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had been rewarded for their service to the United States. Later that year, the
Congress' Committee of the Week, recommended that "Congress confer upon him the first vacant office in their gift, which they may think him capable of filling." However, with regard to his second request they wrote, "With respect to his being put on a footing with foreign officers, who were in the service of the United States, the Committee are of the opinion it cannot be done consistently with the principles of general justice." His daughter, Harriet, and her children continued to seek compensation from Congress for 2,000 acres of land that the British Crown had promised to British Army officers at the conclusion of the French and Indian War, which Weissenfels forfeited when he joined the American cause. In 1859, after a thorough investigation, a bill to award the heirs the land was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but it died in the Senate. The commencement of the hostilities of the American Civil War in 1860 ended any hope of achieving the family's request. However, Weissenfels' grandchildren continued to press their claim with the last living grandchild, Lucy A. Baker, requesting Congressional action in 1877. Congress rejected her final plea on Jan. 21, 1877, 102 years after her grandfather had given up his British Army pension and any chance of obtaining the promised land to join the Revolution. She died Washington, D.C. in 1879.
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lawyer, who also served in the
Revolution, first as a fifer and later as a Lieutenant, died in 1798. His wife, the former Maria Leaycraft, also ran a boarding house following her husband's death. She disappears from the New York City Directory between 1800 and 1805. Then, in 1806, she reappears following the exit of her father-in-law to New Orleans as a doctor living at 37 Murray St.
275:
and the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, on Feb. 23, 1756. The creation of the regiment by
Parliament was unique in that it allowed for "a certain number of foreign Protestants, who have served abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America only..." About fifty officers'
295:
His first marriage, on
December 16, 1756, was to Mary Shurmur, born about 1735 in New York, the daughter of Samuel Shurmur, a New York City merchant, and Catherine Cazalet, the daughter of French Huguenot refugees, in the Dutch Reform Church of New York City. She died in about 1775 in New York City.
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The next year, on April 7, 1789, Weissenfels was discharged as the captain of the city watch. He had been accused of sleeping on the job, but it may have been that he lost the job when Willet lost his position as sheriff. Weissenfels was a tired and pitiable 61-year-old, who was again poor and out
390:
From the end of his military service until the end of his life
Weissenfels had financial difficulties. In 1784, Weissenfels petitioned the United States Congress for an appointment to a government office and to be treated and rewarded by Congress as "foreign officer," such as Frederick Von Steuben,
394:
By 1787, Weissenfels' financial difficulties were so severe that on
February 23, 1787, the New York State Legislature passed a bond, "from Frederick Weissenfels to the people of the state, for such sum as shall be found due him, to be paid in such sums as shall be found due from him to them, to be
372:
as their scouts tracked the retreating force. A forced march through a heavy snowstorm brought the militia within two miles of the
Loyalist camp by nightfall of October 29, but Willet decided against a night attack in the storm. Attacking the next morning, they found that the Loyalists had already
309:
According to a short biography produced by his daughter, Harriet
Weissenfels Baker, in an attempt to obtain compensation for her father's monetary losses resulting from his service in the American Revolution she reported that, "Following his principles rather than the advice of friends, he early
442:
Weissenfels' children also suffered after the war. His son and fellow
Revolutionary soldier, Charles, who was the Collector of Customs in New York City in 1795, died that same year. Charles' wife, the former Rhoda Salter, ran a boarding house on Courtlandt Street until 1803. His son, Peter, the
352:
On
January 1, 1781, Weissenfels was released from his service to the State of New York in a reduction in force. However, in April 1782, New York raised two regiments of Levies to defend the state's northern frontier (Mohawk Valley) from Canadian irregulars and their Native American allies. The
438:
At the time of his death on May 14, 1806, he filled a minor office in the police department in New Orleans. Louisiana. The position was likely obtained for him by Abraham Redwood Ellery, a wealthy New Orleans planter, lawyer, and the husband of his granddaughter, Sarah Charlotte Weissenfels.
