1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy and I'm Holly Fry. Holly, do you know 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,799 Speaker 1: what I've been exceptionally enjoying on television this fall? I do, 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: but tell me anyway, Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is from 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: a historical standpoint, quite ridiculous. It is in many other 7 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: ways quite ridiculous. It's kind of a good reminder to 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: me to sometimes just shut all of that analytical, critical 9 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: brain off and just enjoy the ride. Yeah, I I extremely, 10 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: extremely enjoy the ridiculous ride of Sleepy Hollow. I enjoy 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: the fact that we've got a guy that's been walking 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 1: around in multi hundred year old clothing that somehow is 13 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: not falling apartner stinking enjoy the ride, Tracy so great. 14 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: If you have ever watched the show, you know that 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: they take some just absurd liberties with actual history. But 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: the reason that we're talking about it right now is 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: that they also keep talking about the headless Horseman as 18 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: a Hessian right. But this is not something that the 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: show just made up out of whole cloth. In the 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington. Irving describes Sleepy Hollow this way. 21 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region and 22 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 1: seems to be commander in chief of all the powers 23 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: of air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback 24 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: without a head. It is said by some to be 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,479 Speaker 1: the ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head had been 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during 27 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War, and who has ever and anon by 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: of night, as if on the wings of the wind. 30 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: So the TV show is not a cannonball. No, it's 31 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: a sword, because in truth, the headless horseman is not 32 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: only a Hessian soldier but also one of the four 33 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: horsemen of the Acalypse, and therefore kind of immortal. Yeah, 34 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: they actually in the show, didn't They hit him? And 35 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: they shot him first, Ichabod Crane shoots him and he 36 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: doesn't die. So then he cuts his head off and 37 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: he appears to die, but then comes back later along 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: with Ichabod. Uh So, Matt, of course, as as things 39 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: do when I'm watching TV, made me think, how can 40 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: we talk about this in the podcast? And I really 41 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: got curious about who these Hessians were, Right, I know 42 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: the same basic description as many people who have studied 43 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: the American Revolution, which is sort of mercenaries hired by 44 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 1: Britain during the Revolutionary War. And that is not even 45 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: an accurate description really, Or when we were first talking 46 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: about it, I said, Christopher Walking was filed down teeth 47 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: right because he placed said the Sportsman in the tim 48 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: Burton sleepy Hollow, which is the exposure that most people, 49 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: I think get They know the word Hessian because of 50 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: that story, and a lot of them, I know, even 51 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 1: talking to my husband about it when he asked what 52 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: we were recording this coming week, and I said, oh, 53 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: the Hessians, and he goes, I don't know anything about that. Yeah, 54 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: I pretty much know that one sentence that I just 55 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,399 Speaker 1: said about about mercenaries hired by Britain during the Revolutionary 56 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: War not really accurate. Um, we're gonna talk about that. 57 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about who these guys were, where they 58 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: came from, why they were participating in the Revolutionary War 59 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: in the first place, and we're also going to talk 60 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: about their most famous altercation with the Army of George Washington. Um. 61 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: So there is so much other history that you can 62 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,119 Speaker 1: talk about with the Hessians, but that's a're gonna keep 63 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: to today so that this podcast is not four hours 64 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: and or eight parts long. So we have to start 65 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: in Germany. Kind of Germany. Germany at the time of 66 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: the American Revolutionary War was not this unified nation that 67 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: we know it as today. Was more like a collection 68 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: of about three hundred little principalities, and they all shared 69 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: a common German language and culture. They're basically little city states. 70 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: They all had their own rulers, they all needed their 71 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: own defenses, and consequently, they tended to have pretty sizeable 72 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: compared to their size, organized armed forces. Great Britain, on 73 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: the other hand, had a hard time recruiting soldiers at 74 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: this point in history. Uh. And even if people were 75 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,040 Speaker 1: pressed into service, those men still needed training and it 76 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: just was not the same level of military organization. Basically, 77 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: the British economy at this point was robust enough that 78 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: other work was easy to come by, so military recruitment 79 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: was not very appealing for the average man, and it 80 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: was very challenging for the government to reason army. Yeah, 81 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: Britain also had the advantage of being separated from the 82 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: rest of Europe by the English Channel, so it didn't 83 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,920 Speaker 1: need to have an enormous standing army to really defend 84 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:53,679 Speaker 1: itself constantly. This was not true on the continent, where 85 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,520 Speaker 1: a lot of times nations had long borders with one 86 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: another that didn't necessarily have any kind of natural old 87 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: features to deter invasions. So on the continent of Europe, 88 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: people nations were a lot more likely to have bigger 89 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: armed forces than Britain had at the point. At that point, yeah, 90 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: it makes sense. But on top of that, George the 91 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: Third was the elector of the German Principality of Hanover, 92 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: and this effectively made George the Third a German prince 93 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: in addition to being the King of Great Britain and Ireland. Uh, 94 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: he was automatically considered to be a German ally. So 95 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: when George the Third needed troops to fight for him 96 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: in the American Revolution, German princes were pretty eager to 97 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: help him. He was their ally and they kind of 98 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: wanted to show off their military strength. And Britain only 99 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: had about fifty five thousand troops to send to fight 100 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: in the American Revolution. About thirty thousand additional soldiers came 101 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: from hess Castle Braunch fig hess Han now on spark Behout, 102 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: Valdeck and Anhabs ups to fight for George the third 103 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: twelve thousand of them, the overmwhelming majority from any one 104 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,720 Speaker 1: place from hess Castle. Yes, so today Hessian has come 105 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: to encompass all of these troops. But from here on 106 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: out we're pretty much going to be talking about the 107 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: troops specifically from hess Castle for a couple of reasons. 108 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: One is that hess Castle was the biggest participant in 109 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: the industry of armies for hire that existed at that 110 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: time that came to be known as so Dotton Handle 111 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: in seventy seven. The other is that troops from hess 112 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: Castle were the ones who were occupying Trenton in seventeen 113 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: seventy six. That is a particularly famous Revolutionary War battle 114 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: that we'll talk about a little bit later in the episode. So, 115 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: at the time of the American Revolution, military had become 116 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: hess Castle's dominant industry, and this was partly a necessity. 117 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: It was a middle size collection of villages that otherwise 118 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: survived through subsistence farming. It's position was also, unfortunately between 119 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: two parts of Prussia, so hess Castle was often in 120 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: the line of fighter or more accurately the line of 121 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: marching troops on their way from one place to another. 122 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: By the mid sixteen hundreds, the army there was kind 123 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: of flagging, and recovery from attacks or just being kind 124 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: of caught in the crossfire in the way of these 125 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 1: travels of enemy of other armies was really slow for 126 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: the little principality. But in sixteen eighty seven, Hescastle decided 127 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: to lease some military forces to Venice. Basically, Venice was 128 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: paying hes Castle money, Hescastle was sending troops their way 129 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: to fight for them. Uh. And this is kind of 130 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: a mixed success. Almost eighty percent of the thousand men 131 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: that they sent were killed, But those men fought well 132 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: enough that they earned a reputation for being good, reliable soldiers. 133 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: And so the next year Hescastle sent thirty four hundred 134 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: men to serve William of Orange under a similar agreement. 135 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: Their performance was so highly valued that suddenly Hessian troops 136 00:07:57,440 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: were in demand from other governments, and hes Castle realized 137 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: that it could maybe make this into a bigger industry 138 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 1: and turn a profit over maintaining and leasing an army 139 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: for other governments to use. So I could see where 140 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: the appeal for subsistence farmers would be really high. There 141 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: was a lot appeel there. And as hess Castle's efforts grew, 142 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: and we're joined by other German principalities, they eventually crowded 143 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: out the existing private army for higher industry that had 144 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: been in place before that point. Yeah. So there were 145 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: already people who were raising armies and basically selling them 146 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: to other people, but there was pretty much a private enterprise, 147 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: and you know, the Hessian troops were higher quality than 148 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 1: other options. Yeah. Well, and these these little principalities got 149 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: so good at it that the private enterprises couldn't compete. 150 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,640 Speaker 1: And also people started to view private armies as being 151 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: a pretty shady business to be in, so that that 152 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: faded away as all these various German principalities started making 153 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: their own army. The focus on the military also trickled 154 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: down to the rest of hess Castle. Passions generally used 155 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: their own weapons and uniforms in battle, and so having 156 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: this big army going on create created more work for 157 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: crafts people. The income that came into the government allowed 158 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: them to bring in experts to improve farming and husbandry methods, 159 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: and with these improvements, rural families got bigger. They provided 160 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: a bigger pool of recruits for the military. Um some 161 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: of the revenue from the operation also went into things 162 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: like hospitals and schools, And thanks to all of this 163 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: income that came in from leasing armies out, taxes for 164 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: the rest of the citizens were lower. So lacing armies 165 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: to other nations was obviously a major economic boon that 166 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: lifted hess Castle out of maybe not exactly what you 167 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: would categorize as poverty, but at least pretty austere circumstances. 168 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: They were getting by, but as we said, subsistence farming, 169 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: and they started the more prosper and then the became yeah, more, 170 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: much more prosperous. It wasn't always pretty though. When your 171 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: country basically becomes a factory for making soldiers, there are 172 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: going to be some repercussions when battles go badly or 173 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: when battles come to your own doorstep. So it did 174 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: take an immense toll, and even even with those downsides, 175 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,480 Speaker 1: hess Castle became the most militarized state in Europe. At 176 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: the height of this industry, there was a soldier for 177 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: every fifteen civilians, and a quarter of all families had 178 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: at least one member who was in the military. Boys 179 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: were registered for service when they turned seven, and men 180 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: had to present themselves to an official every year to 181 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,600 Speaker 1: determine if they were going to be inducted into service. 