Guernsey, Lucy Ellen
"The story of a Hessian" by Lucy Ellen Guernsey is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. Set between Thuringia and Revolutionary-era New Jersey, it centers on Caspar Reinhart, a Hessian blacksmith forced into British service, and his steadfast family—Gertrude, Philip, Margaret, and little Gustaf—who wrestle with loss, conscience, and the lure of a freer life in America.The opening of the story contrasts a prince’s wolf-hunt with the funeral of Gertrude’s “innocent” child, revealing her rage at the landgrave who sold her husband to war and the gentle reassurance of Count Maurice, who insists Americans treat prisoners humanely. A wolf pack hidden in the churchyard vault is discovered and destroyed, Philip returns a lost locket to Count Maurice, and a Moravian preacher’s tender sermon stirs both village comfort and Count Victor’s spiritual doubts; the counts visit Gertrude, whose revived hope turns toward emigrating to America, while Philip quietly sacrifices his artist’s dream for the family’s good. The narrative then shifts to Philadelphia: during the Mischianza festivities, Caspar’s skill as a smith brings him into Major André’s orbit; he protects an American spy, Jonathan Elmer, instead of betraying him, earning the enmity of Captain Burger and a perilous assignment from General Clinton to scout New Jersey. Caspar slips downriver by night, enters a lonely Jersey creek at dawn, and, just as the excerpt closes, rushes ashore to drive off a bear menacing a little…
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