I am a Professor of History at Penn State University Abington College, located just outside of Philadelphia. My research focuses on the American Revolutionary era and Early American Republic. I am especially interested in the experiences of German-speaking people during this period.

I am the author of Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War (Oxford University Press, 2022), which was honored with the American Roundtable of Philadelphia Annual Book Award, Inaugural American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Honorable Mention, and Society of the Cincinnati Prize.

Most recently, I served as a historical advisor and interviewee for The American Revolution, a documentary film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt.

My first book was The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism and Citizenship in Philadelphia’s German Community, 1790-1830. It is a microhistory that uses the 1816 legal trial of around five dozen German Americans as a prism through which to explore prevalent notions of citizenship, language, and patriotism in the first four decades after the Revolution.

One of my earlier research projects also focused on a legal battle albeit a very different one: the sensational murder trial of a German-born physician in post-Civil War Pennsylvania. The case triggered passionate debates about a range of issues, including immigration and the use of forensic evidence in criminal cases.

I strongly believe in the importance of primary sources for historical research. Over the past few years, digitization has made it easier to access a growing body of such material. Much, however, remains unpublished. For my work, moreover, I am drawing heavily on German-language records that were written in the script known as Kurrentschrift. Here is an example:

I am fortunate that my research has been supported with funding by a number of organizations. They include the American Philosophical Society, Clements Library (University of Michigan), German Historical Institute (Washington, D.C.), German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Library Company of Philadelphia, David Library of the American Revolution (since 2020, the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society), Penn State Abington, Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Society of the Cincinnati, and Virginia Historical Society (since 2018, Virginia Museum of History and Culture). I am immensely grateful to these institutions for supporting my research.

A bit more about me: I was born and raised in Germany. I studied at Göttingen University before completing my undergraduate degree in History at Boston College. My thesis, titled ”Life On Parole,” was about the troops from Braunschweig that belonged to the Convention Army (the army under John Burgoyne that entered American captivity as a result of the surrender at Saratoga in October 1777). As a college student, I worked at the Old State House in Boston and as an intern in the audiovisual department of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. These were incredible experiences that deepened my love for history generally, and for American history specifically. In 2002, I received a Ph.D. in early American history from Brown University. My doctoral advisor was Gordon S. Wood, and my dissertation focused on the experiences of Germans in the Early American Republic. Before joining the faculty of Penn State Abington, I taught at the University of Georgia, Kutztown University, and Temple University. In addition, I served as a project archivist at the American Philosophical Society.