[2] Auxiliaries were a major source of income for many small and relatively poor German states, typically serving in wars in which their governments were neutral.

Like most auxiliaries of this period, Hessians were attached to foreign armies as entire units, fighting under their own flags, commanded by their usual officers, and wearing their existing uniforms.

[3][7] The use of "large armies of foreign mercenaries" was one of the 27 colonial grievances against King George III in the Declaration of Independence, and the Patriots cited the deployment of Hessians as proof of British violations of the colonists' rights.

In the two centuries leading up to the American Revolutionary War, the continent saw frequent, though often small-scale, warfare, and military manpower was in high demand.

Hesse-Kassel manufactured its own weapons and uniforms, and its textile industry was so prosperous from supplying the military that workers could afford to buy meat and wine every day.

[9] American historian Edward Jackson Lowell lauded Friedrich II for spending British money wisely, describing him as "one of the least disreputable of the princes who sent mercenaries to America".

While its troops remained members of the Hessian military, and even fought in their national uniform, they were hired out for service in other armies, without their government having any stake in the conflict.

In July 1758, during the course of the Seven Years' War, most of the country, including its capital of Cassel, was occupied by a French army under Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise, which easily overcame the home defence force of 6,000 Hessian militiamen.

[20] American historian Charles Ingrao describes Hesse as a "mercenary state" whose prince rented out his regiments to fund his governmental expenditures.

[22] Military historians Dennis Showalter and Rodney Atwood note that Hessians would not have been legally considered mercenaries at the time, but rather auxiliaries.

Protocol I (1977) to the Geneva Convention defines a mercenary as "any person who ... has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

At Saratoga, approximately 1,000 Hessians were defeated; being killed or captured by a raw, untrained militia force from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Notwithstanding their reputation as skilled and disciplined fighters, many British soldiers shared the American distrust of Hessians, who often spoke little or no English and were perceived as crude and barbaric.

The chaplain then recounts the case of a Jaeger subaltern who was assailed "by an Englishman in his cups" with the declaration: "God damn you, Frenchy, you take our pay!"

In August 1779, Saxon nobleman Johann Philip von Krafft wrote that a group of "English soldiers" attacked and robbed a Hessian grenadier, fatally wounding him in the process; historian Steven Schwamenfeld noted that these soldiers were most likely members of the Volunteers of Ireland, a Loyalist military unit mostly consisting of deserters from the Continental Army.

The 54th Regiment of Foot, which had cultivated several vegetable gardens, were relieved by the Hessians, who refused British demands to pay for the privilege of harvesting crops they had sown.

The American Declaration of Independence, written roughly a year after hostilities broke out, condemned King George III for "transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to [complete] the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation."

[32] General Washington's Continental Army had crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack on the Hessians in the early morning of December 26, 1776.

[33] Hessians captured in the Battle of Trenton were paraded through the streets of Philadelphia to raise American morale; anger at their presence helped the Continental Army recruit new soldiers.

[36] These included Nicholas Bahner(t), Jacob Trobe, George Geisler, and Conrad Grein (Konrad Krain),[37] who were a few of the Hessian soldiers who deserted the British forces after being returned in exchange for American prisoners of war.

Throughout the Revolutionary War, Americans tried to entice Hessians to desert the British, emphasizing the large and prosperous German-American community in the Colonies.

The Continental Congress authorized the offer of land of up to 50 acres (roughly 20 hectares) to individual Hessian soldiers who switched sides.

German prisoners were treated well, with some volunteering for extra work assignments, helping to replace local men serving in the Continental Army.