Hessian Holdouts: From Mercenaries to Neighbors—and a Lesson on Peace
Dr. Perry Greene connects an immigrant success story and a Revolutionary War footnote to make a larger claim about peace. In this episode, he argues that opportunity grows where conflict is laid down—and that lasting peace depends on righteousness, not simply politics or power. Readers will see how he links the “Hessian holdouts” to Isaiah’s vision of swords becoming plowshares and applies that theme to modern American life.
Dr. Perry Greene opens by reminding listeners that immigration “can take many forms.” To illustrate, he tells the story of Lena Himmel, whom he describes as a 16-year-old orphan legally brought from Lithuania to New York just before the turn of the twentieth century. Relatives expected her to marry their son, but the marriage never happened. Instead, Dr. Greene says she became a seamstress, married a Brooklyn jeweler named David Bryant, and then faced a new reality when Bryant died two years later.
Dr. Greene emphasizes what Lena did next. He says she pawned a pair of diamond earrings her husband left her and used the money to buy a sewing machine. With that tool—and with work—she began moving from survival to stability. By 1904, he notes, she had done well enough to open a store on Fifth Avenue.
The business angle matters in Dr. Greene’s telling because he uses it to show how opportunity can take root in unexpected ways. He says Lena attempted to make clothes for pregnant women, including what he describes as a maternity dress with an elasticized waistband. In his account, that early maternity design became the starting point for Lane Bryant, the national clothing chain. His point is not simply that a brand was born, but that a life marked by loss and displacement could still become a life marked by productive work and growth.
From there, Dr. Greene pivots from immigration and enterprise to war and allegiance—another “form” of movement across borders. During the American War for Independence, he says the king of England hired 30,000 German Hessians as mercenary soldiers to aid the British redcoats. A mercenary, in plain terms, is a soldier who fights for pay rather than for a personal homeland cause. Dr. Greene describes these Hessians as vicious fighters and a terror to the Americans.
He then focuses on what happened after the fighting ended. Dr. Greene says about 17,000 Hessians returned to Germany, about 8,000 died from disease or combat, and around 5,000 deserted and stayed in America because they found something preferable to “waging war for money.” In other words, the “holdouts” were not simply trapped; in his framing, they made a choice about the kind of life they wanted.
Dr. Greene explains why many of those deserters stayed. He says many were taken prisoner and forced to work on farmlands in Pennsylvania, often alongside Germans who had immigrated to America. Working in that setting, he argues, they discovered that America was not the wicked place they had been told it was. Instead, they encountered “peace and opportunity.” In his account, the POWs turned in their muskets, picked up their plows, and worked among farmers commonly associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch.
The phrase “Pennsylvania Dutch” can sound like a reference to the Netherlands, but it has long been used for German-speaking communities (from “Deutsch,” meaning German). Dr. Greene uses that setting to make a bigger point: these former hired fighters found themselves laboring beside people who spoke their language, shared familiar customs, and were building lives rather than collecting wages for war.
To frame the spiritual meaning of that transformation, Dr. Greene turns to Isaiah 2:2–4. He highlights Isaiah’s picture of the nations being taught God’s ways and of weapons being refashioned into tools for cultivation—swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks—so that people “learn war no more.” In Dr. Greene’s view, the Hessian deserters resemble that image in real time: men brought to America for violence laying down arms and choosing the work of peace.
Dr. Greene does not present that as a quaint moral lesson. He moves quickly from Isaiah’s vision to his concerns about present-day conflict. He describes war and unrest as something spiritual evil stirs and exploits, saying that “Satan and his henchmen” work through conflict. He warns that these forces are “pulling the strings” in America and other nations to inflame religious conflict, and he specifically mentions Muslims, Jews, and Christians. He ties that conflict to a broader push for political dominance, which he describes in terms of Marxism and despotism.
Within that same discussion, Dr. Greene points to what he describes as political upheaval in American cities and states. He says that, at the time of recording, New York City is already regretting the day it named what he calls a “Muslim Marxist” as mayor, and that Virginia is reeling from its new socialist governor. Rather than resorting to violence, he notes that almost a million New Yorkers have opted to leave the city—despite deep family roots there—because the threat of unjust taxation is too much in their judgment.
That claim allows him to hold together two biblical ideas that can seem in tension. Dr. Greene cites Ecclesiastes 3 to remind listeners that there are times to go to war and fight for families and property. He argues that America’s founding generation did not want war and tried repeatedly to resolve disputes with the king and Parliament peacefully. Even after the April 19, 1775 showdown on Lexington Green and in Concord, he says the Continental Congress presented the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, and that it was promptly rejected.
He then points to what followed victory. Dr. Greene says that after Yorktown, diplomats from both nations met in Paris in 1782 to pursue a peace treaty. He highlights what he says is the very first line of the document: “In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity.” For Dr. Greene, that opening matters because it signals how America’s leaders understood the source of independence and the requirements of peace. He treats it as an explicit invocation of the Christian God, not a vague nod toward providence.
