ing to be abandoned in
her castle, insisted that
she accompany her hus-
band to the New World,
after their new child was
born. Rather than defend
a hopeless position, the
general capitulated and
anticipated meeting her
in Canada the following
summer.
In the late spring of
1777, Baroness von
Riedesel embarked on a
ship with three infant
daughters, two maids, a
servant, and a nurse in
tow. Pausing a few weeks
in England, she made her
way to Quebec, arriving
there in June. Her hus-
band, however, was not
on hand to greet her, hav-
ing been ordered inland to Chambly, to which
she immediately headed. The two were joy-
fully united amid the 7,000 British, Germans,
and Canadians massing for a campaign under
Gen. John Burgoyne. Dismissing the danger,
she again insisted on making the journey with
her husband, and Burgoyne agreed. Friendly
and gracious, she soon became a common
sight in these military surroundings, be-
decked in her silk and satin outfits. An excel-
lent rider, she also gained a degree of notori-
ety among Canadian women for riding with
boots on. The Baroness quickly established
herself as a favorite of generals Simon
Fraser and William Phillips, who, along
with her husband, were Burgoyne’s senior
commanders.
At length the British column headed south in
August 1777, only to become ensnared by in-
creasingly effective American defenses. The
baroness was close at hand during the costly
Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19,
1777, where she worked side by side with the
nurses to tend the wounded. Several weeks
later, at a hard-fought engagement on October
7, 1777, she and her chil-
dren were forced to cower
in a cellar while can-
nonading raged around
them. That evening the
baroness had the melan-
choly duty of attending to
her friend, General Fraser,
who had been mortally
wounded and died the fol-
lowing morning. Fortu-
nately, General von
Riedesel, who had been
closely engaged in both
battles, remained un-
scathed. “Many cannon-
balls flew close by me,”
she recorded, “but I had
my eyes directed towards
the mountain where my
husband was standing
amidst the fire of the
enemy, and of course I did
not think of my own danger.” This last action
trapped the British, and Burgoyne surrendered
his entire army to Gen. Horatio Gates on Octo-
ber 17, 1777. By the terms of a convention
reached with Gates, his entire force was then
paroled and allowed to proceed under escort to
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Frederika, for her
part, managed to partly salvage German pride
by secretly stuffing a regimental flag into her
mattress and presenting it to the men later.
Eventually, the baron arranged for her to pass
through the American camp and join him. Hav-
ing never met Americans before, the baroness
viewed them with trepidation until she was cor-
dially befriended by Gen. Philip J. Schuyler.
Both Riedesels expressed heartfelt regret that
British forces had burned Schuyler’s palatial es-
tate to the ground, but the general shrugged it
off to the fortunes of war.
In Boston, the Riedesels made many
friendly acquaintances among the American
elite. However, Frederika encountered noth-
ing but contempt from the lower classes, who
derided her association with mercenaries.
Moreover, when Congress refused to recog-RIEDESEL, FREDERIKA
Frederika Riedesel
National Archives