Lieutenant-General Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg

Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg (1720-1800) was one of the general officers in the Hessian corps.  Rodney Atwood, in his invaluable book "The Hessians", says that he came from "an old soldier family which had migrated from Thuringia in he seventeenth century to escape religious persecution". When he arrived in America in October 1776 he was a colonel in command of the First Brigade of the Second Hessian Division, which was under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen. He became a major general in 1779 (or 1780, depending on what book you read) and then a lieutenant general in 1780 (or 1781, ditto), before ultimately commanding all German forces left in North America in 1782 once von Knyphausen had left.  As he was nominated for general command before the Hessian contingent arrived in America, von Lossberg did not personally command any Hessian regiments during the AWI.  However, in 1780 he was appointed as chief of the von Mirbach Regiment, which was consequently renamed the Jung von Lossberg Regiment.  "Jung" means "young", as Friedrich's older brother, Lieutenant-General Anton Heinrich August von Lossberg, was already the chief of the existing von Lossberg Regiment, which in turn was renamed Alt von Lossberg (or "old").  One way of remembering the different between these two regiments is that von Mirbach/Jung Lossberg was a musketeer regiment, whereas (Alt) Lossberg was a fusilier regiment.

As the new commander-in-chief of the Hessian troops in May 1782, von Lossberg was responsible for the repatriation of these men. The German soldiers were offered land if they remained in North America (including an offer from the British government of land in Nova Scotia). Apparently about a quarter of the troops accepted. Von Lossberg appears to have been an effective and respected commander. Sir Guy Carleton paid tribute to the "exemplary behaviour of the Hessian troops under his orders."

Von Lossberg appears as a brigade commander in the Springfield and Newport scenarios. These battles took place in August 1778 and June 1780 respectively, which means von Lossberg held different ranks at each of them. This figure is from the Eureka Miniatures Revolutionary Wars range. It is one of a pair of Russian mounted officers - see here. The figures are advertised as having no lapels, but I didn't notice that to be honest and it was easy painting them on. I followed the uniform as provided in the newish Osprey on German Troops in the American Revolution. One of the colour plates has von Lossberg as a lieutenant-general in the uniform as chief of the Jung von Lossberg Regiment, which is what I've followed here. This figure is pretty close to having the correct uniform for Newport (all that's missing is the tricorne's white feathers, which denoted the chiefs of regiment and/or general officers), but raises the question as to what uniform von Lossberg might have worn at Springfield, which took place before he was promoted to major-general. The answer may be that he wore the uniform of a colonel in the Leib Regiment, as he seems to have held that post prior to being promoted to major-general (although at the time of the regiment's arrival in America, Frederick II, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, was its chief and Colonel Friedrich von Wurmb was its commanding officer in the field). Anyway, who cares? Here he is, ready to take the field wherever the Landgrave requires.

The is the first of a number of Hessian personality figures that I will be posting about over the next week or so.

1 figure. Painted August 2024.