182 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,440 Speaker 1: From the tiny turned sixteen until they hit thirty uh, 183 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: so called quote expendable people, which were the shiftless, idol, unemployed, etcetera, 184 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: could be pressed into service at any time. On the 185 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,200 Speaker 1: other hand, people who had more crucial roles, including roles 186 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: like keeping the army dressed and fed, would be exempt 187 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: from this practice. Yeah, it's the modern side of me 188 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: thinks that this sounds sort of like a dreadful circumstance 189 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,719 Speaker 1: to be in. But wages were good. Military families got 190 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: tax benefits, The pay was better than being a servant 191 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: or a farm laborer, and while discipline was strict within 192 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: the military, if you were a person who behaved yourself, 193 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,960 Speaker 1: it was not really a problem. So it was an 194 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: attractive proposition, and there was also some other attractive stuff 195 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: booty and plunder. Yes, on the military side of things, 196 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: Hessians had a reputation for being really sharp and skilled, 197 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 1: but two civilians, they were viewed often as plunderers and looters, 198 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: taking whatever they wanted from the lands where they fought, 199 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: and often this was not actively endorsed by the command, 200 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: but it wasn't exactly discouraged either. They kind of let 201 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: the soldiers do their plundering without much repercussion in terms 202 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 1: of being punished or dissuaded. Right, So, with the pay 203 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: and the plunder and the stability, becoming a Hessian soldier 204 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: was a pretty popular career career move um. Also it 205 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: was you know, it was an army of intense training 206 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: and strict discipline, but at the same time one that 207 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: instilled a lot of pride and its forces. Its leaders 208 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: were generally educated men who were promoted from within according 209 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: to merit um see a lot of military history where 210 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: the officers were basically coming from the aristocracy, and they 211 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:34,439 Speaker 1: were they were officers because they were aristocrats the aristocracy 212 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,000 Speaker 1: and hes Castle was not big enough to be doing 213 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: that for this whole army, so they had to instead 214 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: promote men based on their skill and merit, which meant 215 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: that most of the time people were in units where 216 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: they had a good boss. Having a good boss is 217 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: a good thing, does you know, even when your job 218 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: is maybe one that might be particularly hard and take 219 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: you away from your family for a long time. Men 220 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: who had and served also told their sons about what 221 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: an honorable and rewarding service it was. UH. And the 222 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: principality as a whole was also a Calvinist society with 223 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: a really strong sense of duty. So there were a 224 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: lot of social factors going into the popularity of being 225 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: in the military. And while many nations, including Britain, often 226 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: hired soldiers from Germany, this was not really viewed favorably 227 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: by the founding fathers here in the US UH. In 228 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: the Declaration of Independence, among the lists of grievances against 229 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,559 Speaker 1: the King, one of them is quote he is at 230 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 1: this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 231 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: the works of death, desolation and tyranny already begun, with 232 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most 233 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 234 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:56,439 Speaker 1: Not popular moon the scathing review of that practice, yes, UH, 235 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: and later on the rest of the world would start 236 00:13:58,440 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: to view it's sort of the same way. But at 237 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: the point that yeah, the the colonies were extremely displeased 238 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: about this idea. But even though today a lot of 239 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: people call Hessian's merchant mercenaries, and they were referred to 240 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: as mercenaries and the Declaration of Independence. They weren't really mercenaries. 241 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 1: What they were was auxiliaries. So mercenaries were individual people 242 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: who served in foreign armies for pay. There were mercenaries 243 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: in both the British and Hessian armies. Um. And these 244 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 1: are people that like had their own negotiated terms and 245 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 1: rates of working and like a length of time that 246 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: they would serve. Auxiliaries, though, were armies that served on 247 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: behalf of governments, with subsidies being paid at the national 248 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: level instead of the personal level. And this is a 249 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: difference that was recognized by international law. Uh. And at 250 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: this point in history, the hiring of auxiliaries was an 251 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: extremely common and pretty well accepted practice, except for in 252 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: the colony, where it was not favored at all. So 253 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: these were really well trained soldiers who were paid to fight, 254 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: So not really that different from military service today, except 255 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 1: that they had been kind of contracted on maths through 256 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: a government agency. Yeah. So as soon as Britain decided 257 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: to use force against the American revolutionaries, it was pretty 258 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: much a given that they were going to have to 259 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: use a hired army as part of the package. Brittain, 260 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: as we said earlier, just did not have a big 261 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: enough army on its own, and German Principality started offering 262 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: troops to the British in August of seventeen seventy five, 263 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: just a couple of months after the Battle of Bunker Hill, 264 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: and once Britain agreed, they set a date for troops 265 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 1: from Hescastle to be ready to march, and that date 266 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: was February fifteenth of seventeen seventy six. This was meant 267 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: to put Hessians in America in time for a summer campaign. 268 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: Time was so much of the essence in this whole 269 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: plan that this deadline was actually set earlier than the 270 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,239 Speaker 1: agreement between the two nations was going to be ratified. 