382 Hessians in the American Revolutionary War

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

Earlyrepublic, History, Benfranklin, Society & Culture, Warforindependence, Earlyamericanrepublic, Earlyamericanhistory, Education, Colonialamerica, Americanrevolution, Ushistory, Benjaminfranklin

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2024

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Within the Declaration of Independence, the founders of the United States present twenty-seven grievances against King George III as they declare their reasons for why the thirteen British North American colonies sought their independence from Great Britain. Their twenty-fifth grievance declares that King George III “is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat [sic] the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun.”

What do we know about the “Armies of foreign Mercenaries” King George III sent to his rebellious American colonies?

Friederike Baer, an Associate Professor of History at Penn State Abbington College, joins us to explore the lives and wartime experiences of the 30,000 German soldiers the British Crown hired and dispatched to North America during the American War for Independence. Frederike is the author of the award-winning book Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/382

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0:00.0	You're listening to an airwave media podcast.
0:04.0	Ben Franklin's world is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.
0:09.0	Here is our king who is using foreigners to burn our villages and destroy our property and
0:16.7	take away our liberty. Hello and welcome to episode 382 of Ben Franklin's world the podcast dedicated to helping you learn more about how the people
0:35.7	and events of our early American past have shaped the present day world we live in.
0:40.5	And I'm your host, Liz Kovart.
0:43.0	After the Declaration of Independence's famous statement,
0:46.0	we hold these truths to be self-evident
0:48.0	that all men are created equal.
0:50.0	The Second Continental Congress went on to say,
0:52.8	The history of the present King of Great Britain
0:55.1	is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations,
0:58.2	all having indirect object the establishment of an absolute tyranny of these states.
1:03.3	To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
1:07.9	The Congress then laid out 27 grievances.
1:10.6	The 25th of which charges that King George III is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun by circumstances of cruelty and perfity
1:23.9	scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages
1:27.0	and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
1:30.3	Frederique Bear, an associate professor of history at Penn State Abington College, joins us to explore the large armies of foreign mercenaries that King George III hired from German rulers to assist in Great Britain's fight to
1:43.8	squash the American Revolution and prevent its 13 North American colonies
1:47.9	from leaving the British Empire.
1:49.7	Frederique will lead us on this exploration of the German soldiers with details from her book,
	...

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