The British German Legion (or Anglo-German Legion) was a group of German soldiers recruited to fight for Britain in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. It is not to be confused with the King's German Legion, which was active during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Great Britain raised a British German Legion of two regiments of light dragoons, three Jäger Corps, and six regiments of light infantry; a British Italian Legion of five regiments of infantry, and a British Swiss Legion of three regiments of light infantry. At the end of the war, the soldiers were entitled to return to their country of origin at the public expense, but some, fearing a hostile reception at home, settled in the Cape of Good Hope. The leader of the legion was

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Richard von Stutterheim. The British government funded and gave material support to von Stutterheim to recruit soldiers into the legion. In March 1855, von Stutterheim began raising the legion by hiring 200 agents in Germany to recruit soldiers, focusing mostly on port cities. The recruiters would go to taverns, buy beer for young men and recruit them once they were inebriated. It is believed that Stutterheim was paid $40 for each recruit, paying $20 to each recruit and pocketing the other $20, thereby earning himself $120,000 in the process. In 1856, members of the legion were billeted at Barrack field in

Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, Eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX ...

, where many married local women. It was disbanded November 1856, having seen little or no military action due to the war having ended. Facing difficulties in repatriation by having served a foreign country, most of members of the legion were resettled in the Eastern

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

, in South Africa. As a result, to this day there are place names of German origin in the area around

King William's Town Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River. The city is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London, South ...

, including the town of

Stutterheim Stutterheim is a town with a population of 46,730 in South Africa, situated in the Border region of the Eastern Cape province. It is named after Richard Von Stutterheim. History The area's earliest human population were Bushmen. Khoikhoi groups ...

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* * {{cite web, author=Jane McSporran, title=Great achievers educated at a small East Cape village school, url=http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.page/board/general_topics/thread/1140724, access-date=2011-03-18 (incorrectly refers to the "King's German Legion") 1856 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Regiments of the British Army 19th-century military history of the United Kingdom