271 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: Once it was actually signed, Britain's then back They did 272 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: the pay for their service by a month to January. 273 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: And for American units, the Hessians include yeager or hunter companies. Uh. 274 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: These were foresters and huntsmen, and their role was sort 275 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:23,320 Speaker 1: of like elite rangers. They had better field skills and 276 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: we're better marksmen than average recruits, and the younger got 277 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: better pay and really spiffy uniforms that were green so 278 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:33,120 Speaker 1: that they could blend into the woods, and also in 279 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: the mix were for grenadier battalions and fifteen infantry battalions 280 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: which included field and garrison regiments, and those troops were 281 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: dark blue. The agreement between Britain and Hescastle outlined the pay, 282 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: the removal of injured Hessians back to Germany, medical care, 283 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: and free passage for the troops mail. The medical care 284 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: was similar to the care that was going to be 285 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:59,560 Speaker 1: provided for British troops, but it was going to be 286 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:03,440 Speaker 1: given German doctors who would travel with the units, and 287 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: the Hessian troops that came with this agreement could only 288 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,639 Speaker 1: serve in Europe and America. Hescastle had to pay for 289 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: replacement soldiers who were killed or injured too badly to 290 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: return to the field. On the other hand, if illness 291 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: or a shipwreck or some other disaster wiped out a 292 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: whole unit, that was then on Britain to pay for 293 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 1: that was their responsibility. Even though a Hessian army seemed 294 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: to like a given from this point, like we said, 295 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 1: hiring a foreign army was pretty standard and how warfare 296 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: went at this point, there were some really big worries 297 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: within Britain about what the results of this action would be. 298 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: One part of this was that a lot of people 299 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,919 Speaker 1: had the just the justifiable fear that if they started 300 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: a full scale military action with hired troops and everything, 301 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: that was going to irreparably damage the relationship between the 302 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,960 Speaker 1: colonies and Britain, so that no matter how the war went, 303 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,240 Speaker 1: it would not ever be repaired from having Star did 304 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: with Okay, we're gonna have a big military action with 305 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: you guys. And there were also to consider a hundred 306 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: and fifty thousand Germans that were living in the colonies, 307 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: and British leadership worried that a German army was going 308 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: to be convinced to desert and resettle by these existing colonists, 309 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: and there were in fact some desertions along the way. Yeah, 310 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: there was even some talk that maybe they should use 311 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: troops from Russia instead, because there were fewer people in 312 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 1: the colonies who spoke Russian, so there would be less 313 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: of a temptation to lure people away from their units 314 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: to this sort of idealistic dream of what the founding 315 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,440 Speaker 1: fathers were shooting for with UH. With the founding of 316 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: the nation UH, these troops started to move out a 317 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: little bit later than was originally planned, and a lot 318 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: of it just had to do with the logistics of 319 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: moving so many people. The Vision started leaving their garrisons 320 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: in Germany in February and March, and they continued to 321 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:58,560 Speaker 1: to depart until the spring. They moved from their garrisons 322 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: in cycles of marching and rest, thing, with the so 323 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: called rest days really involving a lot of training and 324 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,439 Speaker 1: exercise we would call the active rest day. Hessian troops 325 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: embarked for America in April and June of seventeen seventy six, 326 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: so several months after the initial plan, and their first 327 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: stop was Portsmouth, where they got more food and additional 328 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: ships so the voyage would be more comfortable. Otherwise they 329 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: really would not have been in any sort of condition 330 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: to fight when they arrived. It was a very long trip. 331 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: The first ships were sighted at Long Island almost three 332 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 1: months after they had departed, on August twelve. Yeah, the 333 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: idea was that they were supposed to arrive ready to fight, 334 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 1: so while it was still a long and difficult sea voyage, 335 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,160 Speaker 1: it was a long and difficult sea voyage with more 336 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: comforts than you might ordinarily see better amenities. Everybody had 337 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,840 Speaker 1: a pillow and two blankets and a place to sleep, 338 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: and and pretty nice allotments of rations, at least until 339 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 1: later in the voyage when a lot of that was 340 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: spoiled and gross. Even with those amenities and the relatively 341 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: acious and comfortable transport, about eight hundred Hessians in that 342 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: first convoy were sick once they arrived. Scurvy and diarrhea 343 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: were two of the big complaints. They also because they 344 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: had not seen fresh fruit for months while they were 345 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,720 Speaker 1: on their way. A lot of them made themselves ill 346 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:24,120 Speaker 1: on unripe apples after they landed um and also exhausted 347 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: themselves in the manual effort of setting up camps once 348 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: they got off the ships. Once on American soil, they 349 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 1: had a number of compensations to make. So the Hessians 350 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: had a reputation for being exceedingly competent soldiers really well disciplined, 351 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: but their training in Germany really didn't always translate to 352 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: combat skills in America. There had been a lot of 353 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,119 Speaker 1: focus on marching and very precise formations, and that didn't 354 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: work well when mixed in with British formations or in 355 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: skirmishes with small bands of revolutionaries who were fighting in 356 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 1: more of a guerrilla combat style. Yeah. I can't of 357 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: imagine a well