Johann Friedrich von Salm-Grumbach (5 November 1743 – 11 September 1819) was a member of the noble family of Wild and Rhinegrave from the line of Salm-Grumbach. In the mid-1780s, he served as colonel of a legion of the States General of the Netherlands, then of the States of Holland and West Friesland.^[2] As the intended successor to Field Marshal Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who had left the Netherlands in October 1784, he played a significant role in the conflict between the Dutch Patriots and Orangists until mid-September 1787.

Supported by the Patriots, who advocated for a representative representation of the bourgeoisie, he temporarily assumed the position of de facto general and commander-in-chief of the armed forces in Holland in 1786; de jure, Albert van Rijssel was appointed. Later, he commanded several Free Corps in Utrecht until the Prussian invasion of Holland in 1787 strengthened the position of the Dutch Stadtholder William V of Orange again. Criticism of Salm’s military judgment arose primarily due to the hasty evacuation of Utrecht; afterwards, he was often referred to as a “stylish failure”.

For many years, Johann Friedrich von Salm-Grumbach has been confused with Prince Frederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg in various writings, which have been written in several languages.^[3][4][5] This is not always the case. Contemporaries such as his former adjutant Quint Ondaatje, August Ludwig Schlözer, and General Von Pfau,^[6][7][8] as well as many other German historians, hold a different opinion. ^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}