Maß- und Rangierbücher des (Ersten) Grenadierbataillons Linsingen (1783) is a military administrative register documenting the structure and personnel composition of the First Grenadier Battalion Linsingen in the service of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. The record is preserved in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg under Fonds 10 c, Nr. 554, within a broader series covering Hessian grenadier battalions from 1776 onward.
This document belongs to the Maß- und Rangierbücher, a combined system of military records used to manage elite infantry units. The “Maß” (measurement) portion records standardized physical characteristics of soldiers—most commonly height, and occasionally additional identifying physical traits—used to ensure that grenadiers met the strict physical requirements associated with elite status. The “Rangier” (ranking/organization) portion details the internal structure of the battalion, listing officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men according to rank, company assignment, and seniority.
The Grenadier Battalion Linsingen was an elite composite infantry formation, typically assembled from selected soldiers drawn from line regiments. Grenadiers were considered shock troops within 18th-century European armies, valued for discipline, strength, and battlefield reliability, and were often concentrated for decisive action in combat.
The year 1783 is significant because it marks the end phase of Hessian involvement in the American Revolutionary War. At this time, many units were either returning from overseas service or being reorganized following years of campaigning in North America. This register therefore reflects both the maintenance of elite infantry structure and the administrative normalization of units after wartime deployment.