trained army the very focused on maneuvers 358 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: and on precision in in marching and formation and things 359 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: like that, and and being harried by little bands of 360 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:12,440 Speaker 1: scrappy guys with guns taking pot shots at them from 361 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: the woods. Not really compatible. Yeah. The colonists had also 362 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: gotten word that Hessians were on their way, and they 363 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: had made their own recruitment and training efforts to try 364 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: to compensate um these though as we as we just said, 365 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 1: they were scrappier, raggedier forces than these professionally trained and 366 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: dressed troops from Britain and Germany. So the American troops 367 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: looked like they were just going to be easily overwhelmed 368 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: by the Hessians. In the British they did not look 369 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 1: like trained, competent soldiers. They looked like ragamuffins. Really like 370 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: I'm sort of imagining them as grown up street urchins 371 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: with rocks m from a Dickens novel. They just went 372 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: through time to the battlefield. Yeah their faces so yeah, 373 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: And for a while, um, the the American forces faced 374 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: a lot of defeat In the late summer, fall and 375 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: early winter of seventeen seventy six, the colonial forces met 376 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 1: the Hessians again and again, and they saw what seemed 377 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: like just an endless string of defeats. This really cemented 378 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 1: the idea in the in the you know, minds of 379 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: the Hessian troops that the Americans were not good soldiers, 380 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: but they would be easily defeated and this overconfidence would 381 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: turn out to be a problem, as over confidence often does. 382 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: Do you want to pause for just a second before 383 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: we get to the meaty story of battle, Yes, and 384 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 1: take a word from our sponsors. Yes, And now let's 385 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: get back to the most famous battle that the Hessians 386 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,399 Speaker 1: were involved in in the American Revolution. This is the 387 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,640 Speaker 1: one that followed George Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware 388 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: River on Christmas night seventeen seventy six, and that happened 389 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:05,479 Speaker 1: at Trenton. So the brief version, the war had been 390 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: going very very poorly for Washington's army, with many defeats 391 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: and retreats and trouncings by the Hessians. Desertion had become 392 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:17,119 Speaker 1: a huge problem, and new recruits were getting more and 393 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: more difficult to come by. The mood of both the 394 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: army and the leadership was pretty seriously demoralized, and it 395 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: was basically fraught with pessimism. Yeah, listen started out as 396 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 1: a very idealistic attempt to become independent and to start 397 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: a new, pretty groundbreaking system of government, and then as 398 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,360 Speaker 1: the fighting went on, it was just like being kicked 399 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: over and over. It was not going well. You could 400 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,199 Speaker 1: see how that would break their spirits. Yes, at this point, 401 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,600 Speaker 1: the wise thing to do, from many people's perspective, would 402 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 1: have been for the colonists to spend the winter regrouping 403 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,400 Speaker 1: for a spring campaign. And that's really what the main 404 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: portion of the British army had done, leaving the Hessians 405 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: to hold some of the key ground. But many of 406 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: Washington's men had not re enlisted. He was going to 407 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: lose some as soldiers at the end of the year. 408 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: There was no guarantee of getting them to change their 409 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 1: minds or being able to replace them with fresh troops. 410 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,360 Speaker 1: So he decided to make a really extraordinarily risky combat 411 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 1: move in the hope that it would be successful and 412 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,760 Speaker 1: reinvigorate the effort for independence. Yeah, he basically he had 413 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,199 Speaker 1: to do something or he was not going to have 414 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: much of an army anymore. So on Christmas night of 415 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six, Washington led his army across the Delaware 416 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:42,399 Speaker 1: River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Uh, this is inordinately treacherous. 417 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 1: The river was close to flood stage, and because it 418 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: was winter, it had frozen over in many places. This 419 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 1: was a river that would like it would freeze in 420 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: big sheets, and then the sheets would break up and 421 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,959 Speaker 1: these giant pieces of ice would float down the river. 422 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: So these giant ice flows were constantly threatening the boats 423 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,880 Speaker 1: that were trying to cross the river that was already flooding. 424 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,880 Speaker 1: On top of that, while they were crossing, a storm 425 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: started up and pelted them with rain and sleet and 426 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: blinding snow. So like this was already just daring and dramatic, 427 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: and it was immortalized in the famous although in many 428 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: ways not representative of what actually happened, painting by Emmanuel 429 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: Louts which was made in eight one, and that is 430 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: the famous Washington crossing the Delaware painting, which makes it 431 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: flows with like icebergs, and it also seems to be 432 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: happening in the daytime, like there are some things that 433 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: they're not right. Everybody looks beautiful, they're pelted with misery. 