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:
“Animals are in possession of themselves; their soul is in possession of their body. But they have no right to their life, because they do not will it.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“The thing with Catholicism, the same as all religions, is that it teaches what should be, which seems rather incorrect. This is “what should be.” Now, if you’re taught to live up to a “what should be” that never existed—only an occult superstition, no proof of this “should be”Mthen you can sit on a jury and indict easily, you can cast the first stone, you can burn Adolf Eichmann, like that!”
—Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)