Incomprehensible Friends and Rebellious Enemies: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War – Max Kade Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Friederike Baer (Penn State Abington)

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 in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the north and West Florida in the south. Drawing on extensive research in private papers and official records authored by members of the German corps, this presentation explores the key experiences of these individuals as they waged war on a distant continent against a people that had done them no harm. Special attention will be given to interactions between German soldiers and German-Americans.

Dr. Friederike Baer is an award-winning author and Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University Abington College. Originally from Germany, she holds a Ph.D. in early American history from Brown University. Her research has been supported by organizations such as the American Philosophical Society, University of Michigan Clements Library, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Society of the Cincinnati. Her publications include the books 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 served as a historical advisor and interviewee for The American Revolution, a documentary film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt.