Frederick William Augustus Henry Ferdinand von Steuben, known in this
country as Baron Steuben, was born in Magdeburg, Prussia, on the 15th
of November, 1730. The son of a soldier, his earliest recollections
were of the camp. At the age of ten years, returning with his father
from a campaign in the Crimea, he was placed in the Jesuit College
at Neisse, and later transferred to that at Breslau, distinguishing
himself at both as a mathematician. When but fourteen, he served
with his father in the war of 1744, and was present at the siege of
Prague. At seventeen, as a cadet, he entered a regiment of infantry,
rose in two years to be ensign, and in four more to be lieutenant.
As aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great of Prussia, he served in the
Seven Years War, taking part in the celebrated battle of Prague.
At the restoration of peace in 1763, he resigned his post in the
army and was appointed to a position at court, commanding a liberal
salary. In 1777, learning that the greatest weakness of the Americans
lay in their ignorance of military tactics and want of thorough
discipline, he left his life of ease in the Old World, and coming
to the New, presented himself to Congress as a volunteer. If the
cause were lost, they owed him nothing; if gained, he would expect
remuneration equivalent to the salary he had resigned. His offer being
accepted, he went to Valley Forge and began his great work, whereby
our whole military system assumed new shape. On the 5th of May,
1778, Congress appointed him inspector-general of the army, with the
rank of major-general, and no officer of that grade in the field did
so much toward our ultimate success as did this born organizer and
disciplinarian. The following year, he wished to take the field; but
the American officers expressed so much dissatisfaction, on account
of being outranked, that he withdrew his request and devoted himself
to his old work, which to him must have seemed little better than
that of a drill-sergeant. In 1780, he published a manual for the
army that was of great value, and is still considered an authority.
Written in German, it was translated into French, then into English,
in which language it was wholly unintelligible to him. Warm-hearted
and hospitable, he shared his last dollar with his suffering brother
officers, and even at one time sold his horse that he might have the
means of entertaining his camp guests. With a chivalrous regard for
truth and honor, he despised the very name of Arnold. At review one
day he heard the name of “Benedict Arnold” called over with those of
some new recruits. Regarding its owner keenly for a few moments, and
being pleased with his manly bearing, the baron said, “Young man, you
must change your name; you are too respectable to bear the name of a
traitor!” “What name shall I take, General?” “Take any other; mine is
at your service.” Adopting the name of Steuben, the young man received
a christening present of a monthly allowance, and eventually a large
tract of land.
After the defeat of Gates, Baron Steuben was sent to Virginia to help
General Greene, and when Arnold entered that State in the pay of the
British, the baron used every endeavor to capture the traitor and bring
him to justice. Serving actively at the siege of Yorktown, he was in
command of the trenches when Cornwallis was summoned to surrender.
Lafayette offered to relieve the baron; but he replied that European
etiquette required him to remain at his post until the terms of the
surrender were accepted or hostilities resumed. When the English
flag was lowered to its American conquerors, Steuben’s men had the
proud satisfaction of being foremost of those on duty. At the close
of the war, he was sent to Canada to demand the surrender of all the
posts along the frontier, but being unsuccessful in this mission,
returned to headquarters. Upon the disbanding of the army, he retired
to private life, resided in New York City for several years, while
waiting for Congress to redeem its promise to pay him for his arduous
and self-sacrificing services. In the mean time Pennsylvania, Virginia,
and New Jersey voted him grants of land; but that from the last-named
State he declined, because it had been the confiscated estate of a Tory
who would be left destitute. New York now voted him a township near
Utica, and Congress after an ungracious delay of seven years voted
him a pension of $2,400 per annum. Retiring to his New York estate,
he cleared sixty acres, built a log house, and spent the remainder of
his life in dispensing a large-hearted hospitality, in agricultural
pursuits, and the enjoyment of his valuable library. Once a year he
visited New York City, but in 1795, while preparing for this annual
trip, he was stricken with paralysis, and died on the 25th of November.
By his own direction he was wrapped in his military cloak, and on his
breast was placed the diamond star of the Order of Fidelity, which he
had received from the Prince Margrave of Bavaria, and which he always
wore. His funeral was attended by his neighbors, and was without pomp
or military display of any kind. Colonel North, his favorite aid,
inherited his property and erected a small monument to his memory.