Nicholas Dietrich, Baron de Ottendorf

Nicholas Dietrich, Baron of Ottendorf, was a German mercenary who was paid on commission by the newly-formed Continental Congress to gather and raise an independent corps in the Continental Army on December 5, 1776.

Dietrich had trouble properly organizing Ottendorf's Corps, and as a result, George Washington replaced him with Lieutenant Colonel Armand on July 11, 1777. The Corps was scattered, with some being put under Armand's command while others followed Baron Dietrich. In 1781, the Baron and those that remained with him had eventually joined under the banner of the British Army.