Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Institute for the Humanities Theses Institute for the Humanities Winter 2004 Johann August Weppen's Der Hessische Officer in Amerika and David Christoph Seybold's Reizenstein: The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America Virginia Sasser DeLacey Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds Part of the European History Commons, German Literature Commons, International Relations Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation DeLacey, Virginia S.. "Johann August Weppen's Der Hessische Officern i Amerika and David Christoph Seybold's Reizenstein: The American Revolution and the German Bürgertum's Reassessment of America" (2004). Master of Arts (MA), thesis, Humanities, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/k7es-1t13 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/humanities_etds/18 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Institute for the Humanities at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Institute for the Humanities Theses by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOHANN AUGUST WEPPEN'S DER HESSISCHE OFFICIER IN AMER/KA AND DAVID CHRISTOPH SEYBOLD'S REIZENSTEIN: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE GERMAN BURGERTUM'S REASSESSMENT OF AMERICA by Virginia Sasser DeLacey B.A. May 1979, Duke University B.S. December 1985, University of Maryland A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HUMANITIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December 2004 Approved by: Jeffrey H. Richards (Director) Jane T. Merritt (Member) Heidi M. Schlipphacke (Member) ABSTRACT JOHANN AUGUST WEPPEN'S DER HESSJSCHE OFFICIER IN AMER/KA AND DAVID CHRISTOPH SEYBOLD'S REIZENSTEIN: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE GERMAN BURGERTUM'S REASSESSMENT OF AMERICA Virginia Sasser DeLacey Old Dominion University, 2004 Director: Dr. Jeffrey H. Richards While American, British, and French reactions to the American Revolution are well-known, those of the German people are not, despite the presence of almost 30,000 German soldiers in America fighting for the British army and hundreds of German volunteers fighting for the American patriots. The participation of German soldiers on both sides of the conflict inspired numerous works of German poetry, prose, and drama, all largely forgotten in the wake of the French Revolution and the rise of German Classicism and Romanticism. This thesis examines two works that have received brief mention in the past two centuries: Der hessische Officier in Amerika, a 1783 play by the Gtittingen lawyer and poet Johann August Weppen, and Reizenstein: Die Geschichte eines deutschen Officier, an epistolary novel in two volumes written by the Swabian classics scholar and teacher David Christoph Seybold that was published anonymously in 1778 and 1779. Analysis of these texts suggests that German involvement in the American Revolution led German writers to reevaluate their perceptions of America in light of new information that was being sent home by the soldiers serving there and news reports about the conflict that were being published in German newspapers. These works reflect the popular discourse about America that was being carried on throughout the German territories, reveal the political climate in the areas in which they were written, and show how America and the American Revolution were used to register German idealism and discontent. Weppen and Seybold contributed to a dynamic Amerikabild, or image of America, that developed in Germany during the American Revolution. This Amerikabild contrasted with the static views of America offered in pre- and post­ Revolutionary literature about America, including the 1776 play Die Werbung far England by Johann Christoph Krauseneck and the 1798 novel Der Ungluckliche Walter by I. Maillard, which this thesis will briefly consider for purposes of comparison. IV For Bill, Patsy, Ginny, and John Patrick V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this thesis has been a lot like having children. It's a good thing I had no idea of the hard work and dedication involved, or I might never have summoned up the courage to begin. My committee members at ODU have been a tremendous source of inspiration, guidance, and support. Jane Merritt's graduate classes in Colonial and Revolutionary American history brought me up-to-date on historiography. In addition, Dr. Merritt's research utilizing Moravian records from early America sparked my interest in learning German as a tool for researching early America. Heidi Schlipphacke's encouragement and willingness to meet me outside of class ensured that I would be able not only to read German but also to speak it passably-no small feat on her part! Dr. Schlipphacke's classes (and those of Dr. Frederick Lubich) also kindled my interest in German history and culture. While my original plan was to focus my thesis on some aspect of German-Americans during the Colonial or Revolutionary era, I found myself becoming interested in what was occurring in the German territories during the same period. In particular, I wondered what the reactions of the German people were to the departure of 30,000 soldiers to fight in America for Great Britain. When I found brief references to Johann August Weppen's play, Der hessische Officier in Amerilca, and David Christoph Seybold' s novel Reizenstein, in surveys of German literature related to America I became even more intrigued and knew that Jeffrey Richards could help me find the historical angle to evaluate these works. Dr. Richards's two graduate classes in American literature were among my favorites at O.D.U. Dr. Richards's breadth and depth of knowledge regarding both American history and literature were a constant Vl source of amazement to me and my classmates, and his classes were always thought provoking and stimulating. Dr. Richards clearly takes teaching as seriously as his research and administrative duties, and it was always a pleasure to be in one of his classes. He gave us the tools we needed, pointed us in the right direction, and then let us make connections and discoveries on our own. Those hard-earned epiphanies are always more meaningful, and I thank Dr. Richards for the direction and support he gave me in pulling this thesis together. I would also like to thank my family for their support and encouragement. My husband, Bill, has endured my many evenings hunched over the computer with grace and good humor. I was grateful that he encouraged (hounded?) me to save my work on a disk every night, particularly after our computer crashed and my data was temporarily lost in cyberspace. I have learned almost as much about technology in writing this thesis as about eighteenth century Germany and the German soldiers sent to fight in America. My daughters, Ginny and Patsy, often studied or read with me as I worked. They knew this project was important to me, and they quietly and patiently gave me the time and space to think and write. They will be as relieved as my husband when this process of researching, writing, revising, and defending is complete, and I have promised them that I will begin reading the fifth Harry Potter book as soon as I turn in my completed manuscript to the registrar's office. My son, John Patrick, remained blissfully unaware of my trials and tribulations as only an eighteen-year-old in his senior year of high school could. I knew this when he found me working on my revisions and commented that he thought I had already finished my thesis and graduated. For him, perhaps the chief benefit of me completing this project will be an improvement in the quality of meals. Vil TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1 II. WEPPEN'S DER HESSJSCHE OFFICIER IN AMERIKA ....................... 28 Ill. SEYBOLD'S REIZENSTEIN ................................................... 61 IV. CONCLUSION .................................................................. 120 REFERENCES .................................................................................... 134 VITA ................................................................................................ 139 CHAPTER! INTRODUCTION While American, British, and French reactions to the American Revolution are well-known, those of the German people are not, despite the presence of almost 30,000 Germans in America fighting for the British army and hundreds fighting for the American patriots. The German soldiers employed by the British, commonly referred to as Hessians, were often forced into service by their princes and comprised almost half of the total number of soldiers who fought for the British in America. 1 In addition to the Germans fighting in service to the British, an unknown but much smaller number of Germans volunteered to fight for the American patriots. The participation of these German soldiers on both sides of the American conflict fueled an already keen interest in the American war in the German territories. During the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the American Revolution was the subject of numerous works of German poetry, prose, and drama, all largely forgotten in the wake of the French Revolution and the rise of German Classicism and This paper follows the format requirements of A Manual for Writers ofTerm Papers, Theses and Dissertations flt edition by Kate L. Turabian.