-of-war is cited in the post entitled "'Bound for New York City, Pt. II' - Roster of Captive Americans on board the HMS Quebec - December 20, 1782" and posted on "03/25/2015". It would seem from the appearances of both of their names on this roster of captive Americans that these two former German auxiliary soldiers from a Brunswick regiment did indeed exist.)
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Niedenthal, Valentin -
(a variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 159, is Nietenthal.) Lewis's work, page 159 cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". There is no citation for a "Valentin Niedenthal" or any variant spelling on his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No.1, or Reuter's work.
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Pape, Johann Gottfried -
(no variant spellings of the last name cited in Lewis's work, page 160.) Lewis's work, page 160, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 36, cites him as "Johann Pape" and that his birthplace was Lesse. At the time the roster was composed, he was thirty years and nine months old. The notation associated with his name is "...discharged in Canada, 1783". Reuter's work, page 61, confirms all of the above personal information on Johann Gottfried Pape but, also includes that he was born in 1753 and was a member of the 2.Rec. The same source cites that he was "...released in America (Canada) on June 29, 1783.".
(Note: for an explanation of the citation "2.Rec", see the entry for Conrad Heinrich Dreyer above in this specific post.)
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Richers (Richter), August -
(a variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 163, is Reichers.) Lewis's work page 163, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 39, cites him as "August Richter" and that his birthplace was Torgau. At the time the roster was composed, he was twenty-six years and zero months old. The notation associated with his name is "...discharged in Canada, 1783". Reuter's work, page 67, confirms all the above personal on August Richter but, also includes that he was born in 1757 and was a member of the 2.Rec. The same source cites that he "...deserted, settled in Canada, July 26, 1783.".
(Note: for an explanation of the citation "2.Rec", see the entry for Conrad Heinrich Dreyer above in this specific post.)
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Ritter, Adam -
(a variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 163, is Riter.) Lewis's work, page 163, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Specht". There is no citation for a "Adam Ritter" or any variant spelling of his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 or Reuter's work.
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Tittle (Tittel), Julien -
(variant spellings of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 168, are Dittel, Little, and Sittle.) Lewis's work, page 168, cites him as a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". Smith's work, Monograph No. 1, page 48, cites him as "Heinrich Tittel" and that his birthplace was Koennern. At the time the roster was composed, he was twenty-seven years and eleven months old. The notation associated with his name is "...deserted, the Winterhill barracks in Cambridge MA, 1778." Reuter's work, page 84, confirms all the above personal information for Julien (Heinrich) Tittel but, also includes that he was born in 1755 and was a member of Capt. von Lohneisen's Company of the Grenadier Battalion "Breymann". The same sources cites that he "...was a member of the "Convention Army" and deserted his prisoner-of-war status at the Winterhill barracks on July 3, 1778.".
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Wettlaufer, August -
(a variant spelling of the last name, according to Lewis's work, page 169, is Weckleuffer.) Lewis' work, page 169, cites him as being a "German marine, private in the Regiment von Reidesel". There is no citation for an "August Wettlaufer" or any variant spelling of his last name in either Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 or Reuter's work.
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The citation above concerning the ease of recording the personnel of the Regiment Erbprinz with its thirty-one former personnel found on board the frigate South Carolina at its capture off the Capes of the Delaware on December 20, 1782 and the difficulties of those same recordings for less than half the number of former personnel from the Regiment von Reidesel has proved itself to be true. The information has been much more fragmentary and frequently drawn from multiple sources. On occasion, the writer of this blog has had to resort to hypotheses (educated guesses) as to whether or not the individual being cited is in fact the actual man to whom reference is being made. Of course, some of the last names of these same personnel are quite common and here again the writer has had to make educated guesses as to whether the cited individual is the actual man or not. The writer makes no assumption or claim that all of the recorded information above is correct for the name of the individual initially cited in each entry. But, may the readership know that the writer has done his best in recording the information that seemed right to record for each of these former German auxiliary soldiers.
As cited above, the information provided for these Brunswick soldiers is of a personal nature but is also different from the gathered information on the soldiers from Hessen-Hanau recorded in the previous post. The main difference is that the information collected together on the Brunswick soldiers includes details on the age of the individual soldiers as well as details of their actual desertions - the where when and how of the event itself. The age information is gathered from a roster that appears to have been documented at some point in 1782 instead of 1780 as recorded earlier in this post. the age information is vary fragmentary as to render it almost inconsequential. Of the seventeen men cited in this post, only nine of them, slightly more than half, have their age also cited at the time the roster was drawn up. These men display an average age of 36.8 years old. This same information does not exist for the personnel of the Hessen-Hanau regiment examined in the previous post.
The reasons for their desertions are interesting to examine. Again, of the seventeen men cited here, only ten of them have a reason designated for their desertion from the ranks of their Prince's forces. Four of them are cited as having deserted while in American custody. Three of them are cited as having been discharged in Canada. Two of them are cited as "serving with the American enemy". A single individual is cited as being a "prisoner of war, whereabouts unknown". Four of them are cited as belonging to the "Convention Army" which again were the troops captured with General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, NY in October 1777. Even among the three that were discharged in Canada, there seem to be discrepancies attached to their discharges from the German auxiliary forces. One of these men, August Richers (Richter), is cited as both being "...discharged in Canada, 1783" and "...deserted, settled in Canada, July 26, 1783.".
Finally, there appears to be very little substantial overlap in their company affiliations and even within their regiments. The vast majority of them seem to have served in the Regiment von Reidesel but, this citation is drawn from Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, pages 135-170, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina" which is known to contain slight discrepancies and occasional incorrect citations. It is a point of interest to the writer of this blog that neither of the two individuals, Ferdinand (Frederich) Lohsecke and Adam Ritter, who are cited as being members of the Regiment von Specht appear anywhere else other than in the roster contained in Lewis's work and not in Smith's work, Monograph No. 1 or Reuter's work.
Yet, even though the information can seem to be disjointed and confusing as to why certain pieces of information were recorded and other pieces left out, information has been gathered and analyzed nonetheless. For these men have been made "...a bit more real..." to those of us looking back on their lives after the passage of over two hundred years. They too served their German Prince for a time here, fighting against a colonial rebellion that turned into a world war at the time of their capture at Saratoga in October 1777. They would go on to desert and sometimes serve in the ranks of the enemy they has initially been sent here to fight. Eventually, they would settle here in the Americas and make their new lives here as part of us and the life of this land. Again a new race of "Landskinderen" - children of the land.