“Popp’s Journal, 1777–1783” (1902), edited by Stephen Popp and Joseph G. Rosengarten and published in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, is a translated and annotated publication of a German officer’s wartime diary covering service in North America during the American Revolutionary War.
The journal is attributed to Stephen Popp, an officer associated with German auxiliary forces serving under British command, most closely linked to contingents drawn from states such as the Electorate of Hesse. It records his experiences from 1777 through the end of the war in 1783, including campaigning, garrison duty, and postwar movements.
The entries focus heavily on daily military life, including marches, encampments, discipline, provisioning, and interactions within the British coalition army. The journal also reflects the administrative and operational realities faced by German auxiliary troops stationed in various theaters of the war, particularly in the Middle and Northern colonies.
A recurring element in the text is the integration of German units into British strategic operations. The journal provides insight into how these troops were deployed in support roles, defensive positions, and field operations, as well as how they navigated command structures that combined British officers with allied contingents.
The 1902 publication is part of a broader editorial effort by Joseph G. Rosengarten and the Pennsylvania German Society to recover and publish German-language sources related to American history. Rosengarten’s annotations contextualize the diary within known military events and correlate entries with broader campaign developments.
The result is a primary-source-oriented volume that preserves the perspective of a German officer serving in the British auxiliary system, offering detailed evidence of the lived experience of German troops during the Revolutionary War.
