Hesse Kassel Jaeger Korps a 501c3 charitable corporation
Home	Site Map	Events Schedule	Photo Gallery
Reference area	Recommended Reading	Jaeger Stuff Help Support the Jaegers	Bylaws (download pdf)

The American Revolutionary War was not a simple conflict between a people fighting for independence and a government trying to maintain control over a distant territory. England was an Empire and the Colonies in America were not its only territories. And after the 7 years war ( French and Indian War) the Crown treasury was severely depleted and the French being driven out of Northe America there was little risk of encroachment there. The Britons in the home islands were already taxed heavuly to support the wars defending the Empire. And the colonies in the Americas were at the end of their tax free period. The colonies were being taxed at a lower rate then citizens in London. An income tax of @3%, and had better representation by population in Parliment then a citzen in London.

The challenge was that, although England had a sizeable army, England could not use her entire army to fight in America as all of her territories had to defended. And the Americas were no where nearly as profitable for the British Empire as other territories such as Malta, the Sugar Islands, India, amoung others. This profitability was a driving factor to the use of hired troops allowing the Crown to focus its resources in other areas and against encroachment by external enemies such as the Spanish, the French, and the Dutch. Interestingly enough all big supporters of the American Rebellion.

In the mid 1770's King George III of England saw a need for additional troops to be sent to America to restore royal rule and to protect the Kings loyal subjects. To fill the ranks of the army needed, King George turned to his allies for help. The King and his cabinet entered into various treaties with the Landgraves from the Germanic states of the Holy Roman Empire. Approximately 16,992 soldiers from Hesse-Kassel served in America, with the total number for all the States at approximately 29,875 troops. This figure made up approximately 1/3 of the total forces the British had in North America during the Revolutionary War. A part of this force were highly trained individuals that were familiar with movement through forests and the use of rifles, unusual in 18th century warfare where smoothbore muskets were more commonly used. These men were the Jägers and were formed into elite units. The British wanted 3000 Jägers to be included for the war but it is unlikely there were ever more than 1500-1700 in service. The first Jäger troops arrived at New York in August 1776 under Gen. Von Heister with additional units arriving in October 1776 under Gen. Knyphausen. By 1777 there were five foot companies and one mounted company of Jägers in North America which were formed into a single Korps, although they normally operated in small groups of not more than 20-30 Jägers working with other Crown forces helping to train them up in La Petite Guerr (the small war) or Partisan Warfare. In 21st century speak we say it in Spanish instead of French guerrilla warfare. The 2nd Jägers Company, under Capt. Ewald, arrived in New York on 14 October 1776 and saw their first action on the 23rd of October. As with most of the Jägers, they saw action in every campaign in the war and can be documented in most actions of the Southern Campaigns. Captain Ewald was the well repected author of the Treatise on Partisan Warfare a book which is still required reading at the US Army Special Operations Training Center Fort Bragg NC.

The 2nd Company, Hesse-Kassel Jäger Korps re-enactment group was founded in 1995 as an educational non-profit organization organized to help educate and provide information to the public about the Jägers and life in the 1770 - 1780's. The primary focus of the unit is on the actions of the 2nd Company of the Hesse-Kassel Jäger Korps during the American Revolutionary War. Membership of the unit comes from throughout the southeast and primarily attend events of the Southern Campaign of 1780 and 1781. The group is open to any and all provided they have a deep interest in history and a desire to share their knowledge.

This website is a resource to provide the public with a better understanding of the actions of the Hesse-Kassel Jäger Korps throughout the American Revolution as well as the day to day life of the men and women of the military. Within the pages of this site you will find information about the actions, places and people that made history. Information can be found about our group, the events we attend and the equipment used by the original Jägers and this group, as well as information for those that would be interested in joining the unit. And lastly, additional resources and reading material for anyone needing more information than we have provided.

We certainly hope that the public finds this website to be very informative and gain a greater respect for the history of this country. We would like to encourage those that are able to attend one of the events the Hesse-Kassel Jäger Korps participates in to see first hand how things were during the birth of this country.