Did Hessians have a good reputation?

Answer 1

In Europe, the Hessians had proved themselves able soldiers, and were utilised by the British in several conflicts, most notably the American war of Independence, where nearly a quarter of the British forces were Hessian. They did not have such a good reputation among the rebels in that particular conflict though, and this reputation continues up to the present day. Hessians are still often portrayed as vicious, brutal mercenaries. This is a remnant from an 18th century Propaganda campaign directed against them, even going so far as to claim they would eat children (keep in mind that in the 18th century, information was not as readily available, and many people actually believed these claims!) While the British spoke the same language as the Americans, the Hessians spoke German. They wore very long hair and moustaches, while Americans were clean shaven. This added to the scary foreign effect as well, making it easy for the American propagandists to portray them as foreign, inhuman, and bloodthirsty brutes who tortured their prisoners and did terrible things to their enemies. In fact, the Hessians, being members of professional armies, were some of the "best behaved" troops in the war, but the wartime demonisation of them continues in popular culture to this day.