#baronvonsteuben

Hanging with #VonSteuben #grandparade #valleyforge @valleyforgepark #heritagenight #baronvonsteuben #revwar #18thcentury

#BookweightCat is super excited that we're done cataloging a run of editions of Baron von Steuben's Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States (the Sarah Vowell's new book Lafayette in the Somewhat United States gave us a better appreciation of his work). So, we're sharing part of a frontispiece to the Regulations that demonstrates the manual exercise. Bookweight Cat isn't sure about the part that shows shooting the person next to you. Doesn't really seem fair to the dude getting shot... #baronvonsteuben #seemedlikeagoodidea #questionablelocation

  Prussian-born American soldier and author. After serving in the military of Frederick the Great, he was forced to flee Prussia following a mysterious scandal that may have been influenced by his homosexuality. He was introduced to Benjamin Franklin as a Prussian Lieutenant General and a “Baron” (he was not actually a Prussian aristocrat, but was referred to as the Baron for the rest of his life). Traveling to America in 1777, he began organizing the military forces for Gen. George Washington during the Revolution; his Regulations for Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States (1779) became the “bible” for the nascent American forces and remained in effect until 1812. Von Steuben was particularly close to military aides, Benjamin Walker and William North, who may have shared his bed and certainly shared each other’s beds. Von Steuben never married and, following the war, lived on a pension provided by the American Congress; his influence on American history that Von Steuben Day (September) is celebrated in many U.S. cities with strong German ties.