American Revolution Biographies | Frederika von Riedesel Biography

Born July 11, 1746
Germany
Died March 29, 1808
Berlin, Germany

Baroness, camp follower

"I was an eyewitness of the whole affair [the Battle of Saratoga]…. I knew my husband was in the midst of it…. I shivered at every shot."

Frederika von Riedesel was a German noblewoman who spent six years living in America during the time of the Revolutionary War (1775–83). She saw battles, was taken prisoner, nursed her children through illnesses, and maintained a brave and optimistic outlook. A book comprising the letters she wrote during that time offers a vivid picture of that eventful period in American history.

Frederika Charlotte Luisa von Massow (later von Riedesel) was born into a wealthy German family in 1746. The baroness, as she was most often referred to in adulthood, was the daughter of Count Massow, head of an army formed by the German King Frederick...