THE LIFE 
 
 OP 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM VON STEUBEN. 
 
 MAJOR GENEPwAL IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY. 
 BT 
 
 FKIEDEICH KAPR 
 
 'Omnia reliquit servaro rempublican." — Motto of the Cincinnati, 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BANCROFT. 
 
 NEW YORK • 
 
 MASON BROTHERS. 
 
 18 5 9. 
 
e* 
 
 
 c$& 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S59, by 
 
 MASON BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the Distrioi Court of the Southern District of 
 
 New York. 
 
 *?of 
 
 4 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY PRINTED BY 
 
 T. B. Smith & Son, C. A. Alvobd, 
 
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 TO 
 
 o r 
 
 FRIED RICH EN GELS, 
 
 I. ATE MAJOR GENEUAL IK TUB PRUSSIAN AMY, AND COMMANDANT OF 
 COLOGNE ON THE RHINE, 
 
 AN HONEST MAN, A BRAVE SOLDIER AND A TRUE FRIEND, 
 
 THIS VOL IT MP] IS DEDICATED 
 
 BY HIS GRATEFUL SON-IN-LAAY, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The memory of Steuben has many claims upon 
 the present generation. To the cause of our coun- 
 try in the times of its distress, he, at the sacrifice of 
 a secure career, devoted the experience and skill, 
 which had been the fruit of long years of service 
 under the greatest master of the art of war of that 
 day. He rendered the inestimable benefit of in- 
 troducing a better rule into the discipline of the 
 American army, and stricter accountability in the 
 distribution of military stores. He served under 
 our flag with implicit fidelity, with indefatigable in- 
 dustry, and a courage that shrunk from no danger. 
 His presence was important both in the camp and on 
 the field of battle ; from the huts of Valley Forge 
 to Yorktown; and he remained with us till his 
 death. 
 
 Happily, a biographer has at last risen up, worthy 
 and able to do justice to Steuben by a full sketch of 
 the eventful story of his life. The interesting and 
 well-written work of Friedrich Kapp, which is now 
 laid before the public, has been prepared with a care- 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ful and conscientious study of the best materials. 
 The author has brought to his undertaking the 
 scholarly habits and criticism of the learned men 
 of Germany, and has left nothing within his reach 
 unconsidered. We have in his production the most 
 complete and trusty account of Steuben's career, 
 drawn directly from contemporary sources, authenti- 
 cated by the use of the original papers of Steuben 
 himself. Neither has the zeal of the biographer led 
 him to exaggerate the hero's merit ; he is painted to 
 the life with his defects and his great qualities. Full 
 justice is also rendered to Washington ; but of the 
 character and career of Lafayette, I have formed an 
 estimate widely different from that of the author of 
 this biography. 
 
 It is not merely as the memorial of an eminent 
 general of the Revolution, and a valuable contribu- 
 tion to the history of American independence, that 
 this work has claims to consideration. It deserves 
 special attention as a just tribute by one of our 
 German fellow-citizens to the greatest military com- 
 mander of German origin who took part in the vindi- 
 cation of our liberties. The Americans of that day, 
 who were of German birth or descent, formed a large 
 part of the population of the United States ; they 
 can not well be reckoned at less than a twelfth of the 
 whole, and perhaps formed even a larger proportion 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 of the insurgent people. At the commencement of 
 the Revolution, we hear little of them, not from their 
 want of zeal in the good cause, but from their 
 modesty. They kept themselves purposely in the 
 background, leaving it to those of English origin to 
 discuss the violation of English liberties and to decide 
 whether the time for giving battle had come. But 
 when the resolution was taken, no part of the coun- 
 try was more determined in its patriotism than 
 the German counties of Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
 Neither they nor their descendants have laid claim 
 to all the praise that was their due. So that the 
 effort to exhibit the achievements of one of their race 
 in a clearer light deserves a willing recognition. 
 
 Another consideration enhances the interest of the 
 subject. The number of those who have emigrated 
 from Germany has increased, till the intelligence, the 
 culture, as well as the people and the aspirations of 
 Germany find here their representatives. It requires 
 no prophetic eye to discern that the German mind, as 
 represented by our German fellow-citizens, blending 
 with the other elements which go to constitute the 
 American people, is destined to exert a marked in- 
 fluence on America. The American Revolution, — 
 having been wantonly opposed by a few of the minor 
 princes, and loudly supported by the sympathies of 
 Lessing, Klopstock, Schiller, Frederick the Great, 
 
Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and so many more of that day, — is indissolubly con- 
 nected with the traditions of central Europe. This 
 circumstance, aided by a natural pride and interest 
 in the large body of men of German descent in the 
 United States, has exercised, and is destined yet 
 more to exercise, a moulding influence on the thought, 
 the political theories and institutions of Germany. 
 The career of Steuben, who was born in Prussia, and 
 took part in the great Seven Years' War fo/kGerman 
 
 
 liberty, before he became the fellow-lab or e|£bf Wash- 
 ington, is a ground on which these sympathies may 
 come together; as he did not live to that period 
 when our country heaped just rewards upon the sur- 
 viving soldiers of the Revolution, our debt of grati- 
 tude is best acknowledged by a monument to his 
 fame; and men of German origin on the Rhine or 
 the Oder, on the James river or the Ohio, on the 
 Mohawk or the Missouri, may join with the rest of 
 us in approving an honest and hearty record of the 
 worth and services of Steuben. 
 
 GEORGE BANCROFT. 
 
 New York, February 14, 1859. 
 
PEEFACB 
 
 The following pages constitute the first attempt that has 
 ever been made at a complete biography of General Yon 
 Steuben. In submitting them to the American public, I flat- 
 ter myself that my work will not be considered superfluous, 
 and that it will be found to contain a considerable store of 
 valuable and hitherto unpublished matter connected with the 
 internal history of the American Revolution. 
 
 It is manifest that the obstacles in the way of publishing 
 an historical work, were much more serious for a foreigner, to 
 whom to think and write in a language not his own is difficult 
 enough, than for a native of America. Nevertheless, from 
 the moment I commenced the work, I have not allowed any 
 sacrifice of time to deter me from reviving, by a description 
 of his life, the memory of one whose participation in the 
 achievement of the independence and freedom of this coun- 
 try has been so distinguished and meritorious as that of Steu- 
 ben. 
 
 I am too well aware of the imperfections and advantages 
 of this book, to allow a false modesty to prevent my alluding 
 to them. To appreciate adequately Steuben's merit requires 
 a profound military education. An officer of experience and 
 talent is alone capable of treating the subject of this work in 
 a perfect manner ; and it was only because no one possessing 
 this qualification seemed willing to perform the task, that I 
 was induced to overcome my reluctance to undertake it. To 
 supply my deficiency in this respect as much as possible, I 
 have copied a number of important letters and other docu- 
 ments, which, I trust, will render it easy for every one versed 
 in military matters to form a correct opinion, and make up for 
 the many imperfections of my narrative. The arrangement 
 
 1 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 of my book may not be exactly in conformity with the ar 
 tistic requirements of biographical writing ; but the fact that 
 the greater part of my material is new, and hitherto unpub- 
 lished, and that in order to attain my chief object, to portray 
 Steuben in the light of his time and the judgment of his co- 
 temporaries, I was obliged to copy the greater number of the 
 documents without abridgment, will, I hope, in some degree 
 plead my excuse. 
 
 I conceive that one of the chief recommendations of this 
 book will be found to be that it allows facts to speak for them- 
 selves, and limits the author's opinions to those statements 
 which obviously need explanation. Had the material not been 
 so very incomplete, that is, so full of gaps, I should have fol- 
 lowed my first inclination, and have only given a carefully 
 selected collection of the Steuben papers, critically aud chro- 
 nologically arranged ; for a good biography is only a single 
 plank in the building which the historian puts together. The 
 greater the amount of material it contains the better it is ; 
 and the more reasoning it contains the worse it is. A great 
 German philosopher, Ludwig Feuerbach, has written the life 
 of his father, the great jurist, in this way, and has published 
 a classical work which does not contain a single superfluous 
 word, and teaches other authors a lesson of modesty and self- 
 control. " Historians," says Feuerbach, " may be as proud 
 as they please of their objectivity (Objectivitat), but this, 
 in reality, only consists in abstaining from speaking them- 
 selves, arid in allowing the subject to speak directly for itself. 
 Every one represents himself best." 
 
 For the same reason I have allowed, as much as possible, 
 evidence and persons to speak for themselves, and certainly no- 
 body can reproach me with having even partially adopted the 
 " Fourth of July oration style." I believe that the biograph- 
 ical works relating to the period of the Revolution which are 
 extant here, are not sufficiently comprehensive. The Amer- 
 icans regard with justifiable pride the battle for independence 
 which their fathers fought, and it must be admitted that the 
 heroes who achieved that independence were giants compared 
 with the men of the present day. But in their peculiar evan- 
 gelical way of contemplating men and things, they fancy they 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 are paying their heroes a great tribute of respect, by divest- 
 ing them of all human attributes, and either forgetting alto- 
 gether, measuring by the standard of the present time, or 
 blindly condemning those men who do not exactly suit their 
 tastes and ideas. Thus has erroneous idealism of the time of 
 the Revolution by the present generation seriously impeded 
 the progress of a comprehensive and critical investigation of 
 the history of that period. The more the commercial and 
 business pursuits of the day are opposed to an intimate un- 
 derstanding of the character of the Revolution, the more is 
 the past transcendentalized. Unqualified worship is always 
 accompanied by equally unqualified depreciation or condemna- 
 tion, and the rarely commended Greene, and the unappreciated 
 Steuben correspond with the deified Washington and Lafayette. 
 Jefferson fitly criticises their mode of judging, in his remarks 
 on a life of Patrick Henry, which was written in this objection- 
 able style. " It is a bad book," says he, " written in bad 
 style, and gives so imperfect an idea of Patrick Henry that it 
 seems intended to show off the writer more than the subject 
 of the work." 
 
 I hope that I have not exposed myself to this reproach, 
 since it has been my most earnest endeavor to adhere strictly 
 to impartial truth and justice, and avoid all illusions and erro- 
 neous conclusions. And if my opinions of events and men 
 differ from those of others, and even appear to be less favorable 
 than those contained in the traditionary accounts of the times, 
 I hope that instead of blaming me, my readers will give me 
 credit for having examined the sources of information within 
 my reach independently and conscientiously. 
 
 Steuben's life could only be written in New York. The 
 New York Historical Society contains in its collection of man- 
 uscripts sixteen volumes of original Steuben Papers, which 
 were presented to the society about twenty years ago by the 
 heirs and executors of Colonel Benjamin Walker. They ex- 
 tend over the entire of Steuben's life, and although here and 
 there important gaps occur in them, it would nevertheless be 
 impossible without them to write any thing approaching to a 
 perfect biography of Steuben. 
 
 The most valuable portions of the collection are the letters 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 of the year 1778, and the documents relating to the Virginia 
 campaign. Besides these, the Gates Papers, also in the pos- 
 session of the Historical Society, contain a large part of Steu- 
 ben's correspondence with Lafayette in 1781, and some valuable 
 letters from Gates, Armstrong and others. 
 
 My use of this precious treasure was greatly facilitated by 
 the extreme kindness of the librarian, George H. Moore, Esq. 
 Mr. Moore is a model librarian ; he gives every assistance in 
 his power, and often meets the searcher more than half way. 
 It is not only most fortunate for the Historical Society to have 
 such a librarian, but it is fortunate for the entire country, and 
 for science, since both profit by his good qualities. I trust 
 that Mr. Moore may long be spared to the Historical Society. 
 
 In a like degree am I indebted to Mr. George Washing- 
 ton Greene for the readiness with which he placed his written 
 treasures at my disposal. Mr. Greene is a grandson of the 
 famous General Nathanael Greene, and has, with the piety of 
 a son, and the judgment and industry of a historian, collected 
 all his grandfather's letters and despatches. In this invaluable 
 collection I found sixty-two letters which had been exchanged 
 between Greene and Steuben, and which often cast a new 
 light on the war in the South, and on the relations of the two 
 generals. When Greene's letters and dispatches are published, 
 a new, and, after Washington's writings, the most authentic 
 source of information, with regard to the history of that 
 eventful period will be accessible to the public. 
 
 I gratefully acknowledge the important services rendered 
 to me by John W. Mulligan, Esq., with whom I have had 
 the advantage of becoming intimately acquainted during the 
 progress of this work. This venerable gentleman, now eighty- 
 six years of age, who became acquainted with Steuben when 
 the latter lived in New York at Walker's, afterwards with 
 Charles Adams lived in his family, and continued to act as his 
 secretary until his death, related to me with quite remarkable 
 vigor and freshness a number of characteristic traits and stories 
 of Steuben's life. I would that every biographer may find so 
 reliable an authority, and so amiable and instructive a narra- 
 tor as Mr. Mulligan. 
 
 In my journeys, which I was obliged to make in search of 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 new sources of information, I was always most fortunate in meet- 
 ing with kindness and assistance when I addressed myself to 
 private individuals. Through the favor of Mr. Jared Sparks, 
 and the friendly intervention of Dr. Langdon Elwyn of Phila- 
 delphia, I was permitted to examine and make use of the collec- 
 tion of the Duponceau papers, which remain imprinted in the 
 possession of Mr. G. Garesche of Philadelphia. I am also in- 
 debted to Dr. W. B. Sprague of Albany for some of the most 
 valuable documents that I have found for my purpose. Mr. 
 Sprague was good enough to allow me to select them from his 
 famous collection of autographs, and to entrust them to my 
 care. Had he not been so obliging there would have been 
 many perceptible gaps in my narrative. 
 
 The richest store, however, I found in Utica, in the pos- 
 session of Mr. Charles A. Mann, to whom the New York His- 
 torical Society is indebted for its present manuscript collection 
 of Steuben papers. I discovered here, for the first time, among 
 a heap of bills and business papers of the late Colonel Walker, 
 an absolute treasure of interesting and instructive manuscripts, 
 viz. : opinions on military matters, muster-rolls, army lists, 
 complete returns, order-books, letters, etc., etc., which form 
 a necessary supplement to the Steuben papers of the Histor- 
 ical Society, and which were given to me by Mr. Mann for 
 presentation to that institution. He who has undertaken an 
 historical work in which he is deeply interested, and in his 
 search for information has found an unexpected treasure, can 
 alone conceive the joy which I felt when I saw all these price- 
 less documents spread out before me at Mr. Mann's, and knew 
 that I might rummage among them as I pleased. 
 
 Judge M. M. Jones, the historian of Oneida county, who once 
 thought of writing Steuben's life himself, offered me, in the 
 kindest manner, permission to examine the materials which he 
 had collected, and I am also under obligations to him for a 
 copy of the interesting and rare biographical sketch of Steu- 
 ben by William North. Finally, I acknowledge the kindness 
 of Frederick Fairlie, Esq., of Elizabeth City, New Jersey, in 
 communicating to me some interesting details of the life of 
 his father, Major James Fairlie, one of Steuben's former aides- 
 de-camp. 
 
XIV PKEFACE. 
 
 I am the more thankful to those of the above-named gen- 
 tlemen who do not inhabit New York, because, although I 
 was a perfect stranger to them, and without any personal in- 
 troduction, they received me with so much kindness and flat- 
 tering confidence. 
 
 Lastly, I desire to express the obligations I am under to 
 my friend, William Montague Browne, Esq., one of the edi- 
 tors of the New York Journal of Commerce, whose willing 
 services in correcting my MSS. have been invaluable to me. 
 
 The only place where I was ignominiously repulsed was 
 Washington, where I wished to examine, among the State 
 Archives, the perfectly arranged collection of papers relating 
 to the Revolution which is kept there. I arrived there on 
 the 19th of June, 1856, provided w r ith the best letters of in- 
 troduction to ministers, secretaries and members of Congress. 
 I was not received by the then Secretary of State, and w T as 
 put oft' from Friday to the following Tuesday, because the 
 Secretary was too much occupied with a note on the Central 
 American question to receive anybody before the departure 
 of the next European steamer. I was then referred to an 
 assistant Secretary of State, who, in his first conversation, de- 
 clared his perfect willingness to grant my request. He, how- 
 ever, went immediately into another room, as it seemed, to 
 take advice, and came back to inform me that I could not be 
 allowed access to the archives without the express permission 
 of Congress. This decree was quite new and strange to me, be- 
 cause it was in complete contradiction to what my New York 
 friends had led me to believe ; because acquaintances of mine 
 had only a short time before found no difficulty whatever ; and 
 because a New York gentleman was at that very time work- 
 ing every day among the archives without, as far as I knew, 
 any special permission from Congress. In order to get an ex- 
 planation of this contradiction I went to the librarian and to 
 a member of Congress, to whom I had been personally intro- 
 duced. They both assured me that I must have made a mis- 
 take, and that there was no need of any special permission 
 from Congress. I made a second attempt with the under Sec- 
 retary of State, who, it appeared, was also a general in time 
 of peace ; but I was most positively refused. My New York 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 acquaintance then took me, without any further parley, straight 
 to the archive chamber, and I was permitted by the superin- 
 tendent, an agreeable, obliging man, to look over and copy 
 the papers I wanted, on condition that I should get the per- 
 mission of the Secretary of State, of which he had no doubt. 
 On the next day, a Saturday, I began to copy, and made ar- 
 rangements to continue my task during the following week. 
 On Monday, however, after having made a third attempt to 
 get the desired information, and not having been allowed ad- 
 mittance to the Secretary of State, the superintendent took 
 away my copies, and locked up the documents. I have no 
 fault to find with the latter gentleman. He had already done 
 more than perhaps he ought to have done. I was unwilling, 
 with a temperature of about one hundred degrees, to spend 
 several days begging as a special grace for that to which I 
 conceived I had a perfect right. I left Washington that same 
 evening for New York, and had scarcely arrived when I re- 
 ceived the copied papers which had been taken from me by 
 the superintendent, in a cover, unaccompanied by a line of ex- 
 planation, bearing the seal of the State Department. If any 
 thing can speak in favor of my opinions and against the un- 
 der Secretary of State, it is this unsolicited remittance of the 
 papers. 
 
 I can not deny myself the satisfaction, small though it be, 
 to denounce to the public the insult which I received. I was 
 treated in Washington as if I were a spy, and that for no 
 other reason than because I was a foreigner. American his- 
 torians are justly proud of the complaisance and attention 
 with which they have been received in European libraries, 
 and allowed access to European archives. The narrow-mind- 
 edness of applying to scientific researches the miserable stand- 
 ard of nationality does not exist in any European capital. 
 Throughout Europe, from St. Petersburg to Madrid, the li- 
 brarians, ministers and subordinate officials, are too enlight- 
 ened to be guilty of any such offense against civilization. 
 They do not regard the permission to use the treasures con- 
 fided to their care as a favor, but as the vested right of every 
 educated man who is properly recommended. I must here 
 relate a little anecdote, which, although belonging to low 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 comedy, is perfectly characteristic of these Washington gen- 
 tlemen. 
 
 " I presume you are going to prove," said one of these 
 classic under Secretaries to me, on that day, " that the success 
 of our Revolution is due to the Germans ; that they contrib- 
 uted chiefly to our national independence. There was once an 
 Irishman who wrote a life of General Montgomery, and ap- 
 plied to the Department for admission to the archives. He 
 afterwards proved that we should not have succeeded without 
 General Montgomery, and that he was even equal to Wash- 
 ington." In short, among the generals, commodores and col- 
 onels of the ministry of State, I was submitted to a close 
 cross-examination, and though of course denying the pro- 
 priety of their inquisitiveness, I gave repeated assurances 
 that I intended to write history and not fancy tales. They, 
 however, did not seem to place much confidence in what T 
 said. 
 
 It is very possible that in the rich collection of papers in 
 the archives of Washington, many valuable documents exist, 
 which I might have used. I wish that those who may at- 
 tempt to get access to them after me, may have better suc- 
 cess, and, above all, receive more becoming treatment. The 
 chances, however, of any such change are very small, so long 
 as the control of the great original treasures of the Revolu 
 tion is left to the subordinate tools of the dominant party. 
 
 It was my intention at one time, after completing this 
 work, to write the lives of Yon Kalb, Kosciusko, Pulasky, and 
 other foreign officers and generals of the Revolution ; but as 
 I should be obliged to consult the Washington archives in 
 the greater portion of my researches, I have abandoned the 
 idea, not being willing to purchase a very doubtful success by 
 personal humiliation. 
 
 Friedkich Kapp. 
 New York, February, 1859. 
 
CHAPTER I . 
 
 Prominent Part taken by Steuben in the War of American Independence.— 
 Synopsis of his Career.— Genealogy of the Steuben Family.— First mentioned 
 in the Thirteenth Century.— Effects produced by the Reformation upon the 
 German Nobles, to which the Steubens belonged.— Separation of the Branch 
 from which the General is descended from the Parent Stock during the 
 Thirty Years' War.— Nicholas Von Steuben Captain in the Army of the Em- 
 peror of Germany, Founder of this Branch.— Mention of its Members down 
 to wllhelm augustine, the father of the general. — sketch of his llfe.— 
 Names and Number of his Children.— Birth of General Von Steuken.— His 
 Youth and Education.— TIis Entrance into the Prussian Army under Fred- 
 erick the Great.— Position of Prussia at this Time.— The Influence of the 
 King in Europe.— German Patriotism aroused by his Exploits.— Prussia at 
 the Zenith of her Fame at the commencement of Steuben's Career. — Steuben 
 Ensign and Lieutenant. — His Duties in Schweidnitz described in an interest- 
 ing Letter.— His Ambition and Devotion to his Profession.— Prospects of the 
 Seven Years' War. — Steuben First Lieutenant. 
 
 AMONG the officers who assisted the United States of 
 America in achieving their independence, General Von 
 Steuben, or, as he is more generally called in this country, 
 Baron Steuben,* holds one of the most prominent positions. 
 This position, however, is not aecorded to him in the pages 
 of American history. 
 
 The evident reason for this neglect is, that Steuben's activ- 
 ity, although essentially useful and indispensable, was not as 
 conspicuous as that of others ; that on account of the pecul- 
 iar nature of his position as inspector and diciplinarian of the 
 troops, ho was almost exclusively engaged behind the scenes 
 of the theater of war, and assisted materially in paving the 
 way for the successes of which others reaped the greatest por- 
 tion of the glory. Thus, few or no exterior marks of Steuben's 
 exertions are left, and the same prominence is not given to his 
 name, in connection with the glorious exploits of the war, as 
 * Pronounced as if spelled Stoyben. 
 
38 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 is bestowed upon others whose merits were not greater, if so 
 great, and whose deeds would not have been so brilliant, were 
 it not for the effective assistance which Steuben's talent and 
 thorough acquaintance with military details and the manage- 
 ment of troops afforded in the entire conduct of the War of 
 Independence. 
 
 The life of Steuben is one of the most interesting and 
 eventful of the many brilliant and stirring scenes of the 
 eighteenth century. 
 
 Sprung from an old noble and military family of Prussia, 
 as a child he accompanied his father in his campaign in the 
 Crimea and during his sojourn in Russia. As a boy, he was 
 present at the siege of Prague, and, as a youth, he entered the 
 service of Frederick the Great, the greatest commander of the 
 age, and fought with distinction in the bloodiest engagements 
 of the Seven Years' War. Taken prisoner by the Russians, 
 he spent some time at the court of St. Petersburg, and, when 
 set at liberty by Peter III., he remained, until the end of the 
 war, attached to the personal staff of the great king. The 
 calm which succeeded the stormy events of his youth was not 
 destined to be everlasting. As soon as prospects of fame and 
 active exertions were opened to him at Versailles, he threw up 
 his agreeable but inactive appointment at home, and hastened 
 to America, to devote his military knowledge and experience 
 to the conquest of American liberty, and to fight under George 
 Washington for the independence of the United States. His 
 efforts were crowned with success ; and, after the termination 
 of the war, Steuben finally retired into private life, to end a 
 career devoted to the public good, in honorable but unassum- 
 ing poverty, in a rough log-house in the backwoods. 
 
 Prague and Kunersdor^ Petersburg and Berlin, Versailles 
 and Philadelphia, Yorktown and Xew York, are the land- 
 marks of this existence, which, however checkered and beset 
 with difficulties, has left brilliant traces behind it, and justly 
 deserves to be added to the records of American history, so 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 39 
 
 that, from a solitary example, the student may learn what 
 efforts and sacrifices were necessary to found and protect the 
 state of things, in the enjoyment of which the American nation 
 lives happy and undisturbed. 
 
 The family from which General Yon Steuben is descend- 
 ed, still exists in some parts of Germany, namely, in eastern 
 Prussia, Weimar, and Westphalia, and is mentioned for the 
 first time in the thirteenth century, when they left Franconia, 
 and came into the district named Mansfeld, now a part of the 
 Prussian province of Saxony.* The name, which is first writ- 
 ten Stetibe, Stoebe, Stoyben, and, finally Von Steuben, is found 
 in the list of vassals of Mansfeld and Magdeburg, which was a 
 roll of all the noblemen who were invested with feudal manors 
 and estates. Among others, there is a record of a conveyance, 
 executed in the year 1398, by Archbishop Albrecht of Magde- 
 burg, to one Bernard Yon Steuben, concerning the manor of 
 Hohenthurm ;f besides which, the Steubens are found, in the 
 course of the following centuries, in the possession of the estates 
 of Gerbstaedt, Friedeburg, and Treschwitz. In 1457 and 
 1466, we find a Wenzel Yon Steube, who was town counselor 
 in Halle, on the Saale, and the owner of some shares in the 
 salt mines of that city. In 1478, Archbishop Ernest of Madge- 
 burg conferred on Philip and Hans Yon Stoyben two shares of 
 the above mines, and some other estates in the neighborhood. 
 
 Afterwards, the Steubens joined the Reformation under 
 Luther, and became Protestants, like all the noblemen of that 
 part of Germany. 
 
 It was one of the consequences of the Reformation, that the 
 little German princes increased their power by confiscating 
 the Church property, and thus became enabled to subdue the 
 
 * Spangenberg Adelshistorie II., 1106-1117. and Colloctio Genealogica 
 Koeningiana, vol. xciii. 
 
 f I. Ch. Von Dreyhaupt Ausfuhrliche diplomatisch historische Beschrei 
 bung des Saalkreises und aller darin befindlichen Stacdto. Halle, 1755, fbL, 
 p. 901. 
 
40 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 influence of the smaller vassals, who were in this way com- 
 pelled to enter into the service of their former rivals. At the 
 same time the new method of warfare, the new inventions in 
 the military service, the general application of gunpowder, 
 guns and cannons, and finally the new system of mercenary 
 troops, made the services and the importance of the knights 
 superfluous, whose former individual influence and power were 
 extinguished by the centralized dominion of the prince. By 
 the continued wars they lost their property, also, and in- 
 curred considerable debts. Especially in those countries which, 
 like the north and middle of Germany, were the perpetual 
 theater of strife, the nobility became from day to day poorer 
 and more dependent upon the territorial prince. This is the 
 reason why, in the old provinces of Prussia, there are scarcely 
 any wealthy noblemen to be found, and why the electors of 
 Brandenburg, afterwards kings of Prussia, succeeded w r ith 
 comparative ease in forcing the formerly independent knights 
 to subserve their private interests. This change, with the ex- 
 ception of local differences, was general over the whole conti- 
 nent of civilized Europe. Commencing with the Reformation, 
 it reached its culminating point in the court nobility of Louis 
 XIV. and Louis XV., whose example was eagerly imitated by 
 the mushroom princes of Germany. The highest ambition of 
 the former equals of kings and princes w r as now to obtain some 
 civil or military office, and the only privilege left to them was 
 their exclusive nomination to the highest places in the army 
 and civil service. 
 
 The Steuben family belongs to this category. They must 
 have lost their independence very early, for some of their 
 numbers held ecclesiastical offices even at the time of the 
 Reformation. Although they only lost the remnants of their 
 landed estates in the course of the eighteenth century,* in the 
 
 * I. Ch. Yon Dreyhaupt: General-Tabclle oder Geschlechtsregister der 
 vornchmstcn in Saalkreiso mit Rittergiitern angesessenen Familien. Hallo, 
 1750, foL, p. 100. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 41 
 
 early records of the Protestant church mention is made of a 
 Mr. Yon Steuben as one of its first preachers, and even before 
 Luther's declaration of independence from the Pope, another 
 Mr. Yon Steuben, in 1512, is an officiating clergyman in 
 Frotha, near Halle.* 
 
 It would be tedious and uninteresting to the American 
 reader to trace the history of the Steuben family through all 
 its details. It will, therefore, be sufficient for our purpose to 
 state briefly that the branch to which the General belongs 
 was separated from the parent stock during the Thirty Years' 
 War, though retaining the same arms and name. The former 
 are an impailed shield, azure (blue) and argent (silver), with a 
 bend over all gules (red) ; the crest, surmounting a military 
 casque, is two elephant-trunks, the one on the dexter (right- 
 hand) argent and gules, the sinister (left hand) gules and azure, 
 the whole surmounted by a coronet of nobility. This line is 
 connected by marriage with some of the most prominent 
 Prussian families of the last century. The Luederitz, Saldern, 
 Mcellendorf and Knesebeck, who, for more than a hundred 
 years, excelled as generals and commanders, are, on the moth- 
 er's part, among the ancestors of Steuben, and the counts of 
 Effern and the reigning princes of Waldeck and Nassau-Siegen 
 were among the founders of this line. It goes back to Ernest 
 Nicholas Yon Steuben, f who entered the German emperor's 
 service during the Thirty Years' War, and obtained a commis- 
 sion as captain. In consequence of the severe wounds he had 
 received in various battles, he was compelled in early life to 
 withdraw from service. He married a Lady Henriette Yon 
 Francken, and retired to his estate. He left but one son, 
 Ludwig, born in 1642, who was knight of the order of Malta, 
 and the great-grandfather of the General. Ludwig's only son, 
 
 * Hering's Beitraege zur reformirten Kirche, ii., 312. 
 
 \ Historisches Portefeuille, Berlin, 1*785, iv. Stuck, p. 447, article of J. F. 
 Seyfart of Halle, to whom the history of the Steuben family was communi- 
 cated by the General's father. 
 
43 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Augustine Von Steuben, born in 1661, devoted himself to the 
 study of theology, married Countess Charlotte Dorothea Yon 
 Effern, and died in 1737, as rector of the Protestant church 
 of Brandenburg. He was a very learned divine, and won 
 much distinction as the author of an able commentary on the 
 New Testament and the Apocalypse. He had ten children, 
 of whom seven were sons ; three died in early youth, and the 
 remaining four all adopted the military profession.* The old- 
 est, Christian Ludwig, who died in 1765, at Gltickstadt, com- 
 menced his career as an officer in the Prussian, and after- 
 ward became colonel in the Danish army, was an excellent 
 mathematician, a prominent author on military science, and 
 the inventor of a new system of fortification. A younger son, 
 August Gottlieb, lieutenant in the Prussian regiment Kalck- 
 stein, was killed at the battle of Mollwitz, on the 10th of 
 April, 1741. The younger son, Gottfried Gerhard, like his 
 oldest brother, was first an officer in the Prussian service, but 
 subsequently entered that of Holland, where he died, hav- 
 ing attained the rank of a captain. 
 
 We have now particularly to notice the fourth son, Wil- 
 helm Augustine, the father of the General. He Avas born on the 
 23d of April, 1699, received a first rate education ; f studied 
 with his two elder brothers at Halle, and at sixteen years of 
 age entered the Prussian military service (17 15) as cadet in 
 the regiment Von Gersdorf. In 1724 he became ensign in the 
 newly raised regiment Von Bardeleben ; 1727, lieutenant in 
 the engineer corps ; and in 1729, captain, when he married 
 Mary Dorothea Von Jagow, born on the 14th of August, 1706, 
 and who died on the 19th of January, 1780. The captain was 
 known as an able and scientific officer. In 1731 he was pre- 
 
 * Historisches Portefeuille, Berlin, 1785. 
 
 \ Besides the work quoted, all the particulars about Steuben's father may 
 be found in Carl Renatus von Ilausen Staatsmatcria*lien, I Band, 6, Heft p. 
 636. Dessau, 1784. The author states that he derived his information from 
 the General's sister. \ 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 43 
 
 sented with the order " de la generosite," and two years later, 
 1733, on the outbreak of the war of the Polish succession, he 
 entered the service of Russia by order of King Frederick 
 William I., to whom the Empress Anne of Russia had applied 
 for some good Prussian engineer officers, and distinguished 
 himself, in 1734, at the siege and capture of Dantzic. Shortly 
 after, when war was declared between Russia and Turkey, 
 Captain Yon Steuben continued to serve in the Russian army 
 under Field Marshal Count Munnich, and took part in the cam- 
 paign in the Crimea. After the restoration of peace he went 
 to Petersburg and Cronstadt as military instructor to the Rus- 
 sian officers, and did not return to Prussia until Frederick II. 
 had ascended the throne. He reentered the Prussian army as 
 major unattached, and for his eminent services at the capture 
 of Neisse in 1741, received the decoration of the order "pour 
 le merited in the distribution of which Frederic was not at 
 all liberal. At the outbreak of the Seven Years' War the 
 king transferred Steuben from the position of engineer of the 
 fort of Cosel to the more important and responsible post at 
 Ciistrin, where he was appointed joint commander. He con- 
 tinued to live here after his discharge from service, and here 
 he died at the advanced age of eighty-four, on the 26th of 
 April, 1783. The major is described by his cotemporaries as 
 an honest, straightforward and worthy officer. They mention 
 it as something remarkable, that although engaged in a great 
 many dangerous actions and sanguinary battles, as, for in- 
 stance, the well-known storming of the Hagelsberg, near Dant- 
 zic, he never was wounded ; and, up to his death, preserved 
 the unimpaired use of his physical and mental energies. The 
 only thing in which he lacked, was money.* During his en- 
 tire life his circumstances were straitened. His salary was 
 scarcely sufficient to enable him to live according to his rank, 
 and to meet the expenses which a Prussian officer of those 
 
 * Politisches Journal von und far Peutschland, ii. vol., p. 84—95, 1784. 
 
44 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 times was compelled to incur. Though poor in a pecuniary 
 sense, he was rich in the number of his children. It was, per- 
 haps, fortunate for him that many of them died in early youth, 
 since to have given them a liberal education, would have re- 
 quired a larger fortune than he possessed. In all, he had ten 
 children, of whom only three arrived at years of maturity. 
 Two of his daughters are buried in Cronstadt, another in Pe- 
 tersburg, and a fourth 'm Riga ; one of his sons also died in 
 Riga, and two others in Breslau. Of his surviving children, 
 the General, the subject of this memoir, is the oldest. The 
 only surviving daughter, Dorothea Mary Justine, was born in 
 1733, in Cronstadt; and after having become a " chanoinesse" 
 in a noble Protestant ecclesiastical foundation at Heiligen 
 Grabe, gave up this position to marry, in 1762, a Prussian 
 captain, Baron Carl Constantine Yon Canitz, who died in 1766, 
 leaving two sons. The last brother of the General, Hans Alex- 
 ander Siegfried, was born on March 16th, 1743, at Breslau, 
 in 1757 became a page in the household of the Queen of Prus- 
 sia, and afterward, in 1761, entered the Prussian army, join- 
 ing one of the most famous regiments of the Seven Years' 
 War, Betting's hussars, to which the celebrated Field Marshal 
 Bliicher also belonged at that time; he retired in 1769, and 
 died as tax collector at Baerwalde in Pomerania. 
 
 Frederick William Augustus Henry Ferdinand Yon Steu- 
 ben, the subject of this memoir, was born on the 15th of No- 
 vember, 1730, at Magdeburg, a large Prussian fortress on the 
 Elbe.* At that time his father was captain in the Prussian 
 engineers, and when called on service to the Crimea and Cron- 
 stadt, took his son with him. In 1740 he returned with him 
 to Prussia. Young Steuben received and finished his educa- 
 tion in the Jesuits' Colleges at Neisse and Breslau, whose 
 
 * As all our authorities differed in regard to the birthday of Steuben, 
 we made it our special object to ascertain its exact date. This wo owe to 
 the kindness of the General's great-grand nephew, Lieutenant Yon Steuben, 
 in Gumbinnen (Eastern Prussia). 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 45 
 
 schools at that time were the best in the newly conquered 
 Prussian province of Silesia, and on that account frequented 
 equally by Protestants and Catholics. He distinguished him- 
 self especially in mathematics. The schools of those days did 
 not consider it as their task to give a thorough education to 
 their pupils ; they only imparted the first rudiments of learning, 
 and left to accident or self-education, the acquirement of that 
 knowledge which enlarges the ideas and prepares the student 
 for a better understanding of the world. Steuben's instruc- 
 tion, however, must have been far superior to that given to 
 the sons of poorer noblemen and of the middle classes at that 
 time. Although he may afterward have increased his store 
 of knowledge by experience and the intercourse with men of 
 an elevated standing in society; yet we find that the basis of 
 his learning was a very solid one ; that besides the information 
 requisite for his rank, he knew what few officers of the first 
 half of the eighteenth century understood, viz., to write and 
 speak correctly German and French, and that he was inti- 
 mately acquainted with ancient and modern history. 
 
 "The troubles of a military life, the narrow circumstances 
 of my parents and their frequent changes of residence," says 
 Steuben, in a memorial written toward the end of his life,* 
 '* did not permit them to give me any better education than 
 that which a poor young nobleman in Prussia always receives. 
 But while other young officers led a dissolute and extravagant 
 life, I applied myself closely to study, and exerted myself not only 
 to learn my profession, but to enlarge my knowledge of belles- 
 lettres and the practical sciences. Nevertheless, from want of 
 time and the necessary means, I made only slow progress." 
 
 While a boy of scarcely fourteen years of age, he served 
 under his father as a volunteer in the campaign of 1744, during 
 the war of the Austrian Succession, and was present at the pro- 
 tracted and sanguinary siege of Prague. f 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers (Sprague). f Historisohes Portefeuillo, 1. c. 
 
4G LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 It is but natural that the first notions and impressions of the 
 boy should exercise an important influence on the whole after 
 life and destiny of the man. Steuben, from his earliest infancy, 
 saw nothing but soldiers and things pertaining to war. The 
 principal topics of conversation at home were the martial tra- 
 ditions of his family, and the exploits of his immediate relatives. 
 The glory of heroic deeds and brilliant victories flew tli rough 
 the country, and the spirit of the people, martial since the 
 days of the great elector, Frederick William, was now exultant 
 at the triumph of Frederick II., and roused to enthusiasm. 
 
 As a son of a poor officer, Steuben's only prospect was to 
 gain for himself an honorable position and distinction on the 
 field of battle. The constitution of the State and of the army 
 having given to the impoverished nobility fresh importance 
 by attaching them to the service and interest of the sovereign, 
 the entrance of young Steuben into the army was a necessary 
 consequence of the father's position. It was, therefore, a 
 matter of course, that when he arrived at the required time 
 of life, he should obtain a commission. 
 
 At the age of seventeen, Steuben entered as a cadet (1747) 
 the famous infantry regiment Yon Lestwitz, afterwards Von 
 Tauenzien. 
 
 At this period Prussia had just appeared like a meteor on 
 the political horizon, and began to attract the attention of the 
 world at large, as well by the rapid development of her 
 strength, as by the imposing position which she had suddenly 
 acquired after the fortunate termination of the wars of the 
 Austrian Succession. That which was conceived a farce 
 played by Frederick I. (1701-1713) in declaring himself king 
 of a then powerless State, soon proved a plan not devoid of 
 strong political signification. His successor, Frederick William 
 I. (1713-1740) gave to his youthful kingdom that which no 
 other monarchy of the time possessed, a well disciplined army 
 unacquainted with defeat, an abundant treasury, and an ener- 
 getic and autocratic form and system of government which 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 47 
 
 was based, in the words of that absolute monarch, on a "rock 
 of bronze." 
 
 The sober prudence, the practical views, the sound, judg- 
 ment of the father, had smoothed the way for the son. How- 
 ever small his means compared with those of other powers, 
 they proved amply sufficient, in the hands of a genius, to 
 inflame the entire world, and to enable him to dictate his will 
 as law. The accession of Frederick the Great to the throne 
 (1740) opens the most glorious period in the history of 
 Prussia, extending to the peace of Hubertsburg (1763) which 
 terminated the Seven Years' War, and raised Frederick, not- 
 withstanding the small extent of his dominions, to a place 
 amongst the arbiters of the destinies of Europe. During the 
 twenty-three years comprised in the above-mentioned period, 
 for the greater part of which Steuben was in the service and 
 under the very eyes of the great king, Frederick developed all 
 the resources of his mighty talent, and gained, by his brilliant 
 exploits and unexampled successes, both in the field and in 
 the cabinet, for himself and his subjects, the admiration and 
 respect of the world. This is not the place to analyze the 
 political bearings of the king's position ; but in tracing the 
 biography of a man who took an active part in the events of 
 that time, it is not inappropriate to describe the great influ- 
 ence and charm exercised by Frederick over his subjects and 
 cotemporaries. 
 
 Germany, which ever since the Reformation had been the 
 constant theater of wars, and had supplied the world with 
 armies and commanders, gradually declined and became en- 
 feebled and denationalized. It was on the eve of falling in 
 pieces and being divided into innumerable little principalities, 
 which, although nominally independent, were continually 
 drained by petty despots, who depended for existence upon 
 the subsidy of foreign powers. Emperor and empire who 
 formerly represented a fictitious union, were never so weak as 
 under the inglorious sway of Charles VI. Just before his 
 
48 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 death the great Frederick appeared upon the stage, revived the 
 fallen hopes of the people, condemned by misrule and tyranny 
 to inaction, and inspired them with confidence in themselves. 
 The glory of his arms evoked the enthusiasm of old and 
 young, even amongst his enemies. 
 
 Every German felt that the brilliancy of this man was 
 reflected upon his people, and the joy was universal that his 
 victories finally tended, if not to the direct benefit of the 
 German people, at least to the defeat of French prestige, of 
 Russian barbarism, and to the reconquest of the former glory 
 of German arms. National feelings were aroused, and the 
 Germans regarded the future with proud and well-grounded 
 hopes. 
 
 Although Frederick did not speak his native language cor- 
 rectly, and preferred French literature to that of all other 
 nations, there never was a more national hero, or a more 
 thoroughly German king. Prussia, under him, was the first 
 exponent of these national feelings. On the battle field she 
 had shown the way, which the rest of Germany successfully 
 followed in literature and art, reaching their climax under 
 Lessing, Kant, Schiller and Goethe about the end of the 
 eighteenth century. As the glory of Prussia was, in the first 
 instance, founded by her army, it was a source of pride and 
 distinction for a young man to enter its ranks, the fame of 
 which was increasing from year to year under the command 
 of its illustrious leader. When Steuben received his first 
 commission, the Prussian army was approaching the zenith of 
 its fame, and was calculated to inspire a young and ardent spirit 
 with a strong desire to devote his best energies to a service 
 in which he could acquire distinction, and gratify the honorable 
 ambition which his early training had implanted in his breast. 
 
 Two years after his entering the army, Steuben was pro- 
 moted from the rank of cadet to that of ensign, in 1749, and 
 made lieutenant in 1753. Of this time we have found but 
 scanty memorials. Among a mass of papers, we discovered 
 
LIPE OP STEUBEN. 49 
 
 one letter, written in bad French, dated Schweidnitz, June 
 4, 1754, and addressed to a friend, Count Henkel Von Don- 
 nersmark, who had just been appointed by the king Coun- 
 selor of the Supreme Court in Silesia, in which he congratu- 
 lates him on his appointment, and describing his own situa- 
 tion, manifests that devotion to his profession, and ardor for 
 distinction, which his after life so abundantly proved. 
 
 " While you, my dear count," says he,* " are figuring in 
 the temple of Themis, I am condemned to a most revolting- 
 occupation. A work that Mr. De Balby has traced across a 
 cemetery, requires the cutting of a deep ditch, in the course 
 of which half decomposed dead bodies are continually disin- 
 terred. I fear for my poor soldiers. The noisome exhalations 
 will become more insupportable as the season advances. I or- 
 der vinegar, brandy, tobacco, in short, everv thing that I can 
 think of for their protection, to be served up to them. As yet 
 I have no sick, but I fear the month of July. In order not to 
 alarm them, I am continually at work, notwithstanding my 
 disgust for this abominable occupation, and my subordinates 
 are obliged to follow my example — ora pro nobis ! The for- 
 tifications are extensive, and appear to me to be well planned. 
 I should like them to be more solid, and then this place would 
 be well adapted for the king's purposes, to serve him as a 
 great depot in case we go to war with la grande dame. I 
 am occupied in taking a plan of the entire fortress, which we 
 shall discuss when we meet. Unfortunately that will not be 
 
 before the end of September What do your Berlin 
 
 correspondents say ? Are Mesdames Elizabeth and Mary 
 Therese vexed with our great king ? I should be happy if 
 they were, although I am more gallant with the ladies than 
 my master. I am extremely anxious to have an encounter, 
 even as an apprentice, with these two Amazons. Yes, my 
 dear Henry, if there is a war, I promise you, at the end of a 
 
 * Steuben's MS. Papers (Spraguo). 
 3 
 
50 LIFE OP 8TKUBSN. 
 
 second campaign, that your friend will be either in Hades, or 
 at the head of a regiment.' 1 
 
 We found another letter of about the same time, in which 
 Steuben gives an account of his visit to General De la Motte 
 Fouque, at Glatz, another very important fortress in Silesia, 
 and gives a detailed description of the fortifications, showing 
 that even at that early period of his career he had a very ad- 
 vanced knowledge of the most scientific branches of his pro- 
 fession. He also pays an elaborate compliment to the Baron 
 De la Motte Fouque, whom the king admitted to his intimacy, 
 and represents him as a man possessed not only of the high- 
 est military attainments, but also well versed in history, poli- 
 tics and philosophy. 
 
 Steuben was appointed first lieutenant in 1755,* in which 
 capacity we find him at the beginning of the Seven Years' 
 War. 
 
 * Historisches Portefeuille, 1. c. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Steuben's Participation in the Campaigns of the Seven Years' War. — "Wounded 
 at the Battle of Prague. — Engaged in the Battle of Bossisach. — Joining the 
 free Corps under General Von Mayr. — Sketch of Mayr's Life and Achieve- 
 ments. — Steuben's Eeturn to the regular Army as Aid-de-Camp to General 
 Von Hulsen. — Wounded at the Battle of Kunersdorf, where the Prussians 
 were defeated. — Present at the Battle of Liegnitz. — With the King's Army 
 in the fortified camp at bltnzelwitz. — adjutant of general von knobloch, 
 on Platen's Expedition into Poland in 1761. — Crossing the Wartha at Lands- 
 burg, where Steuben was engaged at the same Time with his Father. — March 
 to the Belief of Colberg. — Capitulation at Treptow. — Steuben negotiates 
 the Terms. — Taken Prisoner by the Russians, and brought to Petersburg. — 
 Favorite of Peter III. — Beleased by him in the following Year. — Attached 
 to the King's personal Staff, and employed in the Quarter-Master Gen- 
 eral's Department. — Present at the Siege and Capture of Sciiweidnitz. — 
 North's Statement. — Steuben Commander, ad interim, of the Begiment Von 
 Salmuth. — One of the favorite six Pupils of the King. — Presented by him 
 with a lay Benefice in the Chapter of IIavelsberg. — After the Termination 
 of the Seven Years' War Steuben leaves the Prussian Service. — Different 
 Beasons given for this Step. — II is Journey to Hamburg. — Petitions for his 
 Discharge. — Delay in obtaining it. — Visit to the Springs of Wildbad in Sua- 
 bta. — Makes the Acquaintance of the Prince of IIohenzollern-IIechingen, 
 who appoints him Grand Marshal of his Court. — Duties of this Office. — 
 Btbubbn's Beputation at this Court.— Travels with the Prince.— Offers to 
 enter foreign Service.— His Befusal. — Jealousy of Boman Catholic Priests. 
 — Their Intrigues against Steuben. — He withdraws to Carlsruiie. — Receives 
 the Order "De la Fidelite" Charles Frederick, by the Margrave of Baden. — 
 Visits the Capitals of Germany and France.— Stay at Montpellier.— Makes 
 the Acquaintance of-tiie Earls of Warwick and Spencer. — Is invited to visit 
 them in England.— Negotiations to enter the Service of the Emperor of Ger- 
 many. — Unpublished Letter of the Prince De Ligne. — Steuben abandons the 
 Idea of Ee-entering active military Service. 
 
 A FTER a peace of comparatively long duration, the Seven 
 a - A - Years' War afforded an opportunity for military distinc- 
 tion, and consequently opened a field to Steuben of which he 
 availed himself in a remarkable degree. At the beginning of 
 the war he was in too subordinate a position to find his name 
 prominently noticed ; he is, however, often mentioned in the 
 military records of those memorable events, and wherever he 
 is alluded to, it is as a brave and talented officer, to whom the 
 execution of arduous and responsible tasks was intrusted. 
 
52 L IPE O F 8 T B i: 15 E N . 
 
 His regiment, which during the war was known as the 31st, 
 belonged to the army of Field Marshal Count Schwerin, and 
 distinguished itself on all occasions where it was engaged. 
 Steuben fought and was wounded in its ranks* in the bloody 
 battle of Prague, on the 6th of May, 1757, when it suffered 
 heavily, losing a colonel and two officers. In the battle of 
 Rossbach, on the 5th of November, 1757, the regiment Lest- 
 w T itz was in the van of the Prussian army, and shared in the 
 glory of that splendid victory. Even in the later years of 
 his life Steuben told his American friends, w T ith pride and sat- 
 isfaction, that he too had been engaged in the battle of Ross- 
 bach, and that he had assisted in making the Frenchmen run 
 away. 
 
 In the following year Steubenf entered, without prejudice 
 to his claims to promotion in his regiment, the free corps of 
 General Von Mayr, who appointed him his adjutant general. 
 The volunteer corps of those times resembled very much what 
 privateers are in naval warfare. Without forming part of the 
 general military organization, they were employed to make 
 inroads and excursions on their own account, and do the 
 enemy all the injury in their power. This was the reason 
 why young and brave spirits, fond of adventure, joined these 
 corps, anxious to free themselves from the severe and monoto- 
 nous discipline of the regular army. Here they found a field 
 for the display of their energy and recklessness. 
 
 John Von MayrJ is the prototype of the military adven- 
 turer of his time, and was looked upon by the enemy with al- 
 most supernatural fear. He was the illegitimate son of Count 
 Stella, born in 1716, and received little or no education. His 
 boyhood was passed amid scenes of debauchery and profli- 
 gacy. At the age of eighteen he was expelled from Vienna, 
 
 * Ilistorischcs Portefeuille, Berlin, 1785, iy., p. 447, ff. 
 
 \ Schloezer's Staatsanzeigen, v., p. 59, 1783. 
 
