Existing comment:
The Deal
The term "Hessian" has become synonymous with "mercenary" which, in turn, has become synonymous with "soldier of fortune." This would imply that the individual soldiers were acting as virtual "free agents" selling their services to the highest bidder. These German "mercenaries" were nothing of the sort.
A mercenary is merely a "paid" soldier, as were the soldiers in the British, French and Continental Armies, and as are the soldiers of the United States today. They were soldiers serving their recognized ruler who had made an alliance with another nation. The Landgraves, Margraves, Dukes, and Princes that concluded these treaties with Great Britain may be fairly looked upon as "mercenary" in the pejorative sense, earning a stipend for each soldier they provided, and being compensated for each soldier who was lost or made infirm.
Each German soldier provided Great Britain under these treaties was paid the same daily wage as his British counterpart. |