Nicholas Haussegger
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Nicholas Haussegger (1729 – July 1786) was a native of Bern, Switzerland who arrived in the British Colonies in North America about 1744 as a subaltern officer in the British army during the French and Indian War. After the war he purchased a farm in Lebanon county and became a leader in the local Pennsylvania German community. At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War Haussegger joined the 4th Pennsylvania Battalion as a field officer. He was placed in command of the German Battalion, a unit of ethnic Germans from Pennsylvania and Maryland, on July 17, 1776.[1] He led his battalion at Trenton in late December 1776. A week later, he was taken prisoner at Assunpink Creek[2] and investigated over allegations of desertion and attempting to persuade American prisoners-of-war to join the British army. Evidence credible enough to bring him to trial apparently never materialized,[3] but he felt "neglected and injuriously treated" by the incident and eventually resigned his commission in 1781.[4] He is believed to have died at his farm in Pennsylvania in 1786, however there were also contemporaneous claims made that he went to Canada with his wife.[1][5]
Nicholas Haussegger | |
---|---|
Born | 1729 Bern, Switzerland |
Died | July 1786 unknown |
Allegiance | Dutch Republic Great Britain United States Great Britain |
Service/ | Infantry |
Years of service | ?–1756 1756–1764 1776–1777 1777–? |
Rank | Colonel (Continental Army) |
Battles/wars | Forbes Expedition (1758) Bouquet Expedition (1764) Battle of Trenton (1776) Battle of Assunpink Creek (1777) |