 % Pauli: Leben grosser Helden, Biographic Jokann Von Mayr's, 1759, iii., 
 143-188, und K. W. Schoening: "Die Generalo der Kurbrandenburgischeii 
 und Koeniglich Preussischen Armeo von 1640-1840." Berlin, 1840 p. 93. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 53 
 
 and being quite destitute of all means, lie embraced the sol- 
 dier's career, as that was most suited to his riotous and daring 
 disposition. He entered the Duke of Lorraine's regiment, in 
 Hungary, as band-boy, and ultimately became sergeant in the 
 same corps. His personal courage was indomitable, and in 
 various skirmishes and battles during the Turkish war, the 
 prowess and cool intrepidity of the youthful adventurer won 
 the approval of his commander and the acclamation of his 
 comrades. He was soon promoted to the rank of officer, and 
 during ten years, from 1744-1 754, he followed all the vicissi- 
 tudes attendant on the career of a soldier of fortune, under 
 Count Seckendorf, in Bavarian service, then in the army of 
 the Elector of Saxony, and during the war in the Netherlands, 
 under Count Bathyani ; wherever danger was to be met, or 
 difficulty to be encountered, Mayr was always the foremost. 
 An unlucky duel with a brother officer, which terminated 
 fatally for his adversary, obliged him to quit the service of 
 Saxony. Frederick the Great, who was well aware of the 
 courage and enterprising spirit which Mayr possessed, soon 
 engaged his services, and gave him an appointment as aid-de- 
 camp on the general staff of his army, from which he was sub- 
 sequently transferred to the command of the light infantry 
 corps, raised by the king at the commencement of the Seven 
 Years' War to compete with the Croats and Pandours, in the 
 service of Austria. Mayr's success proved the wisdom of the 
 king's selection. His razzias in Franconia,* his descent on the 
 rich towns of Nuremberg, Bamberg and Hof, his pursuit of 
 the French troops to Erfurt, routed at the battle of Rossbach, 
 his capture of Hof and seizure of two thousand two hundred 
 guns manufactured at Suhl in Thuringia, his gallant resistance 
 with inferior forces against the attacks of Marshal Daun's 
 army on the lines of the Elbe, on account of which Frederick 
 nominated him major general, his active participation in the 
 defense of Dresden, to whose salvation his corps mainly con- 
 * Vou Tempelhoff: Gcfcchichto des siebenjahrigen Kriegos. ii.. 95-03. 
 
54 
 
 L IFE O F 8 T B U B E N . 
 
 tributed,* and finally liis hunting the Austrians to the Bohe- 
 mian mountains, are the principal exploits of this remarka- 
 ble soldier, who died in the beginning of January, 1759, at 
 Plauen,f and whose career is here more specially noticed, as 
 Steuben was attached to his corps during the year 1758, and as 
 it was here he learned by practice and experience the use and 
 management of light infantry, and skirmishes in actual warfare. 
 
 The constitution of these corps and their independence from 
 the general army were such, that the officers were compelled 
 to make their own dispositions, to form their own plans and 
 calculations, to be possessed of both inventive and executive 
 genius. It was, therefore, an excellent school for a young 
 officer to learn that self-reliance and promptness of decision 
 in the face of danger and difficulty, which are such essential 
 attributes of a good general, and which formed such distinc- 
 tive characteristics of Steuben's subsequent career. 
 
 The first particular mention made of Steuben in the annals 
 of that war, is to be found in Pauli's biography of John Von 
 Mayr, who, enumerating all the officers under his command, 
 characterizes the lieutenant, Friedrieh Wilhelm Von Steuben 
 of the regiment Von Lestwitz, the General's adjutant general 
 in 1758, as a highly gifted and distinguished officer. J 
 
 After Mayr's death, Steuben reentered the regular army, 
 and was appointed adjutant general of General Von IIiilsen,§ 
 one of Frederick's best captains. Hulsen belonged to the army 
 of Prince Henry, then in Saxony, to which Mayr's corps had 
 been attached. On the 5th of June, 1759, he left Dresden with 
 ten battalions of infantry, four regiments of cavalry (about nine 
 or ten thousand men in all), and joined General Von Dohna 
 on the 19th, near Frankfort on the Oder. In consequence 
 of this march, Steuben was brought in immediate connection 
 with his old regiment Von Lestwitz. During the battle of 
 
 * Von Tempclhoff: G-eschichte dcs sicbcnjiihrigcn Kriogcs, ii., 358. 
 
 f Pauli's Loben grosser Ilcldcn, iv., 355. 
 
 % The same; iii. 181. § Schloezer, 1. c. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 55 
 
 Kay, on the 23d of July, 1759, in which the Russian command- 
 er, Soltikow defeated Wedell, the Prussian general and succes- 
 sor of Dohna, it was among the troops first engaged, forming a 
 part of the brigade Grabow, and of the division Manteuffel. 
 On account of this defeat of the Prussians they were unable 
 to prevent the junction of the Russian and Austrian armies, 
 which, eighty thousand strong, advanced toward Frankfort 
 and fortified themselves on the banks of the Oder. Here, be- 
 tween Frankfort and Kunersdorf, they were attacked by the 
 king, on the 12th of August, 1759, who had hastened from Sile- 
 sia to assist Wedell in his operations against the enemy under 
 Soltikow and Loudon, w T ho threatened Brandenburg and the 
 interior of the king's old provinces with an invasion and occu- 
 pation. This battle, which proved so fatal to the Prussian arms, 
 cost the king eight thousand killed, fifteen thousand wounded, 
 and three thousand taken prisoners, while the united enemy 
 lost twenty-four thousand men in all. It w r as already won, 
 the Russians were totally defeated, and the dispatches of vic- 
 tory forwarded to Berlin, when the king, not satisfied with 
 having repulsed the Russians, but desirous to annihilate them, 
 altered his dispositions, and notwithstanding the advice of his 
 tried generals, such as Seidlitz, ordered a new attack against 
 the last of the Russian batteries and defenses, w T hich his ex- 
 hausted and tired troops could stand the less, as they were 
 vigorously attacked and driven back by the Austrian cavalry 
 and Loudon's best troops, who had hitherto not taken part 
 in the battle. Now a general flight began. Almost all the 
 Prussian generals and the king himself were wounded, and 
 a great many killed. Among the wounded was General Yon 
 Hiilsen.* 
 
 It is not certain whether Steuben was engaged in this 
 murderous battle as Hiilsen's adjutant, or in the ranks of the 
 regiment Von Lestwitz; his name, however, is found in the 
 
 * Von Archcnholtz ; G-cschiehtc des siebenjahrigen Kriegep, fimfto. Au- 
 (lagc, Berlin, 1840, vol. i., p. 258. 
 
56 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 list of the wounded of that memorable action.* The regiment 
 Von Lestwitz, distinguished itself by its wonted bravery on 
 this occasion, and after the loss of the battle, covered the Prus- 
 sian retreat, displaying as well here as in the most difficult 
 attacks such a degree of valor and intrepidity, that the king 
 retired in its ranks from the battle-field, and paid to each pri- 
 vate an extra remuneration amounting to a week's pay.f 
 
 From the date of the battle of Kunersdorf to the summer 
 of 1761, there is no positive mention of Steuben. It is exceed- 
 ingly probable, however, that he passed the entire years 1759 
 and 1760, with the army of Prince Henry, and acting as aid- 
 de-camp to General Yon Hulsen, was present at the battle of 
 Liegnitz. We find his name first mentioned again in Septem- 
 ber, 1761, when the king, from his intrenched camp at Bun- 
 zelwitz, where he was besieged by the united armies of Aus- 
 tria and Russia, sent General Platen with seven thousand men 
 to Poland, to attack the Russian rear. At that time Steuben 
 was on the staff, and adjutant of General Knobloch, whose 
 brigade was attached to Platen's corps, which marched, on 
 September 11th, from the camp, stormed and burned, on the 
 15th, the Russian provision and ammunition train at the 
 Golkowka convent, near Gostyn in Poland, routed four thou- 
 sand men, and marched with nineteen hundred prisoners to 
 Landsberg on the Wartha. Steuben's father, then major of 
 engineers in Custrin, built a bridge across this river, by which 
 Platen was enabled to cross. It is a curious coincidence, that 
 Steuben and his father should both, the one as engineer officer, 
 the other as adjutant general, have assisted in different ways 
 in facilitating the passage of Platen's army over the Wartha.J 
 
 Platen, after this brilliant expedition, marched into Pom- 
 
 * Historisches Portefeuillo, 1. c, Pauli v., p. 245 (misprinted 445), IT GO. 
 
 f Kriele: Die Schlacbt bei Kunersdorf, pp. 35 and 103. 
 
 \ Beitraege zur Kriegskunst und Geschichte des Kricgcs von 1750-1763, 
 mit Plan und Charten, v. Stuck, von I^G. Tielkc, Churflirstlich Saelisiseber 
 Artillerie Hauptniann, Freiberg, 1784, p. 05. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN", 57 
 
 erania, where the Russians had, in the meantime, made their 
 appearance in large numbers, and, upon the orders of the king, 
 hurried to the relief of Colberg, which was threatened by the 
 enemy. He effected a junction, on October 4th, with the gen- 
 eral commanding in the vicinity of Colberg, Prince Frederick 
 of Wurtemberg. Steuben's brigade, at that time two thousand 
 strong, was dispatched to Treptow, on the Rega, to protect the 
 arrival of supplies at Colberg. General Knobloch had been, 
 since the 21st of October, 1761, blocked up in this exposed town 
 by eight thousand men, so that he could neither advance to- 
 wards Colberg nor reach Platen's corps. The town was set on 
 fire in different places. As long as he had supplies of provisions 
 and ammunition he defended himself most valiantly, but when 
 he ran short of both, he was compelled to capitulate, and sent 
 his adjutant, Steuben, to negotiate the terms, which were 
 agreed to by the enemy. 
 
 The Prussians, accordingly, marched out, with drums beat- 
 ng and colors flying, and laidd own their arms on the 23d of 
 October, 1761, the officers and soldiers retaining their baggage. 
 The prisoners were, Major General Von Knobloch, three colo- 
 nels, four majors, thirteen captains, the adjutant Yon Steuben, 
 in all fifty-nine officers, two thousand and six rank and file, with 
 four six- pounders and two three-pounders.* In consequence of 
 this capitulation, Steuben was, with his brother officers, sent as 
 prisoner of war to St. Petersburg. But, as the Empress Eliza- 
 beth died on the 8th of January, 1762, and Peter III., immedi- 
 ately after her death, concluded an armistice with Frederick, 
 Steuben's term of imprisonment was of brief duration. This 
 imprisonment of Steuben and the other officers was of consid- 
 erable value and importance for the king, as they w T ere fortu- 
 nate enough to obtain favor with the then Grand Duke Peter, 
 the inordinate worshiper of Frederick, and were wise enough 
 to turn his predilection for the king to such good account, that 
 immediately after his accession to the throne he offered a most 
 
 * Tielke, 1. c, 
 3* 
 
58 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 favorable alliance to the King of Prussia, and even ordered his 
 troops to cooperate with the Prussian army. Special mention is 
 made of the extreme popularity of Steuben, and of the anxiety 
 evinced by Peter to induce him to enter the Russian service. 
 But Steuben infinitely preferred his position in the Prussian 
 army to every other, and — probably in April, 1762 — returned 
 home with General Knobloch. The king appreciated most 
 highly the service which these officers had done him, and, it 
 is very likely, rewarded them with promotion. It is to this, 
 probably, that Steuben owed his advancement to the rank of 
 captain, and his appointment as aid-de-camp on the personal 
 staff of the king, in whose suite, in 1762, he took part in the 
 celebrated siege of Schweidnitz, the surrender of which was 
 the brilliant conclusion of the military operations of the Seven 
 Years' War. 
 
 William North, Steuben's aid de-camp and intimate friend, 
 gives another reason for this remarkable advancement of 
 Steuben. However valuable North's information will be in 
 other respects, we are inclined to doubt the correctness of his 
 statement in this instance, because he was not thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the details of the Seven Years' War, and Steu- 
 ben's position in the Prussian army ; and, confounding truth 
 and misconceptions, often did not comprehend the exact bear- 
 ing of Steuben's narrative of that eventful period. We, there- 
 fore, give his statement with this preface. 
 
 " The Baron," relates North, " had been for some time in 
 the family and friendship of Prince Henry,* the king's broth- 
 er, of whom he never spoke but with the greatest tender- 
 ness and affection. In an unfortunate campaign of the Seven 
 Years' War, the prince incurred the displeasure of his harsh 
 brother, who directed him to retire from the army, and or- 
 dered his aides-de-camp to their different corps, or put them on 
 such unpleasant duty as might make them feel the misfortune 
 
 * Net Prince Henry, as is erroneously stated by North, but Prince Wil- 
 liam, incurred the displeasure of his brother. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 50 
 
 of belonging to a man who hnd dared to displease, perhaps to 
 disobey him. 
 
 " Steuben was sent into Silesia to recruit, equip, and dis- 
 cipline, within a certain period, a corps broken down by long 
 and hard service. The pecuniary allowance for this object 
 was entirely inadequate, but who in the Prussian service dared 
 to murmur or remonstrate ! By the assistance of friends, 
 funds were found, and the regiment, complete, was marched to 
 head-quarters within the time. Pleased with the prompt per- 
 formance of a duty, of the arduousness of which the king was 
 well apprised, the Baron received his compliments, and, in a 
 little time after, the appointment of aid-de-camp to the mon- 
 arch, with the charge of superintending the department of the 
 quarter-master general." 
 
 Steuben himself, in one of his memoirs addressed to Con- 
 gress, says, that in the last campaigns of the Seven Years' 
 War, he was "marechal general de logis? that is to say, 
 quarter-master general, and adjutant general to the king; and 
 that in the winter 1762-1763, he had the command of the 
 regiment Von Salmuth, afterwards Hesse-Cassel.* This state- 
 ment of Steuben is originally written in French : " II eut le 
 commandement du regiment Salmuth, aujowxPhui Hesse- 
 Ca-ssel." The English translator said he was colonel of the 
 regiment, etc., but Steuben corrected this mistake as above, in 
 order to show that he was not the colonel of that regiment, 
 but only commanded it ad interim. Schloezerf says, that at 
 the close of the war Steuben was major and temporary com- 
 mander of the fortress of Torgau ; but Steuben himself does 
 not mention his having occupied this post, which omission 
 warrants the supposition that he never held it, for he speaks 
 repeatedly of his employment in the king's service towards 
 the end of the Seven Years' War. 
 
 However this may be, it is certain that Steuben gained the 
 affection and esteem of the king. He brought him into a 
 * Steuben's MS. Papers, vol. xiii, f Schloezer, 1. c. 
 
60 UII OF 8 T H U B B N . 
 
 chosen number of talented young officers, whom Frederick 
 personally instructed and initiated into the most abstruse 
 branches of military art, and prepared for the responsible du- 
 ties of the staff. This academy consisted, besides six officers 
 who died young, of the following: quarter-master general, 
 lieutenant colonel and aid-de-camp in chief, Count Anhalt, and 
 quarter-master lieutenants, Major Count Pinto, Captain Von 
 Steuben, Captain Von Ruits, Von Geusau, Von Pfau and Von 
 Diebitsch.* The selection of an officer to form one of so 
 small a number as the immediate pupils of the great captain, 
 is a convincing proof of the merit and promise of the recip- 
 ient of this envied distinction. No family influence, high 
 birth or other fortuitous circumstances had any weight with 
 Frederick the Great in the selection of his military favorites: 
 talent and fitness were the only recommendation to his favor. 
 At the end of the war (1702), the king, in consideration of 
 Steuben's services, presented him with a lay benefice, attached 
 to the religious chapter of Havelsberg, producing annually an 
 income of four hundred thalcrs.f The king, in his parsimony, 
 which approached very nearly to avarice, very seldom gave 
 pecuniary remunerations to his officers, and it is a proof of high 
 satisfaction that he made an exception to this rule in the case 
 of Steuben. 
 
 Soon after the conclusion of the peace of Hubertsburg, 
 Steuben quitted the Prussian service. Various reasons are 
 given for this step. Some accounts say that he felt slighted 
 and injured in his claims to promotion, because the king, not- 
 withstanding his seniority and higher rank, intended to re- 
 move him as captain of a company to the same regiment Von 
 Salmuth, at Wesel on the Rhine,J which he had commanded 
 ad interim • others say, that he had quarreled and had a duel 
 with the above-mentioned Count Anhalt, in consequence of 
 
 * Lebensgeschichte Friedriclis do.s (IroBScn von J. D. E. Prouss, Berlin, 1833 
 Dritter Band, pp. 149 and 150. 
 
 ♦ Steuben'* MS. Papers, vol. xiii. % Schloezer, 1. c. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 01 
 
 which lie had been obliged to give in his resignation,* and a 
 third report says, that he felt uneasy and unhappy in the 
 quiet and monotonous life of the garrison. He himself says, 
 in a letter written toward the close of his life, that immedi- 
 ately after the war, an inconsiderate step and an implacable 
 personal enemy had led to his leaving the Prussian service. 
 He, however, gives no details. The first of the foregoing 
 reasons seems the most probable, because it is asserted by 
 highly trustworthy authorities, and because it is in accordance 
 with the king's rough mode of dealing with his officers, whose 
 number was quite out of proportion to that of the army, 
 w T hich had been considerably reduced. Whenever an officer 
 of that time felt offended at the king's treatment, Frederick's 
 stereotyped answer was, " He may go to the devil !" (" Kann 
 sich zum Teufel scheeren !") With these words he dismissed 
 the afterwards celebrated Field Marshals Blucherf and York,;); 
 who could only reenter the Prussian service after the great 
 king's death. Steuben, while residing a short time in Halle 
 and Dessau, feigned sickness and petitioned for his discharge, 
 which, however, was not immediately granted. He first took 
 a journey to Hamburg, where he got acquainted with the 
 Count St. Germain,§ then in the service of Denmark, and vis- 
 ited, in May, 1764, the springs of Wildbad, in Suabia, in com- 
 pany with the Prussian general, Prince Frederick of Wur- 
 temberg, at which time he was introduced to the Prince of 
 IIohenzollern-Hechingen, who, on the warm recommendation 
 of the Princess of Wurtemberg and Prince Henry of Prussia, 
 offered Steuben the office of grand marshal of his court, w r hich 
 he accepted, having finally received his discharge from the 
 service of Prussia.|| 
 
 * Politisches Journal, 1. c. 
 
 | Varnhagen Yon Ense : Das Leben des Fiirsten Bliicher Yon Wahlstadt, 
 Berlin, 1827. 
 
 % Johann Gustav Droysen : Das Leben des Feldrnarschalls Grafen York 
 Yon Wartenberg, Berlin, 1854, i., 21. § Steuben's MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
 II Politisches Journal, 1. c. 
 
G2 LIFE OF STEUIJKN'- 
 
 This office is one of the highest and most distinguished 
 posts which it was possible to hold, particularly at the minor 
 German courts, where the same system .of etiquette prevailed, 
 on a smaller scale, as at the larger and more influential courts 
 of Vienna and Berlin. The duties of the office consisted in 
 the supreme direction of the reigning Prince's household, and 
 in the arrangement of all court presentations and ceremo- 
 nies. The personage holding this office was always in the 
 closest relations with, and in the most intimate confidence of, 
 the prince, and the appointment was invariably conferred on 
 persons who had made themselves remarkable in either a civil 
 or military capacity. Steuben held the office of grand marshal 
 ef the court at Hechingen, as it appears, about ten years, and 
 gained the affection and the esteem of every one with whom 
 he had any connection. A cotemporary, who made his ac- 
 quaintance at this time, writes as follows :* 
 
 " Steuben filled his post with all that dignity, method, and 
 knowledge of his duty which it eminently required, gained 
 the perfect confidence of the prince, and was looked upon in 
 the most friendly manner by the neighboring courts, as well as 
 by his own. He was affable and condescending to his inferiors, 
 and severe and exact with those placed under his orders; 
 without that tyranny by which, at many courts, the life of the 
 subordinate was rendered miserable, he always succeeded in 
 getting the duty punctually performed. He was obliging, 
 humane, and anxious to promote the happiness of all with 
 whom he had to deal ; he always endeavored amicably to set- 
 tie disputes amongst the officers of the court, by which he 
 acquired for himself the esteem and respect of all who had the 
 good fortune to know and appreciate him." 
 
 It formed a part of Steuben's duty to accompany the 
 Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen on his travels, which ex- 
 tended, during the period of his service, to various courts of 
 Germany, and, in 1771, to that of France, on which occasions 
 * Politischcs Journal, 1. c. 
 
r 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 63 
 
 he had opportunities of becoming acquainted with the promi- 
 nent statesmen and the higher nobility of that time. The ease 
 and comfort of his present office, compared with the bustle, 
 hardship and privation of his former life, pleased him so much, 
 that he seemed to have abandoned all ideas of returning to 
 the profession in which he had acquired so large a share of 
 renown. Although liberal offers had been made to him in 
 1764 on the part of the King of Sardinia,* and repeatedly in 
 1*766 and 1769 by the German emperor through his minister 
 and General Von llied,f to enter military service, he declined 
 these flattering proposals, being contented with the otium cum 
 dignitate which he at present enjoyed ; the more so as he had 
 purchased a small country-seat nearllechingen, called Weilheim. 
 It is most probable that Steuben would have passed 
 the rest of his life in this unprofitable retirement had he 
 not happened to excite against him the animosity of certain 
 Popish priests who — the religion of the court being also 
 Catholic — were constantly plotting and intriguing against him 
 after his return from France. As Steuben was a firm adherent 
 to the tenets of the Protestant church, he was, of course, ob- 
 noxious to the priesthood, who were jealous of his growing 
 influence over the prince and the other members of the court. 
 Steuben seeing that this state of things, if prolonged, could 
 only lead to disagreeable results for him, and perhaps cause 
 dissension between the prince and himself, decided to retire. 
 That this dissension did not arise from any serious cause, is 
 proved by the fact that Steuben continued to be a great 
 favorite of the prince, and kept up friendly intercourse with 
 him even after his arrival in America.]; He went to the court 
 of the Margrave of Baden, at Carlsruhe, who, on the 28th 
 of May, 1769, had distinguished him with the cross of the 
 order " Be la Fidelite."% 
 
 * Steuben's MS. Papers, vol. xiii. f Ibidem. 
 
 \ Politisches Journal, 1. c. 
 
 § This was the only order which Steuben ever had, and it is a mistake 
 
04 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Steuben says, in one of his memorials, that this prince 
 afterwards conferred on him the rank of general, but this 
 statement does not appear correct according to the court 
 calendars of that time, which we have carefully perused. It 
 is the less likely as the rank of general did not exist in the 
 small army of the Margrave of Baden, and as the highest 
 military dignity was that of a colonel of the guards. We 
 shall at another place refer to the reasons which probably 
 produced the above assertion. It is, however, a fact es- 
 tablished beyond any doubt, that Steuben held a military 
 appointment of an honorary character in the militia of the 
 empire, having been chosen general of the Circle of Suabia, 
 a species of national guard, and scarcely ever called out for 
 active service. This office was merely an honorary post, and 
 did not entail any duty upon its holder. 
 
 His life in Carlsruhc and Durlach was as inactive and void 
 of excitement as that during his stay in Hechingen. Having 
 no duties to perform, and having sufficient, though not af- 
 fluent,, means, he diversified the monotony of an existence at 
 a small German court, by occasional trips to the capitals of 
 Germany and to France. It was during this time that he 
 visited Baron Yon Waldener at his country residence in 
 Alsace, where he renewed his acquaintance with Count St. 
 Germain,* and during his stay in Montpellier, in the south of 
 France, in the winter of 1776, he met and became acquainted 
 w T ith the English Earls of Warwick and Spencer, and with 
 the French Prince De Montbarey, subsequently minister of war 
 
 when some American writers (for instance Benson J. Lossing, "Pictorial 
 Field Book," i., 333) say that the King of Prussia had given it to him. 
 There never was a Prussian order of this name. It was founded on June 17, 
 1715, by Charles, Margrave of Baden, and consisted of only thirty members. 
 According to § 5 of its by-laws only such persons were able to become mem- 
 bers of the order who were of noble extraction, unsullied lineage, and irre- 
 proachable conduct. From 1715 to 1769, when Steuben was made one of its 
 knights, there were one hundred and sixty-seven members in all. 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 65 
 
 under the French government. His relations with those En- 
 glish noblemen were of the most intimate :mrl friendly character, 
 and he received from them pressing invitations to spend the 
 ensuing summer with them in England, which he accepted.* 
 
 Steuben was ill adapted, either by disposition or early habits 
 and training, to find enjoyment and satisfaction in a life of idle- 
 ness, for any length of time, although the dignified tranquillity 
 of his life at a little court promised agreeable repose to one 
 tired of the bivouac and the camp. It was not calculated to 
 satisfy his ardent and impetuous temperament, or induce him 
 forever to renounce the busy scene from which he had with- 
 drawn for a season, and soon after his return to Carlsruhe he 
 appears to have sought a fitting opportunity to reenter active 
 service. Just at that time all Europe was anxiously expecting 
 the war, which some years after broke out, in regard to the 
 succession of the Elector of Bavaria, and which promised 
 honorable employment and glory to every officer. Steuben 
 resolved to avail himself of these cheering prospects, and for 
 this purpose opened negotiations, which, however, were not 
 successful. The Prussian officers of that time w T ere so fully 
 convinced of their importance and superiority over all other 
 troops, that they always expected to receive higher rank than 
 that which they had under the king, and therefore very often 
 rejected propositions made to them by foreign powers, who 
 were anxious to profit by their knowledge and experience, but 
 were unwilling to excite jealousy amongst their own officers 
 by placing foreigners over their heads. To this cause is to be 
 attributed, as it appears, the failure of Steuben's projects. 
 The difficulties of entering the German emperor's service, 
 even for an officer so distinguished and sought after as Steuben 
 was, may be seen from the folio Aving letter addressed to him 
 on the 4th of April, by the famous Prince DeLigne, one of the 
 highest dignitaries of the imperial court.f It reads as follows : — 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
 f 1 found this interesting letter, originally written in French, in vol. 
 
38 LIFE OF STEUBEN, v 
 
 "I thought of getting you, my dear baron, to enter our 
 service even before the idea occurred to you, when I heard 
 you speak of matters connected with war with that talent 
 which distinguishes the pupil of the hero from whom you 
 have learned so much. Independent of any personal gratifica- 
 tion I should derive, I believed that it would be very fortu- 
 nate for the service to have you amongst us. 
 
 "I should like you to see the emperor when he passes through 
 your province, for I am sure that you would produce the same 
 favorable impression upon him that you made upon me. With- 
 out this, it will be impossible to enter the service. 
 
 " I have just received a letter from Field Marshal Lascy, of 
 whom I asked, as a particular favor, to get a commission in 
 my own regiment for a colonel of the very highest distinction, 
 but he informed me that it is utterly impossible, and not to be 
 thought of. You see with what regret I acquaint you with 
 this, my dear baron. If there were a war, I should exert my- 
 self to get you, for our own sake more than for yours, so that 
 your talents should not be left unemployed." 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1777, when the Emperor Jo- 
 seph II. went to France, General Ried, a personal friend of 
 Steuben, urged him to pay his respects to the emperor at 
 Stuttgardt, assuring him that it was very probable that his 
 Majesty would invite him to enter his service.* It does not 
 appear, however, that Steuben complied with Ried's recom- 
 mendation ; on the contrary, it would appear that he declined 
 doing so, and that he had definitively abandoned the idea of 
 reentering active military service. 
 
 xiii. of the Steuben Papers. Although bearing only the date of the month, 
 it must have been written in 1177, because it refers to the emperor's intended 
 journey through "Western Germany, which Joseph II. never visited before 
 1777, on his way to Paris. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
CHAPTER III.* 
 
 Steuben visits Paris on his "Way to England.— Count De St. Germain's mysterious 
 Message. — His Interview with Steuben. — Proposition to enter the Service of 
 the American Congress. — Steuben's Objections. — Eemarkable Answer of Count 
 De St. Germain. — Steuben introduced to Beaumarciiais, Franklin, and 
 Deane. — Interview with the American Commissioners. — Beaumarciiais' Offer. 
 — Steuben abandons the Idea of going to America. — Takes Leave of St. Ger- 
 main PRIOR TO HIS KETURN TO GERMANY. — INTRODUCTION TO COUNT ArANDA, THE 
 
 Spanish Ambassador. — Visit to Prince De Mostbabey. — Return to Caklsruhk. 
 —Advice of Prince Louis William of Baden.— Letters from St. Germain and 
 Beaumarciiais, persuading Steuben to enter the Service of America. — He 
 consents, and sets out for Paris. — Arrival there. — Result of the Conference 
 with the French Ministers. — Interview with Count De Vergennes. — Steuben's 
 Duties defined by St. Germain. — The American Commissioners furnish him with 
 Letters of Introduction. — Sets sail from Marseilles on board the Flamand, 
 which conveys Arms and Ammunition to America. — The hazardous Character 
 of the Enterprise. 
 
 rniTE negotiations alluded to in the foregoing chapter having 
 -*- failed, Steuben determined to fulfill a promise made some 
 time before to visit his friends in England, and set out, toward 
 the end of April, 1777, on his journey thither, by way of 
 France. He arrived in Paris on the 2d day of May, intend- 
 ing to spend a few days in that capital previous to his depart- 
 ure for Calais, in order to visit his old acquaintances, particu- 
 larly the Count Do St. Germain, whom the King of France had 
 recently appointed minister of war. Shortly after reaching 
 Paris he notified the count of his arrival and of his anxiety to 
 see him, to which he received in reply, that the count would 
 rather not see him at Versailles, but that he would be glad to 
 meet him in three days at the Paris arsenal, where he intended 
 to have a particular conversation with him, and that he would 
 send an officer to conduct him to the place of rendezvous. 
 
 ;: " Almost tho entire narrative in this chapter is takon from vol. xiii.of tho 
 Steuben Papers, at some places very often word for word. 
 
68 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 Steuben could not conceive the meaning of this extraordi- 
 nary message. " I had formed," says he, in one of his memo- 
 rials, " no ambitious schemes, and was perfectly satisfied with 
 my situation. I could not define the meaning of this enigma. 
 I can certify, upon my honor, that among all the conjectures 
 I made, the truth never occurred to me." 
 
 A few days afterward the Count St. Germain arrived in 
 Paris, and sent the Baron De Pagenstecher, colonel of the 
 Legion Conde, for Steuben, who waited upon the count, and 
 was received by him in his cabinet. After observing to the 
 baron that he had arrived very a propos, the count mentioned 
 that he had intended to write to him to submit a project 
 which he thought would prove very advantageous, and for the 
 execution of which he thought the baron the most proper per- 
 son. Then opening a map and pointing to America, " Here," 
 said he, " is your field of battle. Here is a republic which you 
 must serve. You are the very man she needs at this moment. 
 If you succeed, your fortune is made, and you will acquire 
 more glory than you could hope for in Europe in a great 
 many years to come!" He then entered into a minute de- 
 tail of the political situation of the United States, which, after 
 having once declared themselves independent, would undoubt- 
 edly sustain this declaration ; adding that it would be a mer- 
 itorious office to assist in building up the grand edifice of that 
 rising republic. 
 
 He demonstrated to Steuben the resources which the in- 
 surgents had, and the support which they could indirectly ex- 
 pect from France and Spain. He intimated to him the possi- 
 bility of an open alliance between the different branches of 
 the house of Bourbon and the Americans. Ho then turned to 
 the other side of the picture, and with equal discernment de- 
 tailed to Steuben the many disadvantages the United States 
 then labored under ; that their army had no regular or per- 
 manent formation ; that their enlistments, being for very short 
 periods, their army had no order, or method of keeping the 
 
15 I P E OF 8 T K U HEN. 69 
 
 corps together ; that the loss of the men not only coutinually 
 destroyed the formation of the corps, but caused the most 
 terrible destruction of horses, arms, clothing, and every spe- 
 cies of camp equipage ; that the consumption of these articles 
 was enormous; that they were in want of some officer of ex- 
 perience to be charged with the details, who was not only 
 acquainted with the regular formation of an army, but who 
 could trace out for them a system of economy for the disburse- 
 ments of the army, and, by a rigid inspection, prevent those 
 abuses which might otherwise tend to the destruction of the 
 country. To this he added, that if some such order were not 
 established, the resources of the United States must very soon 
 be exhausted, nor would it be in the power of their friends in 
 Europe to supply so enormous an expense ; that, among all 
 the foreign officers who had gone to America, there was not 
 one who possessed sufficient information on these points, 
 and that the commander-in-chief and Congress would be ex- 
 tremely happy to meet with an officer of experience to assist 
 in establishing order, which was so indispensably necessary. 
 
 "You perceive now," added the count, "why I wished 
 you not to appear at Versailles ; I would not even wish you 
 to be seen much in Paris ; you must, however, see the Count 
 De Aranda and the Prince De Montbarey, who are acquainted 
 with this project ; and in order that you may have every pos- 
 sible information with respect to the United States, I will send 
 Mr. Deane to you." 
 
 St. Germain was well aware that Steuben was perfectly 
 competent to perform the task. Being himself an ardent ad- 
 mirer of the Prussian school of military discipline and tactics, 
 which in former years he had in vain tried to introduce into 
 the Danish army, and which he now equally in vain tried to 
 introduce into the French army, he had made the acquaint- 
 ance of Steuben, when the latter, after the termination of 
 the Seven Years' War, had just returned from the field, and 
 formed a favorable opinion of the sound judgment and mili- 
 
VO LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 tary ability of King Frederick's aid-de-camp. Success demon- 
 strated that his choice was a good one : a proof that St. Ger- 
 main had a much deeper knowledge of men and things than 
 his adversaries ordinarily attribute to him. 
 
 Steuben replied to St. Germain's overtures, that although 
 his present situation was not an elevated one, it was, never- 
 theless, agreeable, while the enterprise proposed by the count 
 was hazardous for a man no longer young, and ignorant, as he 
 was, of the English language. He finally asked the count, rot 
 in his character of minister, but as a friend, if he would advise 
 him to accept such an adventurous undertaking, to which St. 
 Germain answered : " Sir, as a minister I have no advice to 
 give you on these subjects; but as your friend I would never 
 advise you to do any thing which I would not do myself, w r ere 
 I not employed in the king's service." 
 
 No determination w r as arrived at in their first interview. 
 The first consequence, however, resulting from this conver- 
 sation, was the suspension of Steuben's proposed visit to En- 
 gland. On the following day, when he saw the count again, 
 the latter recurred to the subject, and as he still preferred that 
 Steuben should not visit him at Versailles, he gave him a let- 
 ter to Mr. De Beaumarchais, the author of Figaro, who took 
 such a deep interest in the American Revolution, warning him 
 at the same time to be extremely circumspect. The proposi- 
 tion now appeared to Steuben less extravagant than at first, 
 and as he began to feel an interest in the matter, he did not 
 need St. Germain's recommendation to be discreet. Mr. De 
 Beaumarchais introduced Mr. Deane to Steuben, and a few 
 days after Mr. Deane took him to Dr. Franklin at Passy. 
 
 Both the American commissioners appeared very desirous 
 that Steuben should enter the service of Congress. They con- 
 firmed to him the statement, made by St. Germain, and ex- 
 pressed their hopes that he would be able to establish the or- 
 der and discipline in the American army, which were so much 
 wished by the commander-in-chief, and for which he had not 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. VI 
 
 yet found an able assistant amongst the throng of foreign offi- 
 cers who had gone over to America. But when Steuben 
 mentioned a disbursement for the expenses of his journey 
 they expressed some doubt as to their power to grant it. 
 Mr. Deane made no difficulties ; Franklin, however, made sev- 
 eral. He spoke a great deal about presenting him with a 
 couple of thousand acres of land, to which Steuben did not 
 attach much value, and which in any case could not furnish 
 him with the means of crossing the Atlantic. As to advances, 
 Franklin positively declared that it was out of the question ; 
 that he was not empowered to make any, and that he could 
 not enter into any engagement with any officer whatever. He 
 told him this with an air and manner to which Steuben, as he 
 remarks in a letter wTitten at the time, ," was then little ac- 
 customed," whereupon Steuben immediately took leave with- 
 out any further explanation. 
 
 He went thence to Mr. De Beaumarchais. He told him that 
 he intended to set out immediately for Germany, and that 
 he did not wish to hear any more of America. As soon as 
 Beaumarchais was informed of the cause of Steuben's reso- 
 lution, he informed him that "if he wanted nothing but 
 money, a thousand Louis-d'ors and more were at his service." 
 Steuben thanked him for his generous offer, but told him, at 
 the same time, that he was fixed in his determination to pay 
 his last visit to the Count St. Germain, and to leave the follow- 
 ing day for Rastadt. 
 
 On July 24th, Steuben accordingly paid a farewell visit to 
 Count St. Germain at Versailles, and informed the minister of 
 his determination. He represented to him that he could not 
 embark on so hazardous an enterprise, and that even if he 
 would, he had not the money necessary for his OAvn equip- 
 ments and that of his suite. He cited the instance of Mr. 
 Du Coudrai, whose services, notwithstanding a previous en- 
 gagement with the American commissioners in France, had 
 not been accepted by Congress, and alluded to the danger of 
 
12 L 1 F E OF STEIIB E N T . 
 
 being taken prisoner by the English, without having made a 
 definite engagement. Although the count appeared somewhat 
 hurt by Steuben's determination, he invited him to spend two 
 days at Versailles, and renew his acquaintance with the Prince 
 De Montbarey. After dinner the Spanish ambassador, Count 
 De Aranda, came in, to whom St. Germain introduced Steuben 
 with the following words : " Here is a man who will risk noth- 
 ing, consequently he will gain nothing." On the same day 
 Steuben waited upon Prince De Montbarey, who appeared as 
 full of the American scheme as the Count De St. Germain. 
 Notwithstanding the arguments and importunities of the 
 French ministers, Steuben declared that he could not deter- 
 mine on any thing until he had first visited Germany, whither 
 he intended to set out the following day. 
 
 When he arrived at Rastadt he met there Prince Louis 
 William of Baden, a lieutenant general in the Dutch army, 
 and governor of Arnheim. He also found a very persuasive 
 letter from M. De Beaumarchais, who wrote him that Count 
 St. Germain expected his prompt return to Versailles ; that a 
 vessel was ready in the port of Marseilles for his embarkation, 
 and that as for any disbursements he might need to make, he 
 could dispose of his funds. This letter was accompanied by 
 one from the Count St. Germain, who pressed Steuben to re- 
 turn immediately. The confidence he had in Prince Louis 
 William made Steuben consult him about the affair. Being 
 himself engaged in the service of a republic and probably 
 more dazzled by the prospect of glory than Steuben was him- 
 self, he was of opinion that there was no room for hesitation ; 
 that he should certainly run the risk, and that he could never 
 find a finer opportunity of distinguishing himself than that 
 which was offered to him. The prince's advice was successful, 
 and it was not long before Steuben carried his plan into exe- 
 cution. Having obtained the consent of the King of Prussia, 
 he conferred his canonry at Ilavelsberg, which then brought 
 him a yearly revenue of four thousand six hundred livres, on 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 73 
 
 his nephew, the Baron Von Canitz, and started again for Paris, 
 where he arrived on the 17th of August, 1777. 
 
 On the day after his arrival Steuben went to Versailles, 
 where he had a conference with St. Germain and Montbarey, 
 an<3 where it was resolved that he should not enter into any 
 arrangement with the American agents, either for money or 
 the expenses of his journey, but that he should merely wait 
 upon them, to inform them of his approaching departure for 
 the United States, and ask them for letters of introduction to 
 the leading members of Congress, telling them, at the same 
 time, that it was his intention to make one or two campaigns 
 with their army in the simple capacity of a volunteer. 
 
 " From the information," says Steuben afterwards,* in a 
 letter addressed on the 27th of January, 1790, to Alexander 
 Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, " I received from 
 the ministers of France, that the preferment of foreigners to 
 military employments had been a cause of discontent in the 
 American army, I foresaw the necessity of pursuing a differ- 
 ent course from that which had been adopted by my prede- 
 cessors, in order to gain admission into your army. Being 
 sure of success in my enterprise, as soon as the commander- 
 in-chief and the army should be aware of the advantages of 
 my military arrangements, there was but one difficulty to sur- 
 mount, and from the complexion of the times, that difficulty 
 was of the greatest magnitude. It depended upon obtaining 
 such a post in the army as would enable me to make use of 
 the knowledge of my profession, and to render it beneficial to 
 the interest of the United States, without exciting the dissat- 
 isfaction and jealousy of the officers of your army. Any con- 
 ditions proposed by me, under these circumstances, tending to 
 insure me a recompense proportioned to my sacrifices and my 
 services, would have rendered all my negotiations abortive. 
 Bat proposals to serve the United States as a volunteer, wit'i- 
 
 * American State Papers. Volume entitled " Claims." Washington, 1834 ; 
 No 5. !i;L 1). 11-11). 
 
74 LIFE OF STEL'BEN. 
 
 out rank or pay, could give no umbrage. No person, sir, is 
 better informed than yourself, how difficult it was, at that 
 time, to introduce a foreigner into your army, even without 
 any condition whatever. If, however, I should be charged 
 with having made use of illicit stratagems to gain admission 
 into the service of the United States, I am sure the army will 
 acquit me, and, I flatter myself, so also will the citizens of this 
 republic in general." 
 
 Steuben does not say, either on this or on any other oc- 
 casion, what was the illicit stratagem of which he had made 
 use. Nevertheless, is is evident that it was his assertion 
 that he had been general in the service of the Margrave of 
 Baden. It appears that this pretense formed one of the 
 subjects of the conversation with the French ministers, and 
 that it had been suggested by them. Politically they were 
 right, as Steuben, had he been introduced only as a major 
 or colonel to Congress, would never have been able to gain 
 that important and influential position in America, which 
 he Avanted for the introduction of his inspection and discipline. 
 There was probably not a member of Congress that had ever 
 heard of a Margraviate of Baden. The more imposing title 
 of lieutenant general secured to Steuben the right place in the 
 American army. Even Franklin, who lived then in Paris, con- 
 founded Steuben's being aid-de-camp to Frederick II. with the 
 fictitious rank given to him by the French diplomacy. And in 
 the United States, from his arrival to the present day, he is usu- 
 ally called a Prussian lieutenant general. So much is certain, that 
 if Steuben had been a general in Europe, his position would have 
 been so elevated, that he would never have crossed the Atlantic. 
 
 The Prince Do Montbarey introduced Steuben to the Count 
 De Vergennes, the French minister of foreign affairs, who, on 
 the 19th of August, granted him a particular audience. 
 
 " You are determined then to go to America," said the 
 count, upon which Steuben asked if he considered the idea 
 extravagant. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 75 
 
 " On the contrary," he replied, u it is the road to fame 
 and distinction ; but I strongly recommend you to make an 
 agreement beforehand, and not rely too implicitly on repub- 
 lican generosity." Whereupon Steuben remarked that he 
 had no conditions to make with the American agents, adding, 
 that if the republic he was going to serve was ungrateful, he 
 expected that the King of France would not be so, and that 
 Count Vergennes and Prince Montbarey would not allow his 
 services to remain unrewarded. 
 
 " You know very well," said Count Vergennes, " that it 
 is impossible for us to make conditions with you. I can only 
 say to you, Go, succeed, and you will never regret the step 
 you have taken." 
 
 The Count De St. Germain then conversed with Steuben 
 relative to the defects of and the reforms to be introduced into 
 the American army. Of these, the principal were strict order 
 and economy in the different corps, and in the administration 
 of the different departments having the regulation of the sup- 
 plies for the army. The other points were, the establishment 
 of a rigid inspection and regular and permanent formation of 
 the different corps, a simplicity in the maneuvers, the abolition 
 of all exercise of parade, and the easiest and most expeditious 
 mode of encamping in order of battle. 
 
 Having obtained from Franklin letters of introduction to 
 General Washington, Samuel Adams, President Laurens, Rob- 
 ert Morris, and other men of distinction in America, Steuben 
 commenced arrangements for his departure. Mr. De Mon- 
 thieu, one of the royal commissioners, gave him the choice of 
 two vessels, one sailing from l'Orient, the other from Mar- 
 seilles. By the advice of the Spanish minister, Count Aranda, 
 Steuben selected the latter, and set out for Marseilles, whence, 
 on the 26th day of September, 1111, he set sail on board of 
 the twenty-four gun ship " 1'IIeureux," the name of which, for 
 this voyage, was altered to that of " le Flamand." Steuben's 
 name was entered on the ship's books as Frank, and under 
 
76 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 this name the French ministers grave him dispatches to the 
 Marquis De Bouilly, Governor of Martinique, in order to guard 
 against the evil consequences of capture by the British cruisers. 
 His suite consisted of Peter S, Duponceau, whom Steuben had 
 engaged as secretary and interpreter ; of his aids, De l'Enfimt, 
 De Komanai, Des Epinieres and De Pontiere, who afterward, 
 as a captain of horse, entered the corps of Pulasky. They were 
 joined by Beaumarchais' nephew and agent, M. De Francy, 
 who was sent over by his uncle to settle the accounts and 
 business relations of the latter with Congress. It is worthy 
 of remark, that this same vessel in w r hich Steuben embarked 
 also conveyed to the American government large supplies of 
 war material, purchased and shipped by M. De Beaumarchais 
 under the assumed name of the mercantile firm of Roderique 
 Hortalez & Co. These supplies consisted of seventeen hun- 
 dred weight of powder, twenty-two tons of sulphur, fifty-two 
 brass cannon, nineteen mortars, besides a great number of 
 smaller field-pieces, muskets and pistols,* and formed a part of 
 the advances which Beaumarchais made to Congress as well 
 from his own as from the governmental means, and the value 
 of which his heirs only partly recovered after about sixty 
 years' litigation. Beaumarchais at the same time advanced to 
 Steuben his traveling expenses, which were considered by the 
 latter as a personal loan. 
 
 " Recall me often," writes Beaumarchais, on the 6th of De- 
 cember, 1778, to De Francy,f " to the memory and good wishes 
 Baron De Steuben. I congratulate myself, from what he tells 
 me, of having given so great an officer to my friends, the free- 
 men, and having in a certain way forced him to follow this 
 noble career. I am in no way uneasy about the money I lent 
 him to start with. Never did I make so agreeable a use of 
 
 * Politisches Journal von und fur Deutschland, 1784. Yol. ii., p. 94. The 
 Remembrancer, London, 1778, p. 98. 
 
 f Beaumarchais et .son Temps, par Louis do Lomenie. 4 vols. ; iii., p. 
 175 (English translation. London edition, by Henry S. Edward). 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 77 
 
 capital, for I have put a man of honor in his true place. I 
 hear that he is inspector general of all the American troops. 
 Bravo ! tell him that his glory is the interest of my money, 
 and that I do not doubt that on these terms he will pay me 
 with usury." 
 
 For a man of Steuben's age and habits to abandon home, 
 kindred and powerful connections for a life of danger, priva- 
 tion and uncertainty in a strange land, with whose language 
 he was unacquainted, and whose manners and habits were dif- 
 ferent from those in which he had lived, was a bold and haz- 
 ardous enterprise in which one of less energetic and deter- 
 mined character than Steuben would scarcely have embarked 
 with so little hesitation. He left Europe, where he had 
 won hard-earned distinction and fame— where, if he was not 
 opulent, he had at least a sufficient competence— to serve a 
 country engaged in an obstinate, exhausting and hitherto un- 
 successful war, where his prospects of professional advance- 
 ment were by no means assured, and which offered him no in- 
 ducements of a pecuniary or material nature. Confident in 
 himself, urged by high and generous motives, he determined 
 to offer his sword to a nation struggling for her rights and lib- 
 erties. He made no conditions. He bargained for no re- 
 ward. Military distinction and active employment were the 
 chief objects of his ambition, the immediate motives of his 
 conduct. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Bteuben on his Way to America.— Reasons why France engaged him, and after- 
 wards CONCLUDED AN ALLIANCE WITH THE UnITKD STATES. — Tllfi POLITICAL IM- 
 PORTANCE and Position of France. — Arbiter of Europe till 17G3. — Ignominious 
 Peace.— England's Supremacy as a Maritime Power.— France degraded to a 
 second-rate Power.— The dissolute Government of Louis XV. — Louis XVI. 
 
 ASCENDS THE TlIRONE. — WARLIKE SPIRIT AT THE COURT.— TlIE AMERICAN REVOLU- 
 tion hailed with enthusiasm all over france. — different points of vlew of 
 the different classes of society. — tlie klng jealous of england. — tlie court 
 wants to revenge itself for the defeats ofthe seven years' war. — tlie aris- 
 tocratic and middle classes imbued with the principles and philosophy of 
 the Time. — They are in Favor of the Republican Cause. — Rousseau's Influence 
 on the Court Circles. — The political Importance of his "Contrat Social" 
 in Europe. — Alliance of European Idealism with American Realism. — The 
 French Noblemen perceive in the American Revolution the Realization of 
 their own Dreams and Ideas. — Segur and Lafayette. — Dupoetail's Letter. — 
 Franklin's Influence in the Declaration of War against England. — His 
 Character by Schlosser. — Views and Designs of the French Cabinet at the 
 Time of Steuben's Arrival in Paris. — France makes an Alliance with the 
 United States after Burgoyne's Capitulation. — No direct Advantages from 
 this Alliance. — But France thereby regains her Position as Arbiter of 
 European Politics. — Important Consequences of the American War for 
 Europe. 
 
 "TTfHILE Steuben is hastening to his journey's end, and try- 
 " ing to relieve the monotony of life on ship-board by 
 mathematical calculations, exercising his companions in shoot- 
 ing at a mark, or reading books like the writings of the Abbe 
 Raynal on America, we propose to consider briefly the rea- 
 sons which impelled the French minister to engage Steuben's 
 services for Congress, and immediately afterwards to conclude 
 an alliance with the United States. 
 
 There is perhaps scarcely an event in modern history which 
 Iims been so partially judged by the American people, and 
 therefore so distorted from its true historical connection. We 
 shall, therefore, endeavor to analyze the motives of this act, 
 and to place it in its true political light. 
 
L IFE O F S T K U J5 B N . 79 
 
 Frederick the Great used to say : u If I were King of 
 France, not a single cannon could be fired in Europe without 
 my consent," and thus demonstrated in the most convincing 
 manner how the resources, importance and the position of 
 France in the family of European States gave her this position 
 of arbiter. 
 
