He witnessed the beginning of the Greek War of Independence in Peloponnese, where he enlisted in the army as a volunteer claiming to be Baron Friedel von Friedelsburg, a second lieutenant of aristocratic origin.
[1] Friedel met many fighters of the Greek War of Independence in person such as Theodoros Kolokotronis, Nikitaras, Petrobey Mavromichalis, Markos Botsaris, Demetrios Ypsilantis, Ioannis Kolettis, Alexandros Mavrokordatos, etc.
Meyer published an article in the Greek newspaper Ellinika Chronika in which he warned philhellenic companies to avoid the fraudulent Friedel, he fled to London where he opened a lithographer’s shop.
[3] Because of health complications, Friedel was forced to leave England and head to southern France and then Italy before finally returning to Athens in 1849 where he was awarded two important decorations for his contribution to the Greek Struggle for Independence.
There, he submitted a report to King George consisting of supporting documents, claims and information about his life and his contributions to the cause of Greece’s Independence, asking for a pension for his services to the country.