Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen | |
|---|---|
 Wilhelm von Knyphausen | |
| Born | 4 November 1716 |
| Died | 7 December 1800(1800-12-07) (aged 84) |
| Allegiance |  Prussia (1734-1775) Hesse-Kassel (1776-1782) |
| Commands | Hessian auxiliaries (second-in-command) |
| Battles / wars | |
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Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr[1] von Innhausen und Knyphausen[notes 1] (4 November 1716Lütetsburg,East Frisia – 7 December 1800Kassel) was aGermangeneral officer who served inHesse-Kassel. He fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War, during which he commandedHessian auxiliaries on behalf ofGreat Britain.
Knyphausen's father was the colonel of aPrussian regiment under theDuke of Marlborough. Educated inBerlin, the young Knyphausen entered the Prussian military service in 1734, and in 1775 he became a general officer in the army ofFrederick the Great. In the army of Hesse-Cassel, he was a lieutenant general. In 1776, with 42 years of military experience, he came to theThirteen Colonies ofBritish North America as second-in-command of an army of 12,000 men called "Hessians" underGeneral Heister.[2]
Knyphausen led the Hessian troops in the Battles ofWhite Plains,Fort Washington,Brandywine,Germantown,Springfield, andMonmouth. In 1779 and 1780, he commanded British-heldNew York City. When Heister left for Germany, Knyphausen took command of theGerman troops serving underSir William Howe. Because of Knyphausen's seniority, British officers helddormant commissions outranking him in case the British commander became disabled. Despite this, Knyphausen was trusted by his British superiors.
Knyphausen's regiment took part in the attack onFort Washington and was in garrison atTrenton,New Jersey. Major von Dechow, who was in command in late 1776, warned ColonelJohann Rall to fortify the town, advice that was ignored. During theBattle of Trenton the regiment tried to escape acrossAssunpink Creek but was forced to surrender. Dechow was mortally wounded during the battle.
Sir William Howe gave Knyphausen responsibility for commanding the right flank at the Brandywine, tasked with keeping the attention of the Continental commanders on the river line atChadds Ford,Pennsylvania. He also commanded the vanguard of the army withdrawing from Philadelphia at the time of theBattle of Monmouth.
For several years the main body of Knyphausen's force occupied the upper part ofManhattan Island, and during the temporary absence ofSir Henry Clinton in 1780, he was in command of thecity.[2]
Knyphausen's regiment served in the Americas from 1776 to 1783. Knyphausen left the North American theater in 1782 in part because of ill health, including blindness in one eye caused by a cataract. His wife had died in 1778.Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg succeeded to command of the Hessian troops in New York.
Knyphausen returned to Europe, having, as he said, achieved neither glory nor advancement, but near the end of his life he became military governor of Cassel. He was a taciturn and discreet officer, who understood the temper of his troops and rarely entered on hazardous exploits. His was a hireling army of recruits gathered from work-houses and by impressment, drilled in the use of arms on shipboard. As he frequently declared, on such forces a judicious commander could place little reliance; they dwindled less by death than by desertion.[2]
In 1785, shortly after the end of the war,General Lafayette travelled to Cassel and met Knyphausen. He wrote to General Washington that they had reminisced about the war and exchanged compliments.[3] Knyphausen died in 1800 as the result of an eye surgery.
Fort Hill Park inStaten Island, New York is the site of what was once called Fort Knyphausen, an earthen redoubt built to fend off Patriot forces. One of the streets ofGlasgow, Delaware is called North General Knyphausen Court.
Attribution
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
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