 This supremacy was maintained from the beginning of the 
 seventeenth century down to the Seven Years' War. The 
 peace of Paris (1763) which deprived France of all her North 
 American possessions — Canada in particular — put a sudden 
 end to it. The terms of that peace were an unquestionable 
 proof of the internal decay of the country, the impotence of 
 the government, and the unsettled condition of the entire 
 nation. From this time dates the decided superiority of En- 
 gland over France as a maritime power. That nation, which 
 by its interpretation of the terms of the peace of Aix-la-Cha- 
 pelle (1748), had extended its dominion from the Canadas to 
 the Ohio, and along the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico ; that 
 nation which had confined the English colonies within the 
 comparatively narrow space between the Atlantic and the 
 Alleghany mountains ; that nation, which in the East Indies, 
 also, had for a long time successfully struggled for the mastery, 
 was broken in pieces by the mistresses and favorites of Louis 
 XV. The apathy of the government, incapable of sivpporting 
 or maintaining a single element of national greatness, now, by 
 the peace of Paris, received the public testimony of its dis- 
 grace. France was thus reduced to the position of a second- 
 class power. Her domestic and foreign relations reduced her 
 influence in European politics to nothing, and even the Bour- 
 bon family compact, which was a sort of triumph in the poli- 
 tics of the house and family, at last became nothing but a vain 
 attempt to regain the lost position. In 1772, when the first par- 
 tition of Poland took place* France submitted without a pro- 
 test, without uttering a syllable of war, to an act, which, consist- 
 ently with her traditionary policy, and the preservation of the 
 
80 L I F E U F B T B IT li E X . 
 
 balance of power in Europe, she ought to have opposed with 
 all her might. Thus at the death of Louis XV. her political 
 influence was everywhere destroyed, and new powers, which 
 had acquired strength and size during the century — Prussia 
 and Russia — threatened to deprive her of the last remnant of 
 her attributes as leader of political and social ton. On the 
 accession of Louis XVI. to the throne, a warlike spirit began 
 to appear at court and in the most prominent circles of society. 
 The humiliations of the last war excited feelings of shame, and 
 efforts were made to collect strength and means to be em- 
 ployed at the first opportunity to recover the lost political influ- 
 ence. The national feeling which, under Louis XV., had sunk 
 low, rose again to its proper height, and the court favored ev- 
 ery bold and noble enterprise that flattered the popular pride. 
 Such was the state of feeling in France, when the Amer- 
 ican Revolution broke out. France, from one end to the 
 other, hailed the event with the utmost joy, although for 
 various reasons. The court rejoiced at the embarrassment 
 of England, and regarded it as a good opportunity to avenge 
 all the annoyances and losses which it had been compelled 
 to endure from England for the last eighty years. A war 
 with the latter power, detested by all Frenchmen of every 
 degree, might recover the lost glory of their army and navy, 
 snatch the mastery of the seas from England, and revivo 
 the commerce of France. The king, timid and hesitating 
 as he was, could not come to any conclusion, and in this way 
 lost all the probable advantages which would have resulted 
 from a sudden declaration of war. Instead of commencing 
 hostilities in the usual manner by capturing the enemy's trad- 
 ing vessels even before the formal declaration of war ; or in- 
 stead of sending a fleet to America, and there, in presence 
 of the enemy, declaring war, Louis XVI. wavered up to the 
 last moment. In secret he sent arms and money to Amer- 
 ica, while he publicly forbade the Revolution to be discussed 
 in the cafes. He listened to his ministers and counselors with- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 81 
 
 out giving an opinion or a decided answer, and "deceived 
 himself so far as to believe that his secret intrigues could not 
 be detected, and that he could ruin his rival without running 
 the risk of a conflict with her. Such a deception could not 
 long continue, and the English cabinet had too much penetra- 
 tion to allow the French government thus to reap all the ad- 
 vantages of war without incurring its dangers."* 
 
 A breach took place thus with England, and war was 
 declared. Prejudiced as Louis XVI. was in the beginning 
 against the Americans, in his character of legitimate sover- 
 eign, jealousy of England finally overcame the principles of 
 monarchical policy. The " Most Christian King" allied him- 
 self with the rebels who were contending against his author- 
 ity as well as that of his colleague in England, with the her- 
 etics, for whose destruction France had formerly made such 
 great sacrifices of blood and treasure. 
 
 Simple times, when absolutism was still unaware of the 
 solidarity of its interests, and had no combined system of 
 action ! Even Joseph II., whose strength did not consist in 
 clear political conceptions, gave as his opinion concerning the 
 alliance, that his " business was to be royalist." 
 
 It was, in general, the want of experience in all colonial 
 matters that led almost all the European governments which 
 had transatlantic possessions into the greatest practical mis- 
 takes. As the English, by acquiring Canada, destroyed the 
 balance of power in North America, and cleared the way for 
 the independence of their own colonies, so Charles III. of 
 Spain, in drawing his sword in favor of the despised heretics 
 of America, promoted the claims of his American colonies for 
 emancipation. In this way, the very hot-houses of European 
 absolutism, France and Spain, stirred up the fire of revolution 
 in America, which, not long afterwards, reacted on their own 
 countries with the most terrible effect. The consequences of 
 
 * Memoirs of Count Segur, vol. i., p. 100. 
 4* 
 
82 L I F 8 O P S TEUB E X . 
 
 the American war, however, very soon proved to them their 
 short-sighted rashness, and made them more prudent in the 
 future. When, in 1790, Louis XVI. was advised to assist 
 Tippc Sahib against England, he most positively declined 
 adopting the suicidal policy of encouraging rebels — a policy 
 which Count Aranda, one of the most far-seeing statesmen of 
 the last century, understood, even during the American war.* 
 He had scarcely signed the peace of Paris, which declared the 
 United States independent, when, convinced that the mutual 
 advantages between Spain and her colonies did not depend 
 upon their political relations, he advised the king, in a very re- 
 markable memorial,! to give up all his American possessions, 
 except the islands, and to erect three independent kingdoms 
 of Mexico, Peru, and Costa Firma, for the princes of his house. 
 In this memorial, the wise Aranda foresaw and predicted that 
 the United States must grow to gigantic proportions, and that, 
 in a very short time, they would threaten the Spanish colonies, 
 first in Florida, and that the example given by the northern 
 republic would produce the most disastrous results. 
 
 To return, however, to France; all the political reasons 
 would have failed to induce Louis XVI. and the French court 
 to declare war with England, were it not for another power, 
 which, availing itself of the occasion of the American Revolu- 
 tion, for the first time, with youthful impetuosity, took part in 
 European politics. This power was the Philosophy of that 
 time, which, in contradiction to the corruption of the mon- 
 archy and the anomalies of the existing relations of Church and 
 State, made Nature the standard by which it judged the laws, 
 manners, and condition of things. It was based upon the 
 philosophical doctrines and principles of Rousseau, as developed 
 in his " Contrat Social." This important work presupposes a 
 natural, primitive state of society, and certain inalienable rights 
 by means of which an agreement was made between men for 
 
 * Gervinus, Geschichte des XIX. Jahrhundcrt?, iii. 35 and 36. 
 f Mora, Mejico y Bba Rovoluciones. Parte, 1830; iii., 275. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 83 
 
 their mutual enjoyment, happiness, and defense against the 
 encroachments of tyranny, which, however, finally succeeded 
 in subjugating the majorit} r . Rousseau proclaims it to be the 
 object of all political organization to vindicate those rights, 
 and to return to the original condition of things, a principle 
 than which none at that time could be considered more revo- 
 lutionary, as it, of course, implied the ruin of the status quo. 
 This philosophy prevailed at that time, and carried with it not 
 only France, but all civilized Europe. The ideal pretensions 
 springing from this way of thinking, were already predominant 
 towards the end of Louis XV.'s reign; but, at the commence- 
 ment of the American Revolution, they had penetrated the 
 minds of the educated middle classes. Independently of the 
 court circle, this public opinion gained daily a more absolute 
 intellectual dominion, and speedily spread beyond the limits 
 of the more aristocratic literary circles, and entered that of 
 the people. In this Avay, these ideal pretensions, which, in 
 the beginning, had only made a tame and isolated opposition 
 to the ruling powers, assumed the proportions of a militant 
 democracy, bitterly attacking all temporal and spiritual power. 
 The upper classes, even, weary of the old system, and attract- 
 ed by the charni of novelty, began to flirt with the democratic 
 opinions of the day, and introduce them at court, where it 
 soon became fashionable to use the cant of this philosophy. 
 
 If, with regard to England, the nobility and educated 
 classes, who constituted public opinion, shared the sentiments 
 of the court in a greater or less degree, in their anxiety for 
 war, they, nevertheless, gave prominence to their ideal de- 
 mands, which appeared to them the principal consideration, 
 and in this way introduced an ally into politics, which, finally, 
 by its supremacy, overcame the reluctance of the king, and, at 
 last, brought to pass the alliance with the United States. The 
 court expected to turn public opinion to its own profit ; but 
 public opinion, on the contrary, made use of the court, and it 
 was the only winning party. Philosophy never exerted so 
 
84 LIFE OP H T B U B E N 
 
 direct and decisive an influence in politics at any previous or 
 subsequent period, and on no previous or subsequent occasion 
 did politicians commit so great a practical fault. 
 
 Thus the idealism of Europe, confounding form and sub- 
 stance, became a real, positive power, by its alliance with poli- 
 tics, and it contributed, in no inconsiderable degree, to the 
 victory of American realism. All Europe accepted as a truth 
 that the contest between England and her colonies was a con- 
 test between despotism and liberty, as these were understood 
 under the influence of the new philosophy of enlightenment. 
 It was thought that, in the transatlantic republic, the long 
 looked-for ideal had been discovered. The mere word ''re- 
 public," recalling the classic associations of antiquity, called 
 forth an enthusiasm amounting to fanaticism, and incompre- 
 hensible at the present day. 
 
 It would be inappropriate in this place to detail at length 
 the grounds of this state of things. It is sufficient for our pur- 
 pose to give prominence to the fact, that, at the outbreak 
 of the American war, the civilized world in Europe, and es- 
 pecially in France, longed for the realization of their ideas of 
 equality. 
 
 Being unable to realize them at home, where the historical 
 tradition and the existing political powers were in their way, 
 they turned their eyes toward America, in which they be- 
 lieved they had discovered the land where their dreams, hopes 
 and ideals would be fulfilled. So the struggling colonies be- 
 came the favorites of European aristocratic society as far as it 
 was governed by the revolutionary French philosophy of that 
 period. In their blind enthusiasm they overrated the Ameri- 
 can Revolution and its immediate results for Europe as much 
 as they underrated the influence and strength of the ruling 
 powers at home. In their comprehension of things, that had 
 really long come to pass in America which only existed in 
 Europe in the vague form of a desire. In America there were 
 no old distinctions of classes, and the germ of the new were 
 
LIFE OF ST E U BEN. 85 
 
 too little developed to be visible. American society was sup- 
 posed to be a union of all the free and equal inhabitants of the 
 country; the toleration of all religions, and the non-existence 
 of the kingly dignity was a proof of superior human sagacity 
 and popular virtue. Thus was the conclusion come to in Eu- 
 rope, and particularly in France, that their long cherished 
 ideas of government and society were not mere empty vis- 
 ions, as the Americans showed that they were practical and 
 realizable, and that, therefore, it was a duty to bring them 
 into effect. In reasoning thus it was overlooked, that what 
 was laid down as a postulate for Europe, was the result of a 
 distinctly defined historical development in America ; that 
 there being no king in the United States did not arise from 
 any abstract detestation of a monarchy, but from the absence 
 of relations with the other dynasties of Europe ; that the po- 
 litical recognition of all religions as equal, one of the princi- 
 pal causes of the national greatness of the United States, was 
 here as much a matter of course as it was the reverse in Eu- 
 rope from precisely opposite reasons ; in short, that what was 
 natural health, perceptible, tangible, and hard reality in Amer- 
 ica, was nothing but a conditional conclusion from false prem- 
 ises and the sickly influences of a politically corrupt time in 
 Europe. 
 
 The French nobility which, so to speak, gave the first 
 legitimate importance to the movement, and introduced it to 
 court, went so far as representatives of la grande nation., that 
 they only found in America the execution of the programme 
 which had been designed in Europe. In their vanity they only 
 saw their own reflection in the Americans ; they condescended 
 graciously to applaud, and imagined that the Americans had 
 shaped their Revolution exactly according to the Paris pat- 
 tern, and celebrated their own apotheosis in the events of the 
 time. Their sympathies with the American Revolution sprang 
 more from a sentimental feeling than from a political under- 
 standing of the necessity and merits of the case. The demo- 
 
86 I. I F I OF ST E V V. K N . 
 
 cratic ideas they confessed were adopted more as a matter of 
 fancy for the sake of philosophical amusement than as a prac- 
 tical principle involving their own welfare. That it was noth- 
 ing but vanity, fashion, and ambition for military distinction 
 wirich induced the French nobility to take part in the battle 
 for American liberty is abundantly proved by the fact that, 
 ten years after, when menaced in their own interests by the 
 French Revolution, they were the most decided enemies of 
 the republic, and the persecutors of every liberal opinion, be- 
 cause they did not find their own Utopian schemes realized. 
 Count Segur, in his Memoirs, gives with great candor the rea- 
 sons which induced him and his companions to come here ; 
 they are a most convincing proof of the perfect justice of our 
 opinion given in the preceding paragraph. 
 
 " It would be difficult," says he, " to describe the eagerness 
 and delight with which these men, the agents of a people in a 
 state of insurrection against their monarch, were received in 
 France, in the bosom of an ancient monarchy. Nothing could 
 be more striking than the contrast between the luxury of 
 our capital, the elegance of our fashions, the magnificence 
 of Versailles, the still brilliant remains of the monarchical 
 pride of Louis XIV., and the polished and superb dignity 
 of our nobility, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, 
 the almost rustic apparel, the plain but firm demeanor, the 
 free and direct language of the envoys, whose antique sim- 
 plicity of dress and appearance seemed to have introduced 
 within our walls, in the midst of the effeminate and servile 
 refinement of the eighteenth century, some sages cotempo- 
 rary with Plato, or republicans of the age of Cato and of Fa- 
 bius. (!!) 
 
 "The delegates from Congress had not yet been offici- 
 ally recognized as diplomatic agents ; an audience had not 
 been granted by the sovereign ; and the minister conducted 
 his negotiations with them through intermediate channels. 
 Bat the most distinguished individuals of the capital and the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 87 
 
 court, the most celebrated philosophers, scholars, and men of 
 letters, daily frequented their habitations. 
 
 " To their own writings and influence they ascribed the 
 successful progress of liberal opinions in the New World, and 
 their secret aspirations were to see themselves, at a future 
 day, the legislators of Europe, as their rivals already were of 
 America. 
 
 " Influenced by a different motive, the young officers of 
 the French army, who breathed only war, were constant in 
 their attendance on the American envoys, and urged their in- 
 quiries on the situation of affairs, the forces of Congress, the 
 means of defense, and the various intelligence regularly re- 
 ceived from the great theater on which Liberty was main- 
 taining so valorous a combat against the tyranny of Great 
 Britain." 
 
 Lafayette, too, the most important champion of the young 
 noblemen, makes no exception to the general rule. His en- 
 thusiasm, however, is purer and more disinterested than that 
 of others ; it even approaches naivete. " I will now tell you," 
 writes he from Charleston, on the 19th of June, 1777, to his 
 wife,* u about the country and its inhabitants. They are as 
 agreeable as my enthusiasm had painted them. Simplicity of 
 manners, kindness, love of country and of liberty, and a de- 
 lightful equality everywhere prevail. The wealthiest men and 
 the poorest are on a level ; and although there are some large 
 fortunes, I challenge any one to discover the slightest differ- 
 ence between the manners of these two classes respectively 
 toward each other. . . . What most charms me is, that all the 
 citizens are brethren. In America there are no poor, nor even 
 what we call peasantry. Each individual has his own honest 
 property, and the same rights as the most wealthy proprie- 
 tor." 
 
 The Americans contributed, partly from intention and 
 
 * Washington's "Writings, by Jared Sparks, v., 452. 
 
88 LIFE OF STEUT.EN. 
 
 partly without design, to foster this belief of the French by 
 their public documents, however temperate and business-like 
 their acts may have been in reality. The Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, for example, is couched in terms exactly corres- 
 ponding with the spirit of European liberalism of that time, 
 and on this account produced such immense effects in Europe, 
 Other public proclamations of that time are evidently designed 
 to make foreigners believe that the development of their own 
 ideas in America was the great question at issue, and there 
 was really no better way to make the Revolution popular and 
 England detested in Europe, than this adaptation of the lib- 
 eral vocabulary which was then in vogue. In opposition to 
 this, Duportaii says :* 
 
 " Such are these people that they move without spring 
 or energy, without vigor, and without passion, for a cause in 
 which they are engaged, and which they follow only as the im- 
 pulse of the hand that first put them in motion directs. There 
 is a hundred times more enthusiasm for this revolution in any 
 one coffee-house at Paris, than in all the thirteen provinces 
 united. It is necessary, then, that France, to accomplish this 
 revolution, should furnish these people with every requisite to 
 lessen the hardships of war. True, it will cost some millions, 
 but they will be well laid out in annihilating the power of En- 
 land, which, when bereft of her colonies, without a navy and 
 without commerce, will lose her consequence in the world, 
 and leave France without a rival." 
 
 The people proper were too little considered in France at 
 that time to be able directly to contribute to a declaration of 
 war against England. But they constituted that popular un- 
 dercurrent upon which public opinion manifested itself with a 
 hitherto unknown certainty of victory. It was the first and 
 last time that the upper classes went hand in hand with the 
 entire nation, and strove for a common purpose, although act- 
 ing from different impulses and intentions. 
 
 * C. Stedman's History of the American War, vol. i., 8vo, p. 4?. 7. 
 
LIFE OF STEUIiEN. 89 
 
 All these opinions, vacillations, good intentions, and enthu- 
 siasm, would very probably have led to no result, or been 
 only partially realized, had not a man arrived at Paris just at 
 this juncture, who was more sharp-sighted, astute, and pos- 
 sessed of more diplomatic ability than all the statesmen of 
 his time ; who felt the pulse of the French nation, and knew 
 how, in a masterly manner, to influence and direct public 
 opinion to the profit of his own country. That man was 
 Benjamin Franklin. Were it not for him, the alliance be- 
 tween France and the United States would not have been 
 concluded so soon. 
 
 A German historian, Schlosser of Heidelberg, has the merit 
 of having more truly estimated, and more faithfully described 
 the historical and personal importance of Franklin, than any 
 American, English, or French writer. There is little of inter- 
 est to remark that he has not noticed, and we conceive that 
 we can not do better than introduce here what Schlosser says 
 of Franklin.* 
 
 "Franklin's appearance in the Paris salons, even before he 
 was presented at court or began to negotiate, otherwise than 
 through third parties, with the minister, was an event of great 
 importance to the entire of Europe. Paris, at that time, set 
 the fashion for the entire civilized world in Europe, and the 
 admiration of Franklin, carried to a degree approaching folly, 
 produced a remarkable effect on the fashionable circles of 
 Paris. His dress, the simplicity of his external appearance, 
 the friendly meekness of the old man, and the apparent hu- 
 mility of the Quaker, procured for Freedom a mass of votaries 
 among the court circles who used to be alarmed at its coarse- 
 ness and unsophisticated trufhs. To what extent this was the 
 case, and how great a stir was made by republican ideas, par- 
 ticularly the expressions of the republican, we have seen from 
 the foregoing extract from the writings of Segur, who, in all 
 
 * Geschichte des XVIII. Jahrhunderta, vol. iii., p. 535, ff., 552, flf. 
 
88 LIFE OF STEUT.EN. 
 
 partly without design, to foster this belief of the French by 
 their public documents, however temperate and business-like 
 their acts may have been in reality. The Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, for example, is couched in terms exactly corres- 
 ponding with the spirit of European liberalism of that time, 
 and on this account produced such immense effects in Europe. 
 Other public proclamations of that time are evidently designed 
 to make foreigners believe that the development of their own 
 ideas in America was the great question at issue, and there 
 was really no better way to make the Revolution popular and 
 England detested in Europe, than this adaptation of the lib- 
 eral vocabulary which was then in vogue. In opposition to 
 this, Duportail says :* 
 
 " Such are these people that they move without spring 
 or energy, without vigor, and without passion, for a cause in 
 which they are engaged, and which they follow only as the im- 
 pulse of the hand that first put them in motion directs. There 
 is a hundred times more enthusiasm for this revolution in any 
 one coffee-house at Paris, than in all the thirteen provinces 
 united. It is necessary, then, that France, to accomplish this 
 revolution, should furnish these people with every requisite to 
 lessen the hardships of war. True, it will cost some millions, 
 but they will be well laid out in annihilating the power of En- 
 land, which, when bereft of her colonies, without a navy and 
 without commerce, will lose her consequence in the world, 
 and leave France without a rival." 
 
 The people proper w r ere too little considered in France at 
 that time to be able directly to contribute to a declaration of 
 war against England. But they constituted that popular un- 
 dercurrent upon which public opinion manifested itself with a 
 hitherto unknown certainty of victory. It was the first and 
 last time that the upper classes went hand in hand with the 
 entire nation, and strove for a common purpose, although act- 
 ing from different impulses and intentions. 
 
 * C Stedman's History of the American War, vol. i., 8vo, p. 437. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEX. 89 
 
 All these opinions, vacillations, good intentions, and enthu- 
 siasm, would very probably have led to no result, or been 
 only partially realized, had not a man arrived at Paris just at 
 this juncture, who was more sharp-sighted, astute, and pos- 
 sessed of more diplomatic ability than all the statesmen of 
 his time ; who felt the pulse of the French nation, and knew^ 
 how, in a masterly manner, to influence and direct public 
 opinion to the profit of his own country. That man was 
 Benjamin Franklin. Were it not for him, the alliance be- 
 tween France and the United States would not have been 
 concluded so soon. 
 
 A German historian, Schlosser of Heidelberg, has the merit 
 of having more truly estimated, and more faithfully described 
 the historical and personal importance of Franklin, than any 
 American, English, or French writer. There is little of inter- 
 est to remark that he has not noticed, and we conceive that 
 we can not do better than introduce here what Schlosser says 
 of Franklin.* 
 
 "Franklin's appearance in the Paris salons, even before he 
 was presented at court or began to negotiate, otherwise than 
 through third parties, with the minister, was an event of great 
 importance to the entire of Europe. Paris, at that time, set 
 the fashion for the entire civilized world in Europe, and the 
 admiration of Franklin, carried to a degree approaching folly, 
 produced a remarkable effect on the fashionable circles of 
 Paris. His dress, the simplicity of his external appearance, 
 the friendly meekness of the old man, and the apparent hu- 
 mility of the Quaker, procured for Freedom a mass of votaries 
 among the court circles who used to be alarmed at its coarse- 
 ness and unsophisticated trufhs. To what extent this was the 
 case, and how great a stir w^as made by republican ideas, par- 
 ticularly the expressions of the republican, we have seen from 
 the foregoing extract from the writings of Segur, who, in all 
 
 * Geschichte des XVIII. Jahrlmndert3, vol. iii., p. 535, ff., 552, ff. 
 
90 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 tilings that related to his own line or circle, is unquestionably 
 the best authority. 
 
 " Franklin neither mistook himself nor the people with 
 whom he had to deal. He knew mankind thoroughly, and 
 was well aware how to use the Paris admiration of himself, 
 and how to deal with the salons. In his private correspond- 
 ence he describes the life in Paris and the intense worship 
 which he received on all hands, in a comical, though masterly 
 style. But as an American merchant, he took every advan- 
 tage that a skillful dealer would derive from the fascination 
 of his customers. If we compare the description given by 
 Lacratelle, Lafayette, Segur and others, of the noise made by 
 Franklin, with the private letters which he wrote himself from 
 Passy to America, we shall see what miserable bunglers in 
 diplomacy the most adroit of the Parisians were, when com- 
 pared with the old printer. They were led by long practice, 
 an art or science ; he followed nature and his own instincts, 
 which were never wrongs and were never exasperated. Nev- 
 ertheless, so long as the war in America was not successful, ho 
 found that his negotiations made but slow and halting prog- 
 ress." 
 
 Steuben reached Paris about this time. The French cabi- 
 net was already inclined to favor the colonies in their policy. 
 The engagement of Steuben shows sufficiently the political 
 state of things, and proves that in May, 1777, the ministry 
 regarded the alliance with America as good as concluded. 
 
 Steuben was a foreigner, and not even the subject of a 
 powerful prince. Even if a Frenchman with Steuben's ac- 
 quirements was to be found, he would not have been engaged 
 in his place in the then existing condition of affairs, because 
 he could not be abandoned or disavowed in case of fail- 
 ure. However personally flattering the propositions made to 
 him, they were made in the exclusive interest of the cabinet, 
 and did not give Steuben the most remote guarantee for the 
 future. Should he fall into the hands of the English he would 
 
LIFE OF STEUIifiN, 91 
 
 have been ruthlessly sacrificed without a pang or an effort to 
 rescue him. Should Congress refuse to accept his services, 
 having lost his former apointments, he would have been 
 thrown on the charity of the court of St. Germain. It will be 
 shown hereafter that notwithstanding the success of the cause, 
 no further notice of Steuben was taken by the French court, 
 and that his memorials were left unanswered because he was 
 no longer wanted. He was even compelled to lower himself 
 by making a defense against the scornful reproach in this 
 country that he was a French pensioner. He did not even get 
 from the French government his traveling expenses to America. 
 
 When the news reached Paris, towards the end of the 
 year 1777, of the capitulation of Burgoyne, Fiance hesitated 
 no longer to recognize the young republic, and on the 6th of 
 February, 1778, concluded an alliance, on the condition that 
 the United States should not give up their independence and 
 become again subjects of England. 
 
 u More important for France," continues Schlosser, " and 
 for all Europe (which was then the blind satellite of Versailles 
 fashion), than this alliance which caused a sanguinary w r ar, was 
 the impression which Franklin's first appearance at the French 
 court and his subsequent relations at Versailles, made upon all 
 the intelligent men of the upper classes. This impression was 
 not confined to France. It was also perceptible in Germany, 
 where it was exactly coincident with the reform of Basedow 
 and others relative to the old school and educational system. 
 
 "The scene which took place on the 20th of March, J 778, 
 when the American plenipotentiaries were presented to the 
 king and introduced at court, belongs to the history of 
 the Revolution, since not only those who were entitled to 
 appear at the palace were present in large numbers, but the 
 entire court-yard was filled with crowds of the populace. 
 The people exulted about Franklin solely as the representative 
 of patriarchal republics and pastoral simplicity. Of the three 
 plenipotentiaries, Franklin alone remained as ambassador. 
 
92 IJFE OF STEUBEX. 
 
 Silas Deane was soon recalled by Congress, and Lee had made 
 himself suspected and disliked. Every thing devolved on 
 Franklin. He was the exact picture of that ideal democracy 
 which Rousseau had so beautifully described. Franklin was 
 accompanied by an immense' number of Americans, and when 
 ho entered the reception rooms of the palace, was received 
 with clapping of hands and loud cheers, notwithstanding that 
 strict etiquette forbade any such demonstration. When the 
 audience of the king w T as over, and the embassy proceeded 
 with its brilliant train across the courts of the palace to visit 
 the minister of foreign affairs, it was greeted by the people 
 with similar cheers and applause. Wherever Franklin was 
 seen in Paris he was the great attraction of the day, and was 
 always cheered by the crowd. Even the young courtiers, 
 with all their sentimentality and frivolity, found the contrast 
 quite charming between the lace-covered, embroidered coats 
 of the court attendants, their curled, powdered, and pomade- 
 besmeared hair, and the lank, unpowdered hair, round hat, 
 and simple brown cloth of the republican's coat. In the 
 month of May, of the following year (1779), Franklin was 
 formally accredited as sole representative of the United States 
 at the French court. 
 
 "The old man was specially constituted to lend himself, 
 playfully, to ail the follies of the day without being spoiled in 
 the least by the charming politeness of a people whose polite- 
 ness and gallantry were, at that time, their principal merit ; to 
 turn his intercourse with the ladies to account ; to show the 
 utmost gratitude for all the attentions that were shown him, 
 and yet, like a sensible merchant, not to depart, by a single 
 hair's breadth, from the track of solid and profitable business. 
 As a practical citizen, looking only to positive profit, Franklin 
 regarded all fashionable excitements as occurrences favorable 
 to business, from which the greatest advantage might be de- 
 rived, lie informs us himself that he dined out six times a 
 w r eek, and that he made use of the inconstant admiration and 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 93 
 
 worship of the ladies, just as all diplomatists are wont to 
 do." 
 
 So far Schlosser. 
 
 One thing is certain, that of the two contracting parties, 
 the United States alone derived any advantage from the war, 
 since France asked no reward for her exertions. Whether it 
 was short-sightedness or generosity that prevented it, there 
 can be no doubt that had the French cabinet wished, they 
 might easily have profited by the necessities and embarrass- 
 ments in which the United States were placed towards the 
 end of the war, and have secured for themselves a large share 
 of the spoil. Even the advantages which were reckoned upon 
 for the commerce of France were not realized, since, imme- 
 diately after peace was concluded, the Americans returned 
 to the English manufactures, to which they were naturally 
 inclined by community of race and requirements. The war 
 cost France fifteen hundred million francs, and increased con- 
 siderably her financial difficulties. The only real gain — and 
 that was only ideal — for France consisted in the rehabilitation 
 of the glory of her arms, and the reconquest of her position as 
 arbiter of the destinies of Europe. 
 
 The most important and enduring consequence of the war, 
 however, was that what, till then, only existed in the feeling 
 and conviction of the people, was now introduced into the circle 
 of the actual public interests of the old State, and that the reali- 
 zation of all that was considered most excellent and perfect in 
 social and political life — the successful example of which was to 
 be found in America — was tried in France eleven years later, 
 by which legitimate monarchy was overthrown. The war in 
 America w r as a pastoral sport in comparison with the tragedy 
 which set all Europe in a blaze at the time of the French Revo- 
 lution, the last act of which is still far from being represented. 
 
G 11 A P I E R V . 
 
 Tempestuous Passage of the Flamand.— Arrival at Portsmouth on tiik 1st of De- 
 cember, 1777.— Steuben taken for an Enemy.— His flattering Reception by Gov- 
 ernor Langdon.— Swwb of the Capture of Burgoyne.— Steuben's Letters to 
 Congress and Washington.— Steuben proceeds to Boston.— Answer of Wash- 
 ington, ordering him to go to York.— Preparations for the Journey.— Dinner 
 at Hancock's.— Anecdote of Samuel Adams.— Duponceait's Narrative of the 
 Journey.— The Tory Landlord at Worcester.— Simplicity of Manners of the 
 Connecticut People.— Popularity of the King of Prussia.— State of Things in 
 Congress.— Party Animosities.— The Conway Cabal.— King "Cong." Bunch of 
 Kings.— Steuben well received by the prominent Men of Congress.— Let- 
 ter to John Hancock.— His Arrangement with Congress.— Its Resolutions. 
 —Steuben sets out for Valley Forge.— Ball at Lancaster given in his Honor. 
 —First Acquaintance with William North.— Steuben received in Camp by 
 Washington with Marks of great Distinction.— Condition of the Army in 
 Valley Forge.— Reasons why the American Revolution was successful.— 
 Washington's Character.— His Military and Political Importance. 
 
 rnilE "Flamand" had a very dangerous and tempestuous 
 A passage of sixty-six days. She not only encountered two 
 violent gales, each of three days' duration — one in the Medi- 
 terranean, off the African coast, and the other off the coast of 
 Nova Scotia— but she also had her forecastle three times on 
 fire, and that, too, w^ith seventeen hundred weight of gun- 
 powder on board. A mutiny of the crew made it necessary 
 for the passengers to fight, fourteen against eighty-four, in or- 
 der to secure the chiefs of the rebels. She arrived, however, 
 safely, on the 1st day of December, 1777, at Portsmouth, New 
 Hampshire. 
 
 " It was a fine, clear bright day. Nature had put on her 
 gaudiest attire, no doubt to receive us," says Duponceau. 
 Steuben had been told, while in France, that the colors of 
 the British uniform had been adopted by the American 
 army, so that, when he and his secretary Duponceau, arrived 
 in scarlet regimentals, turned up with blue, they were at first 
 
L IFE O F S T EUIIEN, 95 
 
 taken for enemies, but they soon showed that they were 
 friends. 
 
 " The more disastrous," writes Steuben to his friend Frank, 
 in Hechingen,* "the passage, the more flattering was my ar- 
 rival in America. Before entering the port of Portsmouth, I 
 ordered my secretary to go ashore in a boat, and to inform 
 General Langdon, the commander of the place, of my arrival, 
 who came on board himself to take me and my officers ashore 
 in his boat. While we were landing, we were saluted by the 
 guns from the fortress and from the ships in the port. Sev- 
 eral thousand of inhabitants welcomed me in the most flatter- 
 ing way. Mr. Langdon took us to his house to dine. In the 
 meantime, all the inhabitants of the place crowded together 
 ' to see the elephant.' Although exhausted by the hardships 
 of the voyage, I went the next day to examine the fortifica- 
 tions ; on the following day I reviewed the troops of the 
 garrison." 
 
 It was at the above-mentioned dinner at Governor Lang 
 clou's, that Steuben and his suite heard, for the first time, of 
 the capture of General Burgoyne and his whole army. They 
 naturally hailed it as an omen of good portent. 
 
 While in Portsmouth, Steuben wrote to Congress and to 
 the general-in-chief, and inclosing a copy of his letters of in- 
 troduction from Franklin, Deane, and Beaumarchais, offered 
 his services as a volunteer in the American cause. We sub- 
 join these two letters in full, as the best and most authentic 
 proofs of the spirit which animated Steuben in crossing the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 To Congress he wrote on the 6th of December, 1777, as 
 follows,! viz. : 
 
 " Honorable Gentlemen : — The honor of serving a na- 
 tion, engaged in the noble enterprise of defending its rights 
 and liberties, was the motive that brought me to this conti- 
 
 * Schloezer's Briefwechsel, xlii., Heft, 1780, p. 327, ff. 
 f Journals of Congress, vol. xiii., p. 114. 
 
9(5 
 
 LIFE OP STEUBEN 
 
 nent. I ask neither riches nor titles. I am come here from 
 the remotest end of Germany, at my own expense, and have 
 given up an honorable and lucrative rank. I have made no 
 condition with your deputies in France, nor shall I make any 
 with you. My only ambition is to serve you as a volunteer, 
 to deserve the confidence of your general-in-chief, and to fol- 
 low him in all his operations, as I have done during seven 
 campaigns with the King of Prussia. Two-and- twenty years 
 spent in such a school seem to give me a right of thinking 
 myself among the number of experienced officers; and if I am 
 possessed of the acquirements in the art of war, they will be 
 much more prized by me if I can employ them in the service 
 of a republic such as I hope soon to see America. I should 
 willingly purchase, at the expense of my blood, the honor of 
 having my name enrolled among those of the defenders of your 
 liberty. Your gracious acceptance will be sufficient for me, 
 and I ask no other favor than to be received among your offi- 
 cers. I venture to hope that you will grant this my request, 
 and that you will be so good as to send me your orders to 
 Boston, where I shall await them, and take suitable measures 
 in accordance." 
 
 The letter to Washington reads as follows,* viz. : 
 " Sin : — The inclosed copy of a letter, the original of which 
 I shall have the honor to present to your Excellency, will in- 
 form you of the motives that brought me over to this land. I 
 shall only add to it, that the object of my greatest ambition is 
 to render your country all the service in my power, and to de- 
 serve the title of a citizen of America, by fighting for the cause 
 of your liberty. If the distinguished ranks in which I have 
 served in Europe should be an obstacle, I had rather serve un- 
 der your Excellency as a volunteer, than to be an object of 
 discontent to such deserving officers as have already distin- 
 guished themselves among you. Such being the sentiments I 
 have always professed, I dare hope that the respectable Con- 
 * Washington's Writings, by Sparks, v.. 528. 
 
LIFE OF STEUISEX. 97 
 
 gress of the United States of America will accept my services. 
 I could say, moreover, were it not for the fear of offending 
 your modesty, that your Excellency is the only person under 
 whom, after having served the King of Prussia, I could wish 
 to follow a profession, to the study of which I have wholly de- 
 voted myself. I intend to go to Boston in a few days, where 
 I shall present my letters to Mr. Hancock, member of Con- 
 gress, and there I shall await your Excellency's orders." 
 
 Steuben left Portsmouth on the 12th of December, 1777, 
 and set out for Boston by land, where he arrived on the 14th, 
 and was received as cordially as at the former place. He met 
 there the illusitrous John Hancock, who had just retired from 
 the presidency of Congress, and received Washington's reply to 
 his letter, by which he was informed that he must repair, with- 
 out delay, to York, Pennsylvania, where Congress was then 
 sitting, since it belonged exclusively to that body to enter 
 into negotiations with him. At the same time Hancock com- 
 municated to Steuben an order of Congress, that every prep- 
 aration should be made to make him and his suite comfortable 
 on their journey to York, and Mr. Hancock himself with great 
 care made all the necessary arrangements. Carriages, sleighs, 
 and saddle horses were provided, five negroes were assigned 
 to them as grooms and drivers, and an agent to prepare quar- 
 ters and procure provisions. 
 
 Washington's answer, which was delayed in consequence 
 of the difficulty of communication and the arrangement of 
 his equipage, detained Steuben about five weeks in Boston. 
 Hancock introduced him to Samuel and John Adams, and the 
 other worthies of the Revolution. Duponceau, who accom- 
 panied Steuben everywhere, as he could not speak English, 
 gives in his manuscript letters some very amusing anecdotes, 
 which characterize as well the time as its prominent persons, 
 and one of which, therefore, may find a place here. " Once," 
 says he, "at a dinner given by Governor Hancock to General 
 Steuben, I sat next to Samuel Adams, and happened by mis- 
 
 5 
 
08 LIFB OF 6TBUBBN, 
 
 take to call him Mr. John Adams. ' Sir,' said he, looking 
 sternly at me, l I would have you know that there is a great 
 difference between Mr. Samuel Adams (striking his breast and 
 laying a strong emphasis on the word Samuel), and Mr. John 
 Adams.' This remark," continues Duponceau, "let me into 
 the little jealousies that then existed between some of the 
 great men of the day, and I Avas afterward on my guard against 
 addressing people by their Christian names." 
 
 Steuben, however, left Boston on the 14th of January, 1778. 
 The journey to York is described in the following entertaining 
 narrative, by Duponceau, the young Frenchman. 
 
 u Our party," says he, " consisted of Baron Steuben and his 
 servant, Carl Yogel, a young lad whom he had brought from 
 Germany, Mr. De Francy, an agent of Beaumarchais, and my- 
 self. We traveled on horseback. Notwithstanding the recent 
 capture of General Burgoyne, the situation of the United 
 States at that time was extremely critical. The enemy was 
 in possession of Rhode Island, New York, and Philadelphia, 
 with well-organized and disciplined troops, far superior in num- 
 ber to our own. Our army (if army it might be called) were 
 encamped at Yalley Forge, in the depth of a severe winter, 
 without provisions, without clothes, without regular discipline, 
 destitute, in short, of every thing but courage and patriotism ; 
 and what was worse than all, disaffection was spreading through 
 the land. In this dismal state of things the baron was advised 
 to keep as far from the coast as possible, lest he should be sur- 
 prised by parties of the enemy or by the Tories, who made 
 frequent incursions into the country between New York and 
 Philadelphia. We, therefore, shaped our course westward, 
 and crossing the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
 York, and Pennsylvania, we employed about three weeks in 
 a journey of four hundred and ten miles in all, which at pres- 
 ent (1836) would hardly require as many days." 
 
 They stopped, on their way, on Sunday the 18th of Janu- 
 ary, at Springfield, on the 20th at Hartford, on the 28th at 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 99 
 
 Fishkill, on Thursday, the 30th, at Bethlehem, on the 2d of 
 February at Reading, on the 4th at Manheiin, and arrived on 
 Thursday, the 5th, at York. 
 
 "In the course of that journey," remarks Duponceau, "we 
 met with few adventures. I shall relate one or two to show 
 the spirit of the times. 
 
 "We had been cautioned against putting up at a certain 
 tavern in Worcester county, Massachusetts, not far from the 
 frontier of Connecticut. We were told that the landlord was 
 a bitter Tory, and that he would refuse to receive us, or, at 
 least, treat us very ill. We determined to avoid that place if it 
 were possible. Unfortunately, when we were at some distance 
 from it, we were surprised by a violent snow storm ; it was 
 in the evening, and we were compelled to take shelter in the 
 very house we wished to avoid. We had not been misin- 
 formed. The landlord at once said that he could not accommo- 
 date us. He had no beds, no bread, no meat, no drink, no 
 milk, no eggs ; all that he could offer us was the bare walls. 
 In vain we remonstrated and prayed, he remained inflexible. 
 At last Baron Steuben grew impatient and flew into a violent 
 passion. After exhausting all his store of German oaths, he 
 called in that language to his servant to bring his pistols, which 
 he did. Then the baron, presenting the deadly weapons at the 
 frightened landlord, repeated the questions that he had in vain 
 asked before : 4 Have you any bread, meat, drink, beds, etc. ?' 
 The answers were now such as we desired ; we were accom- 
 modated with good beds and a good supper, and our horses 
 were properly taken care of. In the morning after our break- 
 fast, we politely took leave of our host, who, though a Tory, 
 did not refuse the continental money in which we liberally 
 paid him. 
 
 " Another anecdote which I now recollect, is strictly char- 
 acteristic of the patriarchal manner of those times. As we 
 passed through the State of Connecticut, we put up one night 
 at a house where, for some reason that I do not remember, we 
 
100 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 were all obliged to sleep on the floor in the same room with 
 the family, some on feather beds, and some on blankets ; men, 
 women and children, had all to bundle together, as it was 
 called. The bedding was spread all around the room, and 
 every one took his place and went very composedly to sleep. 
 The utmost decency was observed though no fuss was made 
 about it. There was so much innocence and simplicity in the 
 manner in which these arrangements were prepared and made, 
 that the idea of indelicacy did not even occur to us, and if in 
 the morning we indulged in a smile at manners to which we 
 were so little accustomed, nothing was said or thought to the 
 prejudice of the morality of the good people who had enter- 
 tained us in the best manner that they were able. 
 
 "A great number of inns, in towns and country, bore the 
 sign of the King of Prussia, who was still very popular, par- 
 ticularly among the Germans. I remember that at Manheim 
 the baron, with a significant look, pointed out to me, at the 
 tavern where we dined, a paltry engraving hung up on the 
 Mall on which was represented a Prussian knocking down a 
 Frenchman in great style. Underneath was the following ap- 
 propriate motto : 
 
 " ' Ein Franzmann zum Preuszcn wio eine Miicke.' 
 
 " 'A Frenchman to a Prussian is no more than a musquito.' 
 
 " The good baron appeared to enjoy that picture exceed- 
 ingly, and so no doubt did the German landlord to whom it 
 belonged." 
 
 Steuben staid at York until the 19th of February, 1778. 
 "The Congress of the United States," continues Duponceau, 
 "were not at that time the illustrious body whose eloquence 
 and wisdom, whose stern virtues and unflinching patriotism 
 
 had astonished the world. Their number was reduced to 
 
 • 
 
 about one half of what it was when independence was de- 
 clared ; all but a few of the men of superior minds had <lisap- 
 
 pei 
 
 ared from it. Their measures were feeble and vacillating 
 
 ») 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 101 
 
 and their party feuds seemed to forebode some impending ca- 
 lamity. The enemy were in possession of our capital city ; 
 the army we had to oppose to them were hungry, naked and 
 destitute of every thing. No foreign government had yet 
 acknowledged our independence — every thing around us was 
 dark and gloomy. The only ray of light which appeared amidst 
 the darkness was the capture of Burgoyne, which cheered the 
 spirits of those who might otherwise have despaired of the 
 commonwealth. But that brilliant victory had nearly pro- 
 duced most fatal consequences. General Gates became the 
 hero of the day. Saratoga was then what New Orleans has 
 been since — the watchword of the discontented. A party 
 was formed even in Congress to raise the conqueror of Bur- 
 goyne to the supreme command of our armies. But the great 
 figure of Washington stood calm and serene at his camp at 
 Valley Forge, and struck the conspirators with awe. With 
 the exception of a few factious chiefs, he was idolized by the 
 army and by the nation at large. The plot was discovered, 
 and the plan frustrated without a struggle. Without any 
 eifort or management on his part, and by the mere force of 
 his character, Washington stood firm and undaunted in the 
 midst of his enemies, and I might almost say, looked them into 
 silence. 
 
 " Such was the state of things when wo arrived at York. 
 Parties were then at their height ; but as Congress sat with 
 closed doors, the country at large was not agitated as it 
 would otherwise have been. There were not wanting out of 
 doors disaffected persons, who railed at King " Cong" and 
 the bunch of " kings" (such was the slang of the day among 
 the Tories), but the great mass of the people was still in favor 
 of the Revolution, and the press did not dare to utter a senti- 
 ment inimical to it. 
 
 "The fame of Baron Steuben had preceded him to York. 
 He was welcomed and courted by all, and I well remember 
 that General Gates in particular paid him the most assiduous 
 
104 H F E O F 8 T E U B E N . 
 
 t crested tender lie has been pleased to make of his military 
 talents, and inform him that Congress cheerfully accept of his 
 services as a volunteer in the army of these States, and wish 
 him to repair to General Washington's quarters as soon as 
 convenient." 
 
 " Congress received Steuben with every mark of distinc- 
 tion," says Richard Peters, in a letter dated Belmont, October 
 30, 1785, "and paid more particular attention to him than I 
 had known given to any foreigner. Much pleasure was ex- 
 pressed at the arrival of a person of his military knowledge 
 and experience, at a time when the want of discipline in our 
 army, and the economy it produced, were severely felt and re- 
 gretted."* 
 
 Steuben set out for Valley Forge on the 19th of February, 
 1778, and arrived there on the 23d. " On our journey," says 
 Duponceau, " we passed through Lancaster, then considered the 
 largest inland town in the United States. Having arrived 
 there early in the afternoon, the baron was waited upon by 
 Colonel Gibson and other gentlemen, who invited him and his 
 family to a subscription ball to take place that evening, in 
 honor of his arrival. The baron accepted, and we accord- 
 ingly went. There we saw assembled all the fashion and 
 beauty of Lancaster and its vicinity. The baron was de- 
 lighted to converse with the German girls in his native tongue. 
 There was a handsome supper, and the company did not sep- 
 arate until two o'clock the next morning." 
 
 It was on this occasion that William North, who after- 
 wards was his aid-de-camp and adopted son, saw him for the 
 first time. " His reputation had preceded him," says North, 
 " and those who yet remember his graceful entry and manner 
 in a ball-room, the novel splendor of his star and its accompa- 
 nying ornaments, can easily conceive the feelings of his coun- 
 trymen and of their assembled wives and daughters ; they might 
 
 * American State Papers, vol. "Claims." Washington, 1834, p. 13. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 105 
 
 indeed, with honest feeling, have thanked God that they had 
 no reason to be ashamed of him." 
 
 u Upon my arrival in camp," writes Steuben, " I was again 
 the object of more honors than I was entitled to. General 
 Washington came several miles to meet me on the road, and 
 accompanied me to my quarters, where I found an officer with 
 twenty-five men as a guard of honor. When I declined this, 
 saying that I wished to be considered merely as a volunteer, 
 the General answered me in the politest words, that the 
 w r hole army would be gratified to stand sentinel for such vol- 
 unteers. He introduced me to Major General Lord Stirling 
 and several other generals. On the same day my name was 
 given as watchword. The following day the army was 
 mustered, and General Washington accompanied me to re- 
 view it. To be brief, if Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, or 
 the greatest field marshal of Europe, had been in my place, he 
 could not have been received with greater marks of honor 
 than I was." 
 
 Washington himself informed Congress, on the 27th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1778, of Steuben's arrival, in the following words:* 
 
 " Baron Steuben has arrived at camp. He appears to be 
 much of a gentleman, and as far as I have had an opportunity 
 of judging, a man of military knowledge, and acquainted with 
 the world." 
 
 The encampment at Valley Forge lasted till the 18th of 
 June, 1778, and the period of its existence marks one of the 
 most trying periods of the revolutionary war. All the abuses 
 and defects that had been dominant in the American army, 
 reached their culmination during this time, and showed the 
 pressing need of radical reforms. In consequence of the bad 
 management in the commissary general's office, a famine broke 
 out in camp, although the country was abounding with provis- 
 ions. " Unless," writes Washington to Congress, " some great 
 
 * "Washington's Writings, by Sparks. "Vol. v., p . 244. 
 
10G LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and capital change suddenly takes place, the army must in- 
 evitably be reduced to one or other of these three things — to 
 starve, dissolve, or disperse in order to obtain subsistence." On 
 the other hand, the quarter-master's department was of as little 
 use, as it had been long without a head, and was dependent, 
 not on the commander-in-chief, but on Congress. On the 1st 
 day of February, 1778, there were three thousand nine hun- 
 dred and eighty-nine men in camp unfit for duty for want of 
 clothing. The natural consequences of these evils were muti- 
 nies, frequent desertions, and the prevalence of fever and sick- 
 ness, which swept hundreds of soldiers away. Of the original 
 force of about seventeen thousand men, only five thousand and 
 twelve were at this time (February, 1778) fit for duty. 
 
 Congress at last gave way to the remonstrances of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, and appointed a committee to reside in camp 
 during the winter, for the purpose of inquiring into the state 
 of the army, and of proposing such reforms as seemed to it 
 necessary. Upon its arrival, Washington laid a memorial be- 
 fore it concerning the state of the army, the remedies for the 
 abuses in its departments, and the steps to be taken for its fu- 
 ture safety. Little or nothing, however, was done in answer 
 to Washington's proposals. Congress seemed only desirous 
 of showing its good will ; the reforms proposed were but par- 
 tially carried out, after their necessity had been demonstrated 
 for months, and even years. Nothing, therefore, Avas consum- 
 mated in the commissary's and quarter-master general's de- 
 partment, and while an inspector general was appointed, it 
 was for the purpose of gratifying Conway's ambition. The 
 regulation of this important office was, therefore, postponed 
 to better times ; the officers were not provided for, and the 
 comfort and exigencies of the privates were neglected. 
 
 At this critical period of the war it was not Congress that 
 kept the army together ; it was not the people at large that 
 supported and sustained their soldiers; it was not the enthu- 
 siasm of the masses that saved the country ; other and more 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 107 
 
 powerful elements were working toward the establishment of 
 American independence. 
 
 To the most prominent only of these elements we mean to 
 refer at this time. 
 
 The lack of proportion between the basis of operations and 
 the numerical strength of the British forces is the character- 
 istic type of the whole war, and in this essential difference 
 may be found the chief reason for the final victory of the 
 Americans over the English. Ten thousand square miles of an 
 insurgent country can no more be occupied, watched over and 
 kept by half a dozen weak divisions, than a few thousand regular 
 troops can maintain themselves as masters of a large city like 
 Paris or Berlin against a sudden revolutionary outbreak, how- 
 ever badly the rebels may be equipped and disciplined. If the 
 English from the beginning had duly appreciated their situa- 
 tion, they would have confined themselves to the occupation ot 
 strong places, single posts and fortified ports. Whenever they 
 made large expeditions into and through the country, or when- 
 ever they tried to conquer whole provinces, they always failed, 
 as might have been anticipated. It was the war of Cyrus against 
 the Scythians, of the Romans against the Germans. The sud- 
 den retreat of these undisciplined masses into the barren and 
 distant interior, was their most terrible weapon, both of of- 
 fense and defense. Moreover, the Americans were separated 
 from their aggressor by a great ocean, and had no neighbor 
 able to harm them seriously. 
 
 Thus it was that the American Revolution, which suffered 
 from all the defects of the European revolutions, finally came 
 out triumphant. On account of these reasons it had just time 
 enough to organize itself. In all instances when a people has 
 risen against its oppressors, it has to oppose loose, undisciplined, 
 unorganized masses to a ruling power, wdiich has at its dis- 
 posal the chief support of an effective resistance, a disciplined 
 and obedient army. 
 
 It is, therefore, at the beginning of the revolution that the, 
 
108 LIFE OF HTTU'IJEX. 
 
 greatest difficulties of the uprising masses exist. The throw- 
 ing off the yoke is comparatively an easy affair, but the strug- 
 gle begins with the first battle. Even where insurgents have 
 an army from the outset, it is difficult to keep it together and 
 to employ it, because every revolution supposes a certain dis- 
 solution of the established order of things, which reacts with 
 the most pernicious effect upon its creators. A revolution is 
 doomed when it has not time and ground enough to collect 
 itself and settle. It will at once be suppressed by the united 
 military movements of its organized enemies. 
 
