Frederica Charlotte Louise Riedesel

Portret Louise Charlotte Friederike Riedesel, baronowej Eisenbach, by Johann Heinrich Schröder, c1795

National Museum in Warsaw

Lady Frederica Charlotte Louise Riedesel, Baroness of Eisenbach (better known as "the Baroness") accompanied Burgoyne’s army during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777. Her husband, General Friedrich Adolf Riedesel, was commander of the Brunswick (German) troops who made up a considerable portion Burgoyne’s army.

While it might seem odd that the Baroness would choose to travel with an army, through wilderness, with three small children, Frederica was no stranger to the hard life of an army follower, as she had traveled with the Prussian army in her childhood. (Disclaimer: while it's true that for Frederica, army life was strenuous and hard living. But to the wives of soldiers, the Baroness still lived like a baroness, with better food, a lady servant, little labor, etc.)

The Baroness wrote about traveling with the army, caring for the wounded during and after battles, and her other experiences throughout the campaign in her memoir. Her accounts have been published as "Baroness von Riedesel and the American Revolution" Journal and Correspondence of a Tour of Duty, 1776-1783, a celebrated book and an important source for historians of the American Revolution and the 1777 campaign.