Born in Prussia in 1730, Baron von Steuben had a storied military career that began at a young age when he followed his father to Crimea to fight in the Russian war against the Turks. Rising in the ranks, he fought in the Seven Years’ War and was even given special military training and instruction by Frederick the Great (an honor only bestowed upon some thirteen young officers in the Prussian Army).
Fatefully, in the 1770s, von Steuben was introduced to Benjamin Franklin. The revolutionary cause was one that meant much to von Steuben (as well as the promise of ridding himself of massive debt by continuing to pursue a military career), and in 1777, he sailed to what would become the United States to join the fray. Arrangements were made to pay von Steuben and his entourage if he was able to lead a successful military campaign against the British advance on Philadelphia. Though a volunteer, he was made Inspector General by George Washington in an effort to prove his worth.
Von Steuben was able to better train and better the conditions for the soldiers who had suffered through an intense winter in Valley Forge. He not only picked 120 men to be specifically trained as he was (who would then in turn train their subordinates), but he was also able to bring methods of sanitation to the camp to better the health of the soldiers. This training included the proper use of the bayonet, which before this had primarily been used as a skewer for cooking and ornamentation rather than as a weapon during battle. This helped lead to successes in both the Battle of Barren Hill and the Battle of Monmouth, which then led to von Steuben leading the Southern campaign against the British. Many scholars attribute his military training to the success of the Americans in the Revolution.
After the Revolution, von Steuben became a naturalized American citizen and settled at homesteads in both New Jersey and then upstate New York. In 1790, Congress awarded him a pension for life, which permitted him a life of comfort.
Von Steuben never married and had no children, but it was suggested that he was homosexual throughout his career. Furthermore, he adopted and made heirs his aides-de-camp, Benjamin Walker and William North, which was a method of “marriage” for homosexuals in a country and time that did not permit gay marriage. No writings exist to prove this, but there had been whispers of von Steuben’s homosexuality while he was in the Prussian Army.
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Legends of Pride 