Friederike贝尔 is associate professor of 历史 at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校.
阿宾顿,爸爸. ——杰出学者 Friederike贝尔, who leads the Division of Arts and Humanities and serves as an associate professor of 历史 at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校, was honored this summer with the 2023 Society of the Cincinnati Prize for her book “Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War” (Oxford University Press, 2022). The prize is given annually to an author who advances understanding of the American Revolution and its legacy.
在1776年到1783年间, 英国雇佣了大约30人,000 German soldiers to help put down the American rebellion. The German soldiers and accompanying civilians penned a large body of private and official records that provide detailed accounts of the war, as well as descriptions of the built and natural environment, 当地风俗习惯, 奴隶制, and encounters with Native Americans.
主要基于这些记录, most of which are in German and unpublished, Baer’s book offers a reimagining of Britain’s war against American independence from the perspective of the German soldiers. The award letter describes the text as “a landmark work that expands and enriches our understanding of this fascinating and important aspect of the American Revolution.”
“It is not a military 历史 in the traditional sense,” Baer said. “The book draws on first-person impressions and descriptions of the American land and the people. It presents aspects of the German role that have never really been addressed. I tried to go back and figure out how people who participated in the war felt.”
Friederike贝尔 traveled to her native Germany to scour original accounts of German soldiers who fought in the American Revolution for her latest book.
对于图书项目, Baer conducted extensive research in more than two dozen archives in the United States and Europe.
“The book covers the time from the troops’ recruitment to their experiences in North America between 1776 and 1783. The study moves beyond the common Trenton-Saratoga-Yorktown narrative of the Revolutionary War. I tried to give justice to the range of experiences and backgrounds of these participants in the war,”她说。.
Baer hopes that this award will draw more attention to the participation of the German soldiers in the American Revolution.
“German soldiers played a major role in the conflict, 无论是在战场上还是在战场外, and their descriptions and insights broaden our understanding of this momentous period in American 历史,”她说。.
Baer will accept the award early this fall at a reception in her honor at the Anderson House in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the Society of the Cincinnati. The Society of the Cincinnati was founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army who served together in the American Revolution.
贝尔坚持认为 同伴的网站 where she posts annotated transcriptions and translations of archival records created by members of the German corps.
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宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education to its diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers bachelor’s degrees in 25 majors, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA Division III athletics and more.
