This character in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper
Rip Van ... [PAR] It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been 
carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the revolutionary
... [DOC] [TLE] The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Characters by LitCharts | From the ... [PAR] The narrator of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, who apparently heard the story ... 
ghost stories about the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a Hessian trooper (a... [DOC] [TLE] Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | LitCharts [PAR] Also known as the Galloping Hessian of the Hollow.