434 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,360 Speaker 1: Washington and his troops did make it across the river, 435 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: but two other units that were supposed to be supporting 436 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: him could not. The weather in the river were simply 437 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: too treacherous, and because the river crossing had taken so long, 438 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: Washington had really given up the element of surprise that 439 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 1: he had been counting on, since they'd no longer be 440 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: able to reach Trenton before dawn of Things were not 441 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,360 Speaker 1: looking very good for them at this point, and their 442 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: attack plan, which started out kind of like far of 443 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: a wild card plan, the Hail Mary even more of 444 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:12,720 Speaker 1: a long shot that this was the Hail Mary Pass 445 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,440 Speaker 1: of George Washington. So even though they had just had 446 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 1: this treacherous river crossing that was exhausting and blinding and 447 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: put them way behind schedule, Washington attacked Trenton anyway with 448 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: a two pronged attack and spoiler alert, and under an 449 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: hour they had taken the city along with nine nineteen 450 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: Hessian prisoners. It's pretty impressive. It is the hail Mary work, 451 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: and that made be one of the reasons why the 452 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: legend goes that all of this went so amazingly well 453 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: for George Washington, because the Hessians were drunk because they 454 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 1: partied too late into the night for Christmas the night before. 455 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,640 Speaker 1: That's not true. No, maybe it's one of those things 456 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: where it strange credulity so much that people have to 457 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: come up with a reason that the Hessians could be 458 00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 1: taken down. Surely they must all have been. They were hammered. 459 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: That's the only way this could have worked. One of 460 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: them was kind of hammered. But uh, but the greater 461 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,400 Speaker 1: proportion of the men we're going to talk about now, 462 00:27:11,359 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 1: why it is not that they were drunk, Although in 463 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: my head there's a very funny version of this now 464 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: playing out where Washington's troops basically walk into like a 465 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: herd of you know, jolly stumblinas who were just slashed. 466 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,000 Speaker 1: But that's not real. That didn't happen, But in my 467 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,280 Speaker 1: head it's very funny, and I wish I could share it. Yea. 468 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:33,160 Speaker 1: So these were trained and disciplined men. They had been 469 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,880 Speaker 1: forewarned that Washington might attack them, and there had been 470 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,959 Speaker 1: a number of skirmishes in the surrounding area leading up 471 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:44,119 Speaker 1: to this attack. There were three Hessian regiments staying in Trenton, 472 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,080 Speaker 1: and every night one of them would sleep in their 473 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 1: uniforms with their weapons just in case they were attacked 474 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: in the night. Their commanding officer, UH, Colonel Johann Rawl, 475 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:59,160 Speaker 1: he had definitely overindulged himself on Christmas. He didn't set 476 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: a really awesome example. But the fighting men were on 477 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: the whole sober. So you must have been kind of 478 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 1: an outlier, since it sounds like that's not really the 479 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: way most of them would have conducted themselves. No, but 480 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: the problem was that while they may not have been drunk, 481 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: and they were however sick, they were exhausted. They were 482 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: short on men. Uh and in the days before the battle, 483 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: Colonel Rawl had written to Hessian Colonel Carl von Dannup 484 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: to say that they were undermanned and that they were exhausted. 485 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,199 Speaker 1: Von Donop had passed this up to General James Grant, 486 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: a British general who was commanding a number of scattered garrisons, 487 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: and General Grant had simply not taken this information seriously. 488 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: He wrote off the idea that Washington would have ever 489 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: dared across the Delaware at this time of year, and 490 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: he described the rebels as having quote neither shoes nor stockings, 491 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,280 Speaker 1: are in fact almost naked, starving for cold without blankets 492 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: and very ill supplied with provisions. So he thought there 493 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: was no way they would even if they were going 494 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: to try it, they weren't going to make it. Yeah. 495 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: But but even though he had pretty much been like, 496 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: this is not an actual problem, uh, he did right 497 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,240 Speaker 1: to Rawle on Christmas Eve with this kind of blithe 498 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: note that said, Washington has been informed that our troops 499 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: have been marched into winter quarters and has been told 500 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: that we are weak at Trenton and Princeton, and Lord 501 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: Sterling expressed a wish to make an attack upon these 502 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: two places. I don't believe he will attempt it, but 503 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,479 Speaker 1: be assured that my information is undoubtedly true. So I 504 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: need not advise you to be on your guard against 505 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: an unexpected attack at Trenton. So even though he had 506 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: pretty much said like, you guys don't need more men's fine, 507 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:44,080 Speaker 1: don't worry about it, then literally Christmas Eve, worry about 508 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: it a little, but don't worry about it. Maybe you 509 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: do need to actually worry about this, but not really. Yeah. 510 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 1: And it's unclear whether rawl ever read this note. It's 511 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: possible that he mistook a skirmish the night before as 512 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: the sneak attack that he'd been forewarned of. He canceled 513 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:01,959 Speaker 1: the dawn patrol outside trenton the day after Christmas due 514 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: to miserable weather and the aforementioned sickness and exhaustion of 515 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: the troops. Yeah, but it really might not have helped 516 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: them much if they had done this dawn patrol and 517 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: gotten a little bit more advanced warning that the that 518 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: George Washington troops were incoming, that it was their overconfidence 519 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: and their German military training that was really their undoing. Yeah, 520 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,800 Speaker 1: the Hessians formed up in ranks outside of town. They 521 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,600 Speaker 1: were ready to meet Washington's army as they'd been taught. Uh, 522 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 1: And it was snowing and their muskets got wet and 523 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: they could not fire. Yeah. Meanwhile, the Americans came in 524 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 1: behind them, took the town that immediately gave them shelter 525 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: in a place where they could easily dry out their 526 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,760 Speaker 1: own weapons, And they took the bridge under ass and 527 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: Pink Creek, and that cut off the Hessian's easiest way 528 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: to escape. So when the Hessians did try to escape, 529 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: their soldiers were pretty quickly bogged down in ice and mud. 530 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,959 Speaker 