Charlotte Riedesel

By the time she traveled to North America to accompany her husband on campaign, Lady Riedesel was no stranger to the hardships of military life, and the importance of keeping families together. Born in 1746 as Charlotte Von Massow, she grew up traveling with her father, a lieutenant general in the Prussian army. In 1762, Charlotte met Lieutenant Colonel and Baron Friedrich Adolph Riedesel. They wed later that year, and by marriage, Charlotte gained both a new title and last name: Baroness Riedesel.

In 1776 the Duke of Brunswick signed a treaty to support Great Britain's war against the Patriots in North America. While the Baron Riedesel, a commander of the Duke's troops, prepared to join the British army, the Baronnes prepared to join him—though she was pregnant with her third child at the time. Charlotte and her husband made plans that she would travel to Britian and then to Canada after giving birth. Despite a temporary protest from her mother, Charlotte carried out this plan, strongly insisting that it was important for her family to be together.

In May 1776, two months after baby Carolina's birth, Charlotte and her three daughters traveled to the Channel coast and sailed to Britain. Here, they waited nearly a year, trying to arrange passage on a ship Canada and trying to find other officers' wives to travel with. During her time in Britain, Charlotte learned to speak English and adopted English customs. She met King George III and Queen Charlotte who welcomed her kindly and praised her husband's military leadership.

Finally, in April 1777, Charlotte embarked with her daughters, beginning the transatlantic voyage to reunite her family. Charlotte and her daughters arrived safely and met General Riedesel in June. In the following weeks, she received permission to travel with the army during General John Burgoyne's push south toward Albany, New York. She obtained a small carriage and headed into the American wilderness with British General Burgoyne's army.

Charlotte and her family witnessed the Saratoga Campaign. On September 19, Charlotte heard the gunfire from the Battle of Freeman's Farm. She and her daughters stayed in a small house within the British lines, and wounded men were carried to the shelter. To her relief, General Riedesel survived the battle without injury.

After the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7, mortally wounded Simon Fraser was carried to Charlotte Riedesel's temporary home. She did what she could to ease his suffering and gave supplies to care for the other wounded. Charlotte later attended Fraser's funeral and came under American artillery fire. The British army retreated, pursued by the Americans. Charlotte took refuge at the Marshall House near modern-day Schuylerville, hiding in the cellar with her daughters and protecting other women and wounded officers who sought safety there.

By mid-October 1777, the option of surrender faced the British army. Isolated, hungry, and defeated in battle, Burgoyne, Riedesel, and other generals conferred and decided to ask American General Horatio Gates for terms. The general agreed to a convention in which the British army would surrender, be paroled, and return to Britain.
While the military men handled the surrender, Charlotte and her children entered American lines, willingly sharing the parole fate with General Riedesel. Charlotte did not know what to expect in this new situation, but she found that the American officers treated her with kindness. American General Philip Schuyler opened one of his homes for Charlotte and her children.

Congress did not accept the convention terms, delaying the parole and return to Britain of thousands of British and German troops. The Riedesel family stayed in America with the Convention Army, moving several times until finally being allowed to return to Germany in 1783. Through all of the hardships on campaign and as prisoners of war, Charlotte kept her family safe, healthy and, most importantly, together.