The history of the City of Philadelphia — some of the deepest going back all the way to the very inception of our nation — occasionally evokes as much of a fear reaction as it does longevity. But like most American metropolises whose history dates to one of the earliest of European colonization on this continent, Philadelphia has its share of legendary tales.
It’s been two hundred and five years since author Washington Irving put ink to paper and created The Legend of Sleepy Hollow — a perfectly written scary story partially based on his trip to a quiet upstate New York village. His journey — which included being regaled with a tale of a Hessian casualty during the American Revolution who was buried in their local cemetery after losing his head and subsequently rose from the grave annually right in time for Halloween — was an inspiration. But when it comes to a Revolutionary War Ruthless Horseman — it turns out that we’ve got one of our very own. And this week, our ruthless mercenary colonel met his end.
As the American Revolution raged on, the British Army may have had aspirations of largely tempering brutality on the colonists that they fully expected to once again return to under the crown’s control at the end of the war. But on the other hand, the Hessian mercenaries who were paid by the British to keep patriots under the yoke of monarchy were not so generous.
One of those Hessian officers was Count Carl Emil Ulrich Von Donop. When Von Donop arrived on the shores of America in 1776, he fully planned to make a name for himself and even to stay here after a British victory. Indeed, it did not turn out that way.
Von Donop was born into the Hasse-Kassel family of nobility. And while he may have been polished and mannered on the outside (consistent with his station) his tactics on the battlefield were anything but gentlemanly. Under his command were the feared Jager Corps, as well as the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot, which was known for its fierce tactics.
During Christmas of 1776, while George Washington was surprising English troops during the Continental Army’s night crossing, Donop was famously being cared for by a “beautiful widow.” After the battle, he was desperate to regain his honor.
Count Von Donop set his eyes on our city during the British occupation of 1777. His stay in Philadelphia was short-lived however, as he was ordered with some 2,000 troops to break the American hold on the Delaware River. And in late October of 1777, Donop met his end on the Battlefield.
During the fighting at Fort Mercer just across the River in 1777, Von Donop fell while his troops attempted to capture the fort. Mortally wounded, he was taken on October 29, 1777, to a New Jersey house where, after his death, American Commander Colonel Greene ordered him to be interred between the wall and the house with his boots facing the Delaware. A small stone marked the grave but was later removed.
But that was not the end for our feared Hessian colonel. Sometime during the 1800s, his final resting place was disturbed and his skull removed. Nearly two hundred years later, in 1950, the remains were donated to Rutgers University. Today, Count Von Donop’s original grave is likely somewhere overlooking the Delaware River, unmarked. According to legend, his ghost wanders the property of the historic White Hall Mansion, perhaps in search of his lost head.
Michael Thomas Leibrandt lives and works in Abington Township, PA.