THE GERMAN BATTALION OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION By CHARLES FRANCIS STEIN Secretary, The Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland. President, The Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland,                   1971-1975. Early in the year 1776, anticipating the possibility of hostilities with England, the Continental Congress decided to raise an army from the thirteen colonies, each colony to furnish a quota of officers and men based upon the size of population and the ability to procure arms and supplies. This was the genesis of the Continental Army, as distinguished from the local colonial militia forces. In addition to the regular Colonial units, the Congress authorized the establishment of a number of additional regiments. One of these was the German Battalion composed of officers and men selected from among the German settlers of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Accordingly, the Continental Congress, in pursuance of this objective, in the spring of 1776, passed several resolutions as follows: Resolves of the Continental Congress of 25 May 1776 "Resolved that one Battalion of Germans be raised for the Service of the United Colonies" Resolves of the Continental Congress 27 June 1776 "Resolved that four companies of Germans be raised in Pennsylvania and four companies in Maryland to compose said regiment" In Maryland, the Convention then in charge of the Colonial Govern- ment, in order to comply with these requirements of the Continental Congress, passed the following resolutions: Resolves of the Maryland Convention 6 July 1776 "Resolved that this Province will raise four companies, and that two companies of Germans be raised in Baltimore County and two in Frederick County." "Resolved that another company be added to the German Battalion and that David Welper (Woelper) be appointed Captain of said company." This, the Ninth Company, consisted of both Marylanders and Pennsyl- vanians under command of Captain Woelper. Each Company consisted of ninety enlisted men and the following officers: a Captain, a 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, Ensign and non- commissioned officers: 4 Sergeants, 4 Corporals, 2 Drummers or one Fifer and one Drummer and 80 privates. The Regiment was commanded by a Colonel, and the officers under him were a Lieutenant-Colonel, two Majors, a Chaplain, a Surgeon and a Surgeon's Mate. The German Regiment was organized under the command of Colonel [26] Nicholas Haussegger of Pennsylvania, commissioned July 17, 1776. Pre- viously Colonel Haussegger had been a Major of the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion of Militia. Next in rank was Lieutenant-Colonel George Stricker of Frederick, Maryland, whose commission also is dated July 17, 1776. Colonel Stricker resigned his commission April 29, 1777 and was succeeded by Major Ludwig Weltner of Maryland, who then became Lieutenant- Colonel. Next in line of rank was Major William Klein, a native of Prussia, who had previous military training in Europe. When Major Weltner was raised to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel he was succeeded by Major, formerly Captain, Daniel Burkhardt of Pennsylvania. Subsequently Major Klein was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. His place was filled by Captain George Hubley of Pennsylvania, who was commissioned Major. The Chaplain was Rev. James Francis Armstrong of Maryland, ap- pointed December 3, 1777. He did not serve for long, as he resigned on February 1, 1778. The Surgeon was Dr. Charles Ritter of Maryland, appointed Regimental Surgeon September 1, 1776. He served until August 1778, when he was succeeded by Dr. Peter Peres of Philadelphia. The Sur- geon's Mate was Alexander Smith of Maryland, who was appointed in August, 1778 and served until January 1, 1781. Count Louis von Linkensdorf, a German officer from Europe, became Adjutant of the Regiment. The Paymaster was Michael Eberhardt, and the Regimental Quartermasters were Jacob Meil and later, Ensign Jacob Ray- bold of Maryland. Eberhardt and Meil were Pennsylvanians and served until the reorganization of the Regiment in August, 1778. The Pennsylvania Companies were staffed as follows when the Battalion was organized on July 17, 1776: Captains: Jacob Bonner, John David Burkhardt, George Hubley and Benjamin Weiser. First Lieutenants: Jacob Bauer, Peter Boyer, Bernard Hubley, Frederick William Rice and Frederick Rohlwagen. Second Lieutenants: George Haubecker, William Ritter, George Schaff- ner and Frederick Weiser. Ensigns: Jacob Cramer, Christian Gleckner, Christopher Helm, Philip Schräder, Christopher Gottfried Schwartz and John Weideman. The four companies of the German Battalion which were organized in Maryland had the following original officers as of July 12, 1776: The officers of the two Companies established from Baltimore County were: Captain Henry Fister's Company Captain Henry Fister 1st Lieutenant Charles Balzell 2nd Lieutenant Michael Mayer Ensign Jacob Grommet Captain George Keeport's Company Captain George Keeport 1st Lieutenant Samuel Gerock 2nd Lieutenant William Ritter Ensign John Lindenberger Two Companies organized in Frederick County, Maryland, had officers as follows: [27] Captain Philip Graybill's Company Captain Philip Graybill 1st Lieutenant John Lorah 2nd Lieutenant Christian Meyers Ensign Martin Shugart Captain William Keyser's Company Captain William Keyser 1st Lieutenant Jacob Kotz 2nd Lieutenant Adam Smith Ensign Paul Christian It may be noted that many of the men of Captain Keyser's Company came from Washington County. Some of the men in the two Baltimore County Companies actually came from the Frederick area or from the part of Baltimore County adjacent to Frederick which later became Carroll County. The swift completion of the organization and equipment of the German Battalion in the Summer months of 1776 is a credit as much to the recruiting skill of the commissioned officers as to the spirit of the German- speaking settlers. Particularly in Baltimore and in the western counties of Maryland, the sons of German and Swiss immigrants