The North Spy, the fourth novel in the Yankee Doodle Spies series, contains a trove of historical persons as fascinating as any of the fictional characters I developed for the story. However, one of the most interesting personalities in the campaign still lacks representation. I strike a mea culpa for leaving out the remarkable woman who was part of it all, and I hope to make up for it with this post.
Military Brat
The lady in question is a German-born daughter of a senior officer in the army of Frederick the Great. Presumably named for her father's sovereign and military overlord, Fredericka Charlotte Louise von Masow was born in 1746 in Brandenburg, Prussia. The young aristocrat received an excellent education via tutors hired by her father, Count Hans Jurgen Detloff von Masow, as the general brought his family with him in various assignments. Nicknamed the Baroness, Fredericka and her sisters blossomed into beautiful, educated, and refined young women, attracting many young officers.
Military Match
One of these was a dashing young cavalry officer, Friedrich Adolphus von Riedesel. The two aristocrats married in 1762, and Fredericka settled into the life of a military wife in a comfortable Berlin home, where she soon gave birth to two children. Unfortunately, neither child survived infancy.
Friederich's military duties uprooted the family. About sixteen years later, he became a dragoon captain in the army of the Duke of Brunswick, a north German principality. Fredericka and her children resided with him in a lavish house in Wolfenbüttel. However, the peacetime idyll was soon to end for Fredericka and her family.
Summons to War
When the American Revolution broke out in 1775, the British soon found themselves short on manpower, prompting the king to turn to his continental "cousins" for help. The Duke lent his army to King George of England, as did several other minor German princes, most notably the Prince of Hesse-Kassel. The Americans soon referred to all the German auxiliaries serving the British as "Hessians."
In 1776, Friedrich was promoted to general and, at the head of a force of German professionals, sailed to Quebec.
Follow the Drum
Family traditions die hard, and Fredericka was determined to accompany her husband, but being heavy with child forced her to remain behind. However, a year later, she was able to pack up her children, along with servants and baggage, and make her way to Belgium, then to France, and finally to England, where they boarded a ship and made the perilous Atlantic crossing to North America.
The thirty-one-year-old Baroness and her three daughters arrived in Quebec just in time to witness some of the most dramatic events of the struggle between the American colonies and Britain. The cheerful and determined Fredericka had disregarded the dire warnings about the harsh lifestyle and savagery of the New World. However, Quebec was primarily a French provincial town, and she quickly made herself at home.
Camp Follower
The British had dispatched a new army to Canada as part of General John Burgoyne's ambitious plan to divide the colonies through an invasion from the north, aimed at connecting with British forces that would march north from New York and unite at Albany. Over 8,000 British regulars, Canadians, Indians, and Germans comprised Burgoyne's well-equipped force.
Accompanying them was a group of camp followers consisting of provisioners and a significant number of women who provided services such as cooking, cleaning, repairing clothing, and, most importantly, caring for the sick and wounded. Thus, women accompanying the army were a common sight in 18th-century warfare. However, it was rare for a high-born and refined noblewoman to follow the gun. Yet, the beautiful Fredericka's blue eyes, dark hair, and graceful manner quickly won the hearts of the officers and soldiers who met her.
Blitzkrieg
Not quite a blitzkrieg, but by early July 1777, the invading forces had quickly traversed Lake Champlain and taken the mightiest bastion in North America, Fort Ticonderoga. The army soon moved south, pursuing the fleeing rebels to Fort Edward and Fort George. Could the fall of Albany be far off?
Fredericka and her children, along with the servants, made their way through the lush wilderness to join her husband at Fort George. The untouched beauty of the land was striking, but soon the brutality of warfare engulfed them.
The extensive 200-mile supply line led to supply shortages just as the army appeared to be closing in on its objective. Consequently, General Burgoyne sent von Riedesel and his German troops to venture through the New York forests and fields to requisition livestock, food, and wagons.
Von Riedesel objected because of the uncertainties and distances involved. However, he complied, telling his wife it was too dangerous for her to accompany him. She refused to stay behind and insisted on joining his column, which suffered defeat at the hands of John Stark and the New Hampshire militia at Bennington.
Witness to Calamity
Despite the worsening supply situation, Burgoyne moved south, and his army fought two battles against the Americans at Freeman's Farm in September and Bemis Heights in October. By this time, the army was nearly half its original size, but morale remained high. The Americans had gathered large groups of militia to reinforce the continental regiments under the new commander, General Horatio Gates. Both battles were bloody affairs. Fredericka tended to the wounded in both clashes, and she even came under fire at Bemis Heights from the American artillery that targeted the house serving as a makeshift hospital. Gathering her girls, they took shelter in the cellar while cannonballs peppered the building.