414:
On January 29, 1790, Weissenfels received a land bounty for 500 acres, but this did not seem to improve his financial situation. His son, George, was a "conveyancer," a sort of lawyer who dealt with land transfers, and the pair may have gotten caught up in the land speculation of the time.
395:
paid in certificates issued by the treasurer, to discharge him from the suit against him by the people." This act of the New York Legislature may be an indication of the respect and regard which the people of New York State at that time had for Weissenfels' Revolutionary War service.
505:
Denizations, Naturalizations, And Oaths of Allegiance in Colonial New York, Kenneth Scott and Kenn Stryker-Rodda, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1975, page 23, listed as De Weissenfels, Fredrick (Colonial Laws of New York, 1664–1775, 5 vols., Albany: James B. Lyon, 1894, chapter
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He was commissioned a captain in the First New York on June 28, 1775, commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd New York on March 8, 1776, became a lieutenant colonel of the 2nd New York on Nov. 21, 1776, and lieutenant colonel commandant of the 4th New York on January 13, 1779.
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The next month, on February 17, 1788, Weissenfels petitioned the New York City Common Council for a raise in his pay as captain of the city watch. Although his old friend, Marius Willet, was the sheriff of New York County during this time, the request was read and postponed.
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The marriage produced eight children: Ann (1757–1847), Charles Frederick (1760–1795), Catherine Maria (1761–1830), George Peter (1764–1798), John Henry (1767–1787), William Henry (born 1770), Mary Charlotte (born 1772), and Elizabeth Anna (born 1775).
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On May 13, 1788, he again petitioned Congress to be treated as a foreign officer. He had apparently written again to Washington and this time the general had compiled and written a recommendation, but Congress again declined.
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commissions were given to Germans and Swiss. Weissenfels was one of these. In 1757, the unit was renumbered as the 60th (Royal American) Foot. Weissenfels served in this regiment for four years. He fought in the
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In June 1787, he wrote to George Washington requesting the general's assistance in obtaining a government appointment. In a letter from Washington to Weissenfels, dated January 10, 1788, the general declined.
487:
A regimental chronicle and list of officers of the 60th, or the King's Royal Rifle Corps, formerly the 62nd, or the American Regiment of Foot, by Nesbit Willoughby Wallace, 1879, page 74
421:
In 1796, Weissenfels was appointed Gauger of the customs in New York City,. He apparently was given the job upon the death of his son, who held that position until his death in 1795.
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in the Prussian Army during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). He served six years in a cavalry unit in the army of the United Provinces of the Netherland garrisoned at
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In July 1781, Willet and Weissenfels led the militia in the Battle of Sharon Springs where they ambushed a force of Indians and Loyalists under the command of
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In late 1781, several companies of New Hampshire troops were added to Willet's command. In February, 1783, George Washington directed Willet to capture
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His second marriage was to Elizabeth Williams on February 26, 1777. This marriage produced two children: Harriet (1779–1855) and Frederick (1780–1798).
387:. In October, Willett's and Weissenfels' troops went home after being disbanded without ceremony. Weissenfels retired from service on Jan. 1, 1784.
626:
533:
Minutes of the Common Council of the city of New York, 1784–1831, Vol. 1 Volume nine of manuscript minutes October 2, 1787, to August 20, 1790
424:
He remained a resident of New York City until 1805, the last time he is listed in the New York City Directory living at 3 Hudson.
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American forces were under the overall command of Colonel Marius Willet, with whom Weissenfels had served earlier in the war.
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592:
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36:
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The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745–1799. John C. Fitzpatrick, Editor
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Washington visited the Mohawk valley in 1783 and he instructed Willett to improve the roads and waterway to
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Weissenfels took an Oath of Allegiance to Great Britain on December 20, 1763. That same year, he settled in
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He served as Inspector of Spiritous Liquors for the City of New York in 1791 and lived at Dry's Dock.
