[page 58]

42.

42.

the departure of the French; besides, Hessian soldiers could already be found everywhere as well as many Hanoverians who had deserted the French army[124].

Frantzosen fort waren man traffe auch schon überall von denen hessischen Soldaten an die von ihnen dessertiert seyn wie auch sehr viele Hannobraner.

On the 26th, we set off again for 14 miles to Bomton, an estate. This region is heavily populated by Dutchmen, but we have yet come across Germans from time to time[125].

Den 26ten brachen wir alda wiedrum auf 14 Meillen biß Bomton ein Schändelmans-Hoff. Selbige Gegend ist starck mit Holländer bewohnt und trifft auch schon dan und wann Deutsche an.

On the 27th, we set off again for 15 miles to Whibany or Hanober, a small town near the mountains, in a beautiful region. There, we rested for a day; we also had quite a few visits from inhabitants.

Den 27ten brachen wir wiedrum auf 15 Meillen biß Whibany oder Hanober ein kleines Städtgen am Gebürge in einer schönen Gegend alda hatten wir Rastag und hatten auch wiedrum zimmlich Besuch deren Einwohner.

On the 29th, we set off again for 6 miles to Balions Thawern, an inn. The same day we passed through Morristown, called Moritz-Stadt in German, a lovely little town in a pleasant region where one may, from time to time, come across a German inhabitant.

Den 29ten brachen wir wiedrum alda auf 6 Meillen biß Balions-Thawern ein Wirthshauß. Selbigen Tag passierten wir Moritz-Thaun oder auf teutsch Moritz-Stadt genandt auch ein schönes Städtgen in einer angenehmen Gegend allwo man schon hin und wieder deutsche Einwohner antreffe.

On the 30th, we set off again for 14 miles to Somerset, a small town on a plain surrounded by a large quantity of fruit trees.

Den 30ten brachen wir wiedrum auf 14 Meillen biß Sammersad ein kleines Städtgen auf der Ebenen und gantz mit Obst-bäumen umringet in der Menge.

On the 31st, we set off again for 13 miles to Princeton, a pleasant little town on a plain, this town has a college: it is here that the King of England had founded a school in 1756[126], which he had constructed, but which was destroyed by the war. A few years ago in this location there was a battle between the Americans and the English which was so harsh that the circumstances of it

Den 31ten brachen wir auf 13 Meillen biß Printz-Thaun ein angenehmes Städtgen auf der Ebenen welches Städtgen mit einem schönen Colegium versehen ist : alda hatte der König von Engelland anno 1756 ein Studium angelegt, und es erbauen lassen welches aber jetzt durch den Krieg wiedrum verdorben worden. Alda geschahe auch vor etliche Jahren eine so scharfe Batalien mit den Americaner und Engelländer daß es

https://gallica.bnf.fr/iiif/ark:/12148/btv1b10110846m/f30/pct:0,0,50,100/,700/0/native.jpg

Strasbourg, Médiathèque André Malraux, ms f 15, p. 58.

[agrandir]

 Notes

124. An error on the part of the author. The mercenaries from Hesse and Hanover were employed by the English army, and therefore they deserted the English, not the French.
125. The allied army was presently in New Jersey, something Flohr does not mention. Originally a Dutch colony, New Jersey had a more diversified population than the territories located farther north. Like its neighbor, Pennsylvania, since the mid-eighteenth century, it had welcomed numerous immigrants of German origin. In this sense, it is significant that Flohr should make his first reference to a population of German origin at this moment. In general, he paints a fairly representative picture of the German presence in North America, and does not overestimate the presence of his compatriots, which was very sporadic in that colony. In 1707, a few German Protestant families originally from Brunswick had boarded a ship for New York, but after being thrown off course by unfavorable, winds they landed in the Delaware Bay. Wanting to reach New York by land, they crossed through the Musconetcong Valley in New Jersey and decided to settle there. Germans settled mainly in four counties of New Jersey: Morris, Somerset, Bergen, and Essex Counties. New German-speaking settlers poured from the Swedish colonies in the south, as well as from the Palatines in the north. They cultivated great agricultural estates, so much so that the region was baptized “German Valley”. The ancestor of the industrialist and financial dynasty of the Rockefeller family, Johann Peter Rockefeller, settled in New Jersey in 1733. In southern New Jersey, German-speaking carpenters tied to the Moravian Brotherhood community could be found.
126. The College of New Jersey (the future University of Princeton), founded in 1746 by Presbyterian clerics and not directly by the king, has been located in Princeton since 1756. The oldest of its buildings, Nassau Hall, was actually damaged during the Battle of Princeton. It is remarkable that Flohr should report the date it was founded. This chronological precision is quite unexpected, even more so when in the following line of his diary he mentions the Battle of Princeton (January 1777) without giving a precise date (“A few years ago in this location”). Unexpected, but perhaps not insignificant, as the founding date of the university is usually inscribed on its pediment.