This Week on History Happy Hour: During America’s War for Independence, nearly 30,000 German soldiers came to the Colonies to fight for Britain. Collectively known as Hessians, they served everywhere from Canada to Cuba and shared in every significant British triumph and defeat. What were their experiences and how did the war look to them?

Chris and Rick welcome historian Friederike Baer, who has written a groundbreaking book on the subject; Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.

Friederike Baer is an Associate Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University, Abington College. She holds a Ph.D. in History from Brown University, where she studied under famed RevWar scholar Gordon Wood. Her research focuses on the experiences of German-speaking people in North America from the Revolutionary period to the late nineteenth century.  Freiderike Baer's book Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War was recently awarded the 2023 Society of the Cincinnati Prize.