At the Journal of the American Revolution, Todd W. Braisted tells the story of Carl Tournier, sometimes known as Charles Turner, a soldier who served on a variety of sides during the American War for Independence.
Private Carl Tournier was a subject of the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel who was recruited by the British to fight against the American rebels. He was among the soldiers that Americans commonly refer to as “Hessians”.
Tournier’s regiment arrived in Canada in 1776 and was captured by American forces in 1777 during Burgoyne’s ill-fated expedition that ended as Saratoga. The captive Tournier was taken to Massachusetts, where he enlisted with the Continental Army (the Americans) in 1778. He was stationed at West Point and, the next year, deserted to nearby British forces, to whom he provided detailed information about the defenses of West Point.
Next, Tournier was volunteered to serve in the British army unit consisting of fellow Germans that answered to American Loyalist forces. After various campaigns in the United States, his unit retreated to Canada and Tournier vanished from the pages of history.
Tournier's story is simlar to that of Yang Kyoungjong, a Korean who served in the armies of the Japanese Empire, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany and the Stonewall, a ship that served with the navies of six different nations.
Image: Drawing of a Brunswick soldier from the New York Public Library