Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/70



first division of Hessians, some eight thousand strong, passed Sandy Hook on August 15, 1776, and landed at Staten Island amid salvoes of artillery and musketry. The division was under the command of Lieutenant-general Philip von Heister, a tough old soldier of the Seven Years' War. It is related that when Landgrave Frederick II. called him to command the Hessian expeditionary force, he did so in these terms: “Heister, you must go along to America.” “Very well, your Most Serene Highness, but I take the liberty of making a few requests.” “And what may they be?” “First, my debts must be paid, my wife and children must be taken care of until I come back, and if I should fall, my wife must have a pension.” When the Landgrave had smilingly assented, Heister cried out: “Now your Serene Highness shall see what this old head and these bones can do.” The army collected on Staten Island under the command of Sir William Howe numbered, after the arrival of the Hessians, between twenty-five and thirty thousand soldiers. It was supported by a fleet under Sir William's brother, Lord Howe. The opposing army of Washington was composed of some thirteen or fourteen thousand men, not more than six thousand of