--- title: "Thousands of Russian troops almost fought the American Revolution" description: "Thousands of Russian troops almost fought the American Revolution in 1780, but the British approached the Hessians for spare troops instead." date: "2023-07-20" modified: "2023-07-20" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/thousands-of-russian-troops-almost-fought-the-american-revolution/" categories: - "History" - "Revolutionary War" - "War History" tags: - "Russia" --- # Thousands of Russian troops almost fought the American Revolution ![russian troops]() *"Advancement of the Promyshlenniki to the East" by V.G. Vagner (1880-1942), based upon the sketch by Dmitry Karatanov (1874-1952). From the collection of the Krasnoyarsk Kray Museum.* When the American colonies declared themselves independent from Great Britain, the British monarchy decided it needed a little more muscle than it had on hand to [put down the American Revolution](). At the time, a small part of the Holy Roman Empire called Hesse-Kassel (in modern-day Germany) was lending its troops to the highest bidder. In 1776, that bidder was England’s King George III. He hired 30,000 Hessian troops to help the redcoats subdue the unruly colonists. Had it not been for [Catherine the Great]()’s suspicion that Britain and Russia would soon be rivals, George Washington might have crossed the Delaware to kill Russians in their sleep that Christmas instead. Catherine the Great was known to violently squash any attempts to overthrow her monarchy, and her support to other monarchs fighting insurgencies against monarchies was famous. King George III, having just supported Catherine in ending her own rebellions. Moreover, Russia was coming away from a huge victory over the Ottoman Empire and had a huge number of veteran troops to spare. [King George](), despite the size of Britain’s large empire, didn’t have a large land force. It relied on its navy and the troops aboard its ships to respond effectively to uprisings and rebellions. For the most part, its system worked well until the American colonies decided to rebel against the crown. George needed a lot of troops trained, equipped,and ready to move. He wanted Catherine’s veterans. ![catherine the great russian troops in american revolution]() *Portrait of Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796). (Kunsthistorisches Museum)* Britain and Russia enjoyed warm relations at the time. King George supported Catherine in Russia’s war against Ottoman Turkey and hoped she would repay that support in North America. In 1775, British diplomats began pressing the Russians for that support, which saw some initial success. His first ask was for 20,000 seasoned, disciplined Russian infantry, fully equipped and ready to dispatch to North America as soon as the [Baltic Sea]() ice melted enough to make the passage West. They would make their way to Canada where they would be placed under the command of British generals. But Catherine didn’t see the rebellion in America as a threat to King George’s monarchical authority. When Russians rebelled against Catherine, they were denying the monarch’s right to rule. In her view, the colonists didn’t want to unseat King George at all, and were no threat to the monarchy in Britain. Moreover, though Anglo-Russian relations were cordial at the time, Catherine saw Britain as a future rival and wanted to see the British grow weak from a prolonged war far from home. She thought bleeding Britain to fight a colonial war would be good for Russia and she didn’t want Russians dying for a British possession. Catherine informed King George that the Russian military and the country itself needed time to heal from its previous wars before starting a new expedition and that she no longer had the troops to spare. George would have to find his muscle elsewhere. In fact, throughout the Revolutionary War, the British approached Catherine on a few occasions to ask for reinforcements. Each time, Catherine found an excuse not to give them. Thousands of Russian troops almost fought the American Revolution in 1780. Russia issued a declaration of armed neutrality with the fledgling colonial rebels, which allowed the Americans to conduct trade with Russia. Britain was incensed, but there was nothing they could really do about it, so they approached the [Hessians]() for spare troops instead. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()