FUSILIER REGIMENT VON DITFURTH, 1776-1782
 
The von Ditfurth Regiment was raised in 1702, and from 1765 to 1782 it was designated a fusilier regiment. At this period, in the Prussian system which dominated most German armies, there was no difference between the fusilier and muskateer regiment in tactical employment or armament, although they wore different sorts of headdress. Not until later did the fusilier become a sort of light infantry, half way between the muskateer and the jaeger.

The Regiment had six companies, one of which was the grenadier company. During operations the grenadier companies of several regiments would be detached and formed into a separate grenadier battalion, and so, in the period under consideration,  the von Ditfurth grenadiers served always apart from the others. By the treaty signed by the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel with the British government on 15 January 1776, the Regiment von Ditfurth was destined for service in North America. Under Colonel von Bose it sailed with the first contingent of Hessians in March of that year and landed on Staten Island 15 August. For a short time it was an element of the 2d Hessian Brigade under Major General von Stirn, and as such it took part in the Battle of Long Island and possibly the storming of Fort Washington. Its grenadier company had been assigned to the 3d Grenadier Battalion, Lt. Col. von Minnigerode, together with grenadier companies from three other regiments. By chance Minnigerode's battalion was also part of Stirn's brigade.

The Regiment was sent to Newport, Rhode Island, in November 1776 where it remained peacefully garrisoned (except for a few weeks of alarm during the abortive French and American attack in August 1778) until October 1779. It returned briefly to New York and there was embarked for South Carolina, where it arrived in February 1780 after a stormy voyage, The unit, now under Colonel Max von Westerhagen, took part in the seige of Charleston, and thereafter, until the end of the war, it spent its days in that southern city.  Charleston was evacuated in December 1782, and the Regiment von Ditfurth sailed home shortly thereafter.

Herbert Knoetel - Military Collector and Historian - Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1950

Some Members of the Hessian Regiment von Ditfurth
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