The Shadow Warriors were a unit of Hessian mercenaries (the 5th Battalion in the war) who fought for the British against George Washington and the Colonials. The Headless Horseman was murdered by one of their own in life, but was made into the Hessian Horseman after he sold his soul to Moloch. Somewhere on their bodies, they bore the Mark of Rheinhessen tattooed into their skin, which looked like an eight-spoked wheel with spearheads at the end of each spoke. During the Revolutionary War, they would wear black masks and shaved their heads.
History[]
During the Revolution[]
The 5th Battalion were employed by the British to help suppress the rebellion by Washington and the Patriots.
During the Boston Tea Party in 1773, a Hessian soldier guarded a stone box that contained The Lesser Key of Solomon. The Hessian took his own life using a grenade to kill everyone and protect it but Ichabod Crane survived.[1]
The Hessians then attacked two couriers, Abraham Van Brunt and Crane, as they were traveling to the First Continental Congress with the Declaration of Resolves in 1774; a precursor to the Declaration of Independence. Abraham had been mortally wounded. Despite Crane killing several of the Hessians, Brunt told Ichabod to leave him. The Hessian took him prisoner and Moloch then appeared. Brunt sold his soul to Moloch. The Hessian shaved his branded his hand with an bow marking, and gave him a broadax.[2] During a battle in 1781, they were engaged in combat against the 37th Regiment. One of their soldiers, the Horseman, fought against Crane. The Horseman mortally wounded Crane with his broad ax, but was beheaded by Ichabod with a saber.[3]
Present Day[]
It was presumed the unit was long disbanded; however, there were still people dedicated to their cause. Three modern Hessians serving Moloch - Gunther, Armin and Hagen - turned their attention to The Lesser Key of Solomon. They intended to use the Key - a spellbook written by King Solomon - to summon seventy-two demons Solomon had imprisoned in the Seventh Circle of Hell. They were defeated by Crane and the Mills sisters. Before he died, Gunther admitted there were many more Hessians. He also revealed the name of the demon the Mills sisters saw.
One Hessian was hunting with a non-Hessian when they found Death's horse without his rider. The Hessian killed his fellow hunter and called the other Hessians to tell them Death had been imprisoned. They then broke into Adams Antiquities, tied up Jesse Adams, and stole a Thracian Phiale to lift the hex and free Death, which they gave to Andy Brooks. They planned an assault to shut down the power grid that powered the ultraviolet lights being used to weaken the Horseman. They were arrested by law enforcement, but not before bombs they had already planted blew the power plant up.[2]
The Hessians continued to serve both the Horsemen of Death and War, Henry Parrish. They assisted Parrish in torturing Jenny Mills into revealing information on a key to Purgatory, which they searched for but failed to find.[4] One of the Hessians bought him the Pied Piper's flute. Despite it being broken, Parrish still made a powder from it [5] that could turn Joe Corbin into a Wendigo.[6]
Season 4[]
Jenny remembers that the Horseman used to command an elite group of Hessians that were dedicated to him. They drowned when Washington sank their boat in the Hudson as they were coming to attack Sleepy Hollow. Jobe, meanwhile, heads down to the Hudson and uses the Norse stone to resurrect the Hessians. Jobe charges the axe with the death essence of the Hessians. He tells them that they're free to answer their master's last call and bring death to Sleepy Hollow.
Jenny, Jake, and Alex drive to the Hudson and load up with shells filled with Greek fire. When Jake and Alex worry that they can't handle it, Jenny assures them that they can.
The trio hear the Hessians coming, and wait until they're close to shoot. Each shot destroys a Hessian, but they only destroy the first wave. Dozens more come, forcing the trio to retreat.
Crane holds Lara and thanks her for releasing him, and uses War powers for one final deed. He concentrates and Lara wakes up in the real world, unharmed. She tells Diana that Crane is free and had something to take care of. The trio take cover as they run out of ammo. They're forced to fight hand-to-hand, but War arrives and cuts the remaining Hessians down.