 Erroneously known to American historians as "von Riedesel", he commanded a regiment of soldiers from the Duchy of Braunschweig as part of the British forces during the American Revolution.The noble Riedesels lost their sovereignty (and feudal rents and services) in the wake of the Napoleonic wars, so pursued other enterprises included brewing and forestry.Far more numerous in Germany and in America are Riedesels who clearly do not descend from the Riedesel Freiherren zu Eisenbach.