Leopold Philip de Heister was a Hessian general who notably fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, when Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel decided to rent out troops to the British government for service against the American colonies in what would become the American Revolutionary War, Heister was chosen to command the corps. He landed on Long Island near New Utrecht with two full Hessian brigades on 25 August 1776, three days after the arrival of Gen. William Howe with the British troops. “Our Hessians and our brave Highlanders gave no quarter,” wrote a British officer, “and it was a fine sight to see with what alacrity they dispatched the rebels with their bayonets, after we surrounded them so they could not resist.” Heister also commanded the Hessians at White Plains on 28 October 1776. He was removed from command in 1777, after the Battle of Trenton and continued disagreements with General Howe. He was replaced by his second-in-command Wilhelm von Knyphausen.