148 ROSENGARTEN—AMERICAN HISTORY. [April 6, 
uary, 1782, accompanied by a petition for mercy for those incul- 
pated but surviving. Rall and Dechow had paid the penalty with 
their lives. This was signed (among others) by Schlieffen in April, 
1782, and thus that incident was closed by the Elector’s pardon to 
the survivors from the penalty imposed by the court-martial. The 
actual correspondence consisted of Gen. v. Heister’s report, dated 
New York, January 5, 1777, answered by the Elector on April 7, 
regretting that Rall should have been entrusted with a post to which 
he was not entitled by seniority or service. That Kapp is mistaken 
in crediting the pretended letter to Mirabeau is best shown by 
comparing his wordy Avis aux Hessois with the short, sharp, pun- 
gent letter that bears internal evidence of Franklin’s master hand. 
Reprinted by Ford and Stryker and Bigelow and Tyler, it is easily ac- 
cessible, while the 4v/s aux Hessois of Mirabeau is much less known, 
and a reprint of it may be of interest as one of the forgotten 
pamphlets of the man who later on played such a leading part in the 
French Revolution, yet failed to do for his country a tithe of the 
good that Franklin did for America. Still, it must not be forgotten 
that Mirabeau was one of the earliest French advocates of Ameri- 
can independence, and that his Avs aux Hessors was a warning 
note, the opening of a war of words, of a long-drawn-out battle of 
pamphlets, in which the American cause was fought for by French 
allies on the one side, and on the other by Germans in the pay of 
English and Hessian authorities. Undoubtedly Mirabeau’s influ- 
ence led Beaumarchais to his best efforts to supply men and provi- 
sions and munitions of war for the American cause, culminating, 
largely, no doubt, through Franklin’s efforts, in the alliance which 
played so great a part in the final result. 
Of even greater value, however, is Schiller’s eloquent protest in 
his Kadale und Liebe against the sale of German soldiers to Great 
Britain to be used against America. Frederick the Great denounced 
his cousin of Hesse for selling his subjects to the English as one 
sells cattle to be dragged to the shambles. Napoleon made it one 
of his reasons. for overthrowing the house of Hesse Cassel and 
making the country part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, over 
which his brother reigned. Lowell praises Mirabeau’s pamphlet as 
an eloquent protest against the rapacity of the German princes 
who sold their subjects to Great Britain, and a splendid tribute to 
the patriotism of the Americans. Fortunately the large number of 
Germans who served in the American army on the patriot side, 
