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."
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