The British German Legion (or Anglo-German Legion) was a group of German soldiers recruited to fight for Britain in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. It is not to be confused with the

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; ) was a formation of the British Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Consisting primarily of expatriate Germans, it existed from 1803 to 1816 and achieved the distinction of being the on ...

, which was active during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Great Britain raised a British German Legion of two regiments of light dragoons, three Jäger Corps, and six regiments of light infantry; a British Italian Legion of five regiments of infantry, and a British Swiss Legion of three regiments of light infantry. At the end of the war, the soldiers were entitled to return to their country of origin at the public expense, but some, fearing a hostile reception at home, settled in the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. The head of the Legion was Major General Richard von Stutterheim. The British government funded and gave material support to von Stutterheim to recruit soldiers into the Legion. In March 1855, von Stutterheim began raising the Legion by hiring 200 agents in Germany to recruit soldiers, focusing mostly on port cities. The recruiters would go to taverns, buy beer for young men and recruit them once they were inebriated. It is believed that Stutterheim was paid $40 for each recruit, paying $20 to each recruit and pocketing the other $20, thereby earning himself $120,000 in the process. On 16 July 1856 members of the Legion were involved in a fracas with British soldiers in the Camp at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

which quickly developed into a major riot fought with stones, sticks and bayonets and leading to about 50 men receiving hospital treatment. Though both sides were equally to blame, the men of the British German Legion were billeted at Barrack field in

Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman Britain, Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was establishe ...

, where many married local women.Barracks , A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9 (pp. 251-255)
/ref> It was disbanded in November 1856, having seen little or no military action due to the war having ended. Facing difficulties in repatriation by having served a foreign country, most of the members of the Legion were resettled in the Eastern

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, in South Africa. As a result, to this day there are place names of German origin in the area around

King William's Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London, South Africa, ...

, including the town of Stutterheim.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{cite web, author=Jane McSporran, title=Great achievers educated at a small East Cape village school, url=http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/general_topics/thread/1140724, access-date=2011-03-18 (incorrectly refers to the "King's German Legion") 1856 disestablishments in the United Kingdom German regiments in British Service 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom