began in consequence of which Lieutenant-general
von Heister was recalled from the command of the
Hessian troops, and Lieutenant-general von
Knyphausen succeeded him. The recall was insisted on by
Lord Suffolk on the ground that Sir William Howe
was not satisfied with Heister. How far Sir William's
dislike may have been caused by purely personal
reasons, or how far the suspicion may be justified that
Heister was too “regardful of the preservation of the
troops under his command,” it is perhaps now impossible
to determine. But we know that Howe was
dissatisfied with Heister before the affair at Trenton, at
a time when the English losses had been decidedly
heavier than the Hessian. Heister had, by the treaty
between the King of England and the Landgrave, a
right to the immediate command of about one half of
Sir William Howe's army. The stipulations of the
treaty were sufficiently indefinite to have given rise
to many questions. Heister is said to have been
unruly. At any rate, he did not get on well with his
commanding officer. This should have been a
sufficient reason for recalling him.
The English government preferred not to appear openly in the matter, and the recall was made by the Landgrave on the ground of Heister's health and age, and only “for a time.” It was well understood, however, that the old general was going off in disgrace. To Knyphausen the Landgrave writes: “Nothing but the entire neglect of all order and discipline can have brought this shame [of Trenton] upon us. I think it very necessary to speak with Lieutenant-general von Heister on the subject, and his health is, moreover, not
