*Includes pictures
*Includes contemporary accounts
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
By the time the Revolutionary War started, military confrontations between the world powers had become so common that combat was raised to the status of a fine art, consuming a large portion of time for adolescent males in training and comprising a sizeable component of the economy. Weaponry was developed to a degree of quality not accessible to most North Americans, and European aristocrats were reared in the mastery of swordsmanship with an emphasis on the saber for military use. Likewise, the cavalry, buoyed by a tradition of expert horsemanship and saddle-based combat, was a fighting force largely beyond reach for colonists, which meant that fighting on horses was an undeveloped practice in the fledgling Continental Army, and the American military did not yet fully comprehend the value of cavalry units. Few sword masters were to find their way to North America in time for the war, and the typical American musket was a fair hunting weapon rather than a military one. Even the foot soldier knew little of European military discipline. However, with European nations unceasingly at war, soldiers from one side or the other often found themselves in disfavor, were marked men in exile, or were fleeing from a superior force. To General George Washington's good fortune, a few found their way to the colonies to join in the cause. Some were adventurers recently cut off from their own borders, while others embraced the American urge for freedom that so closely mirrored the same movements in their home countries.
In the case of Marquis de Lafayette, who appeared as little more than a young, inexperienced dandy upon his arrival early in the war, American leaders were skeptical that any good would come of a collaboration with him. However, Lafayette was more than an aspiring youth in search of glory on another country's battlefield - he hailed from the aristocracy, which allowed him to acquire great wealth as an adolescent and gave him considerable authority to seek French resources for the American effort. In arguably the most important turning point of the war, he was instrumental in convincing France to enter the fray on the colonists' behalf, and he joined in the war against his home country's nemesis in North America. By the time his service to the war effort was complete, the passionate and idealistic Lafayette cemented his standing as a national American hero in perpetuity, and a beloved member of George Washington's inner circle.
German participation in the Revolution is historically noted for the Hessians, mercenary soldiers recruited in whole companies by Britain, whose standing army featured relatively low numbers when the American Revolution began. However, other Germans noted for their mastery of the science of war sided with the colonies, and one of them was Baron Johann von de Kalb, a mentor and elder colleague of the legendary Lafayette. Considered by some to be far too old for one attempting to rejuvenate the career of a soldier, de Kalb was a keen student of war with a steady mind and hand. Once able to prove his worth to the Continental Congress, he rose immediately to the rank of Brigadier General under George Washington, served with distinction, and died heroically in the Battle of Camden, a battle in the South that foretold the eventual surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. . By the time of his participation in the American theater, de Kalb was in his 50s, but given that he was still physically strong and well-trained in combat, he took up the fight against Britain as a matter of personal rejuvenation, on both a political and emotional level. In his efforts on behalf of the colonies, he proved himself to possess extraordinary vitality, regardless of age, and his legacy, much like that of his protége, remains a strong one.