The Truth About the Hessians, German Mercenaries in the Revolutionary War

In keeping with our America 250 theme this year, we'll move into the Revolutionary War, and if you are of a certain age, you likely learned about the Hessians in a high school social studies or history class. These were the "bad guys" in the American Revolution, German mercenaries, as we were taught, only interested in money and out for blood and sport. Now that we are grown, and many of us have an avid interest in history and may, in fact, be descended from those soldiers, it's time to rethink what we thought we knew about the Hessians. You may be surprised at how much we got wrong!

A New Tool to Find UK Archives and Records Worldwide

Finding an archive for the area in which you are researching is always a challenging task. Finding one in another country can be even more daunting. The National Archives of the United Kingdom has created a website that may help you in your genealogical search throughout Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), and even beyond. This easy-to-navigate website lets you narrow your search to a specific region in a specific country and even includes many other countries that appear to have little or no bearing on the UK but actually hold UK records. In addition, a comprehensive pull-down menu offers you many other options for British-based research. Here is how to use the site.