German (Hessian) Mercenary Soldiers
German mercenaries were troops hired by England to fight against the rebellious American colonies. England had a shortage of trained soldiers in the years 1775-1783 so the English authorities went to their cousins in Germany for help. They hired 29,875 officers and men, and paid the German princes £1,770,000 sterling. The Germans troops constituted one third of British land forces in North America during the "American Revolution"; also known as the "American War of Independence".
The German soldiers were highly trained and, as soldiers, soon earned the
respect of the Americans. Congress issued several proclamations urging them to
desert. It is believed that 12,554 never did return to Germany. Some were killed
in action, others died of disease or accidents. About 5000 deserted and/or
received permission to remain in the United States or Canada after the war.
(footnotes 1, 2, 3)
These German soldiers are usually referred to as
"Hessians".
A quick search on the following website reveals three Kauffman men who remained
in North America after the war. This list may not be complete, but does show
that a few soldiers bearing the name Kaufmann (with spelling variations) did get
to North America in this way.
AMREV-HESSIAN MAILING LIST WEBSITE
The Largest offering of Hessian Information on the internet.
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/g/index.htm
Listings of Hessian Soldiers by Name
KAUFFMANN, Christopher, Hessians of Nova Scotia.
Coffman, Chris., see Kauffmann, Christopher, H.of N.S.Kaufmann Heinrich Jäger J II Des. 10.8.1781
Kaufmann, Peter, 3. Co., 1755/56 Obersuhl, D2-6/1778
Footnotes:
1 Answers.com, "German Mercenaries";
http://www.answers.com/topic/german-mercenaries
2 Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian
3 "German Mercenaries";
http://www.revwarhome.com/germans.html