The story of a Hessian : A tale of the revolution in New Jersey by Guernsey
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"The story of a Hessian" by Lucy Ellen Guernsey is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Caspar Reinhart, a German blacksmith forced into Hessian service during the American Revolution, and his family in the Thuringian village of Nonnenwald, weaving themes of conscience, faith, and the hope of emigration to America. Early scenes span Hesse and Revolutionary New Jersey/Philadelphia, contrasting princely pageantry with village grief and showing unexpected
kindness across enemy lines. The opening of the tale contrasts a prince’s wolf-hunt with the funeral of Gertrude Reinhart’s “innocent” child, revealing the cost of the landgrave’s sale of men to Britain. Gertrude rejects royal charity, but Count Maurice of Nassau’s account of humane American treatment softens her grief; soon her children uncover wolves hiding in the churchyard vaults, a locket lost by Maurice is honestly returned by her son Philip, and a Moravian preacher’s sermon brings quiet consolation. Maurice visits the cottage, praises Philip’s carving, and sparks Gertrude’s plan to emigrate, while family tensions show Margaret’s fierceness against Philip’s gentle resolve; alone, Philip lays aside his dream of becoming an artist for his family’s sake. Shifting back to Philadelphia, 1778, Caspar is shown as a principled, silent army smith: he aids (and is aided by) an American spy, reads an English Bible that steadies his soul, and draws the spite of Captain Burger, who gets him sent by Sir Henry Clinton on a perilous reconnaissance into New Jersey; Caspar slips downriver by night and, ashore among laurel and holly, rushes to save a little girl from a bear as the scene breaks. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Guernsey, Lucy Ellen, 1826-1899 |
|---|---|
| Title | The story of a Hessian : A tale of the revolution in New Jersey |
| Original Publication | Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1877. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres |
| Subject | New Jersey -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Juvenile fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77860 |
| Release Date | Feb 4, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 238 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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