Most Americans remember the Hessians as drunken mercenaries defeated at Trenton. But nearly 30,000 German soldiers served Britain—from Canada to West Florida—and at one point constituted roughly one-third of its regular army in North America. They arrived with women and children, judged both Americans and their British commanders, encountered slavery, and sometimes decided to remain. The familiar schoolbook image captures only a tiny fraction of their story. 📄 Interview transcript & takeaways: https://analyzingamericanrevolution.com/the-hessians-how-1-3-of-britains-army-fought-and-saw-america/ 🚩About My 232nd Guest: Dr. Friederike Baer Dr. Friederike Baer is a Professor of History at Penn State Abington College where she is Division Head of Arts and Humanities. Her research focuses on the American Revolutionary era and Early American Republic, and she is especially interested in the experiences of German-speaking people during this period (1775-1830). Dr. Baer is the author of "The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism and Citizenship in Philadelphia’s German Community, 1790-1830", which was awarded the St. Paul, Biglerville Prize in American Lutheran History, and "Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War", which was honored with the American Roundtable of Philadelphia Annual Book Award, Inaugural American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Honorable Mention, and Society of the Cincinnati Prize. Dr. Baer is an elected Member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. She served as a historical advisor and interviewee for The American Revolution, a documentary film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. You can learn more about Dr. Baer by --visiting her academic homepage: https://friederikebaer.com/about-me/, and --visiting her personal website: https://www.abington.psu.edu/person/Friederike-Baer, in which she shares her research related to German soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, including transcriptions and translations of German-authored letters, diary entries, etc., that strike me as interesting (and that have not previously been translated or published). ****************** ▶️About Featured Image: Image of Adel Aali (program host) and his guest, Dr. Friederike Baer, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, along with a cropped image of "Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War", Dr. Baer's book that is the basis of this interview. ***** 🧭 Explore AAR 🖼️ Image Gallery 🗂️Thematic Collection 📝 Take the AAR IQ Quiz ***** 🔔 Follow AAR: 🎞️ YouTube 🎞️🎧 Spotify 📰AAR's Newsletter ***** 📑 Video Chapters: 00:00 Selected Highlights 01:50 Guest Introduction 4:05 The Declaration’s Hessian Propaganda 9:25 Why German Rulers Sent Troops 14:19 Women and Children at War 21:08 Volunteers, Conscripts, and Profits 28:34 The Hessians Beyond Trenton 36:14 America Through German Eyes 43:20 Encounters With Native Americans 48:48 Germans Judge British Leadership 53:16 Violent Invaders or Innocent Victims? 1:07:51 Hessian Letters Come Alive 1:15:47 Just One Point ***** 📽️This video is made with Filmora. ☑️Image Attributions: All images are in the Public Domain 🎵Music Attributions: "Yankee Doodle" in our videos: ► Choral, U.S. Army Band (Public Domain) We incorporate parts of this fabulous performance in the beginning and end of our videos. ✅ Subscribe to our YouTube channel 🫶Support AAR: We appreciate your financial support of our program. *****
