On October 5 (1997), it was my pleasure to attend a lecture by the historian Dr. Robert A. Selig under the auspices of The German Heritage Society of Greater Washington, D.C. The presentation by Prof. Selig discussed the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment which fought in the cause of our Revolution. As the name might imply, the regiment was in the service of France. The enlisted men though were almost exclusively German while the officers were of a mixed nationality. During the American Revolution, the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment was a part of the French expeditionary forces in America.
A recently discovered illustrated journal kept by one of the enlisted men in the Royal Deux-Ponts regiment gives us considerable insight into the activities of the regiment. For example, the regiment landed in Newport, Rhode Island, in the summer of 1780. Previously recorded comments by the officers of the regiment described the Americans as "cold and aloof". Or as one lieutenant put it, "the people were little disposed in our favor and would have preferred at that moment, I think, to see their enemies arrive rather than their allies." But Georg Daniel Flohr, whose journal has been preserved, thought that he "got along well with the inhabitants".
Clearly, there was a difference of opinion by the New Englanders toward the French, as represented by the officers, and toward the Germans, as represented by the enlisted men. In part, it was due to the difference in religion. It also was related to the role of the French in activities in North America from about 1750 to the time of the Revolution. Near Suffern (New York), Flohr records, "the inhabitants would ask you if you wanted to stay with them and promised to hide you until the French were gone."
As the troops marched south toward the action, they marveled at a country where "all inhabitants are wealthy and well. One does not see a difference between the rich and poor." Here "one does not see a difference between the Sunday clothes and their workday clothes", and women were "always dressed like ladies of the nobility". Flohr wondered how they could be so wealthy when they didn't seem to work. It appeared to him that the answer was in the abundance of land and the institution of slavery. Naturally conditions such as this were a great temptation to desert.
Others had noted the lack of such a sharp distinction between the poor and the wealthy. Flohr showed his appreciation of the egalitarian character of American society where a citizen would talk to everybody, whether he is rich or poor. Another description was that the Americans had put behind his ancient prejudices and manners. Americans could say, "We have no princes for whom we toll, starve and bleed."
In passing through Pennsylvania, Flohr reported that more than one third of the regiment was welcomed by friends and relatives who had emigrated there. He writes about Pennsylvania, "when you closed your eyes and listened, you could think you were in the Palatinate."
While the regiment was in American, the percentage of men of German origin who deserted was much larger than the percentage for French nationals. This shows in another way why there were so many Germans in the colonies. After the initial ones came, they sent word back to Germany. Based on Flohr's comments, one can imagine the letters they were writing.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.