 Thus, at the beginning of the French Revolution, the 
 French troops almost everywhere suffered defeat. Badly 
 armed, badly provided for, badly drilled, all their personal 
 heroism and the terror of the Convention were not sufficient 
 to compensate for these defects. The Hungarian honveds (mi- 
 litia) were driven into a precipitate flight at Schwechat, and 
 the whole army forced back into the interior of Hungary, 
 until, provided from the resources of the country, and supplied 
 with new arms and now ammunition, it could take its ground 
 again and advance victoriously. 
 
 The people of these countries were as self-sacrificing, if not 
 more so, than the Americans. Nevertheless, the latter alone, 
 of all modern nations, succeeded in their struggle. If the cir- 
 cumstances we have mentioned were the natural basis of their 
 final triumph, they had, on the other hand, the great good luck 
 to have a general at their head who, by his indefatigable exer- 
 tions and his noble conduct was immeasurably the superior of 
 all the military leaders, and who knew how to choose the proper 
 persons for the proper places. Thus, for instance, he at once 
 perceived Steuben's talent for organization. 
 
 The independence of the United States would not have 
 been realized so speedily, or with such brilliant effect, if the 
 chief part of its achievement had not been conferred upon Wash- 
 ington. He appears a greater commander in his letters to 
 Congress than in his military operations, in which, weak as he 
 
I. I F E O P S T E U 15 EN. 109 
 
 was in his means, he had to combat with enormous difficulties. 
 Why did he not incessantly alarm the English camp ; why did 
 he not fly to inaccessible posts when the enemy was preparing 
 to attack him ; why did he not suddenly outflank the British ; 
 why did he not appear in their rear, cut off their provisions, 
 and intercept their supplies ; why did he not use his entire 
 force with more energy and activity ? 
 
 The answer to all these questions is easily given and under- 
 stood when it is seen that his soldiers were barefooted, and 
 would almost all have run away if Washington had made 
 fatiguing marches ; that the government for which they fought 
 did not provide them with the necessary provisions and cloth- 
 ing ; that often their own countrymen refused to them a mere 
 shelter against cold and storm ; that there existed no hospitals 
 to receive the wounded, who thus saw certain death staring 
 them in the face ; and were thus discouraged from engaging 
 in an enterprise in which they had to suffer much — without 
 deriving any corresponding profit; that these soldiers only 
 wanted to go over to the English in order to put a stop to 
 their miseries ; that the troops were enlisted for too short a 
 time to be entirely trustworthy ; that in consequence of all these 
 defects a rigid discipline could not be enforced, and that, 
 therefore, General Washington was bound to save as much 
 fatigue as possible to his troops, which were almost over- 
 whelmed with hardships and privations, in order to keep at 
 least as many of them together as would lead the enemy to 
 suppose that a real and effective army existed. It is, there-, 
 fore, apparent that Washington's inactivity was the result of 
 the unfavorable circumstances in which he found himself; but 
 whenever it was prudent he took the offensive, and displayed 
 great vigor, as in the affairs of Trenton, Princeton, and Ger- 
 mantown. This self-control and Fabian-like prudence is one 
 of the most striking traits of Washington's character. He 
 possessed all the qualities necessary for command. A hun- 
 dred other commanders put in the same position, and sur- 
 
110 I, T FK O F BTIU HE N T . 
 
 rounded by tbe same difficulties, would have lost patience and 
 courage ; but he was a master, not in guiding the general feel- 
 ing of the people, but to discern, follow and make tbe best of 
 them. On account of this talent, Washington is justly the 
 most popular hero of the American people. Pie is flesh of 
 their flesh and blood of their blood, but of a higher order. 
 
 All that has been said and written about Washington by his 
 admirers, falls short, in our opinion, of a perfect appreciation 
 of the man. It is certainly a high position to occupy the first 
 place among men like Franklin, Jefferson, Greene, Hamilton, 
 Jay, and several others ; it is an historical glory — and can 
 there be any greater? — to be the soul and the expression of a 
 great historical event ; it is an enviable destiny enjoyed by 
 few, to be the first in war, the first in peace, the first in the 
 hearts of his countrymen, and to shine to succeeding genera- 
 tions for centuries as the man of his country. Washington is 
 more than all this — he is not only the hero of his people and 
 of the new world, he is at the same time the hero of the whole 
 world, of the entire Teutonic race, the classic expression of 
 its will and power, of its perseverance and energy, of its 
 contentedness and grandeur, of its disinterestedness and self- 
 denial. 
 
 It is a great mistake to compare Washington with a great 
 conqueror, like Napoleon, or any other military commander 
 of modern times, because no point of comparison really ex- 
 ists between them. It is a contradiction in itself to place 
 him on the same level with the monarchical statesmen and 
 soldiers of the last century, as his views, motives and ob- 
 jects had nothing in common with theirs. To appreciate 
 the greatness of a man like Washington, according to the 
 number of his victories, the extent of his conquests, and the 
 apparent brilliancy of his exploits, is a proof how deeply, 
 though unconsciously, the Latin dogma of authority and cen- 
 tralization has penetrated the life and notions of modern 
 nations. Washington was great just because he did not 
 
LIFE OF STE U F, B N . 11 1 
 
 possess the qualities which constitute the greatness of other 
 historical characters. His true position in history is on the 
 threshold of the Present and the close of the era of the 
 Reformation That grand thesis of ninety-five paragraphs, 
 which, on the 31st day of October, 1517, Luther nailed on the 
 chapel-door of Wittenberg, finally found, after more than two 
 centuries and a balt\ its synthesis when, on the 4th day of 
 July, 1776, at the State House of Philadelphia, the young, 
 rising republic of the West made its declaration of independ- 
 ence, and established liberty of conscience in politics, of which 
 the chosen champion was Washington. Thus Wittenberg and 
 Philadelphia, Luther and Washington, are the beginning and 
 end of the era of the Reformation. 
 
 Open the book of modern history and you will find many 
 heroes in the life of the Teutonic race who are not only akin 
 to Washington, but complete his character, and who, either 
 previous to his time or cotemporaneously with him, assisted in 
 forcing the world into the same phase of development. In the 
 first place, we meet Luther, the great German reformer, who 
 overthrew the despotism of Rome ; there, also, we are re- 
 minded of the taciturn and majestic forms of the two Wil- 
 liams of Orange, who, in giving the death-blow to the gloomy 
 rule of Spain, won undying fame for themselves. There, also, 
 we meet the great dramatist, William Shakespeare, who illus- 
 trated poetically the new Protestant ideas ; there, also, we 
 meet the valiant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, who 
 secured religious liberty on the battle fields of Germany ; there 
 the sturdy Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, gives the first 
 blow to the crumbling edifice of the effete social system of 
 England, by bringing the middle classes into political exist- 
 ence, and thus laying the foundation of her present greatness; 
 there, that sober Scotchman, Adam Smith, the Luther of po- 
 litical economy, breaks down the old feudal system, and ini- 
 tiates a new era in the commercial and industrial world ; there, 
 finally, Emanuel Kant, by his " categoric imperative," arouses 
 
112 H 9 K OF S T EUREN. 
 
 the world from mental slumber to intellectual activity, and 
 closes, in this point of view, the age of the Reformation, as 
 Washington did in a political sense. All these men, although in 
 other spheres, his predecessors and cotemporaries, are sprung 
 from the same race, and elevated by the ame idea — the 
 autonomy of the individual, which they made to prevail by 
 prudence, moderation and concentration of their power on this 
 single point. 
 
 Is there any more Teutonic nature than that of Washing- 
 ton, or any character that has exercised more perfect self-dis- 
 cipline, or anybody who, by each act of his life, elevated and 
 purified himself to a higher degree ; who performed his task 
 with greater self-satisfaction, or regarded the fulfillment of his 
 duty as a matter of course ; or who adhered more rigidly to 
 self-imposed limits ; or who, after many and great personal 
 sacrifices, having reached the goal of his noble ambition, re- 
 tired into private life with more modesty and grace ? 
 
 Thus we think Washington may be considered one of the 
 most notable and important exemplars of Teutonic genius, 
 which is not confined to any particular land, which to-day is 
 exploring the deserts of Africa, and to-morrow lays the tele- 
 graphic cable between Europe and America, and which carries 
 civilization into the wilderness, not with sound of trumpet 
 and drum, but w 7 ith the ax and the plow to last forever. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Sad Condition of the Continental Army.— Steuben's Description of the State of 
 Things in Valley Forge.— Hard Task for a Reformer.— TllS English System 
 prevalent. —Enormous Expenses.— Percentage paid to the Commissioners; 
 their Peculation.— Steuben proposes the Contract System, which, however, 
 is not accepted. — condition of the troops.— elilj and flow of men.— incom- 
 PLETENESS of the Companies, Regiments, and Brigades.— A Regiment consisting 
 of thirty Men, and a Company of one Corporal.— Duty of the Muster Mas- 
 ter, and the Way in which it was performed.— Incorrectness of such Returns. 
 —The Army a Nursery for Servants.— More Commissaries and Quarter- 
 masters THAN IN ALL THE ARMIES OF EUROPE TOGETHER.— No ACCOUNTS KEPT.— 
 
 Five to Eight Thousand Muskets lost in one Campaign.— The Loss of the 
 Bayonets still greater.— Steuhen's Arrangements saved the United States 
 at least $100,000 a Year.— The Arms in a horrible Condition.— The Men al- 
 most liteeally~Naked.— Officers at a great Parade in a Dressing-Gown. — 
 No Discipline, no regular Formation.— Each Colonel has a System of his 
 own.— No Polls kept of the Companies.— Great A ruses in granting Fur- 
 loughs.— Officers had ho Idea of their Duties.— Internal Administration of 
 a Regiment unknown.— Infinity of Guards.— Duponceau's Sketch.— Army in 
 Want of Provisions, Clothes. Fodder, and Every thing.— Life at Head- 
 quarters; Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Greene.— Dinner given by Steuben, 
 
 WHERE TORN CLOTHES WERE AN INDISPENSABLE REQUISITE.— SALAMANDERS AND 
 
 Sansculottes.— Office of Inspector General.— Resolutions of Congress of 
 December 13, 1777.— Conway.— " Imperium in Lmperio.'*— Steuben temporary In- 
 spector.— Directs his Attention to the Organization and Discipline of the 
 Army.— Where to commence, the Question.— Difficulty of finding an Ar- 
 rangement, so as not to disgust the Officers and Men, and in Conformity with 
 the Genius of the People.— Greene, Laurens, and Hamilton assist him. — 
 Steuben's Proposition for a temporary Inspectorship approved by Washing- 
 ton, — Steuben's Sub-Inspectors.— Model Company formed and drilled by 
 Steuben himself. — Reasons why he departed from the general European 
 Rule in drilling and exercising the Troops.— Colonels and Officers begin 
 to drill their Men.— Steuben gains Confidence and extends his Operations 
 
 ON A LARGER SCALE.— IIlS INSPECTORS TEACH THE DIFFERENT CORPS.— FlEURY 
 DESCRIBES THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTIES IN WILMINGTON.— A. SCAMMEL AC- 
 KNOWLEDGES THE good Effect of Steuben's indefatigable Efforts.— William 
 North's Narrative of the Progress of the Troops in Consequence of Steu- 
 ben's System of Drill. — Benjamin Walker first introduced. — Complete Suc- 
 cess of Steuben. 
 
 A LTHOXJGII the sad condition of the Continental army 
 ■f* during that horrible winter in Valley Forge is sufficient- 
 ly known, it will be interesting to give here the testimony of 
 an eye witness, who shared the privations of the troops, and 
 
114 LIFE OF STEUBEX. 
 
 used his best exertions to mitigate the hardships to which they 
 were exposed. 
 
 " The situation of affairs in general," writes Steuben, at the 
 time of his arrival in camp,* " and of our own army at Valley 
 Forge in particular, is too well known to need a description. 
 My determination must have been very firm that I did not 
 abandon my design when I saw the troops. Matters had to 
 be remedied, but where to commence was the great difficulty. 
 In the first place, I informed myself relative to the military 
 administration. I found that the different branches were 
 divided into departments. There were those of the quarter- 
 master general, war commissary, provisions commissary, com- 
 missary of the treasury, or paymaster of forage, etc., etc. 
 But they were all bad copies of a bad original. That is to 
 say, they had imitated the English administration, which is 
 certainly the most imperfect in Europe. 
 
 " The general asked me to give him some statements con- 
 cerning the arrangements of the departments, and their va- 
 rious branches in the European armies. I gave them to him, 
 and, detailing therein the duties of each department and of its 
 different branches, dilated upon the functions of the quarter- 
 masters (marechaux generaux de logis) in particular, in which 
 branch I had served myself for a long time in the Seven 
 Years' War. But the English system, bad as it is, had al- 
 ready taken root. Each company and quarter-master had a 
 commission of so much per cent, on all the money he expend- 
 ed. It was natural, therefore, that expense was not spared — 
 that wants were discovered where there were none ; and it 
 was also natural that the dearest articles were those that suit- 
 ed the commissioners best. Hence the depreciation of our 
 currency — hence the expense of so many millions 
 
 " I pointed out to General Washington and several mem- 
 bers of Congress, the advantages of the contract system. I 
 even drew up a memorandum on the subject, which Colonel 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi., and Sprague. 
 
L T F 1 O F 8 T E V B K N . 115 
 
 Laurens translated into English, showing the way in which 
 things were contracted for in the Prussian and French armies. 
 But whether it was that they thought such a system impracti- 
 cable in this country, or whether they were unable to check 
 the torrent of expense, things remained as they were. 
 
 " I directed my attention to the condition of the troops, 
 and I found an ample field, where disorder and confusion were 
 supreme. As this became my principal object, I must enter 
 into some particular details. 
 
 " The effective strength of the army was divided into di- 
 visions, commanded by major generals ; into brigades, com. 
 inanded by brigadier generals ; and into regiments, command- 
 ed by colonels. The number of men in a regiment was fixed 
 by Congress, as well as in a company — so many infantry, 
 cavalry, and artillery. But the eternal ebb and flow of men 
 engaged for three, six, and nine months, who went and came 
 every day, rendered it impossible to have either a regiment or 
 a company complete ; and the words company, regiment, bri- 
 gade, and division, were so vague that they did not convey 
 any idea upon which to form a calculation, either of a particu- 
 lar corps or of the array in general. They w^ere so unequal in 
 their number, that it would have been impossible to execute 
 any maneuvers. Sometimes a regiment was stronger than a 
 brigade. I have seen a regiment consisting of thirty 7nen, 
 and a company of one corporal! Nothing was so difficult, 
 and often so impossible, as to get a correct list of the state or 
 a return of any company, regiment, or corps. As in the En- 
 glish service, there was a muster-master general, with a num- 
 ber of assistants. It was the duty of this officer to ascertain 
 and report every month the effective state of the army, for the 
 payment of the men and officers. This operation took place 
 as follows: each captain made a roll of his company, whether 
 absent or present, after which he made oath before a superior 
 officer that this return was correct, ' to the best of his knowl- 
 edge and belief.' The muster-master counted the men present, 
 
1 1 G L I F E O F S T E IT R E X . 
 
 and the absent were marked by him for their pay upon the 
 oath of the eaptain. I am very fir from supposing that an 
 officer would voluntarily commit a fraud, but let us examine 
 the state of the companies, and we shall see the correctness of 
 such returns. 
 
 " The company had twelve men present ; absent, one man 
 as valet to the commissary, two hundred miles distant from 
 the army, for eighteen months ; one man valet to a quarter- 
 master attached to the army of tlie north, for twelve months ; 
 four in the different hospitals for so many months; two as 
 drivers of carriages ; and so many more as bakers, blacksmiths, 
 carpenters, even as coal-porters, for years together, although 
 the greater number were only engaged for nine months at the 
 outset. But a man once on the roll of a company, remained 
 there everlastingly, as forming part of the effective strength, 
 except in case of death or desertion, under the very eyes of 
 the captain. 
 
 " According to these rolls, the strength of the army for 
 pay and provisions was calculated. The regimental returns 
 furnished to the adjutant general every week, for the informa- 
 tion of the general-in-chief, as to the strength of the army, 
 were not much more exact. I am sure that, at that time, a 
 general would have thought himself lucky to find a third of 
 the men ready for action whom he found on paper. 
 
 "The soldiers were scattered about in every direction. 
 The army was looked upon as a nursery for servants, and every 
 one deemed it his right to have a valet ; several thousand sol- 
 diers were employed in this way. We had more commissa- 
 ries and quarter-masters at that time than all the armies of 
 Europe together ; the most modest had only one servant, but 
 others had two and even three. If the captains and colonels 
 could give no account of their men, they could give still less 
 an account of their arms, accouterments, clothing, ammuni- 
 tion, camp equipage, etc. Nobody kept an account but the 
 commissaries, who furnished all the articles. A company, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 117 
 
 which consisted, in May, of fifty men, was armed, clothed and 
 equipped in June. It then consisted of thirty men ; in July 
 it received thirty recruits, who were to be clothed, armed and 
 equipped ; and not only the clothes, but the arms were car- 
 ried off by those who had completed their time of service. 
 
 General Knox assured me that, previous to the establish- 
 ment of my department, there never was a campaign in which 
 the military magazines did not furnish from five thousand to 
 eight thousand muskets* to replace those which were lost in 
 the way I have described above. The loss of bayonets was 
 still greater. The American soldier, never having used this 
 arm, had no faith in it, and never used it but to roast his beef- 
 steak, and indeed often left it at home. This is not astonish- 
 ing when it is considered that the majority of the States en- 
 gaged their soldiers for from six to nine months. Each man 
 who went away took his musket with him, and his successor 
 received another from the public store. No captain kept a 
 book. Accounts were never furnished nor required. As our 
 army is, thank God, little subject to desertion, I venture to 
 say that during an entire campaign there have not been twenty 
 muskets lost since my system came into force. It was the 
 same with the pouches and other accouterments, and I do not 
 believe that I exaggerate when I state that my arrangements 
 have saved the United States at least eight hundred thousand 
 French livres a year. 
 
 "The arms at Valley Forge were in a horrible condition, 
 covered with rust, Half of them without bayonets, many from 
 which a single shot could not be fired. The pouches were 
 quite as bad as the arms. A great many of the men had tin 
 boxes instead of pouches, others had cow-horns ; and muskets, 
 carbines, fowling-pieces, and rifles were to be seen in the same 
 company. 
 
 "The description of the dress is most easily given. The 
 
 * The price of a musket was fixed, in the regulations of 1779, at sixteen 
 dollars without bayonet, and eighteen dollars with bayonet. 
 
118 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 men were literally naked, some of them in the fullest extent 
 of the word. The officers who had coats, had them of every 
 color and make. I saw officers, at a grand parade at Valley 
 Forge, mounting guard in a sort of dressing-gown, made of 
 an old blanket or woolen bed-cover. With regard to their 
 military discipline, I may safely say no such thing existed. In 
 the first place there was no regular formation. A so-called 
 regiment was formed of three platoons, another of five, eight, 
 nine, and the Canadian regiment of twenty-one. The forma- 
 tion of the regiments was as varied as their mode of drill, 
 which only consisted of the manual exercise. Each colonel 
 had a system of his own, the one according to the English, the 
 other according to the Prussian or French style. There was 
 only one thing in which they were uniform, and that was, the 
 way of marching in the maneuvers and on the line of march. 
 They all adopted the mode of marching in files used by the 
 Indian?. Mr. De Conway had introduced platoons and many 
 other things; but as he was not liked, they had allowed all 
 his instructions to fall into disuse, so that I scarcely found 
 a trace of them. It is also necessary to remark, that the 
 changing the men, the reductions and continual incorporations 
 deprived the corps and regiments of all consistence. There 
 was another evil still more subversive of order in an army : 
 the captains and colonels did not consider their companies and 
 regiments as corps confided to thorn by the United States for 
 the care of the men as well as the preservation of order and 
 discipline. The greater part of the captains had no roll of 
 their companies, and had no idea how many men they had un- 
 der their orders. When I asked a colonel the strength of his 
 regiment, the usual reply was, ' something between two and 
 three hundred men.' The colonels, and often the captains, 
 granted leave of absence as they thought proper, and not only 
 that, but permissions to retire from the service. The officers 
 were not accustomed to remain with the troops when the 
 army was in camp ; they lived in houses, often several miles 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 119 
 
 distant. In winter quarters they nearly all went home, and 
 there were often not more than four officers with a regiment. 
 In the campaign of 1T70, I found a Massachusetts regiment 
 commanded by a lieutenant. The idea they had of their duty 
 was, that the officers had only to mount guard and put them- 
 selves at the head of their regiment or company when they 
 were going into action. 
 
 "The internal administration of a regiment and a com- 
 pany was a thing completely unknown. The quarter-master 
 received arms, ammunition and camp equipage, for an entire 
 brigade. The clothing and provisions were distributed in the 
 same way by brigades. A captain who did not know the 
 number of men in his company, could not know the number 
 of the rations and other articles necessary for it. There were 
 absolutely no regulations for the service of the camp and of 
 the guards. Each colonel encamped his regiment according 
 to his fancy. There were guards and pickets, and sometimes 
 too many ; but the officers did not know their duty, and in 
 many instances did not understand the object of the guard. 
 An infinity of internal guards for the commissaries of for- 
 age and provisions, and for the quarter-master, weakened the 
 strength of the army, the more so, because these guards were 
 never relieved, and remained from one year to another. Their 
 arms were lost, and they were all the servants of the commis- 
 sary, who often granted them leave not only for six months, 
 but without limitation. It would be an endless task to enu- 
 merate the abuses which nearly ruined the army. The above 
 is a general view of the situation of the American army as I 
 found it at Valley Forge in the month of February, 1778." 
 
 Duponceau's sketch of the state of affairs at Valley Forge 
 gives more the domestic than the military aspect of things, 
 and may therefore, with good reason, form the supplement to 
 Steuben's characteristic sketch. 
 
 " We dined," says he, " twice or thrice a week with Gen- 
 eral Washington. We visited him also in the evening, when 
 
120 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Mrs. Washington was at hoad-quarters. We were in a man- 
 ner domesticated in the family. As to the situation of our 
 army, suffice it to say that we were in want of provisions, of 
 clothing, of fodder for our horses, in short, of every thing. I 
 remember seeing the soldiers popping their heads out of their 
 miserable huts, and calling out, in an under tone, 'No bread, 
 no soldier!' Their condition was truly pitiful, and 'their 
 courage and their perseverance is beyond all praise.' We, 
 who lived in good quarters, did not feel the misery of the 
 times so much as the common soldiers and the subaltern offi- 
 cers; yet, we had more than once to share our rations with 
 the sentry at our door. We put the best face we could upon 
 the matter. Once, with the baron's permission, his aids invit- 
 ed a number of young officers to dine at our quarters, on con- 
 dition that none should be admitted that had on a whole pair 
 of breeches. This was of course understood as pom pro toto ; 
 but torn clothes were an indispensable requisite for admission, 
 and in this the guests were very sure not to fail. The dinner took 
 place. The guests clubbed their rations, and we feasted suinp- 
 tously on tough beefsteak and potatoes, with hickory nuts for 
 our dessert. Instead of wine we had some kind of spirits, 
 With which we made ' salamanders,' that is to say, after fill- 
 ing our glasses, we set the liquor on fire and drank it up, 
 flame and all. Such a set of ragged, and, at the same time, 
 merry fellows, were never brought together. The baron loved 
 to speak of that dinner, and of his ' sansculottes,' as he called 
 us. Thus this denomination was first invented in America 
 and applied to the brave officers and soldiers of our revolu- 
 tionary army. 
 
 " In the midst of all our distress there were some bright 
 sides of the picture, which Valley Forge exhibited at that 
 time. Mrs. Washington had the courage to follow her husband 
 to that dismal abode, and other ladies also graced the scene. 
 Among them was the lady of General Greene, a handsome, el- 
 egant and accomplished woman. Her dwelling was the resort 
 
LIFE OE STEUBEN. 121 
 
 of foreign officers, because she spoke the French language 
 and was well versed in French literature. They often met 
 at each other's quarters, and sometimes at General Washing- 
 ton's, where the evening was spent in conversation over a cup 
 of tea or coffee. There were no levees or formal soirees, no 
 dancing and playing, or amusements of any kind, except sing- 
 ing. Every gentleman or lady who could sing was called 
 " upon in turn for a song." 
 
 Two months before Steuben arrived in camp, the office 
 of inspector general had been created, in conformity with the 
 propositions and wishes of General Conway. Congress, in 
 their session of December 13, 1777, resolved,* 
 
 a That it is essential to the promotion of discipline in the 
 American army, and to the reformation of the various abuses 
 which prevail in the different departments, that an appoint- 
 ment be made of inspector general, agreeable to the practice 
 of the best disciplined European armies ; that this appoint- 
 ment be conferred on experienced and vigilant general offi- 
 cers, who are acquainted with whatever relates to the general 
 economy, maneuvers and discipline of a well regulated army." 
 
 The duties of these officers, or rather of this officer, as 
 Conway alone was elected for this office, were shaped after 
 the model of the French army, and consisted in instructing, 
 maneuvering and reviewing the troops, in preparing and 
 transmitting to Congress the necessary returns of clothing, 
 accoutrements, payment of the men and of the casualties. 
 
 This plan, like that of creating the office of commissary 
 general, was proposed in direct opposition to the opinion of 
 the commander-in-chief. u It created," to use Judge John 
 Marshall's words, " an imperium in imperio y" it made the 
 inspector only accountable to, and removable by, Congress, 
 and at the same time independent of the commander-in 
 chief. "It conferred powers," as Alexander Hamilton justly 
 
 * Journal of Congress, iii., 1777, pp. 574 and 575. 
 
 
122 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 remarked, " which could not fail to produce universal op- 
 position in the army, and by making the previous concur- 
 rence of the board of war requisite to the introduction of 
 every regulation which might be found necessary, opened a 
 continual source of delay, which was calculated to defeat the 
 usefulness of the institution." 
 
 Conway expected to use it as an effectual though indirect 
 means of attack in his notorious cabal against the commander- 
 in-chief, whom he did not dare to assail directly. The worth- 
 less intriguer, however, never exercised the duties of his office. 
 After his cabal against "Washington had exploded, he retired 
 from the army, where his promotion to the rank of major 
 general had caused great dissatisfaction, and resigned his 
 commission about the end of April. Thus, the whole plan 
 never went into operation, and existed only on paper when 
 Steuben joined the army at Valley Forge. 
 
 Washington knew but too well, by the experience of the 
 last campaigns, that a well-organized inspectorship was the 
 best remedy against the principal defects and irregularities 01 
 the army, and was at the same time aware that Congress, af- 
 ter having appointed Conway to the office of inspector general, 
 could not but agree with his wishes of a permanent and effi- 
 cient establishment of this important branch of military disci- 
 pline. Steuben arrived, therefore, very opportunely at the 
 camp. Offering his services as a volunteer, ho could give no 
 umbrage to the native officers by claiming a rank equal or 
 superior to them, and having been trained in the best war 
 school of his time, and strongly recommended by competent 
 judges and impartial friends, he was just the man whom the 
 commander-in-chief wanted, as the American officers were 
 almost entirely ignorant of military tactics. Steuben most 
 cheerfully accepted the offer of a temporary inspectorship 
 which Washington made to him, and commenced the disci- 
 pline j?nd exercise of the troops early in March, 1778. 
 
 " I found it useless," so he continues in the above-quoted 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 123 
 
 memorial, " to trouble myself about the many things which I 
 could not remedy. I directed my attention to the organiza- 
 tion and discipline of the army. To establish the inspection 
 on the same footing as in France and Prussia would not have 
 answered the purpose. In these services the inspector general 
 reviews the troops at the beginning and end of a campaign ; 
 he examines the state of the men, their arms and accouter- 
 ments ; exercises and maneuvers them ; sees that they adhere 
 to the prescribed regulations ; that they follow the system laid 
 down by the minister at war, to whom he makes his reports, 
 and recommends for promotion, pardon, and reward. 
 
 " I found here neither rules, nor regulations, nor system, 
 nor minister at war, nor pardon, nor reward. The inspector 
 general in Prussia and France has nothing whatever to do with 
 the money department ; here it was necessary that he or some 
 one else should take charge of it. This mysterious department 
 was a mere farce. The war commissary in France examines 
 the books and accounts of the different regiments and compa- 
 nies ; here, there were no books and no accounts, and conse- 
 quently no one to examine them. 
 
 "All this required an immediate remedy. But how to 
 commence, was the question. 
 
 " General Conway followed the routine of the inspectors 
 in France, but that did not answer the purpose. It was, 
 therefore, essential to create a department, under some name 
 or other, to organize it so as to rectify the abuses, found some 
 simple but firm system, and put it into execution at once. I 
 found a committee of Congress in camp concerting with the 
 commander-in-chief for regulating several matters connected 
 with the army, such as fixing the number of regiments and 
 companies, which was one of the most essential things to be 
 determined. Congress approved of their resolution on that 
 head, but the means for putting it into execution were yet 
 wanting. There was no established system of maneuvers, no 
 settled regulations for discipline and good order, and no uni- 
 
124 LIFE OF STEUUEN. 
 
 fbrmity in the service. General Washington proposed to me 
 to sketch out a plan for establishing an inspection in order to 
 introduce system and uniformity into all these matters. I 
 sketched a variety of different plans, but it was exceedingly 
 difficult to find an arrangement likely to succeed so as not to 
 disgust the officers belonging to so many different States, and 
 to form a plan in conformity with the spirit of the nation, and 
 with the prejudices, however well or ill founded they might 
 be, against foreigners. I was often obliged to abandon ideas I 
 had formed ; I was in want of information and advice, and I was 
 fortunate enough to find a few officers of merit, who gave rne 
 every satisfaction ; they were General Greene, Colonel Laurens, 
 and Colonel Hamilton. Having drawn out my last plan, I 
 communicated it to these three officers, and made the altera- 
 tions they deemed advisable, before I presented it to the com- 
 mander-in-chief. Time was precious, and I worked day and 
 night. I finally proposed that an inspector general ought to 
 be appointed at once who should establish a uniform system 
 for forming the troops ; for exercising and maneuvering them ; 
 for their duties in camp and on the march ; and for the duties 
 of guards, pickets and sentries. He should also define and 
 point out the duties of every officer, from the colonel to the 
 corporal ; the manner in which returns or lists of the men, 
 arms, accouterments, clothing, and camp equipage, should be 
 made, and appoint a uniform method of book-keeping, accord- 
 ing to which the books of the regiments, of companies, as well 
 as those of the adjutant, pay-master, quarter-master, and cloth- 
 ing-master of each regiment, should be kept ; that this inspector 
 should review the troops every month, exercise and maneuver 
 them, examine the returns and books, and make his written 
 return to the commander-in-chief and to the board of war, 
 etc., etc. ; that a colonel from each division should be chosen 
 by the inspector general, whose duty it should be to see that 
 the ordinances and arrangements which the inspector might 
 think proper to establish, with the consent of the commander- 
 in-chief j be duly executed and obeyed. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 1 25 
 
 "That a major from each brigade be chosen by tne in- 
 spector.general to exercise the same functions in the brigade, 
 in addition to those of a brigade major in the French service. 
 He should also receive all the returns of every description, 
 and examine them accurately before transmitting them to the 
 adjutant general or chief of the department to which they are 
 addressed, whether that of the quarter-master, clothing-master, 
 pay-master, or commissary. All orders for the brigade should 
 be addressed to that officer to communicate them to the bri- 
 gade. 
 
 "That the colonels shall be called inspectors of divisions, 
 and the majors, inspectors of brigades. That the former 
 brigade majors, who, in imitation of the English army, were 
 merely aids-de-camp to the brigadier general, and who, for 
 the most part, are young men who never saw a guard 
 mounted, should be abolished, and that the brigadier general 
 be at liberty to take a subaltern officer as aid-de-camp. That 
 the inspectors of divisions be allowed additional pay of thirty 
 dollars, and the inspectors of brigades twenty dollars, a month, 
 and some additional rations more than other officers of the 
 same rank. 
 
 " I added to the above that the inspector general be obliged 
 to draw up a sort of military code which, when approved by 
 the commander-in-chief and authorized by Congress, shall take 
 effect as an ordinance for the army. 
 
 "This plan was npproved by General Washington and com- 
 municated to Congress. Some days after I had delivered it 
 the general asked me if I was willing to undertake its exe- 
 cution myself? I replied that I would do so on condition 
 that the general should give me the support and assistance 
 necessary for so important a task. 
 
 "Among the many obligations which I owe to General 
 Washington, I shall always esteem it among the greatest, the 
 selection which he made among the officers to aid me in this 
 work. It is with peculiar satisfaction that I again mention 
 
126 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the names of my first inspectors of divisions, Colonels Wil- 
 liams, Brooks, Fleury, Sprout, Barber, Harmer, Davies, Scam- 
 mel and Ternant, and of brigade majors Fish, English and 
 many others, who would be considered excellent officers in 
 any service, in Europe. 
 
 " I commenced operations by drafting one hundred and 
 twenty men from the line, whom I formed into a guard for 
 the general-in-chief. I made this guard my military school. 
 I drilled them myself twice a day ; and to remove that 
 English prejudice which some officers entertained, namely, 
 that to drill a recruit was a sergeant's duty and beneath 
 the station of an officer, I often took the musket myselt 
 to show the men the manual exercise which I wished to 
 introduce. All my inspectors were present at each drill. 
 We marched together, wheeled, etc., etc., and in a fortnight 
 my company knew perfectly how to bear arms, had a military 
 air, knew how to march, to form in column, deploy, and exe- 
 cute some little maneuvers with excellent precision. 
 
 "It must be owned that they did not know much of the 
 manual exercise, and I ought to mention the reasons why I 
 departed altogether from the general rule of all European 
 armies, and commenced with the manual exercise in drilling 
 recruits like children learning their alphabet. In the first 
 place, I had no time to do otherwise. In our European 
 armies a man who has been drilled for three months is called 
 a recruit; here, in two months I must have a soldier. In 
 Europe we had a number of evolutions very pretty to look at 
 when well executed, but in my opinion absolutely useless so 
 far as essential objects are concerned. In Prussia, to fire and 
 charge several times a minute is a matter of boast ; the conse- 
 quence is that the men, when they are using ball cartridge, 
 often load badly. A company is drilled for a long time in pla- 
 toon firing, and the more the firing resembles the noise of a 
 cannon shot, the better it is. 
 
 "I have often remarked that the Prussians, after the first 
 
J. I F E O F 8 T E U B K N . 127 
 
 charge in action, no longer practice platoon firing, do not load 
 so often in a minute and fire quite as badly as the Russians, 
 Austrians or French. I, nevertheless, taught my company to 
 carry arms, stand at ease, present arms, to load, take aim, fire 
 by platoons, and to charge bayonets. Another reason that 
 induced me to pay but little attention to this eternal manual 
 exercise, was that several of my predecessors commenced with 
 it, and before they had surmounted these preliminaries, were 
 obliged to quit the service, having lost their influence, and be- 
 fore the young officers had an opportunity of seeing the prac- 
 tical advantage of this elementary instruction. This induced 
 me to reverse the old system, and instead of commencing with 
 the manual and platoon exercise and ending with maneuvers, I 
 commenced with maneuvers and finished with the exercise. 
 I recollect that in the beginning of my second campaign I 
 executed a maneuver with a portion of the army, which was 
 remarkably well done. After it was over the officers came 
 round me to receive the approbation to which they were ac- 
 customed, believing that they had proved themselves perfect 
 tacticians. They were very much astonished when I told them 
 that it was now time to begin with the alphabet ; that we 
 should drill the men, one by one ; then by six, and afterward 
 by platoons ; teach them how to carry themselves, to march 
 well, to use their arms with alacrity and precision, and so on 
 until they had learned every thing. No objection was made. 
 I had the satisfaction of seeing (without being seen) the colo- 
 nel and his officers drill the men, one by one, and I thought 
 that had I proposed to them to do this at Valley Forge, I 
 should never have succeeded. 
 
 " Another reason that induced me to omit as much as pos- 
 sible the manual exercise was, that as the army had no special 
 ordinance or fixed rules on the subject, every colonel had in- 
 troduced a system of drill of his own — one on the English, 
 another on the French, and a third on the Prussian plan ; and 
 those who had taken the greatest pains were naturally the 
 
128 L [ F E F S T E tJ J>, E N . 
 
 most attached to their own work. Had I destroyed their pro- 
 ductions, they would all have detested me. I therefore pre- 
 ferred to pay no special attention to this subject until I had 
 won their confidence. It was not so with regard to maneu- 
 vers. They had not meddled with them. Fortunately there 
 was not a single good English book that contained the rules 
 of tactics. 
 
 " To follow the thread of my operations, I had my com- 
 pany of guards exactly as I wished them to be. They were 
 well dressed, their arms clean and in good order, and their 
 general appearance quite respectable. 
 
 " I paraded them in presence of all the officers of the army, 
 and gave them an opportunity of exhibiting all they knew. 
 They formed in column ; deployed ; attacked with the bayo- 
 net ; changed front, etc., etc. It afforded a new and agreea- 
 ble sight for the young officers and soldiers. Having gained 
 my point, I dispersed my apostles, the inspectors, and my new 
 doctrine was eagerly embraced. I lost no time in extending 
 my operations on a large scale. I applied my system to bat- 
 talions, afterward to brigades, and in less than three weeks I 
 executed maneuvers with an entire division in presence of the 
 commander-in-chief." 
 
 Steuben's statements are corroborated by the testimony of 
 some eye witnesses, which furnishes additional proof of the 
 manner in which he went to work. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel L. Fleury, who acted as sub-inspector 
 of the Maryland brigade and executed strictly Steuben's or- 
 ders, describes his duties and those of his troops, in a letter 
 dated Wilmington, April 5th, 1778, as follows :* 
 
 " At six o'clock in the morning the division is ordered to 
 general parade, and the soldiers in squads of always eight, are 
 drilled in ordinary marching. A non-commissioned officer 
 marches at their right, a little in advance, to give the time 
 and the step, and he drills them in marching with and without 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
IJPE OF STEUBEN. 129 
 
 music or drums. This drill lasts two hours. At nine o'clock 
 is the parade ; the soldiers are then taught the few movements 
 in which they are to be instructed after the use of arms. At 
 noon particular instruction is given to the non-commissioned 
 officers. At three o'clock, drilling in divisions as in the morn- 
 ing; at six o'clock, p. m., meeting of the adjutants in my quar- 
 ters for instruction in theoretic maneuvering and the empha- 
 sis to be used in giving the word of command." 
 
 " Baron Steuben," says A. Scammel, in a letter dated Val- 
 ley Forge, April 8th, 1778, to General John Sullivan,* "sets 
 us a truly noble example. He has undertaken the discipline 
 of the army, and shows himself to be a perfect master of it, 
 not only in the grand maneuvers, but in the most minute 
 details. To see a gentleman, dignified with a lieutenant gen- 
 eral's commission from the great Prussian monarch, conde- 
 scend, with a grace peculiar to himself, to take under his direc- 
 tion a squad of ten or twelve men in the capacity of drill-ser- 
 geant, commands the admiration of both officers and men, and 
 causes them to improve exceedingly fast under his instruc- 
 tions." 
 
 The most interesting narrative of the energy employed by 
 Steuben, and the success of his system, is given by his favor- 
 ite aid-de camp and intimate friend, William North, who was 
 with him from the beginning. He says in his biographical 
 sketch : 
 
 u Certainly it was a brave attempt ! Without understand- 
 ing a word of the English language, to think of bringing men, 
 born free, and joined together to preserve their freedom, into 
 strict subjection, ; to obey without a word, a look, the man- 
 dates of a master ! that master once their equal, or possibly 
 beneath them, in whatever might become a man ! It was a 
 brave attempt, which nothing but virtue, or high-raised hopes 
 of glory, could have supported. At the first parade, the 
 
 * I am obliged to Thomas C. Amory, jr., Esq., the biographer of General 
 Sullivan, for the kind communication of this interesting letter. 
 
 6* 
 
130 I, T F E OF STKI'IVEN. 
 
 troops neither understanding the command, nor how to follow 
 in a changement to which they had not been accustomed, even 
 with the instructor at their head, were getting fast into con- 
 fusion. At this moment, Captain B. Walker, then of the 
 second New York regiment, advanced from his platoon, and 
 offered his assistance to translate the orders and interpret to 
 the troops. ' If,' said the baron, ' I had seen an angel from 
 heaven, I should not have more rejoiced.' The officers in the 
 army who spoke English and French fluently were indeed 
 very few in number — how few were so capable of giving as- 
 sistance to the baron in the formation of his system. Walker 
 became from that moment his aid-de-camp, and remained to 
 the end of the baron's life his dear and most worthy friend. 
 From the commencement of instruction, no time, no pains, no 
 fatigue were thought too great, in pursuit of this great object. 
 Through the whole of each campaign, when troops were to 
 maneuver, and that was almost every day, the baron rose at 
 three o'clock ; while his servant dressed his hair, he smoked a 
 single pipe and drank one cup of coffee, was on horseback at 
 sunrise, and with, or without his suite, galloped to the parade. 
 There was no waiting for a tardy aid-de-c:imp, and those who 
 followed wished they had not slept. Nor was there need of 
 chiding ; when duty was neglected, or military etiquette in- 
 fringed, the baron's look was quite sufficient. It was a ques- 
 tion, why, in the first instance, our troops had been put to the 
 performance of the great maneuvers. I beg pardon for call- 
 ing them great, but they were great to us, for we were igno- 
 rant. Bland's exercise and Symtnes's military guide were al- 
 most the only poor and scanty sources from which we drew. 
 To the question, it was answered that in fact there was no time 
 to spare in learning the minutiae — the troops must be prepared 
 for instant combat ; that on a field of battle, how to display 
 or fold a column, or to changes a front, was of th3 first conse- 
 quence ; that the business was to give the troops a relish for 
 their trade, a contidence in their skill in the performance of 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 131 
 
 complicated evolutions ; that, even if time permitted, the offi- 
 cers, copying the bad example set them by the British, of re- 
 ferring all instruction to the sergeants, would feel themselves 
 degraded in attending to an awkward squad. c But the time 
 will come,' said he, ' when a better mode of thinking will pre- 
 vail; then we will attend to the a b c of the profession.' This 
 prophecy was amply fulfilled. A year or two afterwards the 
 baron said to me, ' Do you see there, sir, your colonel in- 
 structing that recruit ? I thank God for that !' " ^ 
 
 Things were progressing as well as possible. Steuben en- 
 joyed the confidence of both officers and men, and every thing 
 he proposed was executed with as much precision as if it were 
 an order from the commander-in-chief. Although he was only 
 a volunteer, without any specific rank in the army, he had 
 greater power and authority than any general could boast of. 
 
 * Page 3 of " A Biographical Sketch of the Life of Baron Steuben, Inter- 
 spersed with a Variety of Anecdotes and Historical Facts Relating to the Rev- 
 olutionary War." The author of this highly valuable pamphlet, of fourteen 
 pages, is General William North, Steuben's aid-de-camp. Thacher and Bowen 
 have amply quoted from it. There are very few copies of the pamphlet now 
 in existence ; we have, therefore, thought it expedient to make copious ex- 
 tracts from its pages. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Steuben commences Maneuvering ok the Tkoops. — Washington appreciates the 
 Importance of the Inspectorship. — General Orders acknowledging the Re- 
 sults of his Exertions. — Washington's Letter of the 30th of April, 1778, 
 about the office of inspector general and steuben's merits. — s'1'euben ap- 
 POINTED Major General and Inspector General. — The News of the French 
 Alliance reaches the Camp. — Universal Joy. — Sanguine Hopes for the Fu- 
 ture. — People relax their Exertions. — Steuben apprehends a speedy Peace. 
 — Interesting Correspondence with Henry Laurens.— Celebration of the 
 French Alliance by Steuben's grand Maneuver. — General Order of the 7th 
 of May thanks Steuben for his Activity. — His Appointment the Signal for a 
 Cabal.— Steuben's Authority and Functions curtailed.— Bad Effects of this 
 Jealousy. — Letter of Alexander Hamilton to William Duer, illustrating 
 this Feeling. — Steuben continues to perform his Duties. — His Letter to the 
 Board of War, explaining his Ideas about the Inspectorship.— The Board of 
 War adopts Steuben's Views, and lays a Plan before Congress, which is not 
 approved. — The Intelligence of the French Treaty highly encouraging to 
 the Army. — Council of War. — Self-Confidence of the Army. — Good Conse- 
 quences of Steuben's Discipline, Order, and general Improvements. — Cotem- 
 porary Witnesses. — Gordon and Page. — Sir William Napier. — Evacuation of 
 Philadelphia by the British. —Their March through New Jersey. — Steuben 
 goes to York to get the Duties of his Office settled by Congress. — Washing- 
 ton's Letter and temporary Orders of the 15th of June, 1778.— Inspector 
 General degraded to a Drill-Sergeant. — Steuben's Letter Of the 18th of 
 June. — Congress postpones the Settlement of the Matter. — Bad Policy of this 
 Indecision. 
 
 (TIIIE commander-in-chief also very soon perceived and ap- 
 ■*- preciated the enormous advantage which the army derived 
 from the labors of its temporary inspector, and fully sensible 
 of the value of his services, interposed his authority on Sten 
 ben's behalf, and used all his influence to advance the object 
 at which the latter aimed. 
 
 Steuben commenced his military instructions on a larger scale 
 on the 24th of March, ] 778, with the elementary maneuvers of 
 the troops. He exercised them in the morning and afternoon, 
 dining an entire month, at the end of which they were able, 
 on the 29th of April, to perform the grand maneuvers. We 
 need not to enter into the details of these instructions, as 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 133 
 
 they correspond with the regulations for the order and disci- 
 pline of the army, laid down a year afterwards, and as we 
 shall allude to the latter in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 Washington's orders show the importance which he at- 
 tached to Steuben's office, while they are, at the same time, the 
 official acknowledgment of the good consequences which his 
 labors produced. We quote here a few which illustrate Steu- 
 ben's efficiency and the progress of his system :* 
 
 " Valley Forge, March 28th, 17 78. 
 
 " On Sunday, the 29th of March, at ten o'clock in the 
 forenoon, all the brigade inspectors, with the officers and non- 
 commissioned officers, who are to mount guard on Monday, 
 will attend at head-quarters, where the inspector general will 
 instruct them in what is to be done the next day. 
 
 " The Baron Steuben, a lieutenant general in foreign ser- 
 vice, and a gentleman of great military experience, having 
 obligingly undertaken the exercise of inspector general in the 
 army, the commander-in-chief, till the pleasure of Congress 
 shall be known, desires he may be respected as such ; and 
 hopes and expects that all officers, of whatever rank in it, 
 will afford him every aid in their power in the execution of 
 his office. Lieutenant Colonels Davies, Brooks and Barber, 
 and Mr. Ternant, are appointed to act as sub-inspectors ; the 
 three former retaining their rank and order in the line. 
 
 " The importance of establishing an uniform system of 
 useful maneuvers, and regularity of discipline, must be obvi- 
 ous ; the deficiency of our army in those respects must be 
 equally so ; but the time we probably shall have to introduce 
 the necessary reformation is short. With the most active ex- 
 ertions, therefore, of officers of every class, it may be possi- 
 ble to effect all the improvement that may be essential to suc- 
 cess in the ensuing campaign. Arguments surely need not be 
 * Revolutionary Orders of General Washington, from 1778 to 1782. Se- 
 lected from John Whiting's manuscripts by Henry Whiting, Lieutenant Col- 
 onel United States Army, New York and London, 1844. 
 
1 34 LIFE OF S T S U B K N . 
 
 multiplied to kindle the zeal of officers in a matter of such 
 great moment to their own homes, the advancement of the 
 service, and the prosperity of our arms." 
 
 "April 19, 1778. 
 "The sub-inspectors will each superintend the discipline 
 of each brigade, according to the following division, viz., Mr. 
 Ternant, Woodford's, Scott's and Mcintosh's ; Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Brooks, First and Second Pennsylvania, Poor's and 
 Glover's; Lieutenant Colonel Davies, Larned's, Patterson's, 
 Weedon's and Muhlenberg's; Lieutenant Colonel Barber, 
 Maxwell's, late Conway's, Huntington's and Varnum's." 
 
 "April 21, 1778. 
 
 " The colonels and commanding officers of regiments are to 
 make it an invariable rule to review their respective regiments 
 once a week, look into the state and condition of the men's 
 arms, accouterments and clothes, and know precisely the state 
 of them, and where every man is. 
 
 "The brigadiers and commanding officers of brigades are to 
 do the same in their respective brigades, at least once a fort- 
 night. In a word, it is expected from both that every care 
 and attention will be paid to keep their men together, and the 
 arms and accouterments belonging to them in good order. 
 
 "This is also to be considered as a standing order, but 
 not to supersede the daily inspection by subordinate officers, 
 agreeably to former orders." 
 
 "May 4th, 1778. 
 
 " The sub and brigade inspectors are to be pointedly exact 
 in pursuing the written instructions of the inspector general, 
 that the strictest uniformity may be observed throughout the 
 army. 
 
 "They are not to practice one single maneuver without his 
 direction, nor in a method different from it. Any alteration 
 or innovation will again plunge the army into that contrariety 
 and confusion from which it is endeavoring to emerge. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 135 
 
 " The hours of exercise will also be exactly attended to by 
 each brigade, for which purpose, and that no other difference 
 may arise on account of watches, proper attention will be paid 
 to the order of the 1st of April last, for regulating them by 
 that of the adjutant general. The commander-in-chief requests 
 the brigadiers, and officers commanding brigades, to see that 
 these orders are strictly complied with, that the golden op- 
 portunity which now presents itself for disciplining the army 
 may be improved. And he hopes that the brigades will vie 
 with each other in arriving at the highest pitch of excellence." 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1778, about six weeks after Steuben 
 had commenced his active duties, Washington made the fol- 
 lowing report to Congress :* 
 
 "The extensive ill consequences arising from a want of 
 uniformity in discipline and maneuvers throughout the army, 
 have long occasioned me to wish for the establishment of a 
 well-organized inspectorship, and the concurrence of Congress 
 in the same views has induced me to set on foot a temporary 
 institution, which, from the success that has hitherto attended 
 it, gives me the most flattering expectations, and will, I hope, 
 obtain their approbation. 
 
 "Baron Steuben's length of service in the first military 
 school in Europe, and his former rank, pointed him out as a 
 person peculiarly qualified to be at the head of this depart- 
 ment. This appeared the least exceptionable way of intro- 
 ducing him into the army, and one that would give him the 
 most ready opportunity of displaying his talent. I therefore 
 proposed to him to undertake the office of inspector general, 
 which he agreed to with the greatest cheerfulness, and has 
 performed the duties of it with a zeal and intelligence equal to 
 our wishes. He has two ranks of inspectors under him ; the 
 lowest are officers charged with the inspection of brigades, 
 with the title of brigade inspectors; the others superintend 
 
 * Washington's Writings, by J. Sparks, v., 347. 
 
130 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 several of these. They have written instructions relative to 
 their several functions, and the maneuvers they are to practice 
 are illustrated by a company, which the baron has taken to 
 train himself. The brigade inspectors were chosen by the 
 brigadier and commanding officers of regiments in each bri- 
 gade. The inspectors are Lieutenant Colonels Barber, of 
 Jersey, Brooks, of Massachusetts, Davies, of Virginia, and 
 Mr. Ternant, a French gentleman. 
 
