The Fighting Parson of the American Revolution

Major General Peter Muhlenberg, born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, was one of the more effective military leaders during the American Revolution, rising to the rank of Major General at war's end. Known for the "Muhlenberg Myth," the young minister, then from Woodstock, Virginia, rallied his parishioners to the cause and then led many of them into battle, though he likely never wore his military uniform in the church. Loyal to George Washington to the last, it was Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister, who arranged for the official memorial service to be at Zion's Lutheran Church in Philadelphia. Non-partisan in his politics, Muhlenberg served in the Congress and worked with both Federalists and Jeffersonians. Peter Muhlenberg was one of two Pennsylvanians honored in Statuary Hall in the Capitol building. For many years, his story has inspired Pennsylvania Germans and deserves to be remembered for posterity.  

This 2nd edition of Edward Hocker's 1936 biography has been newly edited and revised. It has been enhanced with nearly 100 images and an index.