1: So basically the Hessian army had followed their military training 531 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: to go meet out in the field where their weapons 532 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: became water logged and they couldn't really defend themselves, while 533 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: Washington was like, now we have we're in your city, 534 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: drying out our stuff. This is gonna go really well 535 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: for us. Nice formation, champ uh. And this all meant that, 536 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: in addition to being outnumbered by more than a thousand, 537 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,000 Speaker 1: the Hessians were at this point hugely outgunned, and they 538 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 1: had no way to retreat, and they were trying to 539 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: fight with weapons that were too wet to fire, where 540 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: his Washington's army had a warm, dry city that they 541 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,120 Speaker 1: were working from. So, like we said, it took under 542 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 1: an hour and there were nine nineteen Hessian prisoners taken, 543 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: and Washington, uh, understandably, being quite pleased with himself, paraded 544 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: his prisoners through Philadelphia so that everyone could see these 545 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 1: Hessians that he had conquered. Yeah, done a sneak attack 546 00:31:55,880 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: on Yeah. So the big thing I mean, in addition 547 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: to the fact that there was it was led off 548 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: by this dramatic river crossing. Um, this aren't This battle 549 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,880 Speaker 1: really reinvigorated the American cause and renewed the war effort. 550 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:18,520 Speaker 1: But obviously eventually the colonists won um had this whole 551 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: dramatic thing not happened and kind of restored people's hope 552 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: in the effort. I don't know that it would have 553 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: gone that way. It really is like the event that 554 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: turned to tide for sure. Yeah, there's no telling. It's 555 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:34,200 Speaker 1: not even as though Trenton was like the world's biggest 556 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: strategic point. It was more the strategy was more about 557 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:43,240 Speaker 1: making everyone more confident that the war could go in favor. Yeah, 558 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 1: it was a huge morale boost. I mean, that's like 559 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: the understatement of the year. Uh. And interestingly enough, after 560 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:52,040 Speaker 1: the war, uh, somewhere between three thousand and five thousands 561 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 1: Hessians actually stayed in the US. Uh. You know, they 562 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: found the growing German community and the promises of freedom 563 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,240 Speaker 1: and liberty to really be quite an attractive incentive to 564 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: stick around. And during the war at least five thousand 565 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: of them had deserted to fight for the American side. 566 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: So this concern that maybe Hessians would dessert once they 567 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: discovered how many other German people were in the colonies, 568 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 1: that was actually it had a little substance to it 569 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: pretty valid. Not long after the end of the American Revolution, 570 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,600 Speaker 1: the prevailing thinking in Europe started to turn against the 571 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 1: idea of hired armies at all. So while the idea 572 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:31,840 Speaker 1: of privately organized armies for higher had already started to 573 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: fall out of favor, the idea of of nations doing 574 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,600 Speaker 1: this started to fall out of favor as well. As 575 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:43,080 Speaker 1: time moved towards the eighteen hundreds, Hescastle was less and 576 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 1: less of a military industry, and then in eighteen o 577 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: six it was merged into the Confederation of the Rhyme, 578 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,800 Speaker 1: meaning that the state didn't exist on its own anymore. 579 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,200 Speaker 1: Uh So there was no more army for higher factory 580 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:01,920 Speaker 1: operating out of Europe, but an end to that whole system. Yeah, 581 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:03,959 Speaker 1: it didn't, It didn't end immediately just then, but it 582 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: was on its way out. Yeah. That's probably the final 583 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,920 Speaker 1: male in the conference, or to speak, that's the passions. 584 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,200 Speaker 1: And you know it's a good one because yeah, I 585 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:19,400 Speaker 1: think there's a lot of misconception or just a mystery. 586 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:22,560 Speaker 1: But people don't hear about this one very much. Yeah. 587 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: The the idea that they were drunk is repeated often 588 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:30,319 Speaker 1: in books and articles and and things like that, but 589 00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: modern historians are pretty much said, no, drunkenness may have 590 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:39,399 Speaker 1: been a factor in uh one person's decision. They were 591 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,640 Speaker 1: definitely tired, and then sickness was a problem. But it 592 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:44,880 Speaker 1: was not as though the American Army showed up and 593 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: everybody was completely plastered and they were just like here, 594 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,800 Speaker 1: this is ours now. Yeah, not not quite that simple. Yeah, 595 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 1: if you were a military history buff, you probably know 596 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: eight million more things about the Shion and all of 597 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,959 Speaker 1: their movements in the American Revolution and many many, many 598 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,399 Speaker 1: other wars, and probably watching Sleepy Hollow makes you crazy. Yeah. 599 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:09,399 Speaker 1: I love Sleepy Hollow. I want to watch it all 600 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: the time you can. Yeah, it's I think one of 601 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,040 Speaker 1: the reasons that I love it is that it's so 602 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: off the mark, like it's so obviously not taking itself 603 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: seriously and its presentation of history. I am much more 604 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 1: accepting of its glaringly not following history for real. Yeah, 605 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: it's kind of like it makes you the deal at 606 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: the beginning, like we're jumping the tracks here, just heads up, 607 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,239 Speaker 1: Which does It makes it easier to accept sort of 608 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:38,919 Speaker 1: the fantastical factor of it and not be too caught 609 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: up in the detail incorrectness. I just wish there were 610 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,120 Speaker 1: more clancy Brown. I just wish they were more episodes. 611 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,839 Speaker 1: There will be I mean every day, like if there 612 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:53,200 Speaker 1: were a daily right on that we'll start a campaign. Okay, 613 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,160 Speaker 1: I have some listener mail. I would be delighted if 614 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,560 Speaker 1: you would share it. This is a postcard, an actual postcard. 