 "Upon the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Fleury in the 
 camp, as he was unemployed and had exercised the office of 
 aid major in France, the baron proposed to have him em- 
 ployed as an inspector, in which I readily acquiesced, as Con- 
 gress had given him the rank and pay of lieutenant colonel. 
 
 " I should do injustice, if I were to be longer silent with 
 regard to the merits of Baron Steuben. His knowledge of 
 his profession, added to the zeal which he has displayed since 
 he began upon the functions of his office, leads me to consider 
 him as an acquisition to the service, and to recommend him to 
 the attention of Congress. His expectations with respect to 
 rank extend to that of major general. His finances, he in- 
 genuously confesses, will not admit of his serving without the 
 incidental emoluments, and Congress, I presume, from his 
 character and their own knowledge of him, will, without dif- 
 ficulty, gratify him in these particulars. 
 
 " The baron is sensible that our situation requires a few va- 
 riations, in the duties of his office, from the general practice in 
 Europe, and particularly that they must be more comprehen- 
 sive, in which, as well as in his instructions, he has skillfully 
 yielded to circumstances. The success which has hitherto at- 
 tended the plan, enables me to request, with confidence, the 
 ratification of Congress, and is, I think, a pledge of the 
 establishment of a well combined general system, which in- 
 surmountable obstacles have hitherto opposed." 
 
 Congress answered this letter, by the following resolution, 
 on the 5th of May, 1778, viz.:— 
 
LIFE OF STRUBEX, 137 
 
 " That Congress approve of General Washington's plan for 
 the institution of a well-organized inspectorship. That Baron 
 Steuben be appointed to the office of inspector general, with 
 the rank and pay of major general, his pay to commence from 
 the time he joined the army and entered into service of the 
 United States. That there be two ranks of inspectors under 
 the direction of the inspector general; the first to superintend 
 two or more brigades, and the second to be charged with the 
 inspection of only one brigade."* 
 
 "The honor," says Steuben on the 16th of May, I778,f in 
 reply, "I have lately received at your hands, has afforded me 
 so much the greater pleasure, as it was unsolicited. The suc- 
 cess my efforts have already met with, adds not a little to the 
 satisfaction I feel on this occasion. I shall endeavor to de- 
 serve, more and more, the good opinion you have entertained 
 of me in intrusting me with so extensive a department as the 
 inspection of your army. Please, gentlemen, to accept my 
 sincere thanks for the confidence you have placed in me, and 
 the opportunity you have afforded me of being useful to you." 
 
 On the 4th of May the news of the French alliance had 
 reached the camp. Suddenly the public distress seemed to be 
 forgotten amidst universal joy. Dinners, toasts, songs, feux de 
 joie and rejoicings were general throughout the army ; satis- 
 faction and happiness were depicted in every countenance, 
 and everybody entertained the most sanguine hopes for the 
 "uture. These dreams and hopes, however, were a little too 
 nuch ahead of the embarrassment and difficulties of the pres- 
 ent situation. Supposing that immediate peace would be the 
 latural consequence of the French alliance, hundreds and 
 housands relaxed their exertions for the common good, and 
 thus endangered the success of the Revolution. 
 
 Steuben, although not belonging to this class of expectant 
 citizens, nevertheless, to some extent, shared their expecta- 
 
 * Journals of Congress (Dunlap's edition), vol. iv., pp. 2G1 and 262. 
 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
138 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 tions in the probability of an early conclusion of peace. This 
 is not surprising when it is remembered that he had been but 
 a short time in America, and was, consequently, in some mea- 
 sure, unacquainted with the full extent of the exasperated 
 feelings which existed between Great Britain and her revo- 
 lutionary colonies. Anxious to engage in the cause of his 
 adopted country for its independence, and feeling his ability and 
 desire to exert his talents and experience, he feared any inter- 
 vention which could possibly have prevented him from using 
 them in the service of the United States. 
 
 " I congratulate you" — so he writes on the 7th of May, 
 1778, to Henry Laurens, then President of Congress*— - u on 
 the conclusion of a treaty of alliance with the court of France, 
 as honorable as advantagedus to both powers. I esteem my- 
 self extremely happy in being in America at so interesting an 
 epoch, and feel a sensible pleasure in seeing the independence 
 of America established on so solid a basis. I may not, per- 
 haps, have an opportunity of drawing my sword in your cause, 
 but no matter, be free and happy, and I shall not regret my 
 having undertaken the voyage to offer you my services." 
 
 " It is my opinion," answers II. Laurens, very justly, on 
 the 11 th of May, 1778, "that we are not to roll down a green 
 bank and toy away the ensuing summer. There is blood, 
 much blood in our prospect, and in all appearance, in my view, 
 there will be opportunity and incitement to unsheath your 
 sword. Britain w r ill not be hummed by a stroke of policy ; 
 she will be very angry, and if she is to fall, her fall will be 
 glorious. We, who know her, ought to be prepared. A pow- 
 erful army in our fields may, I should say, will, be the only 
 means of securing an honorable peace. If we universally 
 adopt and indulge the idea of peace, it would bo presump- 
 tuous in me to intimate to a gentleman of Baron Steuben's 
 experience, what probably will be the consequence. I am 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
LIFE OF ST E U 1!EN. 139 
 
 desirous of banishing from the minds of the people the assur- 
 ance, even the hopes, of a peace for the present year." 
 
 The general-in-chief wished that Steuben should celebrate 
 the alliance by a great maneuver with the entire army, which 
 went off marvelously well. Major Generals Lord Stirling 
 commanded on the right, Lafayette on the left, and Baron 
 De Kalb on the second line. A cannon shot announced the ad- 
 vance of the army in five columns, which, having taken up 
 their position on the heights, deployed and fired a feu de joie. 
 Washington gave a grand dinner. Before the party sat down, 
 he handed Steuben the commission of major general and in- 
 spector general of the army, that Congress had just sent him.* 
 On the following day he issued the following general order : 
 
 " The commander-in chief takes great pleasure in acquaint- 
 ing the army that its conduct yesterday afforded him the 
 highest satisfaction. The exactness and order with which all 
 its movements were formed, is a pleasing evidence of the prog- 
 ress it has made in military improvement, and of the perfec- 
 tion to which it may arrive by a continuance of that laudable 
 zeal which now so happily prevails. The general, at the same 
 time, presents his thanks to Baron Steuben, and the gentlemen 
 acting under him, for their exertions in the duties of their office, 
 the good effects of which are already so apparent, and for the 
 care, activity and propriety with which they conducted the 
 business of yesterday." 
 
 The act of May 5th, 1778, creating Steuben an American 
 major general, and making his appointment as inspector gen- 
 eral definite, instead of being approved of by the superior offi- 
 cers, was the signal for a cabal, at the head of which were three 
 major generals (Lee, Lafayette and Miffiin), who, being senior 
 to him, lost nothing by his appointment, and nearly all the 
 brigadier generals. Not suspecting any thing, Steuben con- 
 tinued to maneuver his battalions, brigades and divisions. 
 All of a sudden, an order was issued that major generals 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 
140 LIFE OP STEUEEX. 
 
 should, in future, exercise their divisions themselves, and lhat 
 brigadiers should do likewise with their brigades, but that 
 they should not depart from the system laid down by the 
 inspector general. Steuben afterwards learned that the ma- 
 jor generals complained of the too great authority of the 
 inspector general in being able to call out the brigades when- 
 ever and however he pleased, and other absurdities of a similar 
 nature. Steuben, mortified as he was to find his operations 
 checked when they were making such progress, concealed his 
 annoyance as w r ell as he could, and compensated himself by 
 the satisfaction he experienced in visiting the camp twice a 
 day. He never found a major general exercising his division, 
 nor a brigadier his brigade. 
 
 Steuben referred to this time five years later in the follow- 
 ing words:* "All the brigadier generals threatened to quit 
 the service. I, however, in no way changed my conduct; I 
 continually pursued the object I had in view, and flattered 
 nobody, even not the general-in-chief. The nature of my 
 office in the army obliged me to a severity to which our 
 officers were then little accustomed, but I was equally severe 
 towards my inferiors, and am so still at present. And here 
 is my greatest triumph. The same brigadiers who opposed 
 the inspectorship, are eager to-day to serve under my orders. 
 These same officers, whom I never had flattered, honor 
 me now with the title of friend and father. In the mili- 
 tary career the testimony of the inferiors is the most honor- 
 able; our subalterns use to be our most severe judges. The 
 affection and estimation of my officers fill my heart with the 
 greatest pride and satisfaction." 
 
 This jealousy, on the part of the general officers, emana- 
 ting from their entire ignorance of the indispensable neces- 
 sity of military order and subordination, proved, in the 
 highest degree, detrimental to the progress of discipline. 
 Just when things were in the best train, a sudden stop was 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 141 
 
 put to them. Steuben, in the interest of the army, defended 
 his system, but thought it prudent to yield somewhat rather 
 than endeavor to stem the torrent of prejudice. The bad 
 consequences of this interruption and curtailing of the in- 
 spectorship was a greater calamity for the troops than the 
 loss of a battle. The members of Congress, and those who 
 participated in the suspicions of the general officers, injured 
 their own cause by giving way to their feelings, which is best 
 expressed in a letter of Alexander Hamilton to William Duer, 
 and which, although written in June, 1778, may be inserted here 
 as an impartial illustration of the opposition made to Steuben. 
 
 "I take the liberty," says he,* " to trouble you with a few 
 hints on a matter of some importance. Baron Steuben, who 
 will be the bearer of this, waits on Congress to have his office ar- 
 ranged upon some decisive and permanent footing. It will not 
 be amiss to be on your guard. The baron is a gentleman for 
 whom I have a particular esteem, and whose zeal, intelligence, 
 and success, the consequence of both, entitle him to the great- 
 est credit. But I am apprehensive, with all his good qualities, 
 a fondness for power and importance, natural to every man, 
 may lead him to wish for more extensive prerogatives in his 
 department than it will be for the good of the service to grant. 
 I should be sorry to excite any prejudice against him on this 
 account ; perhaps I may be mistaken in my conjecture. The 
 caution I give will do no harm if I am right ; if I am not, it 
 may be useful. In either case, the baron deserves to be con- 
 sidered as a valuable man, and treated with all the deference 
 which good policy will warrant. 
 
 " On the first institution of this office, the general allowed 
 him to exercise more ample powers than would be proper for 
 a continuance. They were necessary in the commencement, 
 to put things in a train with a degree of dispatch which the 
 exigency of our affairs required ; but it has been necessary to 
 restrain them, even earlier than was intended. The novelty 
 * Alexander Hamilton's Works, i., 56. 
 
142 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 of the office excited questions about its boundaries ; the ex- 
 tent of its operations alarmed the officers of every rank for 
 their own rights. Their jealousies and discontents were ris- 
 ing to a height that threatened to overturn the whole plan. It 
 became necessary to apply a remedy. The general has de- 
 lineated the functions of the inspectorship in general orders, a 
 copy of which will be sent to Congress. The plan is good, and 
 satisfactory to the army in general. 
 
 " It may be improved, but it will be unsafe to deviate es- 
 sentially from it. It is, of course, the general's intention that 
 whatever regulations are adopted by him, should undergo 
 the revision and receive the sanction of Congress ; but it is 
 indispensable, in the present state of our army, that he should 
 have the power, from time to time, to introduce and authorize 
 the reformation necessary in our system. It is a work which 
 must be done by occasional and gradual steps, and ought to 
 be intrusted to a person on the spot, who is thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with all our defects, and has judgment suffieient to 
 adopt the progressive remedies they require. The plan estab- 
 lished by Congress, on a report of the board of war when 
 Conway was appointed, appears to me exceptionable in many 
 respects. It makes the inspector independent of the com- 
 mander-in-chief; confers powers which would produce univer- 
 sal opposition in the army ; and, by making the previous con- 
 currence of the board of war requisite to the introduction of 
 every regulation which should be found necessary, opens such 
 a continuous source of delay as would defeat the usefulness of 
 tho institution. Lot the commander-in-chief introduce, and 
 the legislature afterward ratify or reject, as they shall think 
 proper. Perhaps you will not differ much from me, when I 
 suppose that, so far as relates to the board of war, the former 
 scheme was a freak of faction, and therefore ought to be re- 
 nounced. 
 
 " There is one thing which the baron has much at heart, 
 which, in good policy, he can by no means be indulged in : it 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 148 
 
 is the power of enforcing that part of discipline which we un- 
 derstand by subordination, or an obedience to orders. This 
 power can only be properly lodged with the commander-in- 
 chiet, and would inflame the w T hole army if put into other 
 hands. Each captain is vested with it in his company ; each 
 colonel in his regiment ; each general in his particular com- 
 mand ; and the commander-in-chief in the whole." 
 
 It can easily be imagined that, under these circumstances, 
 Steuben tried in vain to get the duties of his office settled on a 
 more permanent basis. It took him more than four years to 
 convince the army and Congress of the necessity for adopting 
 his plans. For the present, however, we have to refer to the 
 correspondence which Steuben, in regard to this matter, had 
 with the board of war, and which shows that both corres- 
 ponding parties can not be made answerable for the delay in 
 putting their proposals in execution. 
 
 "I am sensible," w T rites he, on the 27th of May, 1778,* 
 " that my duty obliges me to submit my operations to the 
 approbation of the board of war. This I should have already 
 done had I not looked upon the few instructions I have given 
 as a mere essay till it should please the honorable Congress to 
 confide in me the office of inspector general of the army. 
 
 " The dispositions I have hitherto made, have been under 
 the title of instructions. I am well aw T are that it is not the 
 business of the inspector general to make any regulations 
 without the approval of the board of war. These instruc- 
 tions I presented to the commander-in-chief before I put them 
 in execution, and as they were given just as circumstances 
 and our present situation required, it is necessary that they 
 should be corrected and put in order, before they are submit- 
 ted to the board of war, to be regularly established. 
 
 u On my arrival at the army the commander-in-chief pro- 
 posed that I should sketch out a plan of the duties of the 
 office of inspector general, to introduce uniformity in the 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
144: LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 service, in the exercises, maneuvers, discipline, and police of 
 the army. The regulations of the Prussian, French and En- 
 glish armies, did not appear to me exactly adapted to the 
 present circumstances of our army. It was, therefore, neces- 
 sary to find out some other means of obtaining the end we 
 desired. I drew the subjoined plan, which, having been sub- 
 mitted to his Excellency, was approved of, and thought 
 worthy of being put into execution. 
 
 " His Excellency did me the honor to confide the direction 
 of it to me as a volunteer. Though it was nearly thirty years 
 since I had had any thing to do with that department, I haz- 
 arded the enterprise and commenced with the infantry. 
 
 "I had as assistants, William Davies of the Virginia troops, 
 Colonel Brooks of Massachusetts Bay, Colonel Barber of New 
 Jersey- — all officers of merit — and Mr. Ternant, a French gen- 
 tleman who speaks English perfectly, and who, in addition to 
 considerable military knowledge, has the greatest zeal and 
 activity, and being already settled in this country, may be 
 regarded as a citizen. He has undertaken the department of 
 inspector as a volunteer, and has not yet demanded any rank, 
 though he has merited it by the pains he has taken and the 
 progress of the brigades committed to his care. Besides these 
 four adjutants the commander-in-chief made choice of a field 
 officer from each brigade, as inspector of the brigade. Cap- 
 tain Walker of the second New York regiment, who, besides 
 his knowledge of the French language, possesses every quality 
 of a good officer, was attached to me as an aid-de-camp. 
 
 "To the assistance of these gentlemen I owe the little suc- 
 cess I have had, and which now begins to be perceptible. 
 
 " In sketching out the plan for an inspector general, I fixed 
 upon three objects : 
 
 " 1st. Not to burthen the States with a number of officers 
 for that department only, the appointment of whom would 
 have been a great expense. 
 
 " 2d. To employ as much as possible American officers in 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 145 
 
 that department, on whose services the States could always 
 depend, the majority of the foreigners being likely to quit the 
 service either during or after the war. 
 
 " 3d. To employ in that department officers who had al- 
 ready acquired a reputation in the army, in whom the officers 
 and soldiers would have most confidence. 
 
 " The return of the Marquis De Lafayette obliged me to 
 add one to the number of inspectors in the person of Colonel 
 De Floury, who requested to be employed in that department. 
 The merits of this officer are well known to the army. He 
 is well acquainted with the English language and has every 
 requisite quality, so that the commander-in-chief appointed 
 him inspector of the corps under General Smallwood, where 
 he executed the instructions I have given him, with the utmost 
 success. This, gentlemen, is the footing on which the estab- 
 lishment is at present. The short time, the situation of the 
 army and a variety of other circumstances have prevented me 
 from making greater progress. I have hitherto confined my- 
 self to a uniform formation of the troops (which I have regu- 
 lated as nearly as possible in conformity with the new arrange- 
 ment of regiments which Congress has resolved to introduce), 
 to an easy marching exercise, and a few evolutions to enable 
 the officers to form some idea of the way to conduct their 
 corps. 
 
 " We have not taught the soldiers yet, however, the ele- 
 mentary principles, nor have I ever instructed them in the 
 manual exercise. Indeed, discipline is as yet scarcely touched 
 upon. A uniformity in the service of the guards is beginning 
 to show itself, but there has not been any review of the troops. 
 In all these things I was obliged to submit to circumstances, 
 which, as I before observed, have hindered me from proceeding 
 further." 
 
 Steuben says in another memorial, " I began by forming 
 battalions of the strength of about half a regiment, according 
 to the new arrangement, L e n of about two hundred rank and 
 
146 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 file, and as the strength of the regiments differed so consider- 
 ably, I divided the brigades into battalions, according to their 
 numbers, in order to make the corps nearly equal in strength. 
 In a word, I made use of such means as I found at hand to 
 effect, as far as I could, regularity in service, and I can say 
 that the arrangements I made pro tempore produced a good 
 *fieet." 
 
 "The board," answered Richard Peters, by their order, 
 on the 2d of June, 1778,* "have had the favor of your letters 
 and papers by Mr. Ternant, with whom they have had much 
 nnd very satisfactory conversation on the subject of the in- 
 spection ; but find that your orders and letters give sufficient 
 information to show the necessity and great utility of your de- 
 partment, from which the board promise themselves, on the 
 public behalf, the most permanent and substantial advantages. 
 
 "Many of the regulations, however proper and wise, we 
 perceive are only temporary, and therefore can not be inter- 
 woven into a system. As it requires much time to perfect the 
 arrangement in all its parts, and to establish certain rules for 
 present as w r ell as future government, the board desire you will 
 proceed as you have begun, for the present, and they have 
 drawn up a report to Congress, to give weight to your orders 
 and plans of discipline ; and the determination of Congress 
 thereupon will be communicated to you in its right season." 
 
 The plan just alluded to, and the motives which led to its 
 formation, read as follows : \ 
 
 " The board having received sundry letters from the Baron 
 JSteuben, with accounts of his proceedings and copies of his 
 orders and arrangements, and having conversed with Mr. Ter- 
 nant, sent by the baron for the purpose of giving further in- 
 formation on the subject, are happy to find that the business 
 of the inspection has produced much reformation in the arti- 
 cle of discipline ; and as the department has experimentally 
 proved itself of great importance, the board think it well de- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Tapers, vol. i. f Ibid., vol. xiii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 147 
 
 serves the immediate attention of Congress, and they have 
 submitted the following resolutions for consideration, which 
 are formed agreeably to the baron's and the opinion of the 
 board, resulting from the information they have received of 
 the matter : 
 
 " Resolved, That there be but one inspector general of the 
 armies of the United States. 
 
 " That there be an assistant inspector general in each mili- 
 tary department of these States where an army is stationed, 
 and Congress shall judge the appointment necessary. 
 
 " That there be as many inspectors, and brigade inspectors, 
 under the immediate orders of the inspector general, with the 
 grand army, or in the several departments, as the inspector 
 general and the commander-in-chief of the armies of the 
 United States, or the commander-in-chief of the respective de- 
 partments for the time being, shall deem necessary ; that the 
 said inspectors shall be recommended to the commander-in- 
 chief of the armies of the United States, or the commanders- 
 in-chief of the several departments by the inspector general, 
 and if approved by him and them respectively, their names 
 and duties are to be returned to the board of war, who are 
 to report the same to Congress. These inspectors to be of 
 the rank of lieutenant colonels or majors, and to be taken out of 
 the line, with such exceptions with regard to foreigners having 
 no rank in the line, as the commander-in-chief shall think 
 proper. 
 
 " That the inspector general, with the concurrence of the 
 commander-in-chief, shall make such regulations for the dis- 
 cipline and police of the army, reporting the same to the board 
 of war, as the service shall require from time to time, until a 
 permanent system can be established for the inspection by 
 Congress; and all officers and soldiers in the armies of the 
 United States are directed to pay due obedience to the order* 
 of the inspector general and assistant inspectors general, on 
 matters of military discipline and police, signified personally or 
 
148 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 through the several inspectors and brigade inspectors, under 
 pain of being subject to a trial by court martial, and punished 
 according to the nature of the offense, as a court martial shall 
 think proper. 
 
 " That the inspector general shall have liberty to select six 
 young gentlemen, natives or residents in these States, as vol- 
 unteers, who shall be equipped at Continental expense, as light 
 dragoons, be engaged for one year, and receive the pay and 
 rations of ensigns. These young gentlemen are to be under 
 the command of a skillful person, to be instructed how to take 
 points of view, help lay out a camp, to direct the artificers in 
 the opening the way far a column, to lead columns on a 
 march, to reconnoiter and sketch out the routes, to carry or- 
 ders, and such other proper service as the inspector general 
 shall direct. 
 
 " That a secretary of inspection, with the pay of a brigade 
 major, be appointed, to be nominated by the inspector gen- 
 eral, with the approbation of General Washington, to be re- 
 ported to Congress for the appointment. 
 
 "That the inspector general be authorized to appoint a 
 secretary to assist him in the duties of his department, who 
 shall receive the pay, rations, and subsistence of a brigade 
 major. 
 
 "That the commander-in-chief, and the general command- 
 ing in each separate department, appoint as many inspectors 
 and brigade inspectors as they shall respectively judge ne- 
 cessary, for the aid of the inspector general and assistant in- 
 spectors general, in the execution of the duties of their offices. 
 
 " That these inspectors and brigade inspectors be taken 
 from the line, with such exceptions in favor of foreigners as 
 the commander-in-chief, and general commanding in each sep- 
 arate department, shall judge proper to recommend to Con- 
 gress, to appoint to the office of inspector or brigade in- 
 spector. 
 
 "That the inspector general draw up such instructions and 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 149 
 
 regulations as he shall judge necessary and expedient for ful- 
 filling the duties of his department, and present the same to 
 the commander-in-chief, which being approved of by him, the 
 inspector general will then transmit them to the board of 
 war, and being by them established, the inspector general is 
 then to transmit copies of them to his assistants in separate 
 departments, which assistants, in performing the duties of their 
 office, shall scrupulously observe the instructions and regula- 
 tions so established, and not attempt the smallest alteration, 
 without first communicating the same to the inspector general, 
 which meeting his concurrence and the approbation of the 
 commander-in-chief, and established by the board of war, 
 shall then be adopted." 
 
 Congress, however, did not determine upon this plan, and 
 therefore only temporary regulations could be given by the 
 commander-in-chief. It is Steuben's great merit, and it can 
 not be too highly appreciated, that he wisely left to time and 
 service to fix his station, and. that he did not relax his exer- 
 tions for the benefit of the army. His disinterested course 
 forms a striking contrast to the somewhat mean envy of his 
 brother officers. Hundreds of others perhaps would have abated 
 their zeal and energy for an army, the officers of which attrib- 
 uted his actions to the lowest personal vanity and ambition. 
 
 To return, however, to the camp; the intelligence of the 
 French treaty proved highly beneficial and encouraging to the 
 army. On the 8th of May a council of war was convened, at 
 which, besides Major Generals Greene, Gates, Lord Stirling, 
 Mifflin, De Kalb, Lafayette, and Armstrong, for the first time 
 Steuben was present, and in which they were requested by the 
 commander-in-chief to decide what measures were the best to 
 pursue. Although it was the unanimous opinion of the coun- 
 cil that it was more advisable to remain on the defensive and 
 wait events, and not attempt any offensive operation against 
 the enemy, yet the mere circumstance of considering the expe- 
 diency of the offensive, shows clearly that officers and men 
 
150 LIFE OP ST K IT BEN. 
 
 had regained confidence in themselves, and that they felt 
 strong enough to take again the open field. 
 
 It is not an idle conjecture, but a fact witnessed by impar- 
 tial cotemporaries, that the discipline, order, and general im- 
 provements, which Steuben introduced into the American 
 army, contributed chiefly to that reliance in a successful issue, 
 which they felt at the opening of the campaign. We have in 
 this respect a highly creditable authority in Mr. Page, who in his 
 speech, delivered on the 7th of May, 1790, before the House 
 and in favor of Steuben's claim on the United States, mentions 
 as one of the most conspicuous merits of Steuben's discipline, 
 that when the Marquis De Lafayette, with a detachment un- 
 der his command, to occupy Barrenhill on the 20th of May, 
 1778, was in danger of being cut off on his return to the army, 
 and the commander-in-chief was determined to support that 
 invaluable officer, the whole army was under arms and ready 
 to march in less than fifteen minutes from the time the signal 
 was first given. "The orderly manner," says W. Gordon,* 
 "in which the Americans retreated on this occasion, and which 
 contributed much to their escaping, is to be ascribed to the 
 improvements made in their discipline, owing greatly to the 
 Baron De Steuben, the inspector general." 
 
 Finally, Sir William Napier, the historian of the Peninsu- 
 lar war, and, like Wellington, the sworn enemy of undisciplined 
 mass fighting, in objecting to the loose guerilla warfare of the 
 Spaniards, instances the American example, to prove that the 
 victories of the revolutionary war were not fought by the un- 
 disciplined militia of the first campaigns, but by the disciplined 
 battalions of Valley Forge. 
 
 The next favorable consequence of the arrival of the French 
 treaty was the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, which 
 was no longer tenable, now that the Delaware was exposed to 
 a blockade at any moment, by the arrival of a French fleet 
 when least expected. Some weeks, however, passed, before 
 * History of the War of Independence, vol. iii., 92. 
 
L I F E O F STK I* IJ E N . 1 f> 1 
 
 Clinton evacuated the city, and crossing the Delaware on the 
 18th of June, 1778, marched through the State of New Jer 
 sey, in order to make the Hudson and New York the basb. 
 of the operations for the ensuing campaign. 
 
 On the same day Steuben w r ent to York, in order to get 
 the duties and powers of his department minutely denned 
 and settled by Congress. Washington gave him a letter ta 
 the president, and inclosed a copy of orders which were issued 
 on the 15th of June, to quiet the minds of the general officers^ 
 and to remove a spirit of jealousy which but too apparently 
 was rising among them, "These contain," he continues, " my 
 ideas of the principal duties of the inspector's office, and I have 
 reason to think are generally agreeable to the army. While 
 I am on this subject, I must* do justice to the baron's intelli- 
 gence, zeal and indefatigable industry, from which w T e have ex- 
 perienced very happy effects." * 
 
 These orders degraded the inspector's office to that of i 
 drill-sergeant, and in their harmless shape were of course found 
 satisfactory. They prescribe the following rules:! 
 
 a Till the duties of the office of inspector general shall lx 
 denned and fixed by Congress, the commander-in-chief thinks 
 proper to establish the following plan : 
 
 "The functions of it are to comprehend the instituting the 
 system of rules and regulations for the exercise of the troops 
 in the manual and maneuvers for their formation, for the pur 
 pose of exercising on guard and on detachment, and for camj, 
 and garrison duty, by which is to be understood whatevei 
 relates to the service of guards, the ordinary routine of dutj 
 in and the internal police of camps and garrisons, in the exe* 
 cution of which rules and regulations the inspector general 
 and his assistants shall be employed as hereafter specified. All 
 rules and regulations shall first be approved and authorized by 
 the commander-in-chief, and either published in general orders 
 or otherwise communicated through the adjutant general, from 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vol. v., 409. f Steuben MS. Papers, Ftiea, 
 
152 LIPB O F S T E U REN. 
 
 whom the division and brigade inspectors will receive them, 
 and communicate them to the major generals and brigadiers, 
 and to their respective divisions and brigades. 
 
 " The major generals will exercise their respective divisions 
 according to the rules and regulations so established ; the brig- 
 adiers their brigades, the colonels their regiments, or in the 
 absence of either, the officers present next in command. The 
 division and brigade inspectors will assist in the execution, 
 under the immediate orders of the major generals, brigadiers 
 and colonels commandant. 
 
 "The major generals shall make such dispositions as they 
 think proper for grand maneuvers in their own divisions, and 
 the brigadiers in their own brigades, conforming exactly to 
 the general principles of maneuvers, which shall be estab- 
 lished. 
 
 " Grand maneuvers will be occasionally executed by the 
 inspector general with particular brigades, or with detach- 
 ments from the line, of which previous notice will be given in 
 general orders, and of the corps which are to perform them. 
 
 " The inspector general will occasionally attend the troops 
 while exercising. His directions relative to the exercise and 
 agreeable to the rules laid down, are to be observed by every 
 officer of inferior rank who may command. When any new 
 maneuver is to be introduced, it is in the first instance to be 
 performed by the division or brigade inspector, after which 
 the brigadier or colonel will take the command. Each division 
 inspector shall attend his major general when he is of the day, 
 and under his directions assist the field officers of the day in 
 examining whether the duty of the guards is performed accord- 
 ing to rule. Each brigade inspector shall likewise attend his 
 brigadier when he is of the day for the same purpose. 
 
 " On the daily parade of the guards the inspector general 
 or the sub-inspector of the day is to exercise the parade under 
 the orders of the major general of the day. 
 
 " The division and brigade inspectors are immediately to 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 153 
 
 furnish their respective major and brigadier generals with all 
 the regulations which have been heretofore made." 
 
 Steuben feigned not to understand the bearing of these 
 orders, or, perhaps, he did not imagine at that time that the 
 general officers wanted the removal of the inspector general 
 rather than the increase of their own labor. Before setting 
 out for York, he wrote, on the 18th of June, 1778, to Wash- 
 ington :* 
 
 "It gives me great satisfaction to see that your Excellency 
 has taken such a wise step in my department, as to engage the 
 general officers and field officers of regiments to take the com- 
 mand of the troops in our daily exercise. Nothing could be 
 more useful in the present moment. I had wished, some time 
 ago, it might soon be the case; but, in the meanwhile, I was 
 endeavoring, with the gentlemen under me, to make the offi- 
 cers and soldiers a little more perfect, in order to enable the 
 general officers to pass immediately to grand maneuvers, and 
 save them the trouble of descending to those toilsome and 
 fastidious details which we cheerfully encountered from the 
 beginning for the good of the service. No pains will be spared 
 on my part to help on the general officers, and I shall always 
 think myself happy if I can contribute in any maimer what- 
 ever to the advancement of the American army, and prove a 
 useful instrument in your hands. As it will take a few days 
 for the general officers to become acquainted and familiar with 
 the instructions and principles heretofore approved of and es- 
 tablished by your Excellency, and for the officers and soldiers 
 to arrive to a tolerable degree of perfection in the perform- 
 ance of the evolutions and maneuvers before practiced, I will 
 seize this opportunity, with your Excellency's leave, to take 
 a short journey to York, there to settle some affairs with 
 my friend Mr. De Franey, and take my leave of him before he 
 goes to South Carolina, as Congress has not yet come to any 
 positive determination about the department. If your Excel- 
 * Department of MS. State Papers in Washington, vol. xxiv., p. 4G. 
 
154 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 lency foresees that I can be of some use, I beg you will give 
 me such orders and directions about the whole as you think 
 proper. I must likewise beseech your Excellency to give me 
 the satisfaction to let me know whether you are satisfied, as I 
 am, with the officers your Excellency has appointed inspectors 
 under me, and whether you are willing to have them continued 
 in the exercise of that office. I will likewise propose to your 
 Excellency the reuniting the office of brigade inspector to that 
 of brigade major, with the denominations of brigade majors, 
 which officers will be taken from the line of majors, and not as 
 it was before, some being captains, others majors or colonels. 
 There is such an analogy between both offices as renders it, in 
 my opinion, almost indispensable to join them in one office, 
 were it but to prevent difficulties naturally arising between 
 two officers acting in two different analogous departments, 
 between which there is no certain line drawn. Upon these 
 different heads I beg your Excellency's opinion and orders." 
 
 Congress, however, left the matter undecided, and indefi- 
 nitely postponed its settlement. This was bad policy, and full 
 of bad results. The army was no longer drilled, and, conse- 
 quently, could not be brought to that perfection which guaran- 
 tied victory, and which, at less expense of life, blood, and 
 money, would sooner have secured success to the American 
 eagle. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Washington pursues the Enemy. — Steuben hastens to join the main Army.— 
 Philadelphia. — Filthy Condition of the City. — The German Quarter. — Popu- 
 larity of the Kino of Prussia. — Operations of the American Army. — Council 
 of War at Princeton. — Steuben sent to Reconnoitre. — II is Reports. — He it 
 
 WITH THE LKFT WlNG. — TlIE PART HE TAKES IN THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. — NEAR- 
 LY taken Prisoner. — He collects Part of the retreating Troops of Lke. — He 
 Places the Batteries of Lord Stirling, and He-forms the Troops towards 
 Englisiitown. — Steuben's Account about the Duties performed by him, be- 
 fore the Court Martial for the Trial of Lee.^— Correspondence between 
 Steuben and Lee. — Steubrn challenges Lee. — The Latter declines. — Hamil- 
 ton's Opinion. — American Army marches to Whiteplains. — Steuben con d lots 
 Lee's Division. — Soon ordered to give up his temporary Command. — Jealousy 
 of the Brigadier Generals. — Steuben goes to Philadelphia.— Difficulty 
 with Colonel De La Neuville. — Steuben threatens to give in his Resigna- 
 tion. — Washington's Opinion about the Foreign Officers in General, and 
 Steuben in Particular. — His Letters to Governeur Morris and the Presi- 
 dent of Congress. — The Position of Foreign Officers in the American Army. 
 — The political Spirit of the last Century more Cosmopolitan than Nation- 
 al — The French Absolutism Arbiter of Europe. — The standing Armies com 
 posed of all Nationalities.— Nationality no Obstacle to Success. — War the 
 regular Business of the Nobility*. — The greater Part of Foreign Noblemen 
 a valuable acquisition for the united states, although some bad charac- 
 ters among them. — tlie influx of foreigners indispensable to success. — 
 The Question of Nationalities subservient to the Principles of the Parties. 
 — Nationality no Standard of a Man's Capability and Utility'. — The Foreign 
 Officers here felt very bitterly the fortuitous Circumstances of their 
 Descent. — Not stated what constituted the precise Attributes of a For- 
 eigner. — It appears that whoever avas not Anglo-Saxon was a Foreigner. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the news of the evacuation of Phila- 
 delphia had reached the head-quarters of the army, Wash- 
 ington quitted Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware some fifteen 
 miles above the city at Corryel's ferry, and went in pursuit of 
 the enemy. 
 
 Steuben hastened from York to join the main army in 
 
 New Jersey, and passed, on his way, through Philadelphia, 
 
 which did not present, by any means, a pleasant appearance. 
 
 " The first observation I made on entering Philadelphia," 
 
150 LIFE OF STKUJJEN, 
 
 says Duponceau, who accompanied Steuben,* M was, that the 
 city had been left by the British and Hessians in the most 
 filthy condition. I joined Baron Steuben at the Slate House 
 in Second street, the celebrated boarding house so much 
 spoken of in Graydon's Memoirs. Such was the filth of the 
 city that it was impossible for us to drink a comfortable dish 
 of tea that evening. As fist as our cups were filled, myriads 
 of flies took possession of them, and served us as the harpies 
 did the poor Trojans in the JEneid. Some said they were 
 Hessian flies, and various other jokes were cracked on the oc- 
 casion, for the evacuation of the city had put us all in good 
 spirits, and we enjoyed ourselves very well, the filth notwith- 
 standing. The next day a house was provided for us in New 
 street, where we staid but a few days, being anxious to join 
 the army. That quarter of the city was then inhabited almost 
 entirely by Germans ; hardly any other language than the 
 German was heard in the streets, or seen on the signs in front 
 of the shops, so that Baron Steuben fancied himself again in 
 his native country. A great number of the inns in town and 
 country bore the sign of the King of Prussia, who was very 
 popular, particularly among the Germans. We Avere, however, 
 not captivated with the delights of Capua; we bade adieu 
 to Philadelphia and all its German attractions, and joined 
 General Washington's army in New Jersey." 
 
 The commander-in-chief had sent, in the meanwhile, Max- 
 well's brigade after the enemy, and ordered that general to 
 cooperate with General Dickinson, of the New Jersey militia, 
 in harassing and impeding, as much as possible, the march of 
 the English. Lee and Wayne were soon after dispatched, 
 each with a division for the same purpose, into Jersey, and 
 ordered to follow the enemy closely, but to halt on the first 
 strong ground and wait for the main army, which was advanc- 
 
 * MS. Letters of Peter 8. Duponceau, vii. letter, dated Philadelphia, Juno 
 24, 1836. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 157 
 
 ing with great celerity. Washington, eagerly seeking a general 
 engagement, reached Hopewell, five miles from Princeton, on 
 the 24th of June. Here he held a council of war, for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining its opinion about the best mode of attacking 
 the British. No decision, however, was arrived at. Six of 
 the generals present, under the leadership of Lee, were of 
 opinion that a general engagement ought to be avoided, and 
 not more than fifteen hundred men sent to hang on the rear 
 of the enemy, and interfere with their operations ; the other 
 six — and among them Steuben — were for a battle, should fa- 
 vorable circumstances present themselves. In consequence of 
 this diversity of opinion, Washington took his own course, and 
 fully aware of his personal responsibility to the country and 
 the reputation of the army, he decided to avail himself of the 
 opportunity to give battle to the retreating British army. In 
 execution of this plan he ordered a large detachment, first 
 under Lafayette, and afterward under Lee, to reinforee the 
 troops already close to the enemy, for the purpose of attacking 
 their left flank. 
 
 Clinton had moved slowly from Gloucester Point, on the 
 left bank of the Delaware, to Haddonfield and Mount Holly, 
 and thence to Crosswicks and Allentown. From this point 
 two roads led to New York, one via Brunswick and South 
 Amboy, the other via Freehold and Sandy Hook. 
 
 Washington's movements were of course dependent on 
 the route Clinton might select. In order to ascertain the 
 British general's design, he sent Steuben to reconnoiter, a 
 service which demands for its efficient fulfillment the highest 
 order of military capacity, both as a strategician and a com- 
 mander. This selection of Steuben shows the estimation in 
 which the commander in-chief held his character and abilities. 
 
 On the 25th of June Steuben discovered that the enemy 
 was directing his march from Allentown to Freehold and 
 Sandy Hook, and having ascertained this inrportant fact, he 
 immediately made it known to the army. One of his dis- 
 
158 LIFE O P S T K U 15 B Si . 
 
 patches* to Brigadier General Scott, dated Hightstown, on the 
 25tb of June, 1778, three o'clock, p. m., reads as follows : 
 
 " Sir : By intelligence already forwarded, you are, no 
 doubt, acquainted that the enemy have certainly taken the 
 direct road from Allentown to Monmouth court-house. I, 
 therefore, submit to your judgment whether it would not be 
 best to advance your corps as far as this place, and make no 
 doubt you will communicate the intelligence you receive to 
 the commanding officers of all our advanced corps." 
 
 Clinton, however, did not reach the neighborhood of Mon- 
 mouth court-house until the 27th of June. Steuben pursued 
 him closely, and communicated his observations to the com- 
 mander-in-chief in the following report :f 
 
 "About two miles on the left of the Court-House, 
 Juno 27th, 12 h o'clock, p. m. 
 
 " Sir : We arrived here this morning, and it being the 
 best position we can find to observe the motions of the en- 
 emy, have remained ; we have advanced our parties so near 
 as to fire a pistol at their horsemen while feeding their horses. 
 They now lay encamped, one line on the main road by the 
 court-house, and another line extended on their left from the 
 head of their column, which is not advanced one hundred and 
 fifty paces beyond the court-house, having sent a man there to 
 discover ; they have some tents pitched, and their horses are 
 at pasture, and have not the least appearance of moving. 
 
 " When we first arrived here, they had a party of infantry 
 posted in a wood on their left and about live hundred paces 
 in our front, from which we could discover several detach- 
 ments to go to the adjacent houses, two of which they have 
 burnt, viz., Colonel Henderson's and Mr. Wickoff 's. So soon 
 as they move, I shall endeavor to discover their route, and 
 immediately acquaint you." 
 
 * "Washington MS. Stato Papers, vol. xxiv., p. 164. f Ibidem. 
 
LIFE OP STECJJEN. 159 
 
 While thus reconnoiteriiig, Steuben suddenly heard a rust- 
 ling in the wood, and looking toward it, saw two of the 
 enemy's light horse emerging. Steuben had just time to dis- 
 charge his pistols before he turned his horse and leaped a 
 fence, his hat falling off as he rode. After this narrow escape, 
 he returned to the camp. The horsemen did not fire at him, 
 but hallooed to him to stop. The two aids had gone in suc- 
 cession nearer the British than Steuben. These, he supposed, 
 were captured, the horsemen having passed between him and 
 them. While making his report at head-quarters, he was 
 surprised by the entrance of Walker and his companion, and 
 exclaimed, " How is this ? I thought you were taken prison- 
 ers !" " O no," said Walker, " they were intent on the high 
 prize, and overlooked us !" " Have you brought my hat ?'■ 
 " O no, baron, we had not time." After thebattle, some pris- 
 oners were brought to head-quarters, and one of them, after 
 being examined, addressing Steuben, said, " I believe, gen- 
 eral, I had the honor of seeing you yesterday, and thought 
 to get a more splendid prize than your hat." " Why did you 
 not fire ?" " You were recognized by General Knyphausen, 
 and our orders were rather to take you, if we could do it 
 without harming you."* 
 
 On the next morning, the 28th of June, the memorable 
 battle of Monmouth court-house was fought. It is beyond the 
 limits of our task to give a full description of the events of that 
 sanguinary day, the particulars of which are doubtless familiar 
 to all our readers ; but it is our duty to describe the part taken 
 by Steuben in that battle. In all American histories, from Mar- 
 shal down to Dawson (who gives the clearest account of the 
 battle),! Steuben's name is scarcely mentioned in connection 
 with it, except for the promptness which the soldiers exhibited 
 on that occasion, and which proved the good effects of his dis- 
 
 * Verbal communication of John W". Mulligan. 
 
 f Battles of the United States by Sea and Land, by Henry B. Dawson. 
 New York. Johnson, Fry & Co., 1858, vol. i.. .185-411. 
 
160 LIFE OF STEUBEN, 
 
 cipline.* This may possibly be accounted for from the fact 
 that he held no regular command in the line. We will, how- 
 ever, endeavor briefly to supply this omission. 
 
 Steuben says himself, in a letter already quoted, and ad- 
 dressed to Mr. De Frank at Hechingen, " At the battle of 
 Monmouth I commanded on the left wing of the first line, and 
 was fortunate enough to decide the day to our advantage." 
 This statement is wholly consistent with the other accounts, 
 and is corroborated by the events of the day. 
 
 The commander-in-chief having been informed that the 
 British, under Sir Henry Clinton, were on the point of quitting 
 their position and descending into the plain which lies between 
 the court-house and Middletown, ordered General Lee to 
 move forward with the advance, and attack the enemy with- 
 out delay. At the same time the main body was put in 
 motion towards Freehold to sustain him. The right wing 
 was commanded by Greene, and the left by Lord Stirling. 
 Washington was with the left wing, and Steuben was attached 
 to his staff. 
 
 When Clinton, on his march towards Middletown, was 
 made aware of General Lee's advance, and of the peril to 
 which the detachment under Knyphausen (the baggage train 
 was under the convoy of this general), was exposed, he quickly 
 saw that the only way in which he could extricate himself, was 
 to engage the advanced corps of the Americans who menaced 
 his rear. To effect this purpose he assumed the offensive, and 
 with the divisions commanded by himself and Cornwallis, he re- 
 pulsed the American vanguard under Lee, and drove them back 
 in disorder. Washington came up at this critical moment, and 
 seeing the confusion into which Lee's corps was thrown, of 
 which he had no previous notice, saw the necessity for prompt 
 and energetic action to check the advance of the enemy. It 
 was absolutely necessary to restore order and collect the re- 
 treating troops, to re-form them in the rear of his first line, and 
 
 * Washington Irvine's Life of Washington, 8vo edition, ill., 430. 
 
LIFE OF STEUliEN, 161 
 
 thus resist the vigorous attack of Clinton and Cornwallis. On 
 the success of this movement depended the fortunes of the 
 day. To execute a maneuver of such importance under the 
 galling fire of the enemy required no little coolness and decis- 
 ion, and needed an officer accustomed to command, and in 
 whom the troops had implicit confidence. 
 
 This critical duty was intrusted to Steuben on the left, and 
 to Wayne on the right wing. The latter was directed to form 
 his men, and hold the enemy in check. Clinton, reinforced 
 by some of Knyphausen's troops, attacked Wayne at the par- 
 sonage with great spirit. This was the point where the battle 
 was the fiercest, and where Wayne entitled himself to a high 
 meed of praise. The British were finally repulsed, and their 
 gallant leader, Lieutenant Colonel Monckton, killed. 
 
 The choice of Steuben to collect the men on the left wing 
 was equally fortunate. So accustomed had the soldiers be- 
 come to his direction, and so firmly did they rely upon his 
 guidance, that they, although severely pressed by the enemy, 
 wheeled into line with as much precision as on an ordinary 
 parade, and with the coolness and intrepidity of veteran troops. 
 Alexander Hamilton was struck with this change, and was 
 afterwards heard to say that he had never known or conceived 
 the value of military discipline till that day.* 
 
 Clinton, after his repulse, moved the main body of his army 
 against the left of the American army under Lord Stirling, 
 but the batteries were so well served that he was glad to re- 
 treat. It was here that Steuben was first engaged, and from 
 his statement before the court martial against Lee, which we 
 quote below, we may reasonably conclude that it was he who 
 placed some of Stirling's batteries. 
 
 The enemy, after he had been driven from the left wing, 
 
 moved again towards the right of the American position, 
 
 but on account of Greene's energetic resistance, and the 
 
 heavy fire of his artillery, commanded by the Chevalier l)u 
 
 * William North's Biographical Sketch. 
 
162 LIFE OF STEUREX, 
 
 Plessis de Mauduit, he was equally unsuccessful itt that direc- 
 tion. At this moment General Wayne advanced with a body 
 of troops, and kept up so well directed and severe a fire that 
 the enemy was soon compelled to retire behind a defile, where 
 the first stand was made in the beginning of the action.* 
 
 After having performed his duties on the left wing, Steu- 
 ben was ordered to re-form the troops towards Englishtown. 
 
 "On the 28th of June," says he in his deposition made on 
 the 18th of July, 1778, before the court martial for the trial 
 of General Lee, "after having been reconnoitering, I returned 
 from Monmouth, in order to make my report to the com- 
 mander-in-chief, whom I found at Englishtown. Having seen 
 that the enemy was marching, and doubting of our being able 
 to overtake them, and having seen nothing in my way but 
 some militia, which followed at some distance, I stopped at a 
 house in Englishtown to take some rest, where I staid about 
 an hour and a half. I afterwards continued my road to 
 meet the commander-in-chief. On my way I heard several 
 firings of cannon, and made the greatest haste to arrive near 
 the general, whom I found on the high ground, beginning to 
 form the troops as they arrived. It was there that I saw 
 General Lee's division retreating in great disorder, followed 
 by the enemy, whose strength I conceived to be fifteen hun- 
 dred men of infantry, and about one hundred and fifty horse. 
 
 "As I was employed in placing a battery, General Lee 
 passed by me, without our speaking to one another. About 
 a quarter of an hour after, the commander-in-chief ordered 
 me to stop the retreating troops and form them toward En- 
 glishtown. I sent some officers forward to stop the men, and 
 I went there myself, accompanied by Mr. Tern ant and my 
 aides-de-camp, to form them. As I passed through English- 
 town I found General Lee on horseback before a house. He 
 asked me where I was going. I acquainted him with my or- 
 ders, upon which he said to me, that he was very glad of my 
 * Henry B, Dawson, 1. c, part L, 409. 
 
LTFE OF SfBUBIK, 163 
 
 having taken that charge upon me, for he was tired out. I 
 assembled part of General Maxwell's brigade and part of Gen- 
 eral Scott's detachment, which I formed behind the creek at 
 Englishtown. General Maxwell was himself there. Scarce 
 had the troops taken their position, when General Paterson 
 arrived with three brigades of the second line and desired 
 to know where he was to be stationed. I placed his three 
 brigades a little more in the rear on a high ground, and I 
 established a battery on the right wing, in front of the second 
 brigade of General Smallwood. The cannonade continued 
 more or less briskly till past five o'clock. Half an hour after 
 it had ceased, Colonel Gemat arrived and brought me the or- 
 der from the commander-in-chief, that the enemy was retreat- 
 ing in confusion, and that I should, therefore, bring him a 
 reinforcement. I ordered General Maxwell to take the com- 
 mand of the troops I had placed behind the creek, and to 
 remain there till further orders. I then marched off with the 
 three brigades of the second line. As I passed through En- 
 glishtown I met again General Lee, who asked me where I was 
 going ? I imparted him the order I had received from the 
 general-in-chief, which I declared in the very expressions of 
 Colonel Gemat, that the enemy was retreating with confusion. 
 Upon the word 'confusion,' he took me up and said, 'that 
 they were only resting themselves; but,' said he, afterward, 
 ' I am sure there is some misunderstanding in your being to 
 advance with these troops.' I told him that I had received 
 the order from Mr. Gemat. I ordered, however, General Muh- 
 lenberg to halt, and sent for Captain Walker, my aid de-camp, 
 who repeated, in presence of General Lee, the order which 
 Colonel Gemat had brought me ; ' then,' said he, ' you are to 
 march,' and I went on with the troops." 
 
 Having successfully executed his orders, Steuben was com- 
 manded to proceed to the front, to pursue the advantage 
 which the American forces had thus gained. Before this 
 movement could be effected, night set in and put a stop to 
 
164 L TFE O F ST EC BEN. 
 
 the action, which it was intended should be renewed on the 
 next morning. This, however, did not take place, Clinton 
 having silently withdrawn his forces during the night, and pro- 
 ceeding, unmolested, to Sandy Hook, embarked his men for 
 New York. 
 
 Steuben's evidence before the court martial, respecting 
 the situation of the enemy and the column commanded by 
 General Lee, induced that gentleman, in his defense, to make 
 some remarks, of which Steuben thought it proper to ask an 
 immediate explanation in the following letter, dated Philadel- 
 phia, the 2d of December, 1778 : 
 
 " It has been reported to me, sir, that in your defense you 
 have allowed yourself to cast indecent reflections on my ac- 
 count. I made haste to arrive at Philadelphia to inquire into 
 the matter, and I find the report confirmed by the journal of 
 the court martial, which I got possession of an hour ago, and 
 where I read the following paragraph : ' Of all the very dis- 
 tant spectators,' etc. Were I now in my own country, where 
 my reputation is long ago established, I should have put my- 
 self above your epigrams and would have despised them. But, 
 here I am a stranger. You have offended me ; I desire you 
 will give me satisfaction. 
 
