Rall, Johann Gottlieb
Rall, Johann Gottlieb
RALL, JOHANN GOTTLIEB. (1720?–1776). Hessian colonel at Trenton. Born in Hesse-Kassel, probably in 1720, he was a veteran of the Seven Years' War and was proud of having subsequently fought the Turks in the army of Russian general Alexis Orloff. Rall made the journey to America with his regiment when they were hired from the elector of Hesse-Kassel in 1776 by the British. He led his regiment with vigor and distinction at White Plains and Fort Washington. Ignorant of English and contemptuous of the poorly trained American soldiers, Rall was given command of the isolated yet critical outpost at Trenton. He was mortally wounded in Washington's attack on Trenton on 26 December 1776, dying later that day.
SEE ALSO Fort Washington, New York; Trenton, New Jersey; White Plains, New York.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
revised by Michael Bellesiles