among the hunters and gamekeepers of Germany.
One company of them had come to America with von
Heister, in August, 1776, another, under Captain Ewald,
with von Knyphausen in October. They were found
so useful that the establishment was raised, by special
treaty with the Landgrave, during the winter of 1777,
to one thousand and sixty-seven men, in five
companies, one of which was mounted. Other companies
were procured from Hanau and Anspach. The
corps, after the summer of 1777, was under the
command of Lieutenant-colonel von Wurmb, but the
companies or detached parties very generally acted
separately. There were, indeed, few operations of
any importance in which the chasseurs did not take
part. We can easily believe that they made many a
bold and lucky stroke, and yet shrug our shoulders a
little when we are informed that the American militia
wore broad-brimmed hats, which they used to draw
down over their eyes for protection against the wind
and snow, so that the chasseurs were able to slip up to
them in broad daylight, and strike them down or disarm
them before they knew it. Those Yankees are
usually such very sleepy fellows.[1]
Ewald tells us that in the early part of the year 1777 Lord Cornwallis determined to surprise Boundbrook, in New Jersey, which was held by one thousand Ameri-
- ↑ Eelking's “Hülfstiuppen,” vol. i. p. 182.—For the text of the treaties concerning chasseurs with Ilesse-Cassel and Hesse-Hanau, see “Parliamentary Register,” 1st series, vol. vi. p. 152, and vol. vii. p. 49. It seems probable that the total number of Hessian chasseurs was never reached. When organized in the summer of 1777, the corps numbered six hundred chasseurs, of whom one hundred and five were Anspachers, and thirty grenadiers, with two three-pounders.—Journal of the Jäger Corps.