 " You will choose the place, time and arms ; but as I do 
 not like to be a distant or slow spectator, I desire to see you 
 as near and as soon as possible. 
 
 "You will explain to Captain Walker, who will deliver this 
 to you, if your present situation will permit you to bring 
 this affair to as quick a conclusion as I wish it. I am, sir, 
 yours," etc. 
 
 " I believe," says Lee in reply, " you have misunderstood 
 the sense of this article of my defense. Very likely the sen- 
 tence ' very distant spectators,' has appeared to you a reflec- 
 tion cast upon your courage. If such be your opinion, I assure 
 you that I had not the least idea of it. I am ready to acknowl- 
 edge it to all the gentlemen of your acquaintance, to all the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 1 05 
 
 world if you will. It is true that I found fault with your 
 forwardness (as I took it to be) to witness against me. I was 
 piqued and thought myself justifiable in making use of the 
 phrases which you have seen in print ; but, I repeat it, with- 
 out the least intention of intimating a reflection on your cour- 
 age." * 
 
 Steuben was satisfied with this explanation. " I have read," 
 Avrites Alexander Hamilton, from head-quarters, on the 19th of 
 December, 1778, "your letter to Lee, with pleasure. It was con- 
 ceived in terms which the offense merited ; and if he had any 
 feeling, must have been felt by him. Considering the point- 
 edness and severity of your expressions, his answer was cer- 
 tainly a very modest one, and proved that he had not a vio- 
 lent appetite for so close a tete-a-tete as you seem disposed to 
 insist upon. This evasion, if known to the world, would do 
 him very little honor." 
 
 Washington marched first to Brunswick, and via Bergen, 
 Paramus and Haverstraw, to the western bank of the Hudson, 
 which he crossed at King's Ferry, whereupon he established 
 his head-quarters at Whiteplains. On this march from Bruns- 
 wick, as there were but ^qw major generals, and almost the 
 wdiole of the brigadiers were engaged at the court martial 
 against Lee, either as members or as witnesses, Washington 
 appointed Steuben to conduct Lee's division to the North 
 river. 
 
 The army arrived at Whiteplains on the 20th of July, 1778, 
 whereupon Washington, in the general orders of the 22d, 
 directed Steuben to give up his temporary command " and to 
 resume his office of inspector general." The commander-in-chief 
 changed the order of battle and incorporated Lee's, respec- 
 tively Steuben's, division in his own command. The latter went 
 direct to Washington and expressed his entire dissatisfaction. 
 The general-in-chief replied that he was sorry, but that the case 
 was such that all the brigadier generals would throw up their 
 * Steubeu MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 
U)0 L I F E O F 8 T E U B E X . 
 
 commission, if Steuben retained his command ; and that during 
 the entire march in Jersey the army had been commanded by 
 foreign generals, De Kalb, Lafayette, and Steuben ; that they 
 believed that Congress only intended his commission to be 
 that of inspector general, giving him the nominal rank of major 
 general, and that eight brigadiers having made this declara- 
 tion, he could find no other means of quieting them. Steuben 
 asked his leave to go to Congress, demand an explanation, 
 and get the duties of the inspectorship settled, the more so as 
 a Colonel De la Neuville, who had hitherto acted as inspector 
 general of General Gates's army, denied any subordination to 
 Steuben and positively refused to serve under him. He, there- 
 fore, thought it neither satisfactory to himself nor in the in- 
 terest of the army, to take again upon himself the responsi- 
 bilities of the office of inspector general, before it had been 
 positively regulated on fixed principles, and before he knew 
 how far his authority extended. He explained his views in 
 the following letter to the commander-in-chief, written at 
 Wright Mills, on the 24th of July, 1778.* 
 
 " I beg leave to refer you to my letter of the 18th of June, 
 on the subject of the inspection, and to your kind answer of the 
 1 8th, in which you granted me permission to go to York, and 
 desired me to lay before Congress such a plan as would be 
 most likely to obviate all the difficulties I was acquainted with, 
 and comprehend all the essential duties of my office. The 
 final determination of Congress, which appeared to me at that 
 time highly necessary, seems at present indispensable, before 
 I can resume, with satisfaction to myself, and benefit to the 
 army, the functions of my office. I foresee some difficulties in 
 the way, particularly with regard to the inspector appointed 
 by Congress to General Gates's army. That gentleman de- 
 clared to me, not long since, that he was by no means subject 
 to my orders or control in the exercise of his office. Tn short, 
 as I am willing to avoid every difficulty, and to labor unmo- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 167 
 
 lested for the good of the service, I beg your Excellency to 
 postpone my entering into the office of inspector general until 
 Congress have, after your opinions and directions about the 
 matter, finally pronounced." 
 
 It appears, however, that Steuben expected to be contin- 
 ued in the post which he temporarily tilled, and that he threat- 
 ened to give in his resignation if his wishes of an actual com- 
 mand in the line should not be granted. Washington writes, 
 in this respect, to Governeur Morris, on the same day on 
 which he received Steuben's letter :* 
 
 " Baron Steuben, I now find, is also wanting to quit his 
 inspectorship for a command in the line. This will be pro- 
 ductive of much discontent to the brigadiers. In a word, 
 although I think the baron an excellent officer, I do most de- 
 voutly wish that we had not a single foreiguer among us, ex- 
 cept the Marquis De Lafayette, who acts upon very different 
 principles from those which govern the rest." 
 
 The letter of the commander-in-chief to the president of 
 Congress is more explicit than the foregoing. " Baron Steu- 
 ben," says he,f " will also be in Philadelphia in a day or two. 
 The ostensible cause for his going, is to fix more certainly with 
 Congress his duties as inspector general, which is necessary. 
 However, I am disposed to believe that the real one is to ob- 
 tain an actual command in the line as a major general, and he 
 may urge a competition set up by Monsieur Neuville, for the 
 inspector's place on this side of the Hudson, and the denial 
 by him of the baron's authority, as an argument to effect it, 
 and for granting him the post, as a means of satisfying both. 
 I regard and I esteem the baron as an assiduous, intelligent 
 and experienced officer, but you may rely on it, if such is his 
 view, and he should accomplish it, we shall have the whole 
 line of brigadiers in confusion. They have said but little 
 about his rank as major general, as he has not had an actual 
 command over them ; but when we marched from Brunswick, 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 15. t Ibidem, p. 19. 
 
16& LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 as there were but few major generals, and almost the whole of 
 the brigadiers were engaged at the court martial, either as 
 members or witnesses, I appointed him, pro tempore, and so 
 expressed it in orders, to conduct a wing to the Xorth river. 
 This measure, though founded in evident necessity, and not 
 designed to produce to the brigadiers the least possible injury, 
 excited great uneasiness and has been the source of complaint. 
 The truth is, we have been very unhappy in a variety of ap- 
 pointments, and our own officers much injured. Their feel- 
 ings, from this cause, have become extremely sensitive, and 
 the most delicate touch gives them pain. I write as a friend, 
 and therefore with freedom. The baron's services in the line 
 he occupies can be important, and the testimonials he has al- 
 ready received are honorable. It will also be material to have 
 the point of the inspector generalship, now in question be- 
 tween him and Monsieur Neuville, adjusted. The appoint- 
 ment of the latter, it is said, calls him inspector general in the 
 army commanded by General Gates, and under this, as I am 
 informed, he denies any subordination to the baron, and will 
 not know him in his ' official capacity: There can be but one 
 head." 
 
 And in another, letter, addressed to the president of Con- 
 gress, which bears date of the 26th of July, 1778, Washington 
 refers again to the same object, as follows, viz. :* 
 
 " Baron Steuben will have the honor of delivering you this. 
 I am extremely sorry that this gentleman's situation and views 
 seem to have determined him to quit the service, in which he 
 has been heretofore and is capable still of being extensively 
 useful. Some discontents which arose among the officers, on 
 account of the powers with which the office was at first vested, 
 induced me to arrange the duties of it upon a plan different 
 from that on which it began. The moving state of the army 
 has, for some time past, in a great degree suspended the ex- 
 ercise of the inspectorship. When the troops marched from 
 * Washington's Writings, by Sparks, vi., p. 20. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 109 
 
 Brunswick, the scarcity of general officers occasioned my giv- 
 ing the baron a temporary command of a division during the 
 march. On our arrival near our present encampment, I in- 
 tended he should relinquish this charge and resume his former 
 office, for which purpose a general order was accordingly is- 
 sued. But I find that he is entirely disinclined to the meas- 
 ure, and resolves not to continue in the service unless he can 
 hold an actual command in the line. 
 
 " Justice concurring with inclination constrains me to tes- 
 tify that the baron has, in every instance, discharged the sev- 
 eral trusts reposed in him with great zeal and ability, so 
 as to give him the fullest title to my esteem as a brave, inde- 
 fatigable, judicious and experienced officer. I regret there 
 should be a necessity that his services should be lost to the 
 army ; at the same time I think it my duty explicitly to 
 observe to Congress that his desire of having an actual and 
 permanent command in the line can not be complied with 
 without wounding the feelings of a number of officers whose 
 rank and merits give them every claim to attention, and that 
 the doing of it would be productive of much dissatisfaction 
 and extensive ill consequences. This does not proceed from 
 any personal objections on the part of those officers against 
 the baron ; on the contrary, most of them whom I heard 
 speak of hftn, express a high sense of his military worth. It 
 proceeds from motives of another nature, which are too ob- 
 vious to need particular explanation, or may be summed up in 
 this, that they conceive such a step would be injurious to their 
 essential rights and just expectations. That this would be 
 their way of thinking upon the subject I am fully convinced, 
 from the effect which the temporary command given him, 
 even under circumstances so peculiar as those I have men- 
 tioned, produced. The strongest symptoms of discontent ap- 
 peared upon the occasion." 
 
 Alexander Hamilton, in a letter of the 26th of July, 1778, 
 to E. Boudinot, says about the same subject : 
 
170 LI V K OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " Baron Steuben will do me the honor to deliver you this. 
 He waits upon Congress in a temper whieh I very much regret 
 — discontented with his situation and almost resolved to quit 
 the service. You know we have all the best opinion of this 
 gentleman's military merit, and shall, of course, consider his 
 leaving the army as a loss to it. Whether any expedient can 
 be adopted to reconcile difficulties and retain him in the ser- 
 vice, at the same time that no disgust is given to others who 
 ought not to be disgusted, I can not certainly determine. But 
 I should conceive it would not be impossible to find such an 
 expedient. You have no doubt heard, while you were with 
 the army, of the obstacles thrown in his way by many of the 
 general officers., excited to it by Lee and Mifflin, as I believe, 
 in the execution of the inspectorship; and you have, it is equally 
 probable, heard of the arrangement the general was in a manner 
 obliged to adopt to silence the clamors which existed among 
 them, and place the inspectorate upon a footing more conform- 
 able to their ideas. The opposition the baron met with in this 
 case was one cause of dissatisfaction to him. In our march 
 from Brunswick, as the baron was unemployed, and there was 
 a great deficiency of general officers, notwithstanding the 
 ideas of the army are against giving a command in the line 
 to a person vested with an office similar to that held by him, 
 the general ventured to give the temporary command of a 
 division during the march, in consequence of which the com- 
 mand of a wing devolved upon him. This was a source of 
 offense to many. When we came near the Whiteplains the 
 general thanked him, in general orders, for his services, and 
 requested he would resume the exercise of his former office. 
 To this, on account of the opposition he had already met 
 with, and from the original -plan for the inspectorship being 
 mutilated, he discovered very great disinclination, and ex- 
 pressed a desire to preserve a command in the line, and from 
 some conversation we have had together, I apprehend lie 
 means to resign his present appointment if he can not have a 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 171 
 
 command suited to his rank annexed to it. You will see by 
 the general's letters what are his sentiments both with respect 
 to the duties of the inspectorship and the baron's holding a 
 command in the line. Far be it from me to wish to contra- 
 vene his views; you may be assured they can not be essentially 
 departed from without very serious inconvenience. But if 
 any thing could be done, consistent with them, to satisfy the 
 baron, it would be extremely desirable. Perhaps the principle 
 on which the general's arrangement is formed may be pre- 
 served, and at the same time the objects of the inspectorship 
 enlarged, so as to render it a more important employment. 
 Perhaps a resolution of Congress giving the baron a right to 
 be employed on detachments might, for the present, compen- 
 sate for the want of a permanent command in the line, and 
 might not- be disagreeable to the officers. You can sound him 
 on these heads. I need not caution you that this is a matter 
 of great delicacy and importance, and that every step taken 
 in it ought to be well considered."* 
 
 Just at this period, when Steuben insisted upon a perma- 
 nent command, a great jealousy and animosity existed among 
 the American officers against the promotion of foreigners, who 
 swarmed around Congress and were full of pretensions, and 
 often applied unfair means in order to be appointed and pro- 
 moted. It is to be inferred that Washington refers to them 
 in the following extract of the above-quoted letter to Gouver- 
 neur Morris: — 
 
 " They (the foreign officers) may be divided," says he 
 there, " into three classes, namely, mere adventurers without 
 recommendation or recommended by persons, who do not 
 know how else to dispose of or provide for them ; men of 
 great ambition, who would sacrifice every thing to promote 
 their own personal glory ; or mere spies, who are sent here 
 to obtain a thorough knowledge of our situation and circum- 
 
 * History of the Republic of the Unite, I States, as traced in the writings 
 of A. Hamilton, by John C. Hamilton, New York, 1S57 ; i., 488. 
 
172 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 stances., in the execution of which, I am persuaded, some of 
 them are faithful emissaries, as I do not believe a single mat- 
 ter escapes unnoticed or unadvised at a foreign court." 
 
 It is far more reasonable to suppose that the above ex- 
 pressions are the result of momentary irritation on the part 01 
 Washington, perfectly justified perhaps by the immense crowd 
 and the often exaggerated pretensions of the foreigners, than 
 to believe that they are his positive opinions and final judg- 
 ment. We think, however, that the above-quoted remarks 
 of Washington exactly express the opinions which a large 
 portion of the American people entertain on this subject still, 
 at the present time, and we therefore propose in this place to 
 examine more closely the position of the foreign officers in 
 the American army. 
 
 There is no doubt that the influx of 'foreign adventurers 
 was productive of considerable inconvenience, and that the 
 nuisance was felt by all officers. But this is not the point 
 which we seek to demonstrate. We desire to establish a few 
 leading facts in order to place the relations of the foreign offi- 
 cers to the revolutionary army in their true historical light. 
 
 In the first place, the fact is generally overlooked in this 
 country that the political spirit of the last century was much 
 more cosmopolitan than national. States and political forma 
 were constructed, not according to the limits or differences 
 which nature intended, but thrown together or torn asunder, 
 according to the will of the conqueror, without the least 
 regard to descent or relationship. The French absolutism 
 which, ever since the peace of Westphalia, had constituted 
 itself the arbiter of the destinies of Europe, was the ruling 
 spirit of the eighteenth century. In the same way that it 
 caused cities and parks to spring out of the desert to prove its 
 power and ascendancy over nature, in the same way did it 
 destroy every individual inclination, every independent char- 
 acter, uniting the most discordant elements in one artificial 
 mass. Politics and literature, art and fashions, taste and man- 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 173 
 
 ners, all came from France at that time, and the influence of 
 France throughout Europe was all powerful. The rulers and 
 the ruled, whether voluntarily or the reverse, bowed before 
 her, and by these means lost all national limits and distinc- 
 tions. The natural consequence of this system in political life 
 was the most complete submission to the will of the prince. 
 It was immaterial who obeyed, so long as somebody obeyed. 
 The standing armies, with their officers recruited from the 
 nobility, might, therefore, be composed of as diverse elements 
 as they pleased, so long as they were always willing to fulfill 
 blindly the commands of the prince. The sovereign felt him- 
 self so safe and unrestrained in the fullness of his power, that 
 he did not observe, much less fear, the variety of the nation- 
 alities of which his army w^as composed, and thus do we find, 
 in almost every European army of that time, representatives 
 of all the most important nations. The internal arrangement 
 of the armies was almost the same everywhere. The officers 
 had the same code of honor, and had ingeniously cultivated 
 among them the consciousness of that rank which made them 
 feel at home in every country in Europe. Germans served in 
 France, Frenchmen in Germany, Englishmen in Russia, and 
 Italians in Sweden, according as circumstances and inclination 
 led them. Lord Keith, a Scotchman, served successively in 
 Spain and Russia, and w r as killed at the battle of Hochkirch, a 
 field marshal in the service of Prussia. Loudon, an English- 
 man, and Browne, an Irishman, were Austrian field marshals 
 and commanders of armies. The famous Austrian commander, 
 Prince Eugene of Savoy, offered his services in the first instance 
 to the King of France. Count St. Germain, the French min- 
 ister of war, was for some time a Danish general. Frederick 
 the Great had special agents to find out the officers of distinc- 
 tion who traveled through his dominions, and to induce them 
 to enter his service. They fought for honor, glory and profit, 
 and had precisely the same claim to promotion as the native 
 officers. Nationality was no obstacle to success. When war, 
 
174 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 which was the regular business of the nobility, was at an end 
 in one country, they looked for another where it existed, and 
 it often happened that they found themselves in arms against 
 their native land. 
 
 When, therefore, at the outbreak of the American Revolu- 
 tion, the European officers applied to Congress, or its agents, 
 to obtain that active employment which they could not find 
 at home in consequence of the comparatively long peace, it 
 was only the application of a practice which had been recog- 
 nized in Europe during more than an entire century. The 
 greater number of them had been trained on the battle-fields 
 of Europe, and were a valuable acquisition for the United 
 States, whose officers, at the commencement of the war, were 
 lamentably deficient in military knowledge and experience. 
 Together with these old, experienced officers, came a number 
 of others, it is true, to enter the service of Congress, who were 
 young and inexperienced, for the most part enthusiastic French 
 noblemen, who were anxious to take vengeance on England 
 for her wrongs to France, and to realize their own somewhat 
 confused aspirations. Among these volunteer allies, it is natu- 
 ral to suppose that there were many bad, intriguing, useless, 
 and even suspicious individuals ; but on the whole, this influx 
 of foreign strength and talent was in the last degree advan- 
 tageous, nay, indispensable to the cause of the Revolution ; 
 because it not only gained by this means a number of able 
 combatants at home, but support and popularity abroad. 
 
 It shows a great amount of simplicity to expect that none 
 but superior men ought to have come here, or to have been 
 accepted by Congress. It betrays a complete ignorance of 
 the state of the country at that period, and of the financial 
 helplessness of Congress, to suppose that the expectation of 
 personal profit alone induced the European officers to come 
 over here. It is a gross injustice to make all the foreign offi- 
 cers responsible for the baseness of a Lee, a Conway, or a 
 Xeuville. What man of calm judgment would deny the abil- 
 
LIF B O F S T E U 15 E X . 175 
 
 ity and respectability of the American officers, because an Ar- 
 nold had risen to eminence among them, or because a Stephen 
 was one of their number ? 
 
 In politics and history, and particularly in times of great 
 crises and revolutions, conflicting contrasts are never strictly 
 classified according to the nations to which they belong. Thus, 
 we do not find here Americans alone on the side of freedom 
 and independence, nor foreigners exclusively on the side of 
 oppression and tyranny. The question of nationalities in the 
 American Revolution was clearly subservient to the principles 
 of the parties. And yet it but too often happened that dis- 
 trust of the foreign officers was readily entertained. Even 
 during the war, a nationality which had no real existence, 
 which was still to be created, was taken as the standard of a 
 man's utility and capability. People were envious of that 
 which they did not possess, which did not exist, and for the 
 attainment of which these very foreigners were assisting them 
 to do battle. The inward motive of this envy was not so 
 much the Anglo-Saxon exclusiveness or self-sufficiency ; not so 
 much the ambition of the native officers, as a mistrust of their 
 own capability, which they sought to silence by a great outcry 
 against foreigners. This was a proof that the officers and peo- 
 ple did not feel themselves sufficiently strong to master the 
 foreign element ; it is a tacit admission that they were dis- 
 united among themselves, and strong evidence that they were 
 more convinced of their weakness than of their strength ; 
 nay, that they did not believe in the absolute success of their 
 cause. 
 
 It is seldom that an army so weak in itself has received 
 such rich and powerful accessions of strength, with so small an 
 expenditure of time and money, as the Continental army ; 
 and seldom have friends in need, like these foreign officers, 
 been made to feel so bitterly the fortuitous circumstances of 
 their descent, or to have had it cast in their faces as a re- 
 proach. Washington, of course, could not charge the con- 
 
1*76 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 dition of affairs. He was obliged to make the best of circum- 
 stances as they presented themselves, to advance the interests 
 of all. He was obliged, at the worst, to decide against the 
 foreigners, in order to insure the cooperation of his own 
 countrymen. 
 
 It is nowhere distinctly stated what constituted the pre- 
 cise attributes of the foreigners. It is, however, to be inferred, 
 indirectly, that the Polanders, French and Germans were the 
 " foreigners." At all events, the English do not appear to be 
 counted among them. Gates — who was himself a foreigner, as 
 an Englishman — made the reproach to De Kalb, that he, being 
 a foreigner, did not properly understand the matter, i. e., the 
 loss of the battle of Camden. Hamilton, born in the West 
 Indies of a Scotch father, is never spoken of as a foreigner. 
 It is to be supposed, therefore, that whoever was not Anglo- 
 Saxon w T as considered foreign. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Steuben goes to Philadelphia. — Difficulty with Neuville settled. — Governeur 
 Morris's Letter. — New Plan for the Inspection. — Steuben's Letter to Wash- 
 ington relating to it. — His Memorial to Congress. — It contains two Ques- 
 tions : 1. What are the Motives which induce the States to establish an 
 Inspection in this Army?— 2. In what Manner can this Inspector be estab- 
 lished, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE GENIUS OF THE COUNTRY AND THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 of the Army? — The Adoption of Steuben's Plan deferred. — He is ordered 
 to go to Rhode Island to assist General Sullivan.— He comes too late.— 
 Steuben remains at Washington's Head-Quarters. — He exercises the Troops. 
 — Letters of Henry Laurens, Richard Peters, and J. Ternant. — The Estab- 
 lishment of the Inspection on a permanent Basis still deferred by Con- 
 gress. — Steuben goes himself to Philadelphia. — His Letter to Washington 
 
 REFERS TO THE CAUSES OF THE DELAY.— WASHINGTON'S ANSWER.— CONGRESS FI- 
 NALLY REGULATES THE INSPECTORSHIP BY KeSOLUTION OF THE 19tH OF FEBRUARY, 
 
 1779. — Steuben's Opinion concerning the Result of the last Campaign. 
 
 QTEUBEN was thoroughly impressed with the annoyances 
 *~) and disadvantages of his situation ; but he was sensible 
 enough to accommodate himself to circumstances. He went 
 to Philadelphia, but finding Congress not at all anxious to 
 comply with his wishes, he abandoned the idea of applying for 
 a regular command in the army, and contented himself with 
 preparing and laying before Congress a new plan for the per- 
 manent establishment of the inspectorship. 
 
 The difficulty in regard to Neuville was easily settled. " I 
 feel the full force of your reasoning," answered Gouverneur 
 Morris, on the 2d of August, 1778, to Washington.* "The 
 faith of Congress is, in some measure, plighted to Mr. De la 
 Neuville ; but it is not their interest that his brevet shall give 
 command. I will take care to get this expressed by a particu- 
 lar resolution. The baron has a claim from his merit to be 
 
 * Life of Gouverneur Morris, by Jared Sparks. Boston, 1832. Vol. i., 
 p. 1U. 
 
 8* 
 
1 • O LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 noticed, but I never will consent to grant what I am told lie 
 requests, and I think Congress will not. At least, they will 
 not if I can help it." 
 
 Congress, consequently, adopted Washington's opinion, 
 that " there can be but one head,"* and pronounced in favor 
 of Steuben's superiority in rank. Neuville, thus superseded, 
 and offended by this decision, sent in his resignation, and in 
 the course of the same year returned to France. 
 
 It first appeared that Congress at last w r as willing to regu- 
 late, for the benefit of the army, the duties of that important 
 office, and to comply with Steuben's wishes in regard to its 
 establishment. 
 
 " Immediately after my arrival here," he writes to Wash- 
 ington, in August, 1778, f " Congress were pleased to appoint 
 a committee to hear my proposals. The committee consists 
 of General Reed, Messrs. Boudinot and Chase, and met for 
 the first time on Saturday, the 8th instant. In the meantime, 
 I am preparing a plan for the establishment of an inspection ; 
 and as it is my wish, it shall be my endeavor, to form it on 
 such principles as may be agreeable to your Excellency and 
 the army in general, and, at the same time, comprehend all the 
 essential duties of the office. In preparing this plan, the good 
 of the service is my only motive ; all personal views will be 
 laid aside, and the duties of inspector general laid down and 
 defined, not for myself, but for any person Congress may think 
 proper to appoint to that office. The plan being fixed and 
 approved by Congress, I shall, before it receives their final 
 ratification, insist on its being sent to your Excellency for your 
 opinion thereon ; and I beg you, my dear general, that, lay- 
 ing aside any partiality in my favor, you will freely make any 
 observation on it you may think proper." 
 
 " It is absolutely necessary," said Steuben, in his memo- 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 20. 
 
 | Department of State MS. Papers, Washington, vol. xxv., 306. 
 
LIFE OF STEU1IEX. 1*79 
 
 rial of the 7th of August, 1778, respecting the inspectorship,* 
 "that the duties of the office of an inspector general should for 
 the future be distinctly defined, in doing which it appears 
 necessary to consider, 
 
 " 1st. What are the motives which induce the States to 
 establish an inspection in the. army ? 
 
 " 2d. In what manner can this inspector be established, in 
 conformity with the genius of the country and the constitu- 
 tion of the army ? 
 
 " The absolute necessity of uniformity in an army is so 
 well known that it needs no argument. To effect this, a mili- 
 tary code, however well it might be written, would not of it- 
 self be sufficient. The rules there laid down would be dif- 
 ferently explained and executed. Disputes would arise and 
 uniformity never be established. It is therefore necessary that 
 some person should be appointed to preside over the execu- 
 tion of these rules, and this is the duty of the inspector gen- 
 eral. 
 
 " The commander-in-chief of an army has it not in his 
 power to attend, in so particular a manner, to the details of 
 the different departments. The office of inspector general 
 should be confided to some intelligent general officer, well 
 versed iu the theory and practice of maneuvering troops, the 
 composition and formation of the different corps of an army, 
 the customs of different armies, the necessary equipment of 
 the troops, all which should come under his notice. A regu- 
 lar system in all these matters, arming, clothing and paying 
 the troops, is indispensably necessary. One or more regi- 
 ments better clothed than the rest, will create discontent and 
 grumbling, and often cause a revolt in an army, all which will 
 be prevented by the appointment of an inspector general, 
 whose duty it is to superintend these matters. 
 
 " Discipline and order should also be as regular and equally 
 uniform in an army as exercise and maneuvers. A single reg- 
 * Steuben MS. Paper.s, TItica. 
 
180 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 iment, relaxed in discipline, will cause disorder in a whole 
 army. To prevent this is also the duty of the inspector gen- 
 eral. 
 
 " Uniformity in the camp duties and in the formation of 
 the troops, are things not only necessary but indispensable, 
 and this uniformity should be introduced and maintained by 
 the inspector general. 
 
 u It remains then to be ascertained in what manner this 
 inspection shall be established. Neither the French nor the 
 Prussian arrangements can be adopted without alteration, in 
 a free State where the troops of the different provinces con- 
 sider themselves as allies, united to defend the same cause. In 
 Prussia the inspector general is properly the king's commis- 
 sary. He receives all his orders from the king, and is only ac- 
 countable to him for his actions. In France he is the commis- 
 sary of the minister at war, whose orders he receives and sees 
 executed ; but in America, where we have neither king nor 
 minister, the question is, of whom the inspector general is to 
 receive his orders, and to whom he is answerable for the exe- 
 cution of the same. 
 
 " Congress have established a board of war, and I imag- 
 ine that the inspector general should be under the immediate 
 control of that board, w T ho are themselves answ T erable to Con- 
 gress. The inspector general should then be answerable to 
 the board of war, and each colonel to the inspector general. 
 In that manner he will be the commissary of the States, and 
 as such, every regiment, corps or particular officer is obliged 
 to give him an account of every thing that pertains to his de- 
 partment. 
 
 "It may be asked, how far the inspector general is to 
 be subject to the commander-in-chief. I answer, as far as 
 the general of artillery, the quarter-master general, or any 
 other general in the army, and that, although he were au- 
 thorized by the board of war, he should not have it in his 
 power to make the slightest alteration, without the con- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 181 
 
 sent of the commander-in-chief; and in case he has any ob- 
 jection to what the inspector general wants to alter or to in- 
 troduce, the execution of it mast be suspended until further 
 order from Congress. But no person in the army, besides the 
 commander-in-chief, has a right to give orders to the inspector 
 general relative to his department. The military rank in the 
 army must not be confounded with his rank of inspector. 
 
 " It is desirable, for several reasons, that no foreigner 
 should ever be intrusted with the post of inspector general, 
 but that employment be always in the hands of a general offi- 
 cer who is a native of this country. But if Congress think fit 
 to intrust it to a foreigner, I propose that at the same time 
 a Continental brigadier be joined with him in the office, who, 
 acting in conjunction with him, may acquaint himself with the 
 arrangements and duties of that department, and one day be- 
 come himself the inspector general. 
 
 " In the arrangement which I made, pro tempore, there 
 were only four lieutenant colonels appointed as sub-inspectors. 
 I propose to preserve the same number for the infantry, but 
 instead of being distributed among the several divisions of the 
 army, I wish that they should have the inspection of the 
 troops of the different States, i. e., that each colonel inspector 
 might have the troops of three or four States under his in- 
 spection. A colonel would also be necessary for the cav- 
 alry, and another for the light troops, all receiving their in- 
 structions, relative to the discipline, order and exercise, from 
 the inspector general. 
 
 " The appointment of the brigade inspectors has not quite 
 answered my wishes. I requested a major out of each bri- 
 gade, instead of which I was given a great number of captains, 
 some majors, and even some colonels, to fill that post; how- 
 ever, all of them officers of merit, and to whom, in a great 
 measure, is due the progress our army has already made in 
 maneuvering. I think it, however, more proper that this 
 function should be joined to that of the majors of brigade, if 
 
1 82 L I F E F S T B D B B X . 
 
 Congress think fit to do with regard to the latter what 
 Marshal Broglio did in the French army last war, namely, 
 that one of the senior majors be chosen from each brigade 
 under the appellation of majors of brigade. His business will 
 be to collect the returns, lists, etc., of all the battalions of his 
 brigade. He is to keep the details and take care of the for- 
 mation of all the guards, detachments, etc. ; all the orders to 
 be directed to him, and he is to impart them to the brigadiers 
 and colonels, and by the adjutant to all the officers of his 
 brigade. He is to inspect the police of the camp, the disci- 
 pline, and the order of the service ; he is to be always in 
 camp and have his orders executed through the battalion 
 adjutants; he is to do no duty in the line except going with 
 detachments against the enemy. 
 
 "But then it would be necessary for the brigadiers to have 
 an aid-de-camp with the rank and pay of first lieutenant, to be 
 allowed two horses and a servant, and consequently entitled 
 to two rations for man and horse, and to be under the im- 
 mediate orders of his brigadier general. 
 
 "The rank of the inspector general and of the officer 
 joined with him in the office, should always be determined by 
 Congress. I think that the more his functions are important, 
 the more he should be entitled to a respectable rank. In 
 France and Prussia the inspectors general are senior lieutenant 
 generals, who, besides their authority as inspectors, take, in 
 their turn, the command, and enjoy the prerogatives to which 
 their rank entitles them, and I doubt whether any officer in the 
 service would accept of the office of inspector general, if that 
 office deprived him of his command in the line, and of ever 
 having an opportunity of distinguishing himself against the 
 enemy. 
 
 "The colonels appointed as sub-inspectors preserve their 
 command and rank in the line, but when they are acting as 
 inspectors they are not to be considered according to the rank 
 they hold, but to the functions they are performing as inspect- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBE N . ] 83 
 
 ors .appointed by the States, and authorized to make all the in- 
 quiries relating to their department. Thus no colonel is to 
 make any objection to his regiment being inspected by a 
 colonel younger than himself; it is not the colonel but the in- 
 spector who is performing that duty. In the performance of 
 his office the inspector is the representative of the States, and 
 is to be respected as such without any regard to his regular 
 rank in the army. In France, the colonels of regiments are 
 obliged to have their regiments inspected, not only by the 
 inspector general, but by the commissaries of war, who have 
 not even a military rank in the army. In Prussia, whole 
 garrisons are inspected by inferior officers when acting as 
 inspectors. 
 
 " No inspector is to inspect his own regiment. 
 
 " The department of the inspector being thus established, 
 approved of and authorized by Congress, it remains to be 
 examined in what manner the inspector general, the general 
 officer joined with him in the office, and the colonel inspectors 
 are to exercise their functions. Congress has already issued 
 several resolutions which may serve as instructions to the in- 
 spector general ; but to those instructions, and the duties of 
 the inspectors in foreign service, our circumstances require 
 several things to be added which are of the greatest impor- 
 tance : — 
 
 " 1st. In foreign services the regiments are already formed, 
 there is nothing to do but to keep them complete, while in our 
 army, on the contrary, the greatest part are not yet formed, 
 or rather have not yet been completed. 
 
 " 2d. In foreign services there is an established military 
 code, and it is by that code the inspector judges whether the 
 troops are in order or not, while in our service that code is yet 
 to be written, and it is the inspector general's duty to com- 
 pose it and submit it to Congress to have it approved and 
 authorized. 
 
 "3d. In foreign services the inspector general is to keep 
 
184 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the troops complete in arms and accouterments, while in our 
 army several regiments are not yet completely equipped. 
 
 "Among these important objects the formation of regi- 
 ments appears to me the most essential. Some of our regi- 
 ments are almost complete, some want half their men, and 
 some have scarce an eighth of their complement, which is the 
 cause of the greatest disorder in the ad Ministration, as well as 
 in the maneuvers and service in general. It is therefore 
 necessary that the inspector general begin by making an 
 exact review of every regiment in particular, and to make a 
 report of his inspection, not only to the commander-in-chief, 
 but to the board of war. In that review the inspector gen- 
 eral is to examine, 1st, the number and condition of the men 
 of each regiment ; 2d, of the arms; 3d, of the clothing, and 
 4th, of the tents and other camp equipage. Each colonel is 
 to be obliged to give the inspector general exact returns per- 
 taining to all these matters. He afterwards sends his report 
 to the board of war, and at the same time advises the several 
 departments, that the regiments may be provided with what- 
 ever they may require. 
 
 " I have already hinted that it would be convenient to ap- 
 point the colonels inspectors to the troops of the several States, 
 and I think it would also be convenient that they should keep 
 up a correspondence with the Legislature of the State to whose 
 troops they are attached, as much for the purpose of recruit- 
 ing the regiments as to provide them with the necessary arms 
 and equipment. 
 
 "At the first review, the inspector general must take exact 
 information as to the effective men, not only of those present 
 with the regiment, but of all the rank and file who are not 
 otherwise employed but in the service of the guards and the 
 line. He must examine every man singly, in order to know 
 whether he has received accurate returns of the regiment, and 
 he must examine the arms, accouterments and ammunition of 
 each soldier. He must himself draw up the form for all the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 185 
 
 returns he requires, and when he finds fault in the administra- 
 tion, discipline, or any other branch of the service, he must 
 notify the commander-in-chief of his complaint, and propose a 
 way to remedy it. 
 
 " The inspector general is to receive a collection of all the 
 military regulations hitherto given, to add to them those he 
 judges necessary, and arrange them in order, after which he 
 is to submit them to the judgment and approbation of the 
 board of war, or other persons appointed by Congress, and 
 then they should be printed as a military code. The inspector 
 general, and the officers under his orders, are to edit that work, 
 and at the beginning of the next campaign, part of the regu- 
 lations are to be printed and distributed among the officers ot 
 the army. 
 
 " The exercise and maneuvering of the troops will always 
 be under the direction of the inspector general ; all the ma- 
 neuvers will be introduced by him, and the old ones executed 
 according to the established principles. In order to maintain 
 so necessary a uniformity, the colonels inspectors will cause 
 every day a brigade to exercise in their presence ; they will 
 have two or more battalions formed out of it. They will di- 
 rect the exercise or maneuver, and have it executed by the 
 colonels of the regiments, though those colonels might be 
 senior to them in the army. It is under these circumstances 
 particularly, that the colonels inspectors must be respected as 
 inspectors, not as colonels. When the inspector is not pres- 
 ent, the brigadier, or, in his absence, the senior colonel is to 
 order the exercise and the maneuvers, which they are at 
 liberty to vary, as the circumstances and the ground require, 
 without, however, changing any thing in the principles of the 
 execution. When a maneuver is to be performed with several 
 brigades, the inspector general is to present his plans to the 
 commander-in-chief. The brigades and the battalions that are 
 to execute the maneuver, are to be appointed in general or- 
 ders, and are to receive their instructions from the inspector 
 general. 
 
180 LIFH OF STEUBEX. 
 
 " In camp or garrison, where there is a parade of the 
 guards, the inspector is to cause his troops to perform two 
 evolutions ; the adjutant general or town major must for that 
 purpose assemble the troops before guard-mounting, and then 
 the inspector orders the exercise. But as soon as the drums 
 beat 'the general,' the inspector leaves the command to the 
 general of the day, in camp, and in a garrison, to the com- 
 mandant of the place. 
 
 " Such, in my opinion, should be the functions of an in- 
 spector general in America, which I submit to the judgment 
 of the honorable Congress, by whose decisions I shall always 
 glory to abide." 
 
 But the final ratification of Steuben's plan was a^ain post- 
 poned ; the matter was dropped, and not taken up again until 
 February, 1779. 
 
 Steuben had only been two weeks in Philadelphia, when 
 the news arrived that the French fleet, under Count d'Estaing, 
 had been forced to abandon the project against Rhode Island, 
 and that General Sullivan's position there was critical. On 
 the evening of the 28th of August that this intelligence reached 
 Philadelphia, Congress resolved,* " that Baron Steuben be 
 requested forthwith to repair to Rhode Island, and give his 
 advice and assistance to Major General Sullivan and the army 
 under his command." Steuben started before daybreak on 
 the following day. 
 
 However flattering this resolution of Congress may ap- 
 pear as an acknowledgment of Steuben's military talents, it 
 was, in fact, the best way to get rid of his pressing demands 
 for the present, and to evade a final decision in regard to the 
 inspectorship. At all events, its passage was too late, as, on 
 arriving at Whiteplains on the third day, General Washing- 
 ton informed Steuben that General Sullivan had already ef- 
 fected his retreat, and that he was safe at Providence. 
 
 Washington approved of Steuben's not going further unless 
 * Journals of Congress, C. Dnnlap's edition, iv.. 502. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 187 
 
 the enemy should make some enterprise against Sullivan's corps. 
 As this did not happen, Steuben sent the resolution of Congress 
 to General Sullivan, with an account of the reasons which pre- 
 vented him at this time from being under his orders. In the 
 latter part of September the army retired from Whiteplains 
 to Fredericksburg, and thence to their winter quarters in the 
 Highlands. 
 
 In pursuance of the desire of the commander-in-chief he 
 there began to exercise the troops, and directed his sub-inspect- 
 ors to maneuver with the brigades upon the principles and 
 regulations he had prescribed. While discharging this duty 
 he waited at head-quarters until Congress should adopt the 
 plan he had drawn for the establishment of the inspection. 
 Some prominent members, and even its president, took a great 
 interest in bringing it forward ; but the general business of 
 Congress, which was deemed more pressing and important, 
 caused its consideration to be postponed from day to day. 
 
 " I think it fortunate for yourself," writes Henry Laurens, 
 president of Congress, on the 17th of September, 1778, to 
 Steuben,* " that you did not proceed to Rhode Island ; it 
 w r ould have been on every account a disagreeable embassy. 
 The commander-in-chief having returned to Congress the re- 
 port of the committee on the inspectorate with his Excellen- 
 cy's remarks and observations, the whole is recommitted and 
 will probably be soon reported on ; but the House is so over- 
 charged with business as renders it impossible even to guess 
 at a time when it will be taken under consideration and con- 
 cluded." 
 
 " I hope to hear of your being" — such are the words of 
 Richard Peters, in a letter to Steuben, dated the 16th of Septem- 
 ber, 1778f — "more agreeably circumstanced than formerly as to 
 your business at camp. It is an obvious matter that our army 
 are in want of discipline, although their improvements in this 
 respect are amazing ; and as the men are docile and capable, 
 * Steuben MS. Papera, vol. i. \ Ibidem. 
 
188 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 it is a pity that any obstacles should be thrown in the way of 
 their receiving instruction. While you are here, I could wish 
 to make every use of your willingness to serve this country, 
 therefore, I wish to see the inspection in its full vigor, for the 
 greater our discipline, the sooner we shall discomfit our ene- 
 mies and be at peace, which to me is the most desirable of all 
 objects, except my liberty and the independence of my coun- 
 try. When you have ceased to be serviceable as a soldier, 
 you shall sit down w 7 ith us and enjoy the pleasing calm which 
 will succeed the present tempest. Apropos, we Will and must 
 take possession of the Bermudas, and you shall be governor." 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Ternant, who, on the 25th of Septem- 
 ber, having been appointed inspector of the troops in South 
 Carolina and Georgia, spent the end of that month in Phila- 
 delphia, and had daily intercourse with the board of war, posi- 
 tively expected the ultimate approbation and acceptance of 
 Steuben's plan. " Although it has not yet received the sanction 
 of Congress," says he,* " it nevertheless attracts and fixes the 
 attention of that body, and I dare assure you, that in spite of 
 all opposition the final establishment will be carried, the more 
 so as Congress just received the plan revised by Washington." 
 
 Congress, however, could not arrive at a resolution, and 
 wasting month after month, referred the whole question to a 
 committee. Steuben made the best of this bad bargain, and 
 on the 4th of October, 1778, wrote from Quakerhill to Pres- 
 ident Reed, chairman of that committee :f 
 
 " Congress could not have intrusted the plan I have pro- 
 posed, into better hands than those of the committee of ar- 
 rangements, especially when presided over by a gentleman of 
 your merit, and for whom I entertain the highest esteem. It is 
 an unhappy circumstance that this committee being so dispersed 
 causes a delay in an arrangement which I thought very neces- 
 sary for the good of our service, and in which is to be found 
 the basis of all the arrangements that are to be made — I mean 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. f Ibidem, vol. iv. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 189 
 
 the formation of our regiments to an equal number. When 
 this is neglected, I do not see the possibility of ever establish- 
 ing good order, whether in administration, service, exercise, 
 or maneuvers of the troops. Being of no use at the army, 
 my presence would perhaps be more necessary near the per- 
 sons appointed for the arrangements I wish might be settled ; 
 but as experience teaches mo that offered services do not 
 always prove acceptable, I shall wait with a respectful silence 
 for the orders of Congress, which are to regulate all my ac- 
 tions." 
 
 Notwithstanding, nothing was done during October and 
 November ; and when the army retired into winter quarters, 
 Steuben went himself to Philadelphia. Obliged to give his 
 instructions in an extempore manner, and even to adapt the 
 plan of his operations to the circumstances rather than to his 
 particular system, he proposed to put in order those instruc- 
 tions he had already perfected, to add those which he thought 
 indispensably necessary, and to write, under the direction of 
 the commander-in-chief, a code of military regulations, to in- 
 troduce a thorough uniformity in the service. The general 
 approved of his design, and in order to facilitate its execution, 
 ordered him to repair to Philadelphia, where he might be at 
 hand to have the necessary information from the board of war. 
 Steuben endeavored at the same time to get his office finally 
 arranged upon a more definite and permanent footing. He 
 let no opportunity pass to call the attention of Congress to 
 this — as it justly appeared to him — indispensable business, and 
 to the importance of its settlement. It is not difficult to guess 
 at the motives which predominated in that body and pre- 
 vented them from deciding upon a satisfactory solution of the 
 question. Steuben partly touches on them in the following 
 letter which, on the 28th of November, 1778, he addressed to 
 the president of Congress :* 
 
 " * * * At the same time, I lay before them the plan I 
 * Stoubcn MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
190 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 propose to follow in my operations relative to the department 
 they have been pleased to confide to me, and which, if ap- 
 proved by them, I shall execute with the greatest exactness. 
 Your Excellency will risk nothing in answering tor me, that 
 on my side I shall surmount every obstacle I meet with. 
 Those which may affect my sanity, rank, authority, command, 
 or any other distinction, will be the last sacrifice I shall make 
 to the good of the service. I am, sir, prepared to experience 
 the fate of foreigners ; in every state, in every army, already 
 have I experienced it. Envy raised its standard in the mo- 
 ment when our troops were beginning to make some progress ; 
 the interruption it gave to my projects, was the only chagrin 
 it caused me. To their criticisms and remarks I paid not the 
 least attention ; it is much easier to criticise than to execute, 
 and their remarks were beneath my notice. 
 
 "I willingly allow, that what few things I have hitherto 
 shown, the essentials are so simple that each major could 
 perhaps have introduced them. Notwithstanding the num- 
 ber of foreign officers of merit who arrived long before me, I 
 found it left for me. Be it as it .may, whatever military talents 
 I may possess, they are dedicated to the service of this coun- 
 try, to which I join a zeal for which I can answer, and I be- 
 lieve I can offer no more." 
 
 The letter which Steuben at this time wrote to Washing- 
 ton, shows, on the one hand, his uncertainty, and the very 
 slender hopes he entertained in regard to the final regulation 
 of the inspectorship, and proves, on the other hand, the inde- 
 cision of Congress in the matter. 
 
 " On my arrival in this city," says he, dated Philadelphia on 
 the 6th of December 1778,* " I delivered your Excellency's let- 
 ter to Mr. President Laurens, accompanied with one from . . . 
 acquainting Congress in what manner I intended to proceed 
 in the business. I afterwards, in another letter, requested to 
 know to whom I was to apply for the necessary information on 
 * Stcubou iiS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 191 
 
 the subject. To these letters I have had no other reply than 
 a resolve, directing the board of war to furnish me with every 
 information I may want on the subject. I have not hitherto 
 been able to get a right of the plan proposed by a former 
 committee, and to which your Excellency subjoined your re- 
 marks, nor can I get the least information in whose hands that 
 plan is. All I can learn from Mr. President Reed, who pre- 
 sided in that committee, is, that that plan, though founded on 
 the one I proposed, diifered from it materially, and that the 
 authority of the inspector general was therein much more ex- 
 tended than I proposed, and when I can procure the other I 
 shall see wherein we have differed. However it may be, I re- 
 peat that I shall, without the least deviation, conform to any 
 remarks your Excellency has been pleased to make. I shall 
 endeavor to convince your Excellency and the whole army, 
 that nothing but the good of the service, and not any personal 
 views, shall direct my actions. The American soldier under 
 my orders is, at the same time, a member of the republic I 
 serve. If every officer and soldier would consider me in the 
 same light, it seems to me many obstacles would be avoided. 
 With respect to your Excellency, I again beg you to consider 
 me as an instrument in your hands for the good of the army 
 which has the honor to serve under your orders." 
 
 U I had the honor," answered Washington, on the 19th of 
 December,* 1778, "of receiving, a few days since, your letter 
 of the 6th instant. I am much obliged to you for the polite as- 
 surances you give ; and, in my turn, I beg you will believe 
 that when the institution, at the head of which you have been 
 placed, can once be established on a footing mutually agree- 
 able to you and to the army, to which end all the measures 
 I have taken in it have been directed, I shall be happy to 
 give you every support in my power, to facilitate your opera- 
 tions. In doing this, I shall equally consult the personal con- 
 sideration I have for you, and the improvement and benefit of 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 14.1. 
 
102 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the army, which, I am persuaded, will be greatly promoted by 
 a full exertion of the talents, experience, and activity of which 
 you have already given the most satisfactory proof." 
 
 " I am sorry," adds Alexander Hamilton, Washington's 
 aid-de-camp,* " that your business does not seem to make so 
 speedy a progress as we all wish, but I hope it will soon come 
 to a satisfactory termination. I wish you to be in a situation 
 to employ yourself usefully and agreeably, and to contribute 
 to giving our military constitution that order and perfection it 
 certainly wants." 
 
