Colonel Rudolphus Ritzema (1739–1803) was an American officer in the

New York Line The New York Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "New York Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to New York at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingent ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and later changed sides, serving as a lieutenant colonel in a British regiment. He was born to the Reverend Johannes Ritzema and Hiltje Dijkstra in

Kollum Kollum ( Low Saxon: ''Kölm'') is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân municipality in the province Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 5529 in January 2017. There is a restored windmill, ''Tochmaland'' in the village. History Th ...

, a village in the

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

province of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. The family moved to America in 1744. Ritzema attended

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

, which would later become

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he was one of the first to graduate, in July 1758. He went from there to study

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

in the Netherlands, but was uninterested, and ended up enlisting in the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n army, where he likely saw service in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. After that war he returned to New York, where he studied and practiced law. When the revolution broke out in 1775, he became a member of the

Committee of Sixty The Committee of Sixty or Committee of Observation was a committee of inspection formed in the City and County of New York (Manhattan, New York City), in 1775, by rebels to enforce the Continental Association, a boycott of British goods enacted by t ...

and the Committee of One Hundred in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. On June 30, 1775, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the

1st New York Regiment The 1st New York Regiment was authorized on 25 May 1775 and organized at New York City from 28 June to 4 August, for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel Alexander McDougall. The enlistments of the first establishment en ...

. In July he seized British armaments in New York City. On November 28, 1775 he was appointed colonel of the

3rd New York Regiment The 3rd New York Regiment was authorized May 25, 1775, and organized from June 28 to August 4 from the counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Suffolk under the command of Colonel James Clinton for five months service in Canada. The enlis ...

on the recommendation of General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

replacing Alexander McDougall who had not accompanied his regiment to the field. He took part in the Battle of Quebec and believed one of the reasons for Montgomery's rush into battle was the pending enlistment terminations involving

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

's forces. His regiment was next assigned to the defense of New York, and placed in

Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

's brigade. According to charges filed by Stirling, Ritzema was lax in maintaining order and discipline in his regiment, which was two hours late for a parade review on July 1, 1776. Stirling placed Ritzema on report, in response to which Ritzema is alleged to have used disrespectful language. While he was subjected to a court martial over the slight, Ritzema was cleared when Stirling chose to overlook the slight. The bad blood appears to have continued, for by November 1776, possibly during or after the Battle of White Plains, Ritzema deserted and joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. In May 1778, as a lieutenant colonel in the British army, he raised a few companies of an organization called the Royal American Reformers. These companies were either demobilized or reassigned in December, and Ritzema was put on half pay. He died in May 1803 in

Starcross Starcross is a village with a 2011 census recorded population of 1,737 situated on the west shore of the Exe Estuary in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon. The village is popular in summer with leisure craft, and is home to one of the ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He had four children.Columbia University Quarterly
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References

* Heitman, Francis B., ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution. New, efnlarged, and revised edition.'', Washington, D.C.: Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914 * ''Journal of Colonel Rudolphus Ritzema'' *Bell, Ian C, "Rudolphus Ritzema-A Re-appraisal of the life of a Traitor", http://www.rudolphusritzema.yolasite.com" {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritzema, Rudolphus 1744 births 1803 deaths Continental Army officers from New York (state) British colonial army officers American people of Dutch descent American people of Frisian descent People from Kollumerland American defectors Dutch emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Columbia College (New York) alumni