615 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,440 Speaker 1: We get these in the mail. This is from Kira 616 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 1: and Kira says Tracy and Holly. I know you two 617 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,680 Speaker 1: must have quite the postcard collection by now, but in 618 00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:10,920 Speaker 1: case you haven't hit all seven continents, here is one 619 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 1: from Antarctica. I am just finishing up my second season 620 00:36:14,239 --> 00:36:18,720 Speaker 1: working to support science at McMurdo Station. My last track 621 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,880 Speaker 1: down was during the summer, but this year I was 622 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:24,720 Speaker 1: part of the skeleton crew that stayed through the winter. 623 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:29,520 Speaker 1: I say that with that weird tone because that would 624 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:36,759 Speaker 1: make me crazy. I hate the cold and I hate 625 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:38,359 Speaker 1: the dark, and so I can't imagine this at all. 626 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 1: So with twenty four hours of darkness for months and 627 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,799 Speaker 1: a harsh cold environment, it is easy to fall prey 628 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 1: to a condition called T three or winter brain. While 629 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:51,880 Speaker 1: looking for ways to keep myself intellectually stimulated, I stumbled 630 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:54,719 Speaker 1: across a podcast. There were plenty of days that I 631 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:58,560 Speaker 1: spent a solad ten hours listening to old episodes while 632 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:02,240 Speaker 1: I work. I just wanted to say thanks for helping 633 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: to keep me sane through the long Antarctic winter. Night 634 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,359 Speaker 1: is from Kira. So this postcard that Kira has sent us, 635 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:17,760 Speaker 1: it says Antarctica. It is an old photo. It's Navy 636 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,879 Speaker 1: photographers on observation Hill from one So it's an old 637 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:23,800 Speaker 1: photo and it's got these guys and they're on this 638 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 1: desolate hill. There's a cross in the foreground. And what 639 00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:29,960 Speaker 1: this picture says to me to sort of come to Antarctica, 640 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:35,360 Speaker 1: you will die. But that's not true. It is not true. 641 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 1: I had a friend that spent time with Antarctica, also 642 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: doing science research. Keep back, it's cool. I a terrifying 643 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,439 Speaker 1: prospect because I am a little bit of like I'll 644 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 1: tell you that I think Brian's relatives think I'm his 645 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 1: pretty city wife, just because I like the amenities of 646 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:56,279 Speaker 1: living in a city and all things you can get, 647 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:58,400 Speaker 1: and so did not be able to like have my 648 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 1: whims met with make me a little insake. I like 649 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:04,520 Speaker 1: the amenities of daylight and warmth. I don't need the daylight, 650 00:38:04,560 --> 00:38:06,759 Speaker 1: I do like the warmth, and I want to be 651 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 1: able to go to restaurants when I want them. Yeah. Well, 652 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 1: you know, before I was born, my mother and father 653 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,439 Speaker 1: lived in Alaska for a little while. Yeah, my dad 654 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:17,160 Speaker 1: was in the army, and my mom has talked about 655 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:21,440 Speaker 1: how she found Alaskan winters to be horrible, and her 656 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,400 Speaker 1: method for dealing with this was to make chocolate cookies 657 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,480 Speaker 1: every week so that the house always smelled like cookies, 658 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,800 Speaker 1: which I think is a great coping mechanism, a beautiful 659 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,359 Speaker 1: coping mechanisms. I'm so happy that we were able to 660 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: provide entertaining some enterdainment for people that are in the 661 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,160 Speaker 1: middle of a cold, dark winter, because that just that 662 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,320 Speaker 1: is a thing that just thinking about kind of crushes 663 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,560 Speaker 1: my soul a little bit. I can't imagine living in 664 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,880 Speaker 1: a place where there is not a sunrise or a 665 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:53,440 Speaker 1: sunset for that long. Chinese, Like, what do you do 666 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 1: when you have to have lomaine? I know, it's ridiculous, 667 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:02,040 Speaker 1: you know, trays my very oiled nature. Yeah, thank you 668 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,920 Speaker 1: so much for writing to here and for sending us 669 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,759 Speaker 1: this postcard. We get a lot of requests about where 670 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:12,080 Speaker 1: people can send postcards, and since our address has changed, Yeah, 671 00:39:12,880 --> 00:39:16,480 Speaker 1: we were at thirty three fifty Peachtree Road, Northeast Sweet 672 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:21,960 Speaker 1: eleven fifty party Change Atlanta, Georgia three or three to six. 673 00:39:22,719 --> 00:39:24,520 Speaker 1: So that is where you can send us a postcard 674 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,560 Speaker 1: you would like, Oh, I love the postcard. Their offer. 675 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,520 Speaker 1: They are quite fun. We get some that are just 676 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:35,080 Speaker 1: like from such as I love it. It's wonderful. If 677 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us an email, you can. 678 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,560 Speaker 1: We were at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. We're 679 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,399 Speaker 1: also on Facebook at Facebook dot com, slash history flash 680 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,520 Speaker 1: Stuff and on Twitter at missed in History. Our tumbler, 681 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,840 Speaker 1: which is booming lately, is missed in History dot tumbler 682 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,640 Speaker 1: dot com, and we are also on Pinterest. If you 683 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,640 Speaker 1: would like to learn a little more about what we've 684 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:56,880 Speaker 1: been talking about today, you can go to our website 685 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,879 Speaker 1: and put the word Revolutionary War in the search bar. 686 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:04,680 Speaker 1: You will find a gallery of Revolutionary War pictures, which 687 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:09,160 Speaker 1: includes the famous Washington Crossing, the Delaware painting, as well 688 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:14,040 Speaker 1: as why was the American Revolution so revolutionary? You can 689 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:16,080 Speaker 1: do all that and a whole lot more at our website, 690 00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:22,239 Speaker 1: which is how Stuff works dot com for more on 691 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:24,560 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Because it has to 692 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:37,840 Speaker 1: works dot com. Audible dot com is the leading provider 693 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:42,040 Speaker 1: of downloadable digital audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible 694 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,640 Speaker 1: has more than one thousand titles to choose from to 695 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,880 Speaker 1: be downloaded to your iPod or MP three player. Go 696 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,040 Speaker 1: to audible podcast dot com slash history to get a 697 00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:53,759 Speaker 1: free audio book download of your choice when you sign 698 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:54,320 Speaker 1: up today.