 All the good wishes of Washington, Hamilton, Laurens, 
 and others, were, however, ineffectual, and the greater part 
 of the winter passed before Congress adopted Steuben's plan 
 and views. On the 18th of February, 1119, it took into con- 
 sideration the reports of the committee, consisting of Mr. M. 
 Smith, Mr. Ellery, Mr. Ellsworth, Mr. Paca, and Mr. T. Ad- 
 ams, appointed to confer with the commander-in-chief; and, 
 thereupon, agreed to the following plan for the department 
 of inspector general :f 
 
 "Resolved, That there be an inspector general to the ar- 
 mies of the United States, with the rank of major general, 
 who, in all future appointments, shall be taken from the line 
 of major generals : 
 
 " That the duty of the inspector general shall principally 
 consist in forming a system of regulations for the exercise of 
 the troops in the manual evolutions and maneuvers, for the 
 service of guards and detachments, and for camp and garrison 
 duty: 
 
 "That the inspector general, and his assistants, shall review 
 the troops at such times and places, and receive such returns 
 for that purpose, as the commander-in-chief; or commanding 
 officer in a detachment, shall direct; at which reviews, he or 
 they shall inspect the number and condition of the men, their 
 discipline and exercise, the state of their arms, accouterments 
 * Alexander Hamilton's Works, i., 12. f Journals of Congress, v., 5G-58. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 193 
 
 and clothes ; observing what of these articles have been lost 
 or spoiled since the last review, and, as nearly as possible, by 
 what means ; reporting the same, with the deficiencies and neg- 
 lects, to the commander-in-chief, or the commanding officer of 
 a detachment, and to the board of war : 
 
 " That all new maneuvers shall be introduced by the in- 
 spector general, and all old ones performed according to the 
 established principles, under his superintendency ; but he shall 
 not introduce or practice any regulations relative to the ob- 
 jects of his department, save such as are made and estab- 
 lished in manner following : all regulations whatsoever to be 
 finally approved and established by Congress. But the exi- 
 gence of the service requiring it, temporary ones may, from 
 time to time, be introduced by the inspector general, with the 
 approbation of the commander-in-chief. These regulations to 
 be communicated to the army through the adjutant general, 
 and to be transmitted to the board of war with all convenient 
 dispatch, that, being examined and reported by them to Con- 
 gress, they may be rejected, altered, amended, or confirmed, 
 as Congress shall deem proper : 
 
 "That there be as many sub-inspectors as the commander- 
 in-chief, or commanding officer in a detachment, shall, on con- 
 sideration of the strength and situation of the army, from 
 time to time deem necessary, to be taken from the line of lieu- 
 tenant colonels, and to receive their instructions relative to 
 the department from the inspector general : 
 
 "That there be one brigade inspector to each brigade, 
 who shall be one of the majors in the brigade, and that the 
 office of brigade inspector shall in future be annexed to that 
 of major of brigade. He shall accordingly keep a roster of 
 the battalions of his brigade, regulate the details, and take 
 care of the formation and march of all guards, detachments, 
 etc., from the brigade. He is to receive the general orders 
 and communicate them to the commanding officers of the 
 brigade and regiments, and through the adjutants to all the 
 
 9 
 
194 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 officers of the brigade. He is, so far as concerns his brigade, 
 to inspect the police of the camp, the discipline and order of 
 the service. In time of action he is to assist in executing the 
 necessary maneuvers of the brigade, according to the orders 
 of the brigadier or officer commanding. He is to do no duty 
 in the line : 
 
 " That all the officers of the inspectorship, having appoint- 
 ments in the line, shall retain their rights of command, suc- 
 cession, and promotion, in the same manner as if they had not 
 assumed the office. But as the duties of this department are 
 sufficient to employ their whole time, they are to suspend the 
 exercise of their respective commands, except on particular 
 occasions, when the commander-in-chief, or commanding of- 
 ficer in a detachment may deem it necessary to invest them 
 with command. They are to be exempted from all common 
 camp and garrison duty, that they may attend the more 
 carefully to those of the inspector, and in time of action they 
 are to be employed in assisting in the execution of the field 
 maneuvers : 
 
 " That the inspector general, so far as relates to the in- 
 spection of the army, be subject to the orders of Congress, 
 the board of war, and the commander-in-chief only ; but the 
 sub-inspectors shall also be subject to the officers commanding 
 the divisions and brigades to which they are attached on the 
 principles herein established : 
 
 " That there be allowed to the inspector general, in con- 
 sideration of the extraordinary expenses which attend the exe- 
 cution of his office, eighty-four dollars per month, in addition 
 to the pay and rations of a major general^ heretofore provided."* 
 
 At the session of the 29th of March, 1779, "a letter of 
 the 25th, from Baron Steuben, was read, accompanied with 
 a system of regulations for the infantry of the United States ; 
 also a letter from the board of war, representing that Baron 
 Steuben, inspector general, has funned a system of exer- 
 * Journals of Congress, session of the 18th of February, 1? 19. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 195 
 
 cise and discipline for the infantry of the United States; 
 that the same has been submitted to the inspection of the 
 commander-in-chief, and his remarks thereon and amend- 
 ments incorporated in the work ; that it has been examined 
 with attention by the board, and is highly approved, as being 
 calculated to produce important advantages to the States, and 
 therefore praying ' that it may receive the sanction of Con- 
 gress and be committed to the press ;' whereupon, 
 
 " Congress passed the following order, to be prefixed to 
 the said regulations for the order and discipline of the troops 
 of the United States : — 
 
 " Congress judging it of the greatest importance to pre- 
 scribe some invariable rules for the order and discipline of the 
 troops, especially for the purpose of introducing a uniformity 
 in their formation and maneuvers, and in the service of the 
 camp: 
 
 " Ordered, That the following regulations be observed by 
 all the troops of the United States, and that all general and 
 other officers cause the same to be executed with all possible 
 exactness. 
 
 " Ordered, That the board of war cause as many copies 
 thereof to be printed, as they shall deem requisite for the use 
 of the troops." 
 
 Before we pass from the consideration of the events of the 
 year 1778, it may not be amiss to give Steuben's opinion con- 
 cerning the result of the last campaign, as detailed by him in 
 an interesting letter, which he wrote at the end of that year, 
 to James Lowell, chairman of the Committee of foreign af- 
 fairs.* 
 
 "If I have not answered the two letters which I had the 
 honor to receive from you, it was in order not to trouble you 
 with a correspondence less interesting than the affairs with 
 which you are charged. All that I can say, dear sir, in regard 
 to the inspection, is that I shall respectfully wait for the de- 
 * Steuben MS. Paper?, vol. xiii. 
 
i 9(3 LIFE OF STEUBEN, 
 
 cision of Congress in this matter. When I made application 
 for various arrangements which I thought necessary for the 
 good of the army, I have fulfilled a self-imposed duty. Should 
 the said arrangements not be carried out, then I have eased 
 my mind, and shall be justified in the eyes of every military 
 man. Let us, however, leave this matter, and look for a 
 moment on the actual situation of our war operations. 
 
 " We have very fortunately escaped a serious danger at 
 Rhode Island. The enemy can not boast of having gained the 
 least advantage over the allied fleet, nor over our army. A 
 change in the wind has favored him and caused the failure of 
 our plan. As it is but fair to render justice even to our 
 enemies, we ought to admit that the English and the wind 
 have made us miss two highly important strokes — that on the 
 Delaware because the French fleet did not arrive a little 
 earlier, and that on Rhode Island. If, when I made war 
 under the King of Prussia, we had escaped two such strokes 
 in one campaign, we should have called that a successful cam- 
 paign. Here we are now on the defensive, a species of war- 
 fare extremely difficult and oftentimes dangerous. We have 
 two objects to attain equally important — to retain possession of 
 the North river, and to bring our main force close to Boston. 
 
 " In case the enemy should undertake any operation, these 
 two objects are very far distant from one another. Our land 
 force, such as it is, must be ready to resist, at the right or the 
 left, wherever the enemy thinks proper to attack us. Now 
 what will become of that unhappy province, the Jerseys, 
 w r hich is actually menaced with devastation and fire by the 
 enemy ? Lord Cornwallis has entered it Avith a body of prob-. 
 ably six thousand men. Will Lord Stirling be able to oppose 
 such a force with his three brigades, the number of which I 
 will not mention, so as not to annoy you ? Perhaps you will 
 say, 'The militia of New Jersey.' But is the militia still an- 
 imated by the same spirit as it was when America had no 
 regular army? Now, allowing for the said three brigades, 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 197 
 
 and two more at Providence, look at this side of the river 
 and tell me what other forces have we there ? Do not be 
 deluded, sir, by the rolls of our regiments or brigades ; de- 
 duct therefrom, unhesitatingly, one third for those who, either 
 for the want of clothing or shoes, are unable to make a single 
 march in the present season of the year, when the nights are 
 already cold and wet. I am not afraid to tell you the truth, 
 disagreeable as it is ; no, on the contrary, I consider it my 
 duty to show you the actual situation of our army. I beg 
 you rather, sir, to examine attentively the land forces which 
 the enemy possesses on this continent ; look at their number, 
 their nourishment, clothing, arms, order and discipline ; see 
 how much we are inferior, in all these respects, to them, and 
 then answer me if our game is not a very hazardous one ? 
 
 " How long will our country continue to stake her fortune 
 upon the issue of one day ? How many more millions has 
 the devastation of the Jerseys devoured than it would have 
 taken for the States to have completed the regiments upon 
 the plan adopted by Congress, in which case we should have 
 had an army of forty thousand men ? Had we had this force, 
 nay. had we had only thirty thousand, would the enemy ever 
 have dared to put a foot out of New York island ? 
 
 " Too numerous an army is expensive, but too small an 
 army is dangerous. In 1776 General Washington had the 
 glory to maintain himself at the head of an army of eighteen 
 thousand man. I sincerely hope that he may not have that 
 glory a second time. If too much backwardness had not been 
 exhibited in this matter, the war would probably have been 
 already at an end. In order to secure peace on a solid and 
 honorable basis, it is prudent to redouble every preparation 
 for carrying on the war. 
 
 " This is the system which I think is adapted to our pres- 
 ent situation, besides which, if our regiments are not com- 
 pleted and put upon an equal and uniform footing, numerically 
 speaking, it is out of the question to introduce order or uni- 
 
198 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 forraity in the administration or discipline of the army. . . . * 
 a regiment of cavalry which we have lost by surprise. In ion- 
 sequence of the bad discipline, the service of the picket guards 
 of patrols is entirely neglected in our army. Our cavalry is 
 without a leader — not a single officer of that arm understands 
 the duty. They are brave, I have no doubt, but bravery 
 alone does not constitute an officer. 
 
 " Is that not a long jeremiade upon the condition of our 
 army ? If, however, I had described the things as they really 
 are, the truth would surpass all probability. Be persuaded, 
 sir, that it is only to you that I venture to make these confi- 
 dential communications. I know very well that under the 
 present circumstances it is necessary to look cheerfully when 
 one feels most sadly. I most sincerely wish the welfare of this 
 country, and that alone is the motive of my solicitude." 
 * Illegible in the original. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Steuben's Stay at Philadelphia. — He composes the " Regulations for the Order 
 and Discipline of the Troops of the United States." — Basis of his System. 
 — His Assistants. — The Contents of the Book. — Review of its twenty-five 
 Chapters. — Appendix, containing the Instructions for Officers, Sergeants, 
 and Soldiers. — The Way in which the Book was finished. — Washington's ac- 
 knowledging Letter. — Steuben's Answer. — Congress adopts his Work for the 
 Benefit of the Army. — Resolution of the 29th of March, 1779. — Delay in 
 printing the book. — steuben's impatience. — letters of pickering and peters. 
 — Want of Workingmen and Materials in Philadelphia. — Resolutions of 
 Congress of the 5th of April, 1779. — Letter of William Livingston. — Let- 
 ter of the French Ambassador. — Steuben prepares to join the Army. — Re- 
 wards to ins Assistants. — Comic Proposition of Mis. Root of Connecticut. — 
 He goes to Head-Quarters at Middlebrook. 
 
 WE have seen in the preceding chapter, that one of the 
 principal objects of Steuben's stay at Philadelphia during 
 the winter of 1778-1779, was to compose a book of regula- 
 tions for the American army. He selected for that purpose 
 Colonel Fleury and Captain Walker as his assistants, Captain 
 De l'Enfant to draw the plans, and Mr. Duponceau as his 
 secretary. He began his work with the infantry regulations. 
 The rules which he laid down for himself were — not to be 
 influenced by any predilection for any European work on 
 the subject, and to extract the good and leave the bad and 
 the useless of them all; to be as short and explicit as pos- 
 sible, and only to treat the most essential matters; to di- 
 vide his book into four parts — 1st, the service of the in- 
 fantry in the field ; 2d, service in garrison and on parade ; 
 3d, service of the cavalry, and 4th, the service of light 
 troops. He only intended to finish the first part during the 
 winter; in fact the others have never been finished since for 
 want of time and means, although that part relating to the 
 cavalry was in manuscript ready to be printed. 
 
200 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 These " Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the 
 Troops of the United States," contain twenty-five chapters, 
 the first of which speaks of the arms and accouterments of the 
 officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers (they should 
 be uniform throughout) ; the second details the objects with 
 which the officers and non-commissoned officers should be ac- 
 quainted. 
 
 The officers and non-commissioned officers of each regiment are to 
 be perfectly acquainted with the manual exercise, marchings and firings, 
 that they may be able to instruct their soldiers when necessary ; they 
 must also be acquainted with the dress, discipline, and police of the 
 troops, and with every thing that relates to the service. The command- 
 ing officer of each regiment is to be answerable for the general instruc- 
 tion of the regiment, and is to exercise, or cause to be exercised, the 
 officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, whenever he thinks 
 proper. 
 
 The third chapter treats of the formation of a company. 
 
 To be formed in two ranks, at one pace distance, with the tallest 
 men in the rear, and both ranks sized with the shortest men of each in 
 the center. 
 
 The fourth chapter relates to the formation of a regiment. 
 
 A regiment is to consist of eight companies, which are to be posted 
 in the following order from right to left. First, captains, colonels ; 
 fourth, captains, majors; third, captains, lieutenant colonels; fifth, cap- 
 tains ; second, captains. For the greater facility in maneuvering, each 
 regiment consisting of more than one hundred and sixty files, is to be 
 formed in two battalions, with an interval of twenty paces between 
 them, and one color posted in the center of each battalion. When a 
 regiment is reduced to one hundred and sixty files, it is to be filed in 
 one battalion, with both colors in the center. Every battalion, whether 
 it compose the whole or only half of a regiment, is to be divided into 
 four divisions and eight platoons, no platoon to consist of less than ten 
 files, so that a regiment consisting of less than eighty files can not form 
 a battalion, but must be incorporated with some other, or employed on 
 detachment. When the light company is with the regiment it must be 
 formed twenty paces on the right, on the parade, but must not inter- 
 fere with the exercise of the battalion, but exercise by itself; and when 
 the light infantry are embodied, every four companies will form a bat- 
 talion, and exercise in the same manner as the battalion in the line. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 201 
 
 The fifth chapter teaches the instruction of recruits. 
 
 The commanding officer of each company is charged with the in- 
 struction of his recruits, and as that is a service that requires not only 
 experience, but a patience and temper not met with in every officer, 
 he is to make choice of an officer, sergeant, and one or two corporals 
 of his company, who, being approved of by the colonel, are to attend 
 particularly to that business ; but in case of the arrival of a great num- 
 ber of recruits, every officer, without distinction, is to be employed on 
 
 that service The recruits must be taken singly, and first taught 
 
 to put on their accouterments, and carry themselves properly. 
 
 It then prescribes the position of the soldier, 1st, without 
 arms; 2d, under arms, and lastly, the manual exercise. 
 
 When the recruits have practiced the foregoing exercises till they 
 are sufficiently expert, they must be sent to exercise with their com- 
 pany. 
 
 The sixth chapter gives the exercise of a company. It is 
 divided into five articles. The first treats of opening the ranks ; 
 the second, of the firings ; the third, of the march ; the fourth, 
 of wheeling; and the fifth, of breaking off and forming by the 
 oblique step. 
 
 Two or more companies may be joined to perform the company ex- 
 ercise when they have been sufficiently exercised by single companies, 
 but not till then ; the inattention of the soldiers, and difficulty of in- 
 structing them, increasing in proportion with the numbers. 
 
 The seventh chapter treats of the exercise of a battalion ; 
 the eighth, of the points of view ; the ninth enters into the 
 details of the formation and displaying of columns, with the 
 method of changing front, and consists of ten articles, the last 
 of which " of changing the front of a line," concludes as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 If it be necessary to change the front of a line consisting of more 
 than a brigade, the simplest and surest method is to form close columns, 
 either by brigades or battalions, march them to the direction required, 
 and display. 
 
 The tenth chapter speaks, in five articles, of the march of 
 columns. We insert here the first two : 
 
 9* 
 
202 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 The march of columns is an operation so often repeated, and of so 
 much consequence, that it must be considered as an essential article in 
 the instruction of both officers and men. 
 
 Article I. The March of an Open Column. — Column ! March, ! 
 The whole column must always begin to march, and halt, at the same 
 time, and only by order of the commanding officer. After the first 
 twenty paces, he should command — Support — Arms 1 when the men 
 may march more at their ease, but keeping their files close. Before the 
 column halts, he should command — Carry arms ! Column ! Halt ! Dress 
 to the right ! When marching in open column, the officer commanding 
 will open from battalion, by wheeling to the right or left, in order to 
 see if the officers have preserved the proper distances between the 
 platoons. 
 
 Article II. Columns changing the Direction of their March. — When 
 a column is obliged to change the direction of its march, the front 
 platoon must not wheel around on its flank, but advance in a direction 
 more or less circular, according to the depth of the column, that the other 
 platoons may follow. An open column changes the direction of its 
 march by wheeling the front platoon, the others following; in doing 
 which the officers commanding the platoons must be particularly careful 
 that their platoons wheel on the same ground with the front platoon, 
 for which purpose a sergeant should be left to mark the pivot on which 
 they are to wheel. 
 
 Article three of this chapter treats of the passage of a defile 
 by a column ; article four, of a column crossing a plain, liable 
 to be attacked by cavalry ; and article five, of a column march- 
 ing by its flank. 
 
 The eleventh chapter — Of the March in Line — is divided 
 into nine articles, the first three of which are the most impor- 
 tant. 
 
 Article I. — The March to the Front. — Battalion! Forward! At 
 this caution, the ensign, with the colors, advances six paces ; the ser- 
 geant who covered him taking his place. The whole are to dress by 
 the colors. The commandant of the battalion will be posted two paces 
 in front of the colors, and will give the ensign an object to serve as a 
 direction for him to march straight forward — March! The ensign who 
 carries the colors will be careful to march straight to the object given 
 him by the colonel ; to do which he must fix on some intermediate ob- 
 ject. If many battalions are in the line, the ensign must dress by the 
 ensign in the center; if only two, they will dress by each other. They 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 203 
 
 must be very careful not to advance beyond the battalion they are to 
 dress by, it being much easier to advance than to fall back. Should a 
 battalion by any cause be hindered from advancing in line with the rest, 
 the ensign of that battalion must drop his colors as a signal to the other 
 battalions (who might otherwise stop to dress by them) not to conform 
 to their movements ; the colors to be raised again when the battalion 
 has advanced to its post in the line. The commanding officer of each 
 battalion must be careful that his men dress and keep their files close, 
 and to preserve the proper distances between his own battalion and 
 those on his flanks ; and when he finds that he is too near the one or 
 the other, must command — 
 
 when the battalion will march by the oblique step, as ordered, till they 
 have recovered their distance, and receive the command — Forward! 
 upon which the battalion will march forward, and the ensign take a new 
 object to march to. If the distance is augmented or diminished only 
 two or three paces, the commanding officer will order the colors to 
 incline a little, and thus march forward, the latter line conforming to 
 their movement. The officers commanding platoons will continually 
 have an eye over them, immediately remedying any defect, carefully 
 dressing with the center, and keeping step with the colors. The offi- 
 cers in the rear must take care of the second rank, remedying any de- 
 fect, in a low voice, and with as little noise as possible. The soldier 
 must not advance out of the rank the shoulder opposite the side he 
 dresses to ; he must not crowd his right or left hand man, but give way 
 to the pressure of the center, and resist that of the wings. He must 
 have his eye continually fixed on the colors, turning his head more or 
 less, in proportion to his distance from them. 
 
 Battalion ! Halt ! The whole stop short on the feet thus advanced. 
 
 Dress to the right ! The men dress to the right, and the colors fall 
 back into the ranks. 
 
 Article II. — Of the Charge with Bayonets, — The fine marching, the 
 commanding officer, on approaching the enemy, comands, March ! 
 March ! — on which the whole advance by the quick step, Charge — 
 bayonets! The line charge their bayonets, and quicken their step; the 
 drums beat the long roll, and the officers and men must take care to dress 
 to the center, and not crowd or open their files. Battalion ! — Slow step ! — 
 The battalion fall into the slow step, and carry their arms. Halt ! — 
 Dress to the right! The battalion halts, and dresses to the right, 
 
 Article III. — Method of passing any Obstacle in Front of a Line.— 
 When an obstacle presents itself before any division, platoon, or number 
 
204 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 of files, the officer commanding the platoons, etc., commands, Break 
 off! — on which the files obstructed face outwards from their center, 
 and follow by files the platoons on their right and left; if the platoons 
 on the wings are obstructed, they will face inwards, and follow in the 
 same manner. In proportion as the ground permits, the files will march 
 up to their places in front, dress, and take step with colors. 
 
 Article IV. — Passage of a Defile in Front by Platoons. 
 
 Article V. — Passage of a Defile in Front by Files. 
 
 Article VI. — Of the March in Retreat. 
 
 Article VII. — Passage of a Defile in Retreat by Platoons. 
 
 Article VIII. — Passage of a Defile in Retreat by Files. 
 
 Article IX. — Method of passing the Front Line to the Rear. 
 
 The twelfth chapter — Of the Disposition of the Field- 
 pieces attached to the Brigades — we give in full : 
 
 The field-pieces attached to the different brigades must always re- 
 main with them, encamping on their right, unless the quarter-master 
 general thinks proper to place them on any advantageous piece of 
 ground in front. When the army marches by the right, the field-pieces 
 must march at the head of their respective brigades ; when it marches 
 by the left, they follow in the rear, unless circumstances determine the 
 general to order otherwise ; but, whether they march in front, center, 
 or rear of their brigades, they must always march between the bat- 
 talions, and never between the platoons. In maneu vering, they must 
 also follow their brigades, performing the maneuvers and evolutions 
 with them, observing that when the close column is formed they must 
 always proceed to the flank of the column opposed to that side their 
 brigade is to display to ; and, on the column's displaying, they follow 
 the first division of their brigade, and, when that halts and forms, the 
 field-pieces immediately take their post on its right. 
 
 The thirteenth chapter — Of the Firings — begins as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 When the troops are to exercise with powder, the officers must 
 carefully inspect the arms and cartridge-boxes, and take away all the 
 cartridges with ball. The first part of the general will be the signal for 
 all firing to cease, on the beating of which the officers and non-commis- 
 sioned officers must see that their platoons cease firing, load and shoul- 
 der as quick as possible. The commanding officer will continue the 
 signal till he sees that the men have loaded and shouldered. 
 
 And then treats, in four articles — 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 205 
 
 1. Of Firing by Battalion. 
 
 2. Of Firing by Divisions and Platoons. 
 
 3. Of Firing Advancing ; and 
 
 4. Of Firing Retreating. 
 
 The chapters fourteen to eighteen prescribe the rules for the 
 march of an army or corps, for the baggage on the march, the 
 manner of laying out a camp, with the order of encampment ; 
 the manner of entering a camp, and the necessary regulations 
 for preserving order and cleanliness in the camp. We insert here 
 the fourteenth chapter — Of the March of cm Army or Corps — 
 in full, in order to show the minuteness with which the small- 
 est details of the service are alluded to : 
 
 The greatest attention on the part of the officers is necessary at all 
 times, but more particularly on a march. The soldiers being then per- 
 mitted to march at their ease, with the ranks and files open, without 
 the greatest care, these get confounded one with another ; and, if sud- 
 denly attacked, instead of being able to form immediately in order of 
 battle, the whole line is thrown into the utmost confusion. The order 
 for the march of an army being given, the adjutant general will appoint 
 the field officers for the advanced and rear guards, and issue orders to 
 the brigade majors to have ready their respective quotas of other offi- 
 cers and men for the advanced guard, which will consist of the number 
 necessary for the guards of the new camp. These, together with a pio- 
 neer of each company, and a sergeant from the regiment to conduct them, 
 must be warned the evening before. At the beating of the general, the 
 troops are immediately to strike their tents and load the wagons, which 
 must then fall into the line of march for the baggage. At this signal, 
 also, all general and staff officers' guards, and those of the commissaries, 
 must return to their respective regiments. At the beating of the as- 
 sembly, the troops will assemble, and be formed in battalion on their 
 respective parades. The guards ordered must then be conducted by the 
 brigade majors or adjutants of the day, to the rendezvous appointed for 
 the° advanced guard, where the field officers warned for that duty will 
 form them in battalions or other corps, according to their strength, and 
 divide them regularly into divisions and platoons. The officer command- 
 ing the advanced guard must take care to have a guide with him, and 
 to £et every necessary information of the road? The camp guards 
 must, at the same time, retire to the rendezvous appointed for the rear 
 guard, where they must be formed in the same manner. At the same 
 time, also, the quarter-masters and pioneers of each battalion must as- 
 
206 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 scmble on the ground appointed by the advanced guard, where one ot 
 the deputies of the quarter-master general must form them in platoons, 
 in the same order as their respective battalions march in the column. 
 Each detachment will be conducted by its quarter-master, who must be 
 answerable that it marches in the order prescribed ; and the quarter- 
 masters of brigades will conduct those of their respective brigades, and 
 be answerable for their behavior. 
 
 The signal for marching being given, the whole will wheel by pla- 
 toons or sections, as shall be ordered, and begin the march. 
 
 The advanced guard will march at a distance from the main body 
 proportioned to its strength, having a patrol advanced ; and must never 
 enter any defile, wood, etc., without having first examined it, to avoid 
 falling into an ambuscade. 
 
 The pioneers are to march behind the advanced guard, and must 
 repair the roads, that the column may be obliged to file off as little as 
 possible. 
 
 The advanced guard, besides its patrols in front, must have a flank 
 guard, composed of a file from each platoon, and commanded by an offi- 
 cer, or non-commissioned officer, to inarch at the distance of one hun- 
 dred paces on the flank, and keep up with the head of the advanced 
 guard. 
 
 If it be necessary to have a flank guard on each side, a file must be 
 sent from the other flank of each platoon to compose it; and, as this 
 service is fatiguing, the men should be relieved every hour. The like 
 flank guards are to be detached from each battalion in the column. 
 
 For the greater convenience of the soldiers, the ranks must be opened 
 to half distance during the march. 
 
 When the column meets with a defile, or any obstacle, the com- 
 manding officer must stop till the column has passed it, taking care that 
 they pass in as great order and as quick as possible ; and when one has 
 marched through, he must command the front to halt, till the whole 
 have passed and formed, when he will continue the march. 
 
 When a column crosses a road that leads to the enemy, the patrols 
 or guards on the flanks of the first battalion must form on the road, and 
 halt till the patrols of the next battalion come up, which must do the 
 same; the others proceed in the same manner till the whole have 
 passed. 
 
 When the commanding officer thinks proper to halt on the march, 
 immediately on the column's halting, the advanced flank and rear 
 guards must form a*chain of sentinels, to prevent the soldiers from 
 straggling ; and all necessaries, as wood, water, etc., must be fetched by 
 detachments, as in camp. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 207 
 
 On the beating of the long roll, the whole are to form and continue 
 the march. 
 
 On the march no orders are to be communicated by calling out, but 
 must be sent by the adjutants from regiment to regiment. The signals 
 for halting, marching slower and quicker, must be given by beat of 
 drum. (See chapter xxi.) 
 
 The commanding officer of the advanced guard being informed by 
 the quarter-master general, or his deputy, of the grounds the troops are 
 to encamp on, will go ahead and reconnoiter it ; and immediately «n 
 the arrival of the advanced guard, post his guards and sentinels, as di- 
 rected in chapter xxii. 
 
 March by Sections of Four. — The roads being very often too narrow 
 to admit the front of a platoon, and the troops being, therefore, con- 
 tinually obliged to break off, which fatigues the men ; to prevent this, 
 when the road is not sufficiently large throughout, the battalions may 
 be divided into sections in the following manner : 
 
 Each platoon is to be told off into sections of four files ; if there 
 remain three files, they form a section ; if two files or less, they form 
 one rank. At the word By sections of four ! To the right — wheel! 
 March ! they wheel by fours and march, the second rank of each section 
 taking two paces distance from the front rank. The officers command- 
 ing platoons take post on the left of their first section ; but on the right, 
 if the sections wheel to the left. The file-closers fall in on the flanks. 
 
 The officers must take great care that the distance of two paces, 
 and no more, is kept between the ranks. At the word Halt ! the front 
 rank of each section stops short, and the second rank closes up, which 
 gives the proper distance between the sections ; and by wheeling to the 
 right or left, the line is formed : or, if the commanding officer chooses, 
 he may form platoons by the oblique step. 
 
 If a column be already on the march by platoons, and the road be- 
 comes too narrow and inconvenient to continue in that order, it may be 
 formed into sections of four, in the following manner : 
 
 Caution by the commanding officers : Take care to break off by 
 sections of four ! Upon which the officers commanding platoons tell 
 them off as before, but without halting. 
 
 At the word Sections of four ! Break off! the sections on the 
 right of each platoon incline by the oblique step to the left ; and those 
 on the left of each platoon following the former, incline to the right, till 
 they all cover ; when they march forward, opening the ranks as before 
 directed. If the number of sections in a platoon be uneven, that in the 
 center is to march straight forward ; the section on the right inclining 
 on the left and covering it in front ; and those on the left inclining to 
 the right, and covering it in the rear. 
 
208 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Chapter nineteen speaks of Moll Galls. 
 
 Chapter twenty treats Of the Inspection of the Men^ 
 their Dress, JVecessaries, Arms, Accoaterments and Ammuni- 
 tion. 
 
 The oftener the soldiers are under the inspection of their officers the 
 better; for which reason, every morning, at troop-beating, they must 
 inspect the dress of their men; see that their clothes are whole and 
 put on properly ; their hands and faces washed clean ; their hair 
 combed ; their accouterments properly fixed, and every article about 
 them in the greatest order. Those who are guilty of repeated neglects 
 in these particulars, are to be confined and punished. The field officers 
 must pay attention to this object, taking proper notice of those compa- 
 nies where a visible neglect appears, and publicly applauding those who 
 are remarkable for their good appearance. 
 
 Every day the commanding officers of companies must examine 
 their men's arms and ammunition, and see that they are clean and in 
 good order. (See further, chapter xxiii.) 
 
 That the men may always appear clean on the parade, and as a 
 means of preserving their health, the non-commissioned officers are to 
 see that they wash their hands and faces every day, and oftener when 
 necessary. And when any river is nigh, and the season favorable, the 
 men shall bathe themselves as frequently as possible, the commanding 
 officers of each battalion sending them by small detachments succes- 
 sively, under the care of a non-commissioned officer ; but on no account 
 must the men be permitted to bathe when just come off a march, at 
 least till they have reposed long enough to get cool. 
 
 Every Saturday morning the captains are to make a general inspec- 
 tion of their companies, and examine into the state of the men's neces- 
 saries, observing that they agree in quantity with what is specified in 
 the company book ; and that every article is the man's who shows it. 
 For which purpose, and to discover theft, every man's things should be 
 marked ; if any thing is deficient, strict inquiry must be made into the 
 cause of it ; and should it appear to be lost, pledged, sold or exchanged, 
 the offender must be severely punished. 
 
 That the men may not be improperly burdened and fatigued, the 
 captains are not to suffer them to carry any thing which is either use- 
 less or unnecessary. 
 
 Chapter twenty-one prescribes The Different Beats of the 
 Drum. 
 
 Chapter twenty-two enters into the details of The Ser- 
 vice of the Guards, and contains six articles : 1. Of the dit- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 209 
 
 ferent guards, with their use ; 2. Of the grand parade ; 3. Of 
 relieving guards and sentinels ; 4. Instruction to officers on 
 guard ; 5. Method of going and receiving the grand rounds ; 
 6. Honors due from guards to general officers and others. 
 
 Chapter twenty- three treats Of the Arms and Ammu- 
 nition, with the Methods of Preserving them, which was es- 
 pecially, in the revolutionary army, of the highest importance. 
 We quote it in full : 
 
 The preservation of the arms and ammunition is an object that re- 
 quires the greatest attention. Commanding officers of regiments must 
 be answerable for those of their regiments, and captains for their re- 
 spective companies. 
 
 An officer of a company must, every morning, at roll-call, inspect 
 minutely the state of the men's arms, accouterments and ammuni- 
 tion ; and if it shall appear that a soldier has sold, or, through care- 
 lessness, lost or damaged any part of them, he must be confined and 
 punished, and stoppages made of his payment as hereafter mentioned : 
 For which purpose such officers shall certify to the commanding officer 
 of the regiment the names of the delinquents, and the losses or dam- 
 ages which shall appear of their arms, ammunition and accouterments ; 
 and the commanding officer, after due examination, shall order stoppa- 
 ges to be made for whatever shall appear to have been sold, lost or dam- 
 aged, as aforesaid. The stoppages to be as follows : 
 
 For a firelock, sixteen dollars ; a bayonet, two dollars ; a ram-rod, 
 one dollar ; a cartridge-box, one dollar ; a bayonet-belt, one dollar ; a 
 scabbard, two thirds of a dollar; a cartridge, one sixth of a dollar; a 
 flint, one twentieth of a dollar ; a gun-worm, one fourth of a dollar ; a 
 screw-driver, one twelfth of a dollar ; and for arms, accouterments and 
 ammunition damaged, such sums as the repairs shall cost the States, to 
 be estimated by the brigade conductor, or, when a corps is detached, 
 by such person as its commanding officer shall appoint for that purpose ; 
 provided that such stoppages do not exceed one half the delinquent's 
 pay monthly. 
 
 It is highly essential to the service that the ammunition should be at 
 all times kept complete ; for which purpose, as often as is necessary, a 
 return is to be made by each company of the number of cartridges 
 deficient, to the quarter-master, that he may make out a general one for 
 the regiment, to be signed by the commanding officers of the regiment 
 and brigade, and no time lost in supplying the deficiency. The like 
 care is to be taken that all deficiencies of arms and accouterments are 
 supplied without loss of time. 
 
210 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 All arms, accouterments and ammunition unfit for service, are to be 
 carefully preserved and sent by the commanding officer of each com- 
 pany to the regimental quarter-master, who shall deliver the same to 
 the brigade conductor, they respectively giving receipts for what they 
 receive. The arms, accouterments and ammunition of the sick and 
 others, when delivered up,' are to be taken care of in the same manner. 
 Before the cartridge-boxes are put in the arm-chests, the cartridges must 
 be taken out, to prevent any loss or accident. 
 
 A conductor shall be appointed to each brigade, who shall have 
 under his immediate care and direction a traveling forge and five or 
 six armorers, an ammunition wagon, and a wagon with an arm chest 
 for each battalion, each chest to hold twenty-five arms, to receive the 
 arms and accouterments wanting repair, or of the men sick or absent ; 
 and when the arms delivered in by a battalion shall exceed the above 
 number, the surplus shall be sent to the commissary of military stores. 
 
 The brigade conductor shall issue no ammunition but by order of 
 the commanding officer of the brigade ; but may receive and deliver 
 the arms and accouterments of each battalion, by order of its command- 
 ing officer. 
 
 The ammunition wagon shall contain twenty thousand cartridges ; 
 and in order to keep the same complete, the conductor shall, as defi- 
 ciencies arise, apply to the field commissary, or one of his deputies, for 
 a supply, or otherwise for the necessary materials of cartridges, and to 
 the major of brigade for men to make them up under the direction of 
 the conductor; and for this purpose the brigade major shall order out 
 a party of the most careful soldiers. 
 
 The non-commissioned officers of each company will be provided 
 with gun-worms ; and every day, at the noon roll-call of the company, 
 those men who have returned from duty are to bring their arms and 
 have their charges drawn ; the first sergeant to receive the powder and 
 ball, and deliver the same to the quarter-master. 
 
 The twenty-fourth chapter is devoted to the Treatment of 
 the Sick. The twenty-fifth and last chapter speaks Of He- 
 views in two articles, viz., of Reviews of Parade and Re- 
 views of Inspection. The first one commences as follows : 
 
 When a battalion is to be reviewed, it must be drawn up in the 
 following manner : 
 
 The ranks at four paces distance from each other ; the colors ad- 
 vanced four paces from the center ; the colonel twelve paces before the 
 colors ; the lieutenant colonel four paces behind the colonel ; the major 
 on the right of the battalion in the line of officers; the adjutant behind 
 the center; the officers commanding platoons eight paces before (heir 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 211 
 
 intervals ; and the other officers on the same line, equally divided in 
 front of their respective platoons ; the sergeants who covered officers 
 take their places in the front rank of their platoons; the other non- 
 commissioned officers who were in the rear, remain there, falling back 
 four paces behind the rear rank; and the drummers and fifers are 
 equally divided on the wings of the battalion, dressing with the front 
 rank. 
 
 Appended to these regulations are the instructions for the 
 different commissioned and non-commissioned officers and sol- 
 diers, viz., the commandant of a regiment, the major, the adju- 
 tant, the quarter-master, the captain, the lieutenant, the en- 
 sign, the sergeant major, the quarter-master sergeant, the first 
 sergeant of a company, the sergeants and corporals, and the 
 private soldier. To show the spirit in which these instructions 
 were given, we reprint here those for the captain and the pri- 
 vate soldier : 
 
 A captain can not be too careful of the company the State has 
 committed to his charge. He must pay the greatest attention to the 
 health of his men, their discipline, arms, accouterments, ammunition, 
 clothes and necessaries. 
 
 His first object should be to gain the love of his men, by treating 
 them with every possible kindness and humanity, inquiring into their 
 complaints, and when well founded, seeing them redressed. He should 
 know every man of his company by name and character. He should 
 often visit those who are sick, speak tenderly to them, see that the pub- 
 lic provision, whether of medicine or diet, is duly administered, and pro- 
 cure them, besides, such comforts and conveniences as are in his power. 
 The attachment that arises from this kind of attention to the sick and 
 wounded, is almost inconceivable ; it will, moreover, be the means of 
 preserving the lives of many valuable men. 
 
 He must divide his company into four squads, placing each under 
 the particular care of a non-commissioned officer, who is to be answer- 
 able for the dress and behavior of the men of his squad. 
 
 He must be very particular in the daily and weekly inspections of 
 his men, causing all deficiencies to be immediately supplied ; and when 
 he discovers any irregularity in the dress or conduct of any soldier, he 
 must not only punish him, but the non-commissioned officer to whose 
 squad he belongs. 
 
 He must keep a strict eye over the conduct of the non-commis- 
 sioned officers ; oblige them to do their duty with the greatest exact- 
 ness; and use every possible means to keep up a proper subordination 
 
212 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 between them and the soldiers ; for which reason he must never rudely 
 reprimand them in presence of the men, but at all times treat them 
 with proper respect. 
 
 He must pay the utmost attention to every thing which contrib- 
 utes to the health of the men, and oblige them to keep themselves and 
 every thing belonging to them in the greatest cleanliness and order. 
 He must never suffer a man who has any infectious disorder to remain 
 in the company, but send him immediately to the hospital, or other 
 place provided for the reception of such patients, to prevent the spread- 
 ing of the infection. And when any man is sick, or otherwise unfit for 
 duty, or absent, he must see that his arms and accouterments are prop- 
 erly taken care of, agreeably to the regulations prescribed. 
 
 He must keep a book, in which must be entered the name and 
 description of every non-commissioned officer and soldier in his com- 
 pany ; his trade or occupation ; the place of his birth and usual resi- 
 dence ; where, when and for what term he enlisted ; discharges, fur- 
 loughs, copies of all returns, and every casualty that happens in the 
 company. He must also keep an account of all arms, accouterments, 
 ammunition, clothing, necessaries and camp equipage delivered his com- 
 pany, that on inspecting it he may be able to discover any deficiencies. 
 
 When a company arrive at their quarters after a march, he must 
 not dismiss them till the guards are ordered out, and, if cantoned, the 
 billets distributed, which must be as near together as possible ; and he 
 must strictly prohibit his men from vexing the inhabitants, and cause to 
 be punished any that offend in that respect. 
 
 He must acquaint them with the hours of roll-call and going for 
 provisions, with their alarm post, and the hour of inarching in the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 If the company make any stay in a place, he must, previous to 
 their marching, inspect their condition, examine their knapsacks, and 
 see that they carry nothing but what is allowed, it being a material 
 object to prevent the soldier loading himself with unnecessary baggage. 
 
 5jC 5fi JfC ?jC Ifi iJC 
 
 The recruit having received his necessaries, should in the first place 
 learn to dress himself with a soldier-like air ; to place his effects prop- 
 erly in his knapsack, so as to carry them with ease and convenience ; 
 how to salute his officers when he meets them ; to clean his arms, wash 
 his linen and cook his provisions. He should early accustom himself to 
 dress in the night ; and for that purpose always have his effects in his 
 knapsack, and that placed where he can put his hand on it in a mo- 
 ment, that in case of alarm he may repair with the greatest alertness 
 to the parade. 
 
 When learning to march, he must take the greatest pains to ac- 
 quire a firm step and a proper balance, practicing himself at all his 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 213 
 
 leisure hours. He must accustom himself to the greatest steadiness 
 under arms, to pay attention to the commands of his officers, and ex- 
 ercise himself continually with his firelock, in order to acquire vivacity 
 in his motions. He must acquaint himself with the usual beats and 
 signals of the drum, and instantly obey them. 
 
 When in the ranks, he must always learn the names of his right 
 and left hand men and file leader, that he may be able to find his place 
 readily in case of separation. He must cover his file leader and dress 
 well in his rank, which he may be assured of doing when he can just 
 perceive the breast of the third man from him. Having joined his com- 
 pany, he must no longer consider himself as a recruit, but as a soldier ; 
 and whenever he is ordered under arms, must appear well dressed, with 
 his arms and accouterments clean and in good order, and his knapsack, 
 blanket, etc., ready to throw on his back in case he should be ordered 
 to take them. 
 
 When warned for guard, he must appear as neat as possible, cany 
 all his effects with him, and even when on sentry must have them at 
 his back. He must receive the orders from the sentry he relieves ; 
 and when placed before the guard-house, he must inform the corporal 
 of all that approach, and suffer no one to enter until examined ; if he is 
 posted at a distance from the guard, he will march there in order, have 
 the orders well explained to him by the corporal, learn which is the 
 nearest post between him and the guard, in case he should be obliged 
 to retire, or have any thing to communicate, and what he is to do in 
 case of alarm ; or if in a town, in case of fire and any disturbance. 
 He will never go more than twenty paces from his post ; and if in a 
 retired place, or in the night, suffer no one to approach within ten paces 
 of him. 
 
 A sentinel must never rest upon his arms, but keep walking on 
 his post. He must never suffer himself to be relieved but by his cor- 
 poral ; challenge briskly in the night, and stop those who have not the 
 countersign ; and if any will not answer to the third challenge, or hav- 
 ing been stopped should attempt to escape, he may fire on them. 
 
 When on a patrol, he must observe the strictest silence, nor make 
 the least noise with his arms or accouterments. 
 
 In action he will pay the greatest attention to the commands of 
 his officers, level well, and not throw away his fire ; take particular 
 care to keep his rank and file, incline to that side he dresses to, and en- 
 courage his comrades to do their duty. 
 
 When ordered to march, he must not charge himself with any un- 
 necessary baggage ; he will march at his ease, without, however, leav- 
 ing his rank or file ; he should drink as seldom as possible, and never 
 stop but when necessity obliges him ; in which case he must ask leave 
 of the commanding officer of the platoon. 
 
214 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 When arrived at camp or quarters, he must clean his arms, prepare 
 his bed, and go for necessaries, taking nothing without leave, nor com- 
 mitting any kind of excess. 
 
 He must always have a stopper for the muzzle of his gun in case of 
 rain, and when on a march ; at which times he will unfix his bayonet. 
 
 Seldom was a work composed in such a manner as this. 
 Every chapter was first roughly written in German, then 
 translated into bad French, then put in good French by 
 Fleury, translated again into bad English by Duponceau, 
 afterwards written in good English by Captain Walker; and 
 when all this was completed, Steuben did not understand a 
 word of it himself, from his ignorance of the English language. 
 His confidence in his assistants, however, which was well 
 merited, caused him to proceed successfully amid all these 
 troubles. 
 
 " The difficulties he encountered in carrying out that work 
 — relates North — were indeed great. The book-stores were 
 not then filled with military authors and compilers. All he 
 set down was drawn from his own recollections of the Prussian 
 code and service ; these to be arranged in order in which they 
 were written, to be translated into English, and by those not 
 conversant with military evolutions, scarcely with military 
 phrase. To sketch, re-sketch the plates, and fit them for the 
 engraver — the engraver, the paper, the types and printer, with 
 difficulty to be found. None but those who lived in those 
 dark days of poverty and dearth of every thing, can think a 
 thousandth part of all the penury with which we were sur- 
 rounded. The Blue Book at last appeared, and was studied, 
 and, except the Bible, was held in the highest estimation." 
 
 When the work was completed, De l'Enfant drew the plans, 
 and the manuscript was sent to the commander-in-chief. 
 
 " Enclosed I transmit to you," writes Washington, on the 
 26th of February, 1779,* " my remarks on the first part of 
 your manuscript. The remainder shall follow as soon as 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 176. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 215 
 
 other affairs of equal importance will permit. I very much 
 approve of the conciseness of the work, founded on your gen- 
 eral principle of rejecting every thing superfluous, though, per- 
 haps, it would not be amiss, in a work of instruction, to be 
 more minute and particular in some parts." 
 
 And on the 11th of March, when he returned the continu- 
 ation of the book, accompanied by a few notes, Washington 
 wrote to Steuben :* 
 
 " It gives me great pleasure to learn that the first part is 
 in such forwardness for the press. With respect to the title, 
 I think 'Regulations for the Infantry of the United States' 
 will be sufficient. In a letter to Congress I have signified my 
 approbation of the work. It remains for them to give it a 
 final sanction, and preface it with such order as they may 
 judge proper. As the fine season is advancing, you will, I 
 flatter myself, shortly have the satisfaction, so rarely enjoyed 
 by authors, of seeing your precepts reduced to practice ; and 
 I hope your success will be equal to the merit of your work." 
 
 To these letters Steuben replied on the 17th of March, 
 1779, as follows, viz. :f 
 
 " Your Excellency's approbation of the regulations I had 
 the honor of presenting, gives me the greatest hopes that they 
 will be easily reduced to practice, and prove agreeable to the 
 army. Encouraged by this hope, I shall immediately present 
 them to Congress for their sanction. 
 
 " As I am convinced of the necessity of the regulations 
 taking place as soon as possible, your Excellency may depend 
 I shall do every thing in my power for that purpose. The 
 engraving of the plates, and correcting the press, will, I am 
 afraid, detain me till the middle of April, and, as before that 
 time the season will permit the troops to exercise, I think it 
 would be necessary they should be exercised in detail on the 
 principles laid down. If your Excellency approves it, I will 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 193. 
 
 f Washington MS. State Papers, vol. xxx., p. 301. 
 
216 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 send Colonel Fleury, who has assisted me in composing the 
 regulations, to receive your orders on the subject. He may 
 carry with him a copy of that part of the regulations which is 
 necessary, and each adjutant may take a copy, that the troops 
 may begin to put them in practice. I shall have the honor to 
 forward to your Excellency a model of the several tools men- 
 tioned in the regulations, and which I think are necessary, if 
 circumstances will allow to procure them." 
 
 Congress approved Steuben's work without delay or alter- 
 ation, and ordered three thousand copies to be printed, as ap- 
 pears from the resolutions of the 29th of March, 1779.* 
 
 "A letter of the 25th, from Baron Steuben, was read, ac- 
 companied with a system of regulations for the infantry of the 
 United States ; also a letter, from the board of war, represent- 
 ing that Baron Steuben, inspector general, has formed a sys- 
 tem of exercise and discipline for the infantry of the United 
 States ; that the same has been submitted to the inspection of 
 the commander-in-chief, and his remarks thereon, and amend- 
 ments, incorporated in the work ; and is highly approved as 
 being calculated to produce important advantages to the 
 States, and, therefore, praying ' that it may receive the sanc- 
 tion of Congress, and be committed to the press ;' whereupon, 
 
 " Congress passed the following order, to be prefixed to the 
 said regulation for the order and discipline of the troops of 
 the United States : — 
 
 " Congress judging it of the greatest importance to pre- 
 scribe some invariable rules for the order and discipline of the 
 troops, especially for the purpose of introducing a uniformity in 
 their formation and maneuvers, and in the service of the camp : 
 
 u Ordered, That the following regulations be observed by 
 all the troops of the United States, and that all general and 
 other officers cause the same to be executed with all possible 
 exactness. 
 
 " Ordered, That the board of war cause as many copies 
 * Journals of Congress, v., 122. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 217 
 
 thereof to be printed as they shall deem requisite for the use 
 of the troops." 
 
 In consequence, however, of unforeseen difficulties, the 
 printing of the book was retarded for some months, and it was 
 only in June that all the materials were collected, and the 
 books distributed. The embarrassments which the board 
 of war met in getting the Regulations completed, were very 
 great, and put Steuben's patience to a hard test. Timothy 
 Pickering and Richard Peters, however, rebuked him mildly. 
 Their letters contain, at the same time, so many interesting 
 materials about the scarcity of labor in Philadelphia, that we 
 can not refrain from quoting some passages. 
 
 "We expected," writes Pickering, on the 19th of June, 
 1779, to Steuben,* "to send you more copies of the Regula- 
 tions, of which the bookbinder gave us encouragement, but his 
 workmen failed him. It is not so easy to get work executed 
 in America as in Europe. Here, under the present scarcity 
 of hands, you can place no dependence on your workmen — 
 to day they are with you, and to-morrow on board of a priva- 
 teer, with hopes of making their fortunes. I have, indeed, had 
 much trouble about the Regulations, but I went through it 
 with pleasure, because I judged they would prove highly use- 
 ful to my country. 
 
 " I regret exceedingly that the publication is so tardy, but 
 it has really been difficult to get the work executed with the 
 dispatch we wished for. The plates were at first but indiffer- 
 ently engraved, and being badly worked off by Normann, 
 there were many of them intolerable. Besides, so many errors 
 and imperfections remained uncorrected, that we were obliged 
 
 to throw away above six hundred prints The only 
 
 copper-plate printer we could find after Normann, was one 
 who was working for the Tieasury at the same time. He is 
 an excellent hand, and works off the plates as well as the en- 
 graving will admit Though we have employed but one 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 10 
 
218 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 bookbinder, he is the most capital hand in town, and will bind 
 
 the books as fast as we can get the plans for them I 
 
 now persuade myself that you will not think the board of war 
 so inattentive as your late letter supposed. 
 
 " Should I again discover marks of extreme impatience, and 
 even asperity, in the inspector general, I will impute them to 
 his anxiety to introduce a perfect order and discipline in the 
 army, and to his zeal in securing the safety and independence 
 of America." 
 
 Peters's letter, of the same date, in the most jovial manner 
 ridicules Steuben's bad humor, and, in a jesting way, admin- 
 isters a very well merited reprimand : 
 
 "I have been favored with your letters," says Peters,* 
 " and I am sorry to perceive that the air and exercise you have 
 had since your leaving Philadelphia, w r hich, in general, are sup- 
 posed of the greatest efficacy in bilious complaints, have not 
 removed those nausea and exacerbation with which you were 
 affected while in this city. 
 
 " I have the strongest hopes, however, that time, with its 
 lenient hand, will administer some drug wrhich will conquer the 
 irritability of your system. When this happy day arrives, I 
 am clear that the little feverish flight which has induced you 
 to censure where no blame was merited, will no longer disturb 
 your rest, or hurt the sensibility of your friends. Colonel 
 Pickering tells me he will explain to you the difficulty we have 
 labored under in procuring the books ; and let me be serious 
 for a moment, w r hile I beg of you not to impute to studied 
 neglect any seeming inattention to you or your officers. 
 
 " We should violate our private feelings if we personally 
 disregarded you, and we should, in my opinion, our public 
 trust, did we not, by every means in our power, assist you in 
 the important business of your department. Real embarrass- 
 ments have occasioned our not complying with our, as well as 
 your wishes, and however trilling the rubs thrown in our way 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 219 
 
 may seem to one used to countries full of needy artificers, and 
 stored with materials for work, yet to us they are not unim- 
 portant, or, what is worse, uncommon. These difficulties will 
 continue during the present war, and as we can not conquer, 
 we must endeavor to bear them. 
 
 " There is an actual courage which distinguishes the soldier 
 in the field, and there is also a patient fortitude which we, at a 
 distance from immediate personal danger, have often occasion 
 to exercise. 
 
 "I am sorry that carpenters, tailors, smiths, wheelwrights, 
 
 and what has now stirred your wrath — a d d bookbinder, 
 
 who is not, by-the-by, so much to blame — should call forth 
 the exercise of a virtue which ought not to be thrown forth 
 but upon great occasions. 
 
 " I can not but smile at your mention of leaving Duponceau, 
 a good natured man and stranger, to deal with such surly, 
 knowing, and great men as our tradesmen ; and as to stimu- 
 lating the workm<m (for workmen we could not get), he is of 
 no more use than if you had left him to observe an eclipse 
 without a telescope. You tell me to make a distinction be- 
 tween the Baron Steuben and the inspector general. I will 
 make another distinction : I will distinguish between the 
 Baron Steuben uninformed and the Baron Steuben acquainted 
 w T ith facts and difficulties. A third difference I will observe, 
 and that is between the Baron Steuben in good humor and 
 the same gentleman (zoonically) angry and fretted. You see 
 how readily I observe your injunctions." 
 