responded well to the call to arms. The local communities provided everything from uniforms to arms. Ironmen and gunsmiths in the German settlements could scarcely keep up with the requirements of their battalion. The so- called Lancaster County rifle (later to be known as Kentucky rifle) was provided by German gunsmiths in many communities. By rifling the inner barrel of the weapon, this rifle was a much more accurate and deadly weapon than the conventional smooth-bore musket. The latter weapon, however, could be fired more rapidly than the rifle. The British soon came to dread the deadly accuracy of the rifles of the German Battalion, but for the most part it was the bayonet charge, rather than gunfire, which decided the outcome of the battles of the American Revolution. The original enlistment for the German Battalion was for three years and some of the first men were so enlisted. For the farm population of Western Maryland such a long absence over three harvest seasons seemed an undue hardship and eventually shorter enlistments were accepted. On July 17, 1776 an additional company could be raised. The German Battalion, commanded by Colonel Haussegger, then marched from Philadelphia to New York, where it took part in the Battle of Long Island, August 26 to 28, 1776, the Battle of Harlem Heights on September 16, 1776 and in ensuing skirmishes, particularly at White Plains, until the retreat following the British capture of Fort Washington in November. In each of these engagements the fire of the riflemen suc- ceeded in holding back the attacks of the enemy for several hours. The British and their German mercenary forces had great respect for the marksmanship of the American Germans, but due to the excessive time required to reload the rifles, it was the bayonet which decided the ultimate outcome of the battles. In this connection the comments of the Hessian Colonel von Heerigen to his superior, General von Lossberg are pertinent: "These people are more to be pitied than feared. After the first rounds of fire, it takes a full quarter of an hour to reload a rifle, and they soon fell victims to our bayonets." [28] After the fall of Fort Washington the remainder of the Continentals withdrew across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. In this situation when the American cause was at its lowest, General Washington realized the necessity of reviving the hopes of his countrymen by some bold action. With this objective in mind, he crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and attcked the British and Hessian forces at Trenton. The enemy was enjoying Christmas festivities and was completely surprised. In the confusion of the night fighting which ensued, the Continentals inflicted heavy losses on their opponents, and captured large amounts of ammunition and other supplies which they badly needed. The German Battalion was in the forefront of the fighting, and suffered losses accord- ingly. Among the victims was their regimental commander, Colonel Nicholas Haussegger, who was taken prisoner by the Hessians. On January 3-4. 1777, General Washington repeated the same tactics, recrossing the Delaware and falling upon the British camp at Princeton, again capturing supplies of food and munitions needed by his men. In this engagement the German Battalion fought under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Stricker of Maryland. During the late winter and spring, the Continental army was reorg- anized. The militia regiments had proven unreliable. The Maryland forces, seriously reduced by losses in battle, were consolidated into two regiments and five more Maryland regiments were raised. These, with the German Battalion, were organized into the celebated "Maryland Line." They were divided into two brigades. Four regiments were placed under General William Smallwood of Maryland, and the German Regiments and three Maryland regiments were put under command of General de Borre, a Frenchman. These two brigades constituted the force commanded by Major General John Sullivan. There were important changes among the officers of the German Bat- talion. After the inglorious exit of its original commander, Colonel Nicholas Haussegger, a Prussian officer, Baron d'Arendt, was imposed on the battalion as field commander with thes rank of colonel. This prompted the angry resignation of Marylander George Stricker. Since the baronial colonel was largely absent during the subsequent months, the command of the German Battalion was virtually and ably performed by Major Ludwig Weltner of Maryland. Weltner was appointed Lieutenant Colonel, as was Major William Klein who belonged to the original Pennsylvania contingent. Captains Daniel Burckhardt and George Hubley were pro- moted to majors. Captains Henry Fister, George Keeport and Benjamin Weiser were replaced. Among the lieutenants of the German Regiment who were com- missioned as captains in the reorganization of the spring of 1777 were John Baltzell, Samuel Gerock, John Lindenberger, George Lorah, Frederick William Rice and John David Woelper. Lieutenant Paul Bentalou, a French cavalry officer, became First Lieutenant. In August 1777 the reorganized German Battalion had its first action in the night raid on Staten Island. After initial success, the American forces were driven into retreat. Despite heavy fighting, the German Battalion escaped with only minor losses. After the British landed at Elk River, the scene of the war was shifted to the area between Wilmington and Philadelphia. The German Battalion was guarding the crossing of Brandywine Creek at Chadd's Ford at the beginning of the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The seasoned riflemen forced a strong contingent of Hessians under General von Knyphausen to abandon the [29] initial attack. But then tactical mistakes and rivalry on the part of some American commanders and a superb strategy of the British and Hessian forces led to a disastrous defeat. The German Battalion suffered most severely. The extent and severity of these losses is indicated by the fact, as stated in Heitman's Historical Register of the Officers of the Continental Army,