Browsing: Papers of John Adams, Volume 9

2. Maj. Gen. Sir William Fawcett had been sent to Germany in 1775 on a special mission to obtain troops from the various German princes and, in the case of Hesse-Cassel, continued in that role until 1781 ( DNB ; Repertorium der diplomatischen Vertreter aller Länder , 3:156, 157, 164, 181). For agreements concluded by Fawcett, see Edmund Jenings to JA, 18 March, note 7 (below). Ultimately, through the efforts of Fawcett and others, 29,166 German troops went to America (Mackesy, War for America , p. 62).