In the early part of 1809, Kleist borrowed from the Dresden Staatsbibliothek two works dealing with the historical events behind what had come to be known as the Homburg legend. This was concerned with a historical figure, the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, who it appears, was guilty of exactly the same breach of discipline as the hero of Kleist's play, and who, in like manner, was generously pardoned by his commander-in-chief, the Great Elector, Frederick William of Brandenburg. It was this historical legend that provided the inspiration for Kleist's Prinz Friedrich von Homburg.

By the time he started writing the play, fundamental changes were taking place in Prussian society. The devastating defeats at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 proved that a full-scale reform of the Prussian army was long overdue. Even before 1806 it was already becoming apparent that the military strategies and tactics dating back to the times of Frederick the Great were no longer suited to contemporary warfare, and this prompted various members of the Prussian Reform Movement, such as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to advocate a programme of army reform. These reformers were particularly critical of the prevailing style of discipline, which had shown itself to be counter-productive in that it produced soldiers who were blindly obedient rather than courageously committed to their cause.