Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von, 1730-1794

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1730-09-17
Death 1794-11-28
Birth 1730
Death 1794
Active 1778
Active 1948
Americans
English, French, English, French,

Biographical notes:

Baron Friedrich von Steuben; Prussian military officer; reformed and disciplined the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, subsequently regarded as one of the fathers of the United States Army. Steuben took part in several battles in the Seven Years' War (1756–63), rose to the rank of captain, and became aide-de-camp to Prussian King Frederick the Great, abruptly discharged from the army in 1763. Awarded title Baron in 1771 from his service to Hollenzollern-Hechingen earned him the title baron.

Benjamin Franklin recommended Steuben to George Washington. Appalled by the state of American forces, Steuben took the lead in teaching soldiers the essentials of military drills, tactics, and discipline based on Prussian techniques. He wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which remained the army's drill manual for decades. In 1778 Steuben was commissioned as Inspector General with the rank of Major General.

After the war, Steuben was made a U.S. citizen and granted a large estate in New York in reward for his service. In 1780, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, a learned society that included most of the nation's most prominent founding fathers. It is also likely Steuben lived openly as a homosexual man.

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Permalink:
http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68m82t4
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Agriculture
  • Courts-martial and courts of inquiry
  • Drill and minor tactics
  • Money

Occupations:

  • Army officers
  • Farmers
  • Military officers

Places:

  • 14, DE
  • NY, US
  • 00, US
  • New York (State) (as recorded)
  • America (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • Oneida County (N.Y.) (as recorded)
  • Virginia (as recorded)
  • Spain (as recorded)

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