Johann Ewald

Johann von Ewald
Print of Ewald in his Danish general's uniform
Born	(1744-03-20)20 March 1744 Kassel, Hesse-Kassel (present-day Germany)
Died	25 June 1813(1813-06-25) (aged 69)
Allegiance	Hesse-Kassel Kingdom of Denmark-Norway
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	Hesse-Kassel: 1762–1788 Kingdom of Denmark-Norway: 1788–1813
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Schleswig Jäger Corps Schleswig-Holstein Battalion of Light Infantry Military command of Hamburg Military command of the Duchy of Holstein
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War Battle of Corbach Battle of Warburg Siege of Cassel American Revolutionary War Battle of White Plains Battle of Iron Works Hill Battle of the Assunpink Creek Forage War Battle of Bound Brook Battle of Short Hills Battle of Cooch's Bridge Battle of Brandywine Battle of Germantown Battle of Red Bank Battle of White Marsh Battle of Barren Hill Battle of Monmouth Battle of Spencer's Ordinary Siege of Yorktown French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars Battle of Stralsund (1809)
Awards	Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog French Legion of Honor Dutch Order of the Union Order of the Dannebrog

Schleswig Jäger Corps
Schleswig-Holstein Battalion of Light Infantry
Military command of Hamburg

Seven Years' War

American Revolutionary War

French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars

Johann von Ewald (20 March 1744 – 25 June 1813) was a German military officer from Hesse-Kassel. After first serving in the Seven Years' War, he was the commander of the Jäger corps of the Hessian Leib Infantry Regiment attached to British forces in the American Revolutionary War. He arrived with his troops, first serving in the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. He saw regular action until his capture at Yorktown in 1781. In 1788, he joined the Danish Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant general; he also served as governor general of Holstein during the Napoleonic Wars. Following his American war experiences, he wrote an Essay on Partisan Warfare (German: Abhandlung über den kleinen Krieg, a widely read treatise on guerrilla warfare. He also kept a journal during most of his time in North America that has since become a valuable resource for historians of the war.

Johann Ewald was born in Kassel, the capital city of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, on 30 March 1744. His father Georg Heinrich Ewald was a bookkeeper, and his mother, Katharina Elisabeth, was the daughter of a Kassel merchant. Both parents died while he was relatively young, and he was raised after their deaths by his grandmother. In an effort to dissuade the 14-year-old Ewald from a military career, he was taken to see the battlefield after the 23 July 1758 Battle of Sandershausen. Ewald's response to the scene was "Oh, how happy are they who died for their country in such a way!" In 1760 Ewald enlisted in the Regiment Gilsa, and was immediately involved in combat. Serving first in the army of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, the regiment saw action at Corbach and Warburg before besieging Kassel in 1761, then held by the French. Ewald was wounded during this siege in March 1761, and was promoted to ensign for his bravery. Returning to action in June, his regiment saw further action in 1761 and 1762, notably at Wilhelmstal and the second Siege of Cassel in 1762.