Hessians (died 1776)
During the Revolutionary War, the British hired German auxiliary troops to augment the English army. Most of these troops came from the German principality of Hesse-Cassel, lending the name "Hessian" to all German soldiers. In the Battle of Pell's Point, which took place near the church at Eastchester on October 18, 1776, Hessians accounted for most of the 4,000-man British force that fought the Patriots. This was an important engagement in which the British tried to cut off George Washington's army as it withdrew to White Plains from northern Manhattan. Led by Colonel John Glover of Massachusetts, the Patriot force of 800 men held off the much larger British and Hessian force long enough to allow Washington to complete his withdrawal. After the fighting, British and Hessian wounded and sick took shelter in the half-completed church, later known as St. Paul's Church, Eastchester. Many Hessians died in the Church, mostly from disease, and were buried in a mass grave in the Eastchester cemetery. The spot where they were buried was a sandpit from which sand had been taken to make mortar for the construction of the church. Among those who died in the church were: Private Heinrich Euler, born 1749 in Gehau, Hessen; Private Conrad Roth, born 1753 in Friedigerode, Hessen; and Heinrich Grein, born 1754 in Mengsberg, Hessen. All three were members of the Knyphausen regiment. |
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