This is the fourth and final post in my “Through The Eyes Of The Loyalists Series”, after “Thomas Hutchinson”, “The Unnamed Slave” and “Iroquois Leader, Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)”. In this letter, you will get to see how the American Revolution affected farmers , in terms of health and economic loss. I hope you enjoy this conclusion for my “Through The Eyes Of The Loyalists Series” and have learned something new from all of these letters.
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Dear interested persons,
I am a German farmer, here to talk to you about the American Revolution. The way that this war affected me, is actually quite astonishing. I wasn’t exactly ‘participating’, so to speak, in the war when it first started, but it later became clear to me that I would have to choose sides. And I had to fast. So, let’s get on with the story then? I won’t write my name here since I’m a pretty shy person. Writing this letter is already a big deal for me. I don’t want recognition. I’m just here to show future generations another side of the American revolution.
I was just a regular German farmer living in North America – Pennsylvania to be exact. I was thankful that I was able to farm peacefully on land that belonged to the British. However, when the American Revolution started, things began to go south. There was so much fighting, fires everywhere. I’m not much of a fighter myself, but I knew that if I didn’t take sides, I would be roasted spaghetti. Many don’t know this, but during the American Revolution, since the war was so huge, even Germany fought. We already had a strong alliance with the British, so most of my country were loyalists. Only a select few were patriots, and those were the ones who were colonists. I chose to side with Britain, in hopes that we would win and I would be able to farm in peace again.
When I revealed myself as a loyalist, I learned for the first time that patriots were not ones to forgive. I went through tar and feathering. Rolled around in searing tar with no clothes on. It hurt so much!! And all they did was laugh.
The revolution didn’t do good for my role as a farmer either. All trade roots had been cut off from war, which meant I couldn’t sell anything. We also couldn’t plant surpluses, since it would go rotten in our field without anyone buying. More than that, due to the war, I had to be away from my own farm for a long period of time. I was soo hungry, it wasn’t even funny. Even worse, all of my horses and cattle were drained of energy due to both sides of the war. Those poor creatures. I must say at this time about 90% of the population were farmers, so I can’t even begin to manage the great economic loss our nation suffered in the midst of the war. We were all physically reduced as well. I daresay I could have almost died.
The American Revolution is going to be a war I will never forget. So many have suffered including myself. And all for nothing. At the end, the patriots still won, and I lost all the land I once had. From here on, all I can do is hope that things become better and that men will never have to face what us farmers, and not just farmers, but all loyalists and undecided civilians (fence-sitters) had to face, during these treacherous times.
Sincerely,
Your Everyday German Farmer
