Background : The hessians serving the crown during the war of independence are made responsible for a number of war crimes ( killing elderly civilians, raping women etc. ).
The1Legosaurus on
The meme is inaccurate. Here’s my take
Hessians in American history books:
El_Lanf on
Frankly if it wasnt for that Age of Empires 3 campaign, I would never have heard of them. But surprisingly we don’t learn about this war in the history books at schools in England (no wars happened between the British civil war and WW1).
NomadLexicon on
They were definitely covered in my US history classes, but they weren’t portrayed as particularly bad, just as foreign mercenaries with no personal stake in the war.
The most prominent episode of the war they’re featured in was when they got ambushed on Christmas morning by George Washington while they were hung over, which makes us look like the bigger dicks tbh.
An8thOfFeanor on
I think they were mentioned once in my history class as mercenaries for the Brits. Couldn’t have been a more innocuous take on Hessians.
Alkynesofchemistry on
Hessians in American books: *GEEETTTTT DUNKED ON!*
(The Christmas Crossing is the only thing we ever learn about them)
Dominus_Redditi on
Really sad and telling the state of American education that so many people don’t even understand this meme
Thommy_Gunn on
I don’t really recall them much from my school days. But Chernow paints a fantastic, terrifying picture of them in his Washington biography. I respect that many stayed behind on this side of the Atlantic. I imagine there are some interesting tales there as well.
SpiritualPackage3797 on
I mean, not really. They’re more shown as bumblers who didn’t even know to set a night watch.
9 Comments
Background : The hessians serving the crown during the war of independence are made responsible for a number of war crimes ( killing elderly civilians, raping women etc. ).
The meme is inaccurate. Here’s my take
Hessians in American history books:
Frankly if it wasnt for that Age of Empires 3 campaign, I would never have heard of them. But surprisingly we don’t learn about this war in the history books at schools in England (no wars happened between the British civil war and WW1).
They were definitely covered in my US history classes, but they weren’t portrayed as particularly bad, just as foreign mercenaries with no personal stake in the war.
The most prominent episode of the war they’re featured in was when they got ambushed on Christmas morning by George Washington while they were hung over, which makes us look like the bigger dicks tbh.
I think they were mentioned once in my history class as mercenaries for the Brits. Couldn’t have been a more innocuous take on Hessians.
Hessians in American books: *GEEETTTTT DUNKED ON!*
(The Christmas Crossing is the only thing we ever learn about them)
Really sad and telling the state of American education that so many people don’t even understand this meme
I don’t really recall them much from my school days. But Chernow paints a fantastic, terrifying picture of them in his Washington biography. I respect that many stayed behind on this side of the Atlantic. I imagine there are some interesting tales there as well.
I mean, not really. They’re more shown as bumblers who didn’t even know to set a night watch.