Maß- und Rangierbücher des (Ersten) Grenadierbataillons Linsingen (1776) is an early administrative personnel register for the First Grenadier Battalion Linsingen in the service of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. The document is preserved in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg under Fonds 10 c, Nr. 554, within a broader collection of Maß- und Rangierbücher covering Hessian grenadier battalions beginning in 1776.
This record belongs to a combined military documentation system used to manage elite infantry units. The “Maß” (measurement) section records standardized physical data of soldiers—especially height, and occasionally other physical characteristics—used to ensure that grenadiers met strict selection standards for elite service. The “Rangier” (ranking/organization) section records the internal structure of the battalion, listing officers, NCOs, and enlisted men according to rank, company assignment, and seniority.
The Grenadier Battalion Linsingen was an elite composite infantry unit, typically formed from selected soldiers drawn from line regiments. Grenadiers were regarded as shock troops within 18th-century armies, valued for their physical strength, discipline, and reliability in concentrated battlefield formations. The 1776 register reflects the organization of such a unit at the very beginning of the American Revolutionary War period.
The year 1776 is especially significant because it marks the beginning of large-scale Hessian deployment to North America in support of British forces. As such, this document captures the initial structure and composition of an elite battalion at the outset of its involvement in a major overseas conflict, providing a baseline for later comparison with wartime losses, reinforcements, and reorganizations.