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He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal American Regiment of Foot also known as the
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360:. In October, they led the militia against a mixed force under the command of Major
380:, but the Americans gave up the attempt when the possibility of surprise was lost.
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He was born in about 1728 in the Kingdom of Prussia near the town of Elbing in
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A brief memoir of the late Colonel Frederick Baron de Weissenfels
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German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
435:, of which Frederick von Steuben was for many years president.
623:, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1909, v. 1, p. 331.
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Records of the Dutch Reform Church, New Hackensack, New York
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Marriage Records of the Dutch Reform Church of New York City
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Weissenfels was a member of the New York State Society of
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The German soldier in the wars of the United States
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119:
103:
71:
51:
44:
627:Portrait of Colonel Frederick Baron de Weissenfels
466:. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott company. p.
431:. He was the first vice-president of the New York
252:. Frederick received his military training under
310:joined the side of the revolutionaries in the
31:) was a leading soldier in the service of the
303:with a British military pension of half pay.
8:
345:against the Iroquois in 1779, and fought at
599:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
373:broken camp, and they eventually escaped.
41:
621:The German Element in the United States
452:
368:. Afterwards, the Americans marched to
652:Continental Army officers from Germany
657:Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia
35:and the State of New York during the
7:
667:People of the French and Indian War
662:Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
14:
593:"Weissenfels, Frederick H."
606:
155:
142:
129:
190:Battle of the Plains of Abraham
46:Frederick, Baron de Weissenfels
273:62nd (Royal American) Regiment
175:War of the Austrian Succession
1:
429:The Society of the Cincinnati
321:His first expedition was the
260:. He served in a Regiment of
569:1806 New York City Directory
560:1805 New York City Directory
551:1796 New York City Directory
542:1791 New York City Directory
256:at the Military Academy at
688:
460:Rosengarten, J.G. (1890).
343:John Sullivan's expedition
312:American Revolutionary War
202:American Revolutionary War
37:American Revolutionary War
17:Frederick, von Weissenfels
301:Dutchess County, New York
237:
98:
94:
619:Albert Bernhardt Faust,
602:. New York: D. Appleton.
114:United States of America
254:Frederick II of Prussia
341:. He accompanied Gen.
280:during the battles of
212:Battle of White Plains
180:French and Indian Wars
433:Deutsche Gesellschaft
323:1775 Battle of Quebec
282:the Plains of Abraham
278:French and Indian War
185:Battle of Ticonderoga
366:Battle of Johnstown
87:Louisiana Territory
227:Battle of Monmouth
222:Battle of Saratoga
108:Kingdom of Prussia
65:Kingdom of Prussia
241:
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217:Battle of Trenton
79:(aged 97–98)
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195:Battle of Havana
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33:Continental Army
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99:Military career
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27:- 14 May 1806
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584:Wilson, J. G.
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370:German Flatts
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358:John Doxtader
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471:. Retrieved
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378:Fort Ontario
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327:White Plains
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247:
168:Battles/wars
150:British Army
77:(1806-05-14)
75:May 14, 1806
16:
15:
647:1806 deaths
642:1738 births
385:Lake Oneida
286:Ticonderoga
83:New Orleans
29:New Orleans
636:Categories
577:References
258:Königsberg
104:Allegiance
588:Fiske, J.
411:of work.
362:John Ross
244:Biography
347:Newtowne
339:Monmouth
335:Saratoga
262:Dragoons
120:Service/
616:, 1806.
473:Jan 27,
364:at the
331:Trenton
266:Zutphen
250:Samland
61:Samland
25:Prussia
290:Havana
147:
134:
122:branch
89:, U.S.
57:Elbing
21:Elbing
19:(1738
506:1236)
447:Notes
475:2016
337:and
288:and
72:Died
52:Born
468:135
314:."
638::
596:.
586:;
349:.
333:,
329:,
292:.
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268:.
85:,
63:,
59:,
39:.
23:,
477:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
