Between 1776 and 1783, Great Britain hired more than thirty thousand German soldiers to fight in its war against the American rebels. Collectively known as Hessians, the soldiers and accompanying civilians, including hundreds of women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North and West Florida in the South. Based largely on records created by members of the German corps, this presentation highlights some of the experiences of these participants in a war on a distant continent against a people that had done them no harm.  

Dr. Friederike Baer is Associate Professor of History and Division Head for Arts and Humanities at Penn State Abington College. She holds a Ph.D. in early American history from Brown University. Her research focuses on the experiences of German-speaking people in North America in the periods of the War for American Independence and Early Republic. Her work has been supported with research grants from organizations such as the American Philosophical Society, Library Company of Philadelphia, University of Michigan Clements Library, and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). For her most recent book, Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford UP, 2022), she was awarded the 2023 Society of the Cincinnati Prize. The prize recognizes the author of an outstanding work that advances our understanding of the American Revolution and its legacy. Baer was also awarded the 2022 American Revolution Roundtable of Philadelphia annual book award for this title.