The Voyage of The First Hessian Army from Portsmouth to New York, 1776

In Short

A translation of A. Pfister’s nineteenth-century historical sketch, supplemented by an extract from the diary of soldier J. G. Seume, this volume documents the 1776 Atlantic voyage of the First Hessian Division from Portsmouth to New York. Huddled inside overcrowded British transport ships, over seven thousand German mercenaries endure terrifying oceanic storms, deadly outbreaks of disease, rotten provisions, and chaotic mid-sea collisions. Pfister traces the military and maritime logistics of the massive fleet, while Seume provides a raw, firsthand account of life belowdeck. Together, their accounts record the physical and psychological toll exacted on men shipped overseas to fight an unfamiliar war.

The Story

The narrative opens in May 1776 at the harbor of Portsmouth, where the First Hessian Division prepares to set sail to reinforce British forces in North America. Departure is initially delayed by Hessian Commander-in-Chief Heister, who refuses to embark without his full division. Once diplomatic intervention resolves the impasse, Commodore William Hotham unleashes a massive armada of one hundred sailing vessels, carrying roughly 12,500 land troops—including 7,400 Hessians distributed across 52 transport ships.

As soon as the fleet clears the Scilly Islands and leaves the English Channel behind, the Atlantic Ocean subjects the expedition to relentless trials. Severe ocean gales batter the ships, tossing cabins into chaos and throwing sailors overboard. Ships crash into one another in the dark; the Good Intent smashes into the Claudina, while the Speedwell takes on so much water that it must constantly run its pumps to avoid sinking. A catastrophic Whitsuntide storm scatters the fleet across the Atlantic. Belowdecks, soldiers lie trapped in pitch darkness, battered against wooden frames and suffocating from a lack of air, expecting every moment to be their last.

When the storms subside, religious devotion stabilizes the men. The soldiers hold daily prayer meetings on deck, drawing comfort from their traditional German prayer books. Yet human tensions remain high. On the Unanimity, an argument over a injured dog prompts Count von der Lippe to challenge Lieutenant Kleinschmidt to a fatal duel; the count dies of his wounds and is buried at sea.

Navigation grows increasingly hazardous near the foggy Newfoundland sandbanks, where ships rely on foghorns, bells, and periodic cannon fire to prevent collisions. As supplies dwindle over the summer, conditions degrade rapidly. Rations are slashed, fresh water turns putrid and worm-infested, and scurvy breaks out across the fleet. Rats destroy bed sheets, tents, and water casks, while soldiers resort to drinking sea water and chewing tobacco to survive.

After long detours toward Halifax and changing strategic directives from General Howe, the fleet finally reaches Sandy Hook and Staten Island on August 12, 1776, after one hundred days at sea. Reuniting with remaining detachments, the exhausted Hessians look out upon the vast assembly of five hundred British ships and military camps, stepping onto American soil to face a war that is not their own.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins After resolving delays over missing detachments at Portsmouth, General Heister agrees to sail, and Commodore Hotham signals a hundred-ship fleet to weigh anchor on May 6, 1776.

Battered by the elements Violent storms hit the fleet near the Scilly Islands, causing widespread seasickness, damaged hulls, and near-fatal collisions between transport vessels like the Good Intent and the Claudina.

The Whitsuntide tempest A ferocious multi-day storm over Whitsunday strips the ships of their sails and scatters the armada across the Atlantic, leaving soldiers buried in dark cabins expecting imminent death.

Faith amidst the waves Following the tempest, the devout Hessian troops gather on deck for morning and evening prayers, using their cherished Habermännchen prayer books to find solace and spiritual strength.

Tragedy on the Unanimity Count von der Lippe dies in a private duel with Lieutenant Kleinschmidt after an altercation over a dog, prompting a quick court-martial acquittal and a formal burial at sea.

Navigating the Newfoundland banks Thick fogs and rocky shoals force the ships to sound bells and fire cannons every half hour, while soldiers marvel at whales, porpoises, and massive shoals of cod.

Disease and decay As the crossing stretches toward three months, water casks rot, rations drop to tiny daily portions, scurvy spreads, and swarms of rats destroy provisions and gear.

Arrival at Staten Island On August 12, 1776, the surviving fleet finally anchors near New York, meeting General Howe’s forces amidst a forest of five hundred military vessels.

The People

• General Heister: The Hessian Commander-in-Chief who initially refuses to embark from Portsmouth without all his division units present, demonstrating a strict, unyielding adherence to his sovereign's orders before being persuaded to sail.
• Commodore William Hotham: The British naval commander aboard the flagship Preston who directs the hundred-vessel armada using cannon signals, flag codes, and sealed orders, struggling constantly to hold the vulnerable fleet together through severe tempests.
• Count von der Lippe: A nobleman and captain of the life-guards who, incensed over an accidental injury to his dog, demands an immediate duel with a subordinate officer, leading to his own fatal wound and burial at sea.
• Lieutenant Kleinschmidt: An officer of humble civilian background who is forced into a duel by Count von der Lippe, mortally wounds his superior officer, and is subsequently exonerated by a military court-martial.
• J. G. Seume: A Hessian soldier, poet, and adventurer whose diary extract exposes the brutal reality of life belowdeck, detailing the suffocating bunks, maggot-ridden biscuits, and systemic greed of the military quartermasters.

In Its Own Voice

"While thousands are pleading here for the protection of Heaven a furious wrathful indignation rages in the American pulpit scattering its curses and, praying to God and the Savior, dedicates the fleet to destruction."

— A description of the tempestuous Atlantic crossing juxtaposed against the hostile political atmosphere awaiting the fleet in America.

"On the English transporter we were pressed and packed like salted herrings."

— J. G. Seume describes the stifling, narrow wooden bunks assigned to six men at a time belowdeck.

"The biscuits were often full of worms which we had to swallow in lieu of butter or dripping if we did not want to reduce our scanty rations still more."

— Seume details the spoiled provisions supplied to the mercenaries during their hundred-day journey.

What It's Really About

Beneath its record of nautical routes and weather patterns, the book examines the human cost of eighteenth-century mercenary warfare. Pfister contrasts the quiet, deeply ingrained religious piety of the Hessian peasantry with the rigid, uncaring machinery of international military alliances. Seume's blunt supplementary diary sharpens this theme into an explicit indictment of royal exploitation and administrative greed. The text raises troubling questions about young men forced into service for foreign kings, enduring unspeakable physical misery and risking their lives for a political conflict in which they have no personal stake.

Why Read It Today

This work offers an unusually direct, unvarnished perspective on the American Revolution, viewing the conflict through the eyes of the German soldiers hired to suppress it. Readers interested in military history or maritime survival will appreciate the detailed depictions of eighteenth-century transatlantic travel, from complex naval signaling to the grim realities of scurvy, shipwrecks, and shipboard duels.

The reading experience balances Pfister's structured historical narration with the vivid, biting realism of Seume's diary. While the prose retains some formal, archaic structures from its nineteenth-century translation, it remains swift and accessible. The text does not shy away from the harsh realities of period military life, including brutal living conditions, strict social hierarchies, and casualty counts. Ultimately, the book stays with you as a poignant reminder that the troops arriving on American shores were not merely historical abstractions, but deeply uncomfortable, frightened men praying for survival in the dark hold of a wooden ship.