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These embossed metal pieces once adorned the distinctive military headgear worn by Hessian fusiliers — specialized soldiers who served under British command during the Revolutionary War. Between 1776 and 1783, about 30,000 German-speaking soldiers from the principalities of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Hanau, Anhalt-Zerbst, Anspach-Bayreuth, Waldeck, and Brunswick served in America. The largest number of these troops came from Hesse-Kassel, giving rise to the nickname “Hessians.” The United States Army Corps of Engineers recovered these fragments in 1915 during dredging operations in the Delaware River near Philadelphia. Recent historical research suggests that they were lost in March 1778, when a British transport ship carrying supplies and reinforcements — including Hessian soldiers — sank after striking obstructions that had been placed in the river by the American Army the previous year.

Object Details

  • Cap Plates
    Germany
    1770-1777
    Brass
    Museum of the American Revolution
    2003.00.0019, 2003.00.0020, 2003.00.0022

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This excerpt from Brady Crytzer provides a look at the American Revolutionary War from the perspective of German Hessian soldiers who fought for the British
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This gorget, displaying the royal arms of the Bourbon kings of France, was a vestigial piece of armor worn by a French officer as a sign of rank.
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This silver gorget was made in England in 1775-1776 for an officer of the British Army’s 60th or Royal American Regiment.
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German-American Brigadier General Muhlenberg (1746-1807) carried these English holster pistols during the American Revolution.
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