December 4, 201312 yr #1 Some years ago I received a call from a great Pennsylvania picker tipping me off to an item at Kenny's Auction in Chambersburg Pa. The auctioneer had gone on a house-call at a local estate, he spotted an odd hat and asked the owner what she knew about it, she replied that it was a Revolutionary War "Hessian Helmet". I attended the auction and bought the pictured hat. In the Battle of Trenton the Hessian force of 1,400 was surprised and virtually destroyed by the Continentals, with about 20 killed, 100 wounded, and 1,000 captured as prisoners. General George Washington's Continental Army had crossed the Delaware River to make a surprise attack on the Hessian's on the early morning of December 26 1776. The captured Hessian's were paraded through Philadelphia, marched through Lancaster, York, Carlisle and down to Chambersburg.
December 4, 201312 yr #2 Cool to see that: my 5th great-grandfather was a Hessian, a member of the Hessen-Hanau Erbprinz Regiment, and was taken POW after the decisive American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. His group was being marched to Charlottesville, Virginia when he escaped in Maryland, married the daughter of an immigrant from Alsace, and went on to co-found the town of Claysburg PA, where a log house he built in about 1802 is still being used as a rental. He would not have worn a helmet like that, but I have to say it would be a thrill to own anything Hessian from the Revolution.
December 4, 201312 yr #3 That is a great find dan, as a PA boy its even cooler, its amazing to see it thanks!
December 4, 201312 yr #9 Excellent find! Don Troiani hasn't by any chance seen this, has he? You should contact him...
December 5, 201312 yr #10 Pretty darn nice. What is on the inside? Any type of liner? I suppose anything that's not metal is long gone.
December 5, 201312 yr #11 A sensational piece; thank you for posting. I think that many Americans today would be surprised to find out that their relative may have been British or Hessian soldiers who stayed here after the Revolution, like that which was mentioned from Mr. Hudson earlier. Here in the south, especially in western North Carolina, there is a good chance that some of your Revolutionary kin were "Tories" and Loyalists.
December 5, 201312 yr #13 Outstanding piece! My Great, Great, Great Grandfather was there with Washington on that cold day.
December 5, 201312 yr #15 Probably the rarest item ever to be posted on the Forum. And it isn't a 'painted' helmet either.
December 5, 201312 yr #18 Great find. Trenton was an important battle during our first war of independence.
December 5, 201312 yr #20 And it isn't a 'painted' helmet either. haha. (And if one ever shows up on Ebay, it will probably have a Medic Red Cross painted on it with D- Bail Airborne chinstraps. )
December 5, 201312 yr #23 WOW! That is one fine piece of American history!!!!!! Thanks for sharing. Bobgee
December 5, 201312 yr #25 A sensational piece; thank you for posting. I think that many Americans today would be surprised to find out that their relative may have been British or Hessian soldiers who stayed here after the Revolution, like that which was mentioned from Mr. Hudson earlier. Here in the south, especially in western North Carolina, there is a good chance that some of your Revolutionary kin were "Tories" and Loyalists. Yep I have no doubt. some of my family were from the Piedmont area, Harpe/Harp, and fought for the british. Mike
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