the arm. While being conducted to the rear, he
was suddenly ensnared by Maj. Thomas S.
Jesup’s troops and made a prisoner. This act
concluded his War of 1812 services.
After the battle, Riall was shipped to Buf-
falo, where his left arm was amputated. He
convalesced in the same room as General
Scott, also seriously wounded, and be-
friended his former enemy. Riall, the most
senior officer captured in the War of 1812,
could not be exchanged until December 1814,
at which point fighting ceased. He then re-
turned to England and gained an appoint-
ment as governor of Grenada for several
years. Riall also advanced in rank to lieu-
tenant general in 1825 and general in 1841. He
died in Paris on November 10, 1851, a major
player in the famous 1814 Niagara campaign.
Riall’s actions at Chippawa confirmed his
reputation as an impetuous leader and con-
tributed to his defeat, but his heroism in bat-
tle and usefulness as a subordinate remain
unquestioned.Bibliography
Barbuto, Richard V. Niagara, 1814: America Invades
Canada.Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2000;
Fredriksen, John C. “Niagara, 1814: The United States
Army Quest for Tactical Parity in the War of 1812 and
Its Legacy.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Provi-
dence College, 1993; Graves, Donald E. Red Coats
and Grey Jackets: The Battle of Chippawa, 5 July,
1814.Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1994; Johnson, Timo-
thy. Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory.
Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998; Morris,
John D. Sword of the Border: Major General Jacob
Jennings Brown, 1775–1828.Kent, OH: Kent State
University Press, 2000; Stanley, George F.G. The War
of 1812: Land Operations.Toronto: Macmillan of
Canada, 1983; Suthren, Victor J.H. The War of 1812.
Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1999.RIEDESEL, FREDERIKA
Riedesel, Frederika
(1746–March 29, 1808)
Hessian Civilian
A
dventurous Baroness von Riedesel
abandoned the comforts of home to ac-
company her husband during the
American Revolution. Inured to danger and
deprivation, she bore all the hardships of the
1777 Saratoga campaign by his side, and three
additional years in captivity, while raising
three children. She was no enemy of the
United States, but her steadfast courage, de-
votion, and piety should be acknowledged as
worthy of a soldier’s wife.
Frederika Charlotte Louisiana von Massow
was born in Brandenburg, Prussia, in 1746,
the daughter of Gen. Hans Jurgen Detloff von
Massow, commissary in chief of King Freder-
ick the Great. Frederika, who went by the
nickname “Fritschen,” grew up in a military
atmosphere and, maturing into an attractive
young woman, garnered the fancy of many a
young soldier. So it was in 1762 when she was
introduced to Friedrich Adolphus von
Riedesel, Baron of Eisenbach, a dashing light
cavalry officer from Brunswick. The two fell
in love and were married that same year, at a
lavish banquet hosted by none other than
Prince Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick. By
1776, the couple had two daughters and were
expecting a third child when Great Britain de-
cided to hire German troops, known as Hes-
sians, to fight in the American Revolution.
The baron, by dint of his excellent reputation
as a soldier, was promoted to general and ap-
pointed head of the large Brunswick contin-
gent. However, the young baroness, not wish-