Aides and Friends

Colonel William NORTH and Major Benjamin WALKER were patriots of the American Revolution. The were aides and friends of General von STEUBEN who came to America to train Washington’s troops. The picture is from the Statue of Baron von Steuben, Lafayette Square, Washington DC.

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The image, Aides and Friends, is subject to copyright by barneykin. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

General Von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm August von Steuben was born 17 September 1730, in Magdeburg, Prussia, and died 1794, in New York. If I am reading the German writing correctly, this plaque and statue of the great patriot general of the American Revolution is located in Potsdam, Germany.

Baron Von Steuben was born into a military family. He played a crucial role in the military success of the American Revolution. He had joined the Prussian army at the age of sixteen and served until the end of the Seven Years War. Rising to the rank of captain, he was for a time attached to the staff of Fredrick the Great. With his forceful Prussian bearing and colorful personality, Steuben had a wondrous effect on the downhearted Continental army, becoming one of General George Washington’s most valuable and trusted officers. He was charged to train the army as an efficient fighting machine, which he did, despite the fact that he spoke no English.

Baron Von Steuben

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The image, Steuben-Denkmal, is subject to copyright by SteffenKahl. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.

Von Steuben

GENERAL FRIEDRICH WILHELM AUGUST VON STEUBEN

The “von” was added to the STEUBEN family name in 1708, by grandfather Augustin Steuben who was a minister with the German Reformed Church. Steuben was baptised with the name “Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben” which he changed to “Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand.” The title of Baron was awarded to him in 1764, after he became chamberlain at the petty court of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. He had already been in military service, having been dismissed, reasons unknown, in 1763, with the rank of Captain.

Steuben came to the colonies, after presenting his credentials to Benjamin Franklin in France. He had royal connections in his homeland and had been part of the General Staff during the Seven Years War. He even served diplomatically in Russia. His military experience had been significant enough to greatly improve the quality of the Continental Army after Valley Forge.

It is always a wonder to find our own American patriots of the Revolution honored also in lands far across the sea.  Of course, it should be thus, as it was the Revolution that “fired the shot heard ’round the world.” If I am reading the German writing correctly, this statue of the great patriot general of the American Revolution is located in Potsdam, Germany.

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The image, Steuben-Denkmal, is subject to copyright by SteffenKahl. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin, administrator of “The Revolution ed” pool.