Originally published on October 17, 2022 (Episode 287)
Introduction
In 1776, a massive British fleet brought tens of thousands of soldiers to North America—among them Germans hired by the Crown. Known to Americans then and now as “Hessians,” these soldiers served and fought from Quebec to Pensacola. Some deserted and found new lives, others died on battlefields far from home, and still others settled in Canada with Loyalists.
In Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford University Press, 2022), Friederike Baer reconstructs their experiences and challenges stereotypes, showing how they shaped both the Revolution and the communities they left behind.
About the Guest
Friederike Baer is Associate Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University, Abington College. Her research focuses on focuses on the experiences of German-speaking people in North America from the 1770s to the late nineteenth century.
For Further Investigation
Friederike Baer, Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford University Press, 2022)
—, The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism, and Citizenship in Philadelphia’s German Community, 1790-1830 (NYU Press, 2008)
Friederike’s website has fantastic resources that take you into her book
Hessian State Archives, Marburg (records and digitized maps)
Johannes Schwalm Historical Association (resources for genealogical research)
Edward J. Lowell, The Hessians and the Other Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War (1884)
Rodney Atwood, The Hessians: Mercenaries from Hessen-Kassel in the American Revolution (Cambridge, 1980)
Daniel Krebs, A Generous and Merciful Enemy (Oklahoma, 2013)
Kenneth Miller, Dangerous Guests: Enemy Captives and Revolutionary Communities during the War for Independence (Cornell, 2014)
Stephen Conway, Britannia’s Auxiliaries (Oxford, 2017)
💬 Listen & Discuss
What happens when we see the Revolution through German eyes? Share your thoughts in the comments—and pass the episode to someone with family roots in Hessian lands.