Dr. Greene names the American commissioners he says negotiated the treaty—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay—and describes them as men who believed divine providence sustained them during war and must guide them in peace. Providence, as he uses it, refers to God’s governing care and direction over events and nations. In his view, the shift from war to peace was not merely diplomatic; it was moral and spiritual, and it demanded gratitude, humility, and righteousness.
To extend the theme, Dr. Greene points to General George Washington. He says that once the treaty was signed, Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army and returned to Mount Vernon to reengage in farming. Dr. Greene compares Washington’s desire for peace and productive labor to the former Hessians who traded muskets for plows. He also notes that Washington’s farm life did not last long—after the Constitution was created, the public demanded that Washington serve as the first president.
That comparison leads Dr. Greene to a critique of modern priorities. He argues that the national tone has shifted away from reliance on providence and toward reliance on politics and power. In his estimation, peace and safety are not treated as central goods. He gestures toward how Americans respond to ICE and to law more broadly as a sign that something has changed in the public conscience and sense of order.
From there, Dr. Greene states what he sees as the governing principle beneath all the examples: there can be no true peace without righteousness. He cites Isaiah 32:17 and quotes its logic in direct terms: “the work of righteousness will be peace,” and the effect of righteousness is “quietness and assurance.” In his view, earlier American leaders sought peace in the name of the triune God, while modern leaders often sign deals, pass laws, and wage wars without acknowledging God at all—then wonder why peace continues to slip away.
Dr. Greene closes the episode by returning to the Hessians, not as villains but as evidence that lives can change. He summarizes their story with a line that anchors the title: they came as mercenaries, but they stayed as neighbors. And he argues that when God’s presence “invades a land,” enemies can become allies and strangers can become brothers. In his framing, America remains a refuge for the weary only if peace begins again with faith.
Application
Dr. Greene treats peace as more than a temporary ceasefire. He connects it to righteousness, to lawful order, and to a public willingness to acknowledge God rather than worship power. His applications flow from that foundation.
Define peace the way Dr. Greene defines it. He links peace to righteousness (Isaiah 32:17), not merely to the absence of conflict. That framing shifts attention from winning power struggles to pursuing moral order.
Look for “plowshare” choices before “muskets.” By pairing the Hessians’ desertion with Isaiah 2:2–4, Dr. Greene emphasizes trading destructive tools and habits for constructive work that blesses communities.
Hold both sides of Ecclesiastes 3 together. Dr. Greene’s point is not that war is always wrong, but that war is sometimes necessary—and always tragic. He portrays the Revolution as an example of reluctant conflict after peaceful options were exhausted.
Evaluate leadership through the lens Dr. Greene uses. His emphasis on the treaty’s invocation of the Trinity is meant to highlight a posture of dependence on God. He contrasts that posture with modern public life that often treats God as irrelevant.
Practice peaceful conviction in seasons of change. Dr. Greene’s example of people leaving a city peacefully, and Washington returning to farming when possible, highlights responding to pressure without escalation, while still acting on conviction.
TL;DR
Dr. Perry Greene opens with the story of Lena Himmel, a Lithuanian orphan who became a New York seamstress and entrepreneur.
He says her work and an early maternity clothing design helped launch what became the Lane Bryant clothing chain.
He recounts that Britain hired about 30,000 German Hessians as mercenary soldiers during the American War for Independence.
He says about 5,000 Hessians deserted and stayed in America after the war because they found peace and opportunity.
He describes many of them working on Pennsylvania farms and laying down weapons to take up farming alongside German immigrants.
He connects their story to Isaiah 2:2–4 and its image of swords being turned into plowshares.
He portrays modern conflict as spiritually fueled and warns about political dominance pursued through Marxism and despotism.
He cites Ecclesiastes 3 and frames the Revolution as a reluctant but necessary fight after peaceful appeals failed.
He emphasizes a peace-treaty opening that invokes the Trinity to highlight founders acknowledging God in peacemaking.
He insists true peace requires righteousness, citing Isaiah 32:17.
Discussion Questions
Why does Dr. Greene begin with Lena Himmel’s immigration story before moving to the Hessians?
What does the “swords into plowshares” image (Isaiah 2:2–4) communicate about the kind of peace Dr. Greene emphasizes?
How does Dr. Greene use Ecclesiastes 3 to balance a desire for peace with the need to defend family and property?
What is Dr. Greene trying to show by highlighting the treaty language invoking the Trinity?
According to Dr. Greene’s argument, what changes when a nation relies on providence instead of politics and power?
Apply It This Week
Identify one conflict habit (escalating speech, bitterness, revenge, contempt) and replace it with a “plowshare” habit that builds (service, patience, honest work, peacemaking).
Pray for local and national leaders to pursue righteousness that leads to peace and “quietness and assurance” (Isaiah 32:17).
When a tense conversation arises, refuse escalation: listen carefully, speak clearly, and keep conviction without cruelty.
Do one practical act of constructive work—help a neighbor, serve a local need, or build something useful—as a small picture of turning weapons into tools.
Prayer Prompt
God of peace, teach hearts and leaders Your ways. Bring righteousness that produces quietness and assurance, and turn hostility into neighborly love. Amen.