Friedrich Adolf Riedesel, Freiherr zu Eisenbach (June 3, 1738, Lauterbach, Hesse – January 6, 1800) was the commander of a regiment of soldiers from the Duchy of Brunswick (Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) among the German units hired by the British during the American War of Independence. They are mistakenly referred to as "Hessians" by some Americans, but were correctly identified as Brunswickers by their contemporaries.
Beginning with memoirs published by one of his sons-in-law, the General came to be referred to as "von Riedesel" in American historical writing, but this is historically incorrect. From its earliest known members in the 13th century down to the present, family members rarely used the predicate "von" in their name. The patent from Emperor Leopold I in 1680 which raised them to the status of Barons (Freiherren) did not designate them as "von."
Famous quotes containing the words friedrich and/or adolf:
“As high as mind stands above nature, so high does the state stand above physical life. Man must therefore venerate the state as a secular deity.... The march of God in the world, that is what the State is.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“I thank heaven for a man like Adolf Hitler, who built a front line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism.”
—Frank Buchman (1878–1961)