A German Soldier in America: Georg Daniel Flohr, Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts
The Trent House Association presents a talk by Robert Selig on the experiences and observations of a young German soldier who served in the French army under General Rochambeau during the American Revolution. This talk will be held in the Trent House Visitor Center on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 2 pm. The Museum is located at 15 Market Street in Trenton, New Jersey, across from the Hughes Justice Complex. Registration with $10 admission can be made at https://tinyurl.com/FlohrTalk. Free parking is available off William Trent Place behind the museum property.
One of the more than 1,000 German-speaking soldiers in the little army of the Comte de Rochambeau was Georg Daniel Flohr, a fusilier in the Regiment Royal Deux-Ponts. Flohr was a keen observer of Revolutionary America, whose Reisebeschreibung von America, one of only three known accounts by enlisted men, provides a detailed depiction of the people, customs and social and economic conditions in the nascent United States. This illustrated talk by Robert Selig, eminent historian of the 1781 American and French campaign that won the American Revolution, will take a closer look at Flohr’s observations of Revolutionary America on topics such as Native Americans, African-Americans, social stratification, and the natural beauty of America and compare his views with those of his fellow enlisted men and his officers.
Dr. Robert Selig is a historical consultant who received his Ph.D. in history from the Universität Würzburg in Germany in 1988. He is a specialist on the role of French forces under the comte de Rochambeau during the American Revolutionary War and serves as project historian to the National Park Service for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Project.
The William Trent House Museum is a National Historic Landmark in the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area and on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. The Museum is dedicated to sharing the authentic history of the house, property, and people with our communities, connecting the past with today and tomorrow. Owned by the City of Trenton, it is operated by the Trent House Association, which is supported by the generosity of its donors; by grants from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission with funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, and the Bunbury Fund and the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; and by contributions from NJM Insurance Group and Orion General Contractors. For more information, visit www.williamtrenthouse.org.