Bemis Heights was costly in many ways, but perhaps the most significant loss was the death of British General Simon Fraser, who was shot by a sniper at the height of the battle. The gentlemanly Fraser and Fredericka had formed a close bond. The day after, she attended his funeral, which was a very somber event. The British withdrew to Saratoga, but growing numbers of rebels cut their supply lines, forcing Burgoyne to sue for terms. In this case, "a convention" rather than an admission of surrender. However, this euphemism could not erase the reality of more than 4,000 regulars falling to the rebels.
Saratoga Surrender
In many ways, what should have been the end of Fredericka's American adventure was just the beginning. On October 17, 1777, after witnessing the anguish of her husband and the entire army ground arms and standards before the watchful eyes of the Americans, our Baroness joined her husband and the rest of "The Convention Army" in captivity. Most of the officers were eventually repatriated to Britain, and most of the army ended up marching south for an extended period of imprisonment.
American Sojourn
General Philip Schuyler, the former commander of the Northern Department and a wealthy, influential politician, invited her and her daughters to his estate in Albany. After this visit, she traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where most prisoners initially stayed. As a senior officer, her husband and his family were treated as guests and participated in the vibrant social life around Boston.
The Old Dominion
In late 1778, Frederika, her husband, and the girls were provided with a carriage and escorted south along with many other prisoners. The Americans ordered this due to food shortages and the risk of prisoners attempting to escape to the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island. The family endured hunger throughout the journey and faced a perilous trek through the brutal winter snow, ice, and mud. The locals treated them poorly. Frederika managed these hardships with grace and a positive attitude. Her husband, the general, fared less well.
The long and winding journey south concluded in the Virginia piedmont town of Charlottesville in January 1779. Life improved in the Old Dominion. The family settled on a nearby estate, enjoying a happy plantation lifestyle. Her husband took to gardening, and she took to playing the piano. They were introduced to the planter social scene and became guests of Thomas Jefferson, now the Governor of Virginia.
New York State of Mind
Later that year, the von Riedesels were directed to travel north. Her husband would be paroled, pending his official exchange for the captured American General Benjamin Lincoln (at Charleston). Once they arrived, life changed. New York was under British control, and the Loyalist population treated them well. They initially resided at Governor Tryon's residence. Fredericka met and charmed numerous notable figures from the British garrison, including General Cornwallis, General Patterson, and the commander-in-chief, General Henry Clinton.
Her husband later acquired a comfortable home with elegant furnishings, and they became deeply involved in the society of occupied New York. They spent summers at General Clinton's country estate, where he often visited them, sometimes accompanied by the notorious spymaster Major John Andre.
A smallpox outbreak forced the entire family to undergo the rudimentary vaccination process of that time. When the exchange became official and his parole ended, General von Riedesel took command of the British garrison on Long Island. The family accompanied him there, and Frederika gave birth to another girl, whom she aptly named Amerika.
O Canada
In September 1781, the family left New York for Canada, where several of the general's German regiments remained. He was recovering from a second bout of fever. Life in Canada proved pleasant as the level of fighting drastically decreased after Yorktown. By 1783, British troops and their costly auxiliaries were slowly leaving for home or to defend other parts of the empire.
Royal Audience
The von Riedesels sailed after the last Germans left but paused in England, where King George and his queen welcomed the ever-popular Fredericka and her husband. She entertained Queen Charlotte and the royal princesses with stories of her adventures in the wondrous and troubled New World.
In der Heimat
The return to Germany was bittersweet. Fredericka rejoiced at seeing her husband reunited with his old command, and the locals welcomed them to the Heimatland (Homeland). However, she carried memories of suffering that left a lasting impression. Too many promising young men had endured hardship and were maimed, wounded, or buried in a distant land.
Retirement and Remembrance
The von Riedesels then returned to Brunswick, where von Riedesel commanded the Brunswick troops. After six years, they retired to Lauterbach Castle. Following the death of her husband in 1800, Frederika spent most of her time in Berlin, where she founded a home for military orphans. She also constructed a house for the poor in Brunswick. Frederika passed away on March 29, 1808. However, she had captured her remarkable life of adventure in her memoirs. Compiled from her letters and diary, they provided a unique perspective of the war in the New World – a woman's viewpoint.
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