 As an evidence of the absolute want of the necessary ma- 
 terials in a city like Philadelphia, it may be mentioned here, 
 that two copies of the Regulations, which Steuben had ordered 
 to be superbly bound for General Washington and the French 
 minister, could not be finished because the bookbinder, after 
 searching the whole city over, had not been able to procure 
 any gold leaf for gilding the books. 
 
 Congress, on the 5th of April, Hid, acknowledged Steu- 
 
220 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 bun's work* by resolving "that Baron Steuben, inspector 
 general, be informed by the president that Congress enter- 
 tain a high sense of his merit, displayed in a variety of in- 
 stances, but especially in the system of military order and 
 discipline formed and presented by him to Congress." 
 
 The governors of the different States, and presidents of 
 Assemblies also, to whom Steuben had sent copies of his Regu- 
 lations for their adoption by the several militias, most cheer- 
 fully declared that a great want was supplied by his book. 
 We quote only one of these letters, which is of more general 
 interest. 
 
 "I acknowledge myself under great obligations to you," 
 writes Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey, from 
 Trenton, on the 22d of May, 1 779,f "for your generous offer 
 of introducing your military regulations among our militia. 
 The advantages that will result from carrying your proposal 
 into execution must be evident on the least reflection. Our 
 militia is composed of materials capable of being formed into 
 as good soldiers as any part of the world can produce, and 
 disciplined upon your plan, would certainly constitute the best 
 and most natural defense of a republican State against all hos- 
 tile invasion. It will, however, be attended with some diffi- 
 culty to prevail on a people subsisting by agriculture, to 
 devote a proper portion of their time to this purpose. But 
 as the State is about raising and incorporating a corps of 
 militia for its own defense, the discipline proposed may be 
 easily introduced among those troops; and their officers being 
 made masters of it, will by degrees diffuse it through the 
 whole State. Whenever, therefore, this body is raised, I shall 
 take the liberty to apply to you to request the commander-in- 
 chief to send me an officer capable of teaching your rules, and 
 giving the necessary explanations. From a certain passage in 
 your letter, sir, I should be led to conclude that you had ac- 
 
 * Journals of Congress, v., 137. 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 221 
 
 companied it with a copy of your Regulations, but if you did 
 I have not had the pleasure of receiving it. 
 
 " The eminent advantages which our army has derived from 
 your skill and industry hi improving their discipline will, I 
 doubt not, be gratefully acknowledged by every true Amer- 
 ican, and by none with more sensibility and ardor than by me." 
 The French ambassador, Mr. Gerard, to whom Steuben 
 had sent copies of the Regulations for the Prince De Mont- 
 barey and Count Vergennes, on the 16th of July, 1779, 
 answered,* that with the books he would inform those per- 
 sonages of Steuben's success, of which he had already given 
 them most flattering accounts. 
 
 During his stay at Philadelphia Steuben, besides writing 
 out his regulations for the army, was often consulted in mat- 
 ters pertaining to his department. Thus Joseph Reed, pres- 
 ident of Congress, invited him to assist in the survey of the 
 neighborhood of Philadelphia, in order to establish better de- 
 fenses of the city. 
 
 "The season and weather growing favorable," writes Reed, 
 on the 21st of February, 1779,| "to attend to the defense of 
 the river and city, I shall take it as a particular favor if you 
 wo'uld accompany me on this service this week. 
 
 "It is proposed to cross, with our horses, at Gloucester 
 Point on Tuesday morning, if the weather will admit, and to 
 proceed thence to Redbank and Billingsport, crossing over 
 thence to Mudisland and the Pennsylvania shore, so as to 
 complete the whole survey before we return to town again. 
 
 "As your good judgment and experience may suggest 
 remedies for former defects, and perhaps some new measures 
 for the greater security of this important city, I hope you will 
 not find any inconvenience in devoting two or three days to 
 so valuable a purpose." 
 
 Steuben, after having finished his work, prepared to join 
 the main army, which was then in winter quarters at Bound- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. f Ibidem. Spraguc. 
 
222 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 brook and Middlebrook. Before leaving Philadelphia he pro- 
 posed an indemnification for the officers who had assisted him 
 in his work, and asked a thousand dollars for Colonel Fleury, 
 eight hundred dollars for Captain Walker, six hundred dollars 
 for Captain De l'Enfant, and four hundred dollars for Mr. 
 Duponceau, all of which were granted. lie addressed this 
 application to the board of war, at that time composed of 
 Messrs. Peters and Pickering. 
 
 "I can not refrain," says Steuben,* "from relating an 
 anecdote in this place, which has since caused me as much 
 mirth as it at first irritated and annoyed me. Although the 
 board of war was only composed of Peters and Pickering, 
 there was always a member of Congress who took part in 
 their deliberations. At this time it was Mr. Root, of Connec- 
 ticut, who filled this office. I came one day to the war office, 
 probably at the time when they were deliberating how they 
 should reimburse me for the expense I had been at while em- 
 ployed preparing my work. Mr. Root asked me how many 
 copies of it had been printed ? I said three thousand. ' How 
 many,' he replied, ' shall you require for the officers of the 
 army?' 'About eighteen hundred,' was my answer. 'There 
 will therefore be twelve hundred left over,' said Mr. Root ; 
 4 the book will sell well.' He then made a calculation in an 
 under tone, and resumed — 'But you could sell the remaining 
 copies, and that would pay your expenses while in town.' If 
 I had not remarked that Mr. Peters bent his head and blushed 
 at hearing this proposal, I should certainly have told 1 hem my 
 mind in pretty strong language. For a long time I did not 
 utter a word ; at last I rose and said to Mr. Root that I 
 was the more astounded at his proposition as I had not 
 asked for any reimbursement of my expenses out of the public 
 money." 
 
 On the 26th of March, 1779, Steuben hastened to join the 
 army in New Jersey. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Steuben puts mis Theory -in Practice.— He reviews the Troops and forms the 
 Battalions on a fixed Standard —He creates Light Infantry.— Its Im- 
 portance in the War and its Adoption in Europe.— Dr. Thacher's Descrip- 
 tion of Steuben's Reviews, and North's Remarks about the Inspection- 
 Movements of the Army.— Storming and Capture of Stony Point.— Attack 
 with the Bayonet.— The Army begins to understand the Value of the 
 Bayonet.— Waane's Monument.— Letter of Ex-President Pierce.— Steuben's 
 Opinion about the Situation of the American Army after the Capture of 
 Stony Point.— Correspondence between Gerard and Steuben.— Their high 
 Opinion of the Gallantry of Wayne and Fleury.— Steuben accompanies the 
 French Ambassador into the Camp.— He acts here, as on later Occasions, 
 as Master of Ceremonies.— Hamilton's Letter.— Steuben in West Point.— 
 His official Duties described by Duponceau— His Popularity among the 
 Soldiers.— His Letter to Franklin.— The American Soldiers take the middle 
 Ground between the Pope's Troops and the Prussians, i. e., the worst and 
 
 THE BEST OF THE TlME.— WlNTER QUARTERS AT MoRRISTOWN.— STEUBEN ENJOYS 
 THE ENTIRE CONFIDENCE OF OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS.— TlIE AliMY CONVINCED OF 
 
 THE Necessity OF Steuben's Reforms— His financial Difficulties.— Washing- 
 ton's Letter to Congress in regard to them.— Narrow-mindedness of the 
 native Officers.— Smai.lwood and Baron De Kalb.— Steuben receives a 
 small Loan from Boudinot.— He applies repeatedly to Congress either for 
 Support or for his Discharge.— Walker's Apprehensions on account of 
 Steuben's Irritation.— Congress resolves to pay him Two Hundred and Fifty 
 Louisdors. 
 
 STEUBEN made no delay in putting his theory into practice. 
 He reviewed all the regiments, and ordered the introduction 
 Of the system of maneuvers contained in the Regulations. He 
 was most particular about the formations in battalions, and if 
 the strength of a regiment was not sufficient to form a battal- 
 ion, he joined to it another regiment equally weak, so that both 
 might form a battalion, and if this was impracticable, he formed 
 it into two divisions. In this way the number of a battalion 
 signified a certain number of men, by which it was easy to 
 form an estimate of their force, and to maneuver troops. Con- 
 gress, by its resolution of the 9th of March, 1779, had fixed the 
 effective strength of the infantry at eighty battalions, each of 
 
224 LITE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 which, according to the resolution of the 27th of March, 1778, 
 had to number four hundred and seventy-seven privates, so 
 that the whole infantry would have consisted of thirty-eight 
 thousand one hundred and sixty men. But as Congress had 
 no power to command, and could only make recommendations 
 to the different States, scarcely one half of this number was 
 ever under arras. 
 
 We have not been able to find any correct statement of 
 the strength of the southern army, but without doing injustice 
 to the South, we may reasonably suppose that matters stood 
 much worse there than in the North, because the South was 
 more vehemently divided in itself, and less enthusiastic than 
 the North. On the other hand we find, in the Steuben Pa- 
 pers, the strength of the principal army exactly stated. 
 
 General Washington's army, at the beginning of the cam- 
 paign of 1779, consisted of six divisions, of two brigades each, 
 numbering in all eleven thousand and sixty-seven men — forty- 
 six regiments. These regiments had from one hundred and 
 fifty (seventh Virginia) to four hundred and thirty (sixth Con- 
 necticut) rank and file. Steuben selected from each regiment, 
 in proportion to its strength, a number of picked men, to form 
 eight light infantry companies, and then, where they were too 
 weak, united the regiments in one battalion. Thus the whole 
 army consisted of thirty-five battalions (nine thousand seven 
 hundred and fifty-five men), making two hundred and seventy- 
 eight the average strength of each battalion, and the eight 
 companies of light infantry before mentioned. Each of the 
 latter had one field officer, four captains, eight subalterns, 
 twelve sergeants, and one hundred and sixty-four rank and 
 file. The divisions were severally known as the Virginia, 
 Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and 
 North Carolina. 
 
 The creation and organization of the light infantry is one 
 of the greatest services Steuben did to the American army. 
 It is a convincing proof of his talent for organization ; how he 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 225 
 
 turned to account the natural advantages which the Americans 
 possessed from the beginning of the war in consequence of 
 their riflemen and mode of lighting in irregular bodies ; and 
 how he drilled and exercised them by military rules, and 
 made them an important arm of the service. By their en- 
 gagements with the Indians, the colonists were accustomed 
 to isolated and scattering fighting, and even in the revolu- 
 tionary war, availing themselves of every advantage of the 
 ground, they gained final success over the close masses of the 
 enemy. Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga was caused, in a 
 great degree, by this system of fighting, the masses of skir- 
 mishers having decided the fate of the day. To guard against 
 similar disasters in future, the English increased the number 
 of their light troops, and exercised their light infantry in 
 skirmishing and fighting in extended lines. Lord Cornwallis 
 proved afterward in the South how much an able general could 
 achieve with this sort of troops. The great point now was 
 not to be outdone by the enemy. The formation of the light 
 infantry companies of the best and most tried soldiers, was 
 the surest means of guarding against this, and Steuben gained 
 his object most completely. Their first glorious exploit was 
 the storming of Stony Point, which Steuben thought equal 
 to any event of the Seven Years' War. From 1780, when 
 they were newly raised and established on a more permanent 
 basis, these troops were the model corps of the entire army, 
 and proved their usefulness and ability on all subsequent oc- 
 casions, as, for instance, in Virginia, where Lafayette's soldiers 
 were the light infantry which Steuben had formed and drilled 
 the year before. 
 
 We have to enter more particularly into the details of its 
 formation in the history of the campaign of 1780 ; but it may 
 here be observed, that the light infantry was soon transplant- 
 ed from American to European soil, and that the skirmishing 
 and sharp-shooting mode of fighting was introduced into Eu- 
 ropean armies in opposition to the close lines and masses still 
 
 10* 
 
226 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 in vogue during the Seven Years' War. Developed and ar- 
 ranged by master hands, it replaced the old system in the 
 wars of 1792-1815. Frederick the Great, after careful ob- 
 servation of what had taken place in America, laid the found- 
 ation of light infantry, in the latter years of his reign, by the 
 creation of three light infantry regiments, and the employment 
 of several Hessian, Brunswick, and Anspach officers, who had 
 taken part in the American war. His successor extended the 
 new formation in 1787 to twenty battalions, under the name of 
 " fusilier battalions," and gave them in l788-'89 the first writ- 
 ten regulations on rifle-practicing and skirmishing, for which 
 the examples of the American war served as a basis.* Finally, 
 Napoleon brought this new system to its present perfection. 
 
 When the army took the field, Steuben continued to re- 
 view and drill the troops. Thacher relates how these reviews 
 were held, and his report may be inserted here to give an ad- 
 equate idea of the system which Steuben had inaugurated. 
 
 " On the 28th of May Baron Steuben reviewed and in- 
 spected our brigade. The troops were paraded in a single 
 line, with shoulder arms, every officer in his particular station. 
 The baron first reviewed the line in this position, passing in 
 front with a scrutinizing eye ; after which he took into his 
 hands the muskets and accouterments of every soldier, exam- 
 ining them with particular accuracy and precision, applauding 
 or condemning, according to the condition in w T hich he found 
 them. He required that the muskets and bayonets should 
 exhibit the brightest polish ; not a spot of rust, or defect in 
 any part, could elude his vigilance. He inquired, also, into 
 the conduct of the officers toward the men, censuring every 
 fault and applauding every meritorious action. Next he re- 
 quired of me, as surgeon, a list of the sick, with a particular 
 statement of their accommodations and mode of treatment, 
 and even visited some of the sick in their cabins. The baron 
 
 ♦Gneisenau. Erste Abthcilung. Rcdigirt von dor Ilistorischen Abthei- 
 lung des General-Stabe3. Berlin, 1S5G. E. S. Mittlor & Solm. 8vo, pp. 30, 31. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 227 
 
 is hold in universal respect, and considered as a valuable ac- 
 quisition to our country. He is distinguished for his pro 
 found knowledge of tactics, his ability to reform and disci- 
 pline an army, for his affectionate attachment to a good and 
 faithful soldier, and his utter aversion to every appearance 
 of insubordination and neglect of duty. The Continental 
 army has improved with great rapidity under his inspection 
 and review.* 
 
 "With what strict scrutiny were the inspections made," 
 relates William North. " I have seen the baron and his as- 
 sistants seven long hours inspecting a brigade of three small 
 regiments ! Every man not present must be accounted for ; 
 if in camp, sick or well, they were produced or visited ; every 
 musket handled and searched, cartridge boxes opened, even 
 the flints and cartridges counted ; knapsacks unslung, and 
 every article of clothing spread on the soldier's blanket, and 
 tested by his little book, whether what he had received from 
 the United States within the year was there, if not, to be ac- 
 counted for. Hospitals, stores, laboratories, every place and 
 every thing, was open to inspection and inspected, and what 
 officer's mind was at ease if losses or expenditures could not, 
 on the day of searching, be fully and fairly accounted for? 
 The inspections were every month, and wonderful was the 
 effect, not only with regard to economy, but in creating a 
 spirit of emulation between different corps. I have known 
 the subalterns of a regiment appropriate one of their two ra- 
 tions to the bettering the appearance of their men, but this 
 was at a later period of the war, when supplies and payments 
 were more ample and more regular." 
 
 The enemy commenced the campaign of 1779 by a move- 
 ment of frigates and transport ships on the North river. The 
 commander-in-chief was anxious for the safety of West Point, 
 and hastened his march by the Clove, to arrive there in time. 
 But General Clinton having spent three days taking the little 
 * A Military Journal, p. 100. 
 
228 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 redoubt at Verplanck's Point, contented himself with the pos- 
 session of King's Ferry, fortified Stony Point, left a garrison 
 of eight hundred men there, made some additions to the 
 works at Verplanck's Point, left about four hundred there, 
 and then returned to New York. The American army re- 
 mained on the hills round West Point, until General Wayne, 
 with twelve hundred light infantry, took Stony Point at the 
 point of the bayonet, and took the entire garrison prisoners. 
 An attempt was made next day against Verplanck's Point, 
 but it was unsuccessful. General Clinton advancing, with al- 
 most the whole of his army, ascended the river with several 
 frigates, but before his arrival Stony Point was demolished, all 
 the wood work and fascines burnt, and the American troops 
 returned to their former position. He withdrew the garrison 
 from Verplanck's Point, and retired to New York. 
 
 The engagement at Stony Point proved the value of the 
 bayonet as an arm. Previous to this time Steuben preached 
 in vain on the usefulness of this weapon. The soldiers had no 
 faith in it. The day of the attack, General Wayne forbid his 
 division, on pain of death, from loading a single musket. 
 When coming to the charge, one soldier fell out of the ranks 
 to load his musket, and the officer of his company ran him 
 through at once. The attack was made and the fort captured 
 without firing a shot. The next day, Steuben accompanied 
 the general-in-chief to Stony Point. The moment they ap- 
 peared, Steuben was surrounded by all his young soldiers, and 
 they unanimously assured him that they would take care for the 
 future not to lose their bayonets, nor roast beefsteaks with them, 
 as they used to do. Steuben availed himself of this moment of 
 enthusiasm for the bayonet to obtain an order from the com- 
 mander-in-chief, that henceforth the bayonet should be con- 
 tinually fixed to the muskets on all occasions. He took away 
 the belts and sheaths from the men, and had them returned to 
 the store, with orders to the commissary not to serve out any 
 more. By this arrangement he not only saved the expense of 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 229 
 
 belts and scabbards — very considerable in itself — but he also 
 saved about four thousand bayonets per annum, in an army of 
 twelve thousand men. Since then, the drill for fixing and un- 
 fixing bayonets has been abolished, and the bayonet is con- 
 sidered as essential a part of the musket as the lock. 
 
 It may be stated in this connection that, on the 16th day 
 of July, 1857, at the very place where the old fort once stood, 
 the corner-stone of a monument was laid, in honor of General 
 Wayne. On this occasion patriotic orations and toasts were 
 delivered by dozens, and all the revolutionary generals and 
 officers praised in the highest Fourth of July style, but in all 
 these orations we can not find Steuben's name mentioned. Mr. 
 Ex-President Pierce says, in his letter to the committee, that 
 "there was nothing in the Peninsular war, in which such 
 striking advantages were occasionally gained by fixed bay- 
 onets and locks without flints, more complete in its plan, dar- 
 ing, and success, than the storming of Stony Point 
 
 It is difficult to determine which is most worthy of admiration 
 — the dashing intrepidity of the commanding general as he en- 
 tered the works, wounded and bleeding, or the coolness and 
 quick military perception which, Washington says, improved 
 upon the plan which he had recommended." 
 
 It would seem that Mr. Pierce did not know that it w T as 
 Steuben who taught the American soldier to make use of the 
 bayonet, and that Steuben's sub-inspector, Fleury, shared with 
 Wayne the glory of this grand exploit. Wayne really does 
 not lose by giving to others their due. If there be any thing 
 that shows Steuben's noble and modest character in its proper 
 light, it is the fact, that he was the first who unreservedly ad- 
 mired the bravery of Wayne and Fleury — that he was happy 
 at the brilliant achievement, and that, even in the private 
 intercourse with his friends, he did not allude to his indirect 
 participation in the success of the enterprise. 
 
 Thus we find in the " Steuben Papers" a very interest- 
 ing letter, addressed to him by the French ambassador, Mr. 
 
2'M) h I 9 B OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Gerard. As all that relates to that glorious exploit deserves 
 to be preserved, we translate it here, the more readily as it 
 shows, at the same time, Steuben's sentiments with regard 
 to it. 
 
 "Nothing is in my opinion more just, my dear baron," 
 writes Gerard, from Philadelphia, on the 27th of July 1779, 
 " than the eulogy which you bestow upon the expedition against 
 Stony Point. Plan, execution, courage, discipline, address and 
 energy, in short, the most rare qualities were found united 
 there, and I am convinced that this action will as much elevate 
 the ideas of Europe about the military qualities of the Ameri- 
 cans, as the success . . . * had devoted the talent of our illus- 
 trious and amiable general. I have sent an express to Balti- 
 more to look out for a vessel which might immediately carry 
 the news of this triumph to France. Although I am not as 
 fond as you are of all the individuals here, the success of this 
 country touches me as much as that of our own arms. As to 
 General Wayne, I believe that we both entertain the same 
 sentiments. (Steuben's letter of the 21st of July, to which 
 this passage refers, is lost : but Greene writes, on the same 
 da}- to his wife, that Steuben thought this gallant action would 
 fix the character of the commanding officer in any part of the 
 world.) When you see him, please tell him that nobody re- 
 gards with more pleasure than I the glory which he is going 
 to acquire. The honor which our brave and noble Fleury won 
 on this occasion touches me equally, and I expect with pleas- 
 ure the flattering recompense which he is destined to receive. 
 I consider this brilliant success as a new inducement for him 
 to stay in xVmerica; he at least can not leave us in the course 
 
 * Mr. Gerard's handwriting is so excessively difficult to decipher, that we 
 could not read two words, which are marked with periods. It took us more 
 than three hours to make out the hieroglyphics of this short letter. It is 
 a characteristic trait of the French noblemen of that day, to write in a man- 
 ner that was exceedingly difficult to read. This forms a striking contrast 
 to the clear, legible and bold handwriting of their American cotempora- 
 
L I F R OF ST E U P> E N . 23 I 
 
 of this campaign. I am going to write to my court, that it 
 may grant him such rewards as prove the interest which it 
 takes in the success of America. 
 
 " Colonel Pickering has sent me a copy of your Regulations 
 and promised me six more. Courage, my dear baron ; those 
 talents, which know how to do good without giving umbrage 
 and causing jealousy, are always sure to triumph ultimately 
 over all obstacles. Your success can not increase the attach- 
 ment of your friends; but they will be happy if they are cer- 
 tain that you are as happy as you deserve to be." 
 
 Mr. Gerard, two months after having written this letter, 
 left the country and was relieved by Mr. De la Luzerne, who 
 arrived at Boston toward the end of August, 1779. Steuben 
 was at that time just reviewing the corps of General Gates in 
 Providence, and was requested by the chevalier to join him on 
 his route to head-quarters. After having finished his inspec- 
 tion, he went to Hartford, where lie met the French minister, 
 and whence they proceeded together by Wet hers field, New 
 Haven, Fairfield and Danbury to Fishkill, where General 
 Washington had arrived to receive Mr. De la Luzerne. 
 
 "I had not the honor of knowing him before," says Stfeu- 
 ben in one of his memorials ; * " and although he received me 
 with the utmost politeness, I saw that he knew nothing of me, 
 and that the French ministry had not informed him how it 
 happened that I had come to this country. This convinced me 
 that they had sent me adrift and that I was to manage for 
 myself as w T ell as I could. I took good care not to allow Mr. 
 De la Luzerne to perceive what I thought, and mentioned 
 only incidentally my acquaintances at Versailles and the way 
 I came to America, and. determined to play the part of an 
 American officer who had no other protection or support." 
 
 At head-quarters they did not know the etiquette to be 
 observed to receive the French minister. Steuben was there- 
 fore appealed to as the person most likely to know how to 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 
232 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 make the necessary arrangements. He had thus an opportu- 
 nity of using his old experience as court marshal, and was 
 afterward constantly applied to both by the government and 
 the foreign ministers to be, as it were, the master of ceremo- 
 nies in their mutual relations. "Will you have the goodness," 
 writes Alexander Hamilton, then adjutant general, On the 5th 
 of September, 1779, to Steuben,* "to send on an express to 
 the general, informing him of the daily stages which it is pro- 
 posed to make and the time of your intended arrival at camp ? 
 If the general should meet Mr. De la Luzerne at Fishkill, 
 as a private gentleman, will he think the compliment amiss ? 
 This is entre nous : I see no impropriety in it ; but I shall be 
 obliged to you to favor me with your opinion on this, and on 
 any other point that may occur to you, avec franchise. At 
 his Excellency's debarkation at head-quarters, Major Gibbs 
 has a violent inclination to make a little flourish at the head 
 of his men. Will this be an infringement on your plan ?" 
 
 When he had seen a part of the army and the works at 
 West Point, the Chevalier De la Luzerne left to pay his re- 
 spects to Congress at Philadelphia. 
 
 We found among the Steuben papers an opinion of Steu- 
 ben, which, written at West Point on the 27th day of July, 
 1779, by order of General Washington, describes the situa- 
 tion of the American army after the capture of Stony Point, 
 and sheds an interesting light on the condition of affairs. It 
 reads in the translation as follows : 
 
 " Our present situation is about the same as it was at the 
 commencement of this campaign. The enemy is still numer- 
 ically superior. Their troops are better provided than ours. 
 They are better able to carry out their plans, and on account 
 of their ships, they are masters of the coast, and of the mouth 
 of the North river. 
 
 " The taking of Stony Point was a great advantage for our 
 side. It has not only encouraged the army but the people. 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 233 
 
 It has shown the enemy that our generals know how to make 
 a plan, and that our officers and soldiers know how to carry it 
 out with boldness and precision. It has delayed the field op- 
 erations of the enemy, but it has not altogether defeated their 
 plans. 
 
 u Let us examine what those plans probably are. The 
 great preparation which the enemy have made to protect 
 themselves on both sides of the river at King's Ferry ; the 
 time, labor and expense they have employed in fortifying this 
 point — can they have any other object than the burning and 
 plundering of the coast of Connecticut ? Would they have 
 fortified Stony and Verplanck's Points to terminate their con- 
 quests there for this campaign ? Neither supposition is at all 
 probable. Their plans must be more comprehensive. Hav- 
 ing fortified these two points, and leaving a sufficient garrison 
 in them, they are at liberty to take the rest of their forces 
 wherever they think proper, and in case of a reverse these 
 two points are a support for their troops, and a harbor for 
 their vessels. 
 
 " They will then invade the country, with a view to encour- 
 aging us to follow them by detachments, or with our full force, 
 while they will be ready at any moment to make an attack on 
 West Point, with three or four thousand men, and the vessels 
 necessary for their transport. If, on the other hand, we do 
 not allow ourselves to be drawn from our present position by 
 their invasions, it is possible that they may send a corps of five 
 or six thousand men, on either side of the river, to seem to 
 threaten our flanks, and to try to maneuver in our rear, so as 
 to attack West Point. This, however, seems to me very dif- 
 ficult, particularly on the side of the fort. 
 
 "Whatever means they may employ, I am positive that their 
 operations are directed exclusively to getting possession of this 
 post, and of the river as far as Albany. If this is not their plan 
 they have not got one which is worth the expense of a cam- 
 paign. On their success depends — the fate of America. The con- 
 
234 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 sequence is, therefore, that there is nothing of greater impor- 
 tance to us than to avert this blow. Let them burn whatever 
 they have not burned already, and this campaign will add to 
 their shame but not to their success. Were West Point 
 strongly fortified, supplied with sufficient artillery, ammuni- 
 tion and provisions, and a garrison of two thousand men, we 
 ought not to be induced to take our forces more than a day's 
 march from it. To have the means of relieving it, I go 
 further, and say, that our army should be destroyed or taken, 
 before we allow them to commence an attack on West Point. 
 " Our position is good, on both sides of the river, for an 
 army inferior in point of numerical strength. The enemy can 
 not easily turn it. It is favorable with regard to our maga- 
 zines and the river transports. If this ground has any disad- 
 vantage, it is that one post can not readily succor another. 
 Each brigade is obliged to defend itself; and for this reason 
 it is absolutely necessary, not only that the generals, but all 
 the officers should reconnoiter the ground and all the roads 
 and accessible paths. The right wing, which extends to Suf- 
 ferns, is very advantageously placed. Nevertheless, were it 
 possible to place a brigade or two somewhere between Sufferns 
 and Fort Montgomery, the enemy would be compelled to 
 keep more men and ships near Stony Point, and although I do 
 not think it advisable to risk a second enterprise against the 
 same point, I should wish the enemy to apprehend it. The 
 more of their forces that we keep in check from this side, the 
 less they will have to operate elsewhere. Small vidette de- 
 tachments along this side of the river to Newark, and on the 
 other side of the Croton river as far as Norwalk, with relays 
 of horses, will be able to give us timely notice of all the 
 enemy's movements, and warn the militia to take arms. The 
 harvest is nearly over, and the people are therefore better 
 able to take arms in case of need. But, in my opinion, neither 
 Jersey nor Connecticut ought to rely much on the detach- 
 ments of these troops. Let us defend the North ri\cr and 
 
LIFE OF STEUBFN 
 
 235 
 
 hold West Point, and the end of our campaign will be glo- 
 rious. 
 
 « p # g, — The above is my opinion upon the present con- 
 dition of* affairs. The arrival of our ally's fleet on the coast 
 would materially change our plan of operations." 
 
 The army remained inactive at West Point, and the En- 
 glish equally so at New York. "Our troops," relates Du- 
 ponceau,* " during this bloodless campaign frequently shifted 
 their quarters, and Ave of course followed. My labor during 
 that time was any thing but pleasant. The reports of the 
 different corps and departments of the army, which were 
 called returns, containing the number of men, the quantity of 
 provisions, clothing, arms, ammunition, etc., were all sent 
 to Baron Steuben, as inspector general of the army. From 
 those documents we had to make extracts, and to frame out 
 of them general returns to be laid before the commander-in- 
 chief. That was a tedious business. A more agreeable duty 
 was that of attending the baron on horseback when he went 
 to inspect the troops. He was much beloved by the soldiers, 
 though he was a strict disciplinarian, and passionate withal. 
 But there was in him a fund of goodness, which displayed 
 itself on many occasions, and whieh could even be read in his 
 severe countenance, so that he was extremely popular. He 
 never did an act of injustice but he repaired it, as soon as dis- 
 covered, by the most public acknowledgment. Of this I have 
 seen several instances. The Marquis De Lafayette and the 
 Baron De Steuben w r ere great favorites w r ith the army, and 
 were called by no other names. A woman w r ent once to the 
 latter to ask his permission to call her child after him. 'How 
 will you call him ?' said Steuben. 'Why, to be sure,' replied 
 she, ' I '11 call him Baron.' 
 
 "His fits of passion never offended the soldier. When 
 some movement or maneuver was not performed to his mind, 
 
 * Duponceau's MS. Letters. No. ix., dated Philadelphia, August 31, 
 1837. 
 
23G LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 he began to swear in German, then in French, and then in 
 both languages together. When he had exhausted hia artil- 
 lery of foreign oaths he would call to his aids, \ My dear 
 Walker, or my dear Duponceau, come and swear for me in 
 English — these fellows will not do what I bid them.' A good- 
 natured smile then went through the ranks, and at last the 
 maneuver or the movement was perfectly performed." 
 
 From West Point, on the 28th of September, ] 779, Steuben 
 wrote the following letter to Benjamin Franklin, then in Paris :* 
 
 "I take the liberty of transmitting you a few copies of the 
 Regulations published last winter for the service of the infan- 
 try. As this work has been under my direction, I must let 
 you know that circumstances have obliged me to deviate from 
 principles adopted in the European armies, such as the forma- 
 tion in two ranks, the weakness of our battalions, etc. Young 
 as we are, we have already our prejudices as the most ancient 
 nations. The prepossession in favor of the British service has 
 obliged me to comply with many things which are against my 
 principles. However, we have now fixed regulations, which 
 will at least produce a uniformity in the service ; and our sys- 
 tem, though imperfect, is far preferable to having none. 
 
 " I leave it to your other correspondents to give you an 
 account of the present state of our army. If they tell you 
 that our order and discipline equal that of the French and 
 Prussian armies, do not believe them ; but do not believe them, 
 either, if they compare our troops to those of the pope ; and 
 take a just medium between those two extremes. Though 
 we are so young that we scarcely begin to walk, we can take 
 already Stony Point and Paul us Hook with the point of the 
 bayonet, without firing a single shot. This is very premature, 
 yet we still have many weaknesses which bespeak our infancy. 
 We w T ant, above all, the true meaning of the words liberty, 
 independence, etc., that the child may not make use of them 
 against his father, or the soldier against his officer. 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN 237 
 
 " I will say nothing of our political affairs — these do not 
 fall within my province. All I can assure you of is that the 
 English will not beat us, if we do n't beat ourselves." 
 
 In November, 1779, the general-in-chief left a sufficient 
 force at West Point and the environs, and the rest of the 
 army took up winter quarters in the vicinity of Morristown, 
 in New Jersey, where head-quarters were established, and 
 Steuben continued to perform his duties in inspecting and re- 
 viewing the troops. Officers and soldiers placed the utmost 
 confidence in him, and strictly obeyed his orders. The briga- 
 diers no longer protested against his command, and the cabals 
 against him were at an end. Two of the major generals who 
 had made the first difficulty no longer belonged to the army 
 (Lee and Mifflin) ; and the third (Lafayette) was absent. Steuben 
 had succeeded in convincing the army of the absolute necessity 
 of his reforms, and from his indefatigable zeal they now readily 
 perceived that it was the good of the army, and not personal 
 ambition, that prompted him in his endeavors for the firm es- 
 tablishment of the inspectorship. He had made some progress 
 in the English language, so that he could express himself more 
 intelligibly. Prospects became brighter, and an ultimate suc- 
 cess certain.* 
 
 Steuben was, however, very badly oft* in a financial point 
 of view. He did not receive any pay more than the rest of 
 the army, and was often obliged to buy forage for his horses 
 and food for his servants. His own funds were exhausted, and 
 very often he was in want of the greatest necessaries. 
 
 Washington, to remedy this injustice, as early as the 17th 
 of August, 1779, had laid the matter before Congress in the 
 following letter :f 
 
 u Inclosed is also," he says, " a memorandum of the money 
 for which I have given warrants to Baron Steuben in the 
 course of the present year. It amounts to a considerable sum 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 | Washington's Writings, vi., 325. 
 
238 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 more than his pay established by Congress ($2000 per year). 
 This is a subject which embarrasses me. It is reasonable that 
 a man devoting his time and services to the public, and by 
 general consent a very useful one, should at least have his 
 expenses borne. His established pay is certainly altogether 
 inadequate to this. A large nominal sum goes but a little 
 way. But while there is a sum fixed by Congress, I am cer- 
 tainly not at liberty to exceed it ; and though I have hitherto 
 complied, from the indelicacy of a refusal to a foreigner, to a 
 man of high rank, to one who is rendering the most indefati- 
 gable and beneficial services, yet I shall be under the necessity 
 of discontinuing the practice. Neither could I recommend 
 that a sufficient allowance should be formally determined ; for 
 though there may be less reason to expect foreigners than na- 
 tives to make pecuniary sacrifices to this country, and though 
 some of them may have no private resources, so remote from 
 home, for their support, yet it would be difficult to reconcile 
 our own officers to a measure which would make so great and 
 palpable a difference in the compensation for the respective 
 services. 
 
 " It is true, the baron, from the nature of his office, will 
 often have to travel from one part of the army to another, 
 which will occasion extra expense, and will justify an extra 
 allowance. It is upon this principle that my last warrant was 
 granted, as he was just setting out on a journey to Providence 
 But perhaps the best mode to enable the baron, and others 
 in his situation, to defray their necessary expenses in the ser- 
 vice, may be to invest the board of war with a discretionary 
 power to grant such sums, from time to time, as they shall 
 judge reasonable, and proportioned to the circumstances of 
 the persons." 
 
 Congress, however, for more than six months, did not act 
 agreeably to these suggestions, and things became the worse 
 for Steuben, as Washington could not continue issuing war- 
 rants for him. Another great inconvenience was, that while 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 239 
 
 the officers belonging to particular States sometimes received 
 small sums from their respective States, those who were not 
 so situated, got nothing. Steuben was not the only person 
 who was treated in this way. 
 
 We find an interesting and significant instance of the mode 
 in which foreign officers were treated, and in which Baron De 
 Kalb was even subjected to insult by a subordinate officer.* 
 De Kalb commanded the army of Maryland, in which General 
 Smallwood was brigadier. The State sent a leather chest, 
 containing coffee, brandy, etc., for the use of the officers. 
 Brigadier Smallwood put a guard on the chest, with orders 
 not to give out the smallest thing to General De Kalb, or to 
 his order — the same De Kalb who was soon afterward killed 
 for the benefit of the State of Maryland, as well as the other 
 States. Steuben's situation was similar to that of Mr. De Kalb 
 and all the foreign officers. They belonged to the continent 
 at large, which was the same as belonging to nobody. When 
 Steuben entered his winter quarters at Morristown, he re- 
 ceived neither rations for his servants nor forage for his horses. 
 He could not even get a payment on account in paper money. 
 Without funds or credit, his situation was extremely disagree- 
 able, and if Mr. Boudinot, formerly member of Congress, had 
 not had the kindness to lend him a proportionally small sum, 
 he would, in fact, have been reduced to starvation. To put 
 an end to this misery, Steuben asked from Congress either an 
 increase of his pay, adequate to meet his expenses while on 
 duty, or his dismissal. On the 7th of March, 1780, Congress 
 allowed him two hundred and fifty louisdors for reimburse- 
 ment of his expenses in coming to America, but took no meas- 
 ures to comply definitely with his wishes. f These two hun- 
 dred and fifty louisdors (a $3.83) were paid to him in bills of 
 exchange, which he negotiated at a discount of forty per cent. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. Sprague. 
 
 f Resolutions, Acts and Ordei'3 of Congress, vol. vi., p. 39. C. Dunlap's 
 edition. 
 
 6 
 
240 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " Your intention of quitting us," writes Colonel Benjamin 
 Walker, on the 10th of March, 1780, to Steuben,* " can not 
 but give me much concern, both as an individual and as a 
 member of the commonwealth, convinced as I am of the ne- 
 cessity of your presence to the existence of order and disci- 
 pline in the army. I can not but dread the moment when 
 such event shall take place, for much am I afraid we should 
 again fall into that state of absolute negligence and disorder 
 from which you have in some measure drawn us. However, I 
 hope Congress will so far see the interest of the country as to 
 make your stay among us consistent with your regard to your- 
 self." 
 
 Although by the above act Steuben's absolute wants were 
 provided for, there was no definite provision made for the 
 extra expenses of his peculiar office, nor was there any fixed 
 arrangement by which he could guide himself for the future. 
 He nevertheless remained convinced that the faithful and dili- 
 gent performance of his duty would suggest to Congress the 
 absolute justice of performing theirs. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, voL L 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Steuben, by order of Washington, goes to Philadelphia, to propose to Con- 
 gress the Adoption of new Laws for the Re-formation of the Army. — Cor- 
 respondence with the General-in-Chief, the Board of "War, and Congress, 
 from January to April, 1780.— Very important Results abutted at.— Re- 
 formation of the Army. — Steuben's Proposals finally adopted. — A Commit- 
 tee of Three appointed to go to Head-Quarters. — Reforms introduced in 
 September and October, 17S0. — Steuben accompanies the French Ambassador 
 to Camp. — Maneuver in Honor of the Latter. — Washington's Order of the 
 Day. 
 
 f POWAKD the end of January, 1780, when it became neces- 
 -L sary to prepare for the next campaign, Washington or- 
 dered Steuben to Philadelphia, to propose to Congress the 
 adoption of certain laws for the formation of the army on a 
 more permanent and efficient basis. This mission involved the 
 vital question of the real existence of the army, which, on ac- 
 count of the insufficient recruiting system, and the expiration 
 of the term of a large portion of the soldiers, was about to lose 
 almost one third of its strength, when not even one man could 
 be spared on the eve of a new campaign. 
 
 The transactions which Steuben had on the one hand with 
 Washington, and on the other with the board of war and Con- 
 gress, form an interesting chapter in the history of the -war, 
 and have never before been completely published. Having 
 access to all the important letters which refer to this mission, 
 we think it best to communicate them here, unabridged and in 
 their original form. They give the entire narrative of the pro- 
 ceedings and require neither comment nor additions.* 
 
 * Wo found Steuben's draft and copying-book for 1780 among the Walker 
 Papers, in tho possession of Charles A. Mann, Esq., in Utica, who has since 
 presented all that relates to Steuben to the New York Historical Society, 
 
 11 
 
242 L I V K OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " Having arrived here," reports Steuben to Washington, 
 from Philadelphia, the 26th of January, 1780, "on the night 
 of the 22d instant, I delivered, next day, early in the morning, 
 your Excellency's letter to the president of Congress, and I 
 am informed but to day that the board of war is charged to 
 confer with me on the present state of the army. I do not know 
 as yet what this conference will tend to. There is a talk of a 
 committee being to repair to camp, in order to give a new 
 formation to our army. It is spoken likewise of incorporat- 
 ing forty-one regiments, but I really believe that nothing is 
 yet determined upon this subject. 
 
 " The minister of France has communicated to me that he 
 is on the point of asking Congress what means they intend to 
 employ for the operations of the next campaign, that he may 
 give notice to his court, and to the chiefs of squadrons to make 
 their arrangements. He has given me certain assurances that 
 we may reckon on the arrival of a French fleet upon our coast, 
 in case we are able to cooperate on our side. He has told me 
 he has sent his opinion to your Excellency on the subject of 
 the cartel proposed by the enemy. 
 
 " Wednesday, the 26th instant. — I have just received an 
 order from the board of war to attend at their office to- 
 morrow at six o'clock, p. m. 
 
 " Some gentlemen in Congress, and especially the east- 
 ern members, appear extremely well disposed to reinforce 
 the army for the next campaign, and to do all in their power 
 to promote vigorous operations. There are indeed different 
 
 where it can now be found. Wo are under more than ordinary obligations 
 to this gentleman for his kind permission to peruse and use these papers. 
 They were chiefly dictated by Steuben, and corrected by North and Fairlie. 
 T hat they were correctly copied from the original drafts, is proved by the 
 letter of the 28th of March, 1780, which is published by Sparks, in volume 
 ii. of the Revolutionary Correspondence, and by two or three others, which 
 we found and compared, in the Washington State Department. Here wo 
 were unable to compare them all, as we were suddenly interrupted in the 
 perusal of the State Papers, further access to them being forbidden to u.s by 
 the Assistant Secretary of State. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 243 
 
 schemes proposed, but I shall not contradict any, provided we 
 have an army. 
 
 " Thursday, the 27th instant. — I have delivered to the 
 board of war the returns of the infantry, and, as far as I could, 
 I have acquainted them with the state of our army. I am 
 desired to give without delay my opinions of the preparations 
 that are to be made for the next campaign." 
 
 The memorial itself which Steuben delivered to the board 
 of war, ou the 28th of January, 1780, reads as follows, viz. : 
 
 " The incomplete state and extreme inequality of our reg- 
 iments of infantry against all good order and regular forma- 
 tion, induced me last campaign to present to his Excellency, 
 the commander-in-chief, a plan of formation for an order of 
 battle, in which I joined tw T o and three regiments together, in 
 order to form a single battalion according to the regulations. 
 In consequence of this formation, the army, under General 
 Washington, was divided into thirty-five battalions, and eight 
 battalions of light infantry. 
 
 " Although such an arrangement was very necessary, yet 
 it was very difficult to bring the commanding officers of reg- 
 iments to agree to it. The one insisted on the strength of his 
 corps, the other on the older date of his commission, and both 
 claimed the commandment-in-chief of the battalion. Hence 
 several representations, on the part of the officers, were pro- 
 duced, which were accommodated but with the greatest diffi- 
 culty by the commander-in-chief and myself. 
 
 " The formation of eight battalions of light infantry met 
 with no less obstacles, and excited no fewer clamors. Some 
 regiments complained of furnishing too much, others of not 
 furnishing enough. This arrangement was, however, finally 
 adopted ; the eight battalions of light infantry were formed, 
 and when under arms the regiments were formed into battal- 
 ions. 
 
 "Although this formation was extremely defective, yet it 
 was the only one which we could adopt. The arrival of the 
 
244 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 nine months' recruits from New England brought disorder 
 into it, in the midst of the campaign. But now it is totally 
 subverted by the diminution of about five thousand men, 
 whose enlistment expires before the beginning of next cam- 
 paign. Some regiments will be so diminished that it will be 
 necessary to join four or five together to form a battalion, 
 others will be almost reduced to nothing ; few are strong 
 enough to form a battalion for themselves. Hence there will 
 be very weak battalions with twelve field officers at their head, 
 whilst others, of the same strength, will perhaps have but one. 
 To remedy this evil I know of but two means : that of re- 
 ducing the officers and incorporating the regiments, and that 
 of completing them. The first will be dangerous and impol- 
 itic, and the latter impossible. If we reduce the number of 
 regiments in the midst of the war, we shall show the enemy 
 that we are not able to maintain our army on the present foot- 
 ing. 
 
 " The re-formed officers, even in preserving their appoint- 
 ment and rank, will be disgusted at the service, and I fear we 
 shall lose thereby a number of good and brave officers. 
 
 " If we preserve their rank to restore them to their com- 
 mands in case of vacancies, we shall justly often d those who 
 will remain, for, supposing that a regiment loses several offi- 
 cers in action, it would be hard for those who have run all the 
 dangers to be superseded by those who have been all the 
 while enjoying their rank and appointments in the midst of 
 their families and connections. I dare say that the only pro- 
 posal of an incorporation will disgust most of our officers, and I 
 apprehend produce the most fatal consequences. To complete 
 the regiments is an enterprise impossible to the United States ; 
 and supposing even that we might find a sufficient number of re- 
 cruits, we would then have so disproportionate an army that 
 it would be out of the power of the States to maintain 
 it. The regiments of infantry alone would amount, accord- 
 ing to the establishment, to near forty-two thousand, rank 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 245 
 
 and file ; add to this three thousand cavalry, two thousand 
 artillery, and at least — for the proportion of such an army — 
 six thousand men for the train of the army, artificers, etc., and 
 then the army will amount to fifty-three thousand privates, 
 without including the officers, whose number must amount to 
 between five and six thousand, which will make about fifty- 
 eight thousand men. And even supposing the States should 
 not have all the necessary means to form an army, it would 
 be ridiculous to keep up a force so superior to that we have 
 to oppose. Thus it appears to me, that speaking of complet- 
 ing the regiments, is speaking of an absolutely ill calculated 
 scheme. If I am asked what means I would then propose, I 
 will answer, that I think we must form our army on a number 
 proportionable to the abilities of the States and the operations 
 we have to undertake. The first object requires an exact cal- 
 culation on the part of our legislators, who are best acquainted 
 with the abilities of the different States. In this calculation 
 it is not only necessary to determine the number of men that 
 can be assembled, but likewise the means of arming, paying, 
 clothing and otherwise supporting them. 
 
 " The next is to determine whether we intend to act with 
 vigor in an offensive campaign, or if we mean to protract the 
 war by acting defensively and w r aiting for the issue of events. 
 In both cases our army must be reinforced, more or less, for 
 such as it is it can not anyhow stand another campaign. Be- 
 sides, we must determine on a regular formation, and adopt 
 some particular system. 
 
 " In order to oppose our enemies in the North and in the 
 South, and act offensively against them, our army ought to be 
 considerably augmented, and sufficiently provided with all the 
 necessaries for next campaign. In order to know to what 
 number the army ought to amount to serve that object, the 
 general who commands it and directs its operations ought to 
 determine. 
 
 " I will, however, venture to give here my opinions whioh I 
 
240 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 submit to the examination of the commander-in-chief and the 
 approbation of Congress. 
 
 "Before I enter upon my calculations, I will observe that 
 among the number of men I include only the fighting men in 
 rank and file, without including even the officers, sergeants, 
 drummers, etc., and still less the men employed as wagoners, 
 artificers or servants, who are returned as soldiers and are not 
 such in reality. 
 
 " Supposing, then, that our army is to be put on a footing 
 to resist the efforts of the enemy in Georgia and Carolina, and 
 not only to oppose their progress, but to dispossess them of 
 what they have already conquered : 
 
 "That we wish to be able to keep them close at the north- 
 ward, and be ready at every instant to cooperate with a fleet 
 of our allies, and strike a powerful blow wherever we shall 
 think proper : that we wish to be able to fill our garrisons on 
 the frontiers and reinforce them in case of need : 
 
 " Methinks the following numbers will be necessary for this 
 purpose : 
 
 Infantry, 23,616 
 
 Cavalry, 1000 
 
 Artillery and artificers, 2000 
 
 Train of artillery, 400 
 
 Train of the army, 2.952 
 
 Including commissaries, quarter-masters, ) _ 
 
 forage masters, etc., ) ' ' ' 2J > U08 
 
 This force might be divided in the following manner : 
 
 THE ARMY UNDER WASHINGTON. 
 
 Infantry, 16,000 
 
 Cavalry, 600 
 
 Artillery and artificers, 1200 
 
 Train of artillery, 300 
 
 Retainers, etc., 2000 
 
 THE ARMY UNDER GENERAL LINCOLN. 
 
 Infantry, 6000 
 
 Cavalry, 400 
 
 Artillery, 600 
 
 Train of artillery, 100 
 
 Staff, etc., 952 
 
J, I F E O F 8 T E U B E N , 247 
 
 IN GARRISONS. 
 
 Infantry, 1616 
 
 Artillery, etc., 200 
 
 " To bring up our army to these numbers it is neither neces- 
 sary to complete the regiments according to the establishment 
 nor to re-form or incorporate them. 
 
 " Each State should only level their regiments — each to 
 consist of three hundred and twenty-four men. They ought 
 then to divide each regiment into eight companies, and one 
 of light infantry. Each company should consist of thirty-six 
 men, out of whom four should be drawn to be put under the 
 quarter-master general's orders, who might employ them as 
 wagoners, etc., and thereby save the enormous expense to 
 which we are subjected, by the considerable pay those wag- 
 oners receive, which it is known is no less than that of a cap- 
 tain of infantry. 
 
 "The regiments of the different States being once put on 
 this footing it would be necessary to level the additional regi- 
 ments, among which, that of Colonel Livingston almost re- 
 duced to nothing and without officers, might be incorporated 
 to level the others. When these are so leveled they should 
 be joined to the State regiments, either by lot or any other 
 arrangement, and completed to the number of three hundred 
 and twenty-four by the States to which they shall be allotted, 
 who ought then to make them enjoy the same emoluments as 
 their other regiments. 
 
 " With regard to the rank and advancement of the officers 
 of the additional regiments, it would be proper to preserve 
 the advancement among themselves, and to confirm to the 
 commander-in-chief the authority which Congress has granted 
 him of disposing of the advancement of the officers, and fill- 
 ing up the vacancies of the Continental regiments, in which 
 there are a number of excellent officers. 
 
 " The cavalry ought to be completed and remounted in pro- 
 portion that the whole may not exceed one thousand horses. 
 
248 LIFE OF BTEUJ5EN. 
 
 " With regard to the artillery, General Knox ought to be 
 consulted whether the number I have proposed will be propor- 
 tioned to his operations. I have drawn this proportion from 
 the armies in Europe, and the returns of that corps will deter- 
 mine how many men will be necessary to recruit it. 
 
 " It is the same with regard to the civil departments of the 
 staff of the army. The chief of each department ought to 
 specify the number of men he has employed, and how many 
 lie thinks he shall want for his operations next campaign. 
 These returns ought to be examined by the board of war and 
 the commander-in-chief, and such persons as Congress shall 
 appoint finally to determine upon it. 
 
 "The numbers of these corps and departments being deter- 
 mined for the next campaign, the wants of the army may be 
 easily calculated. With regard to provisions and forage, it is 
 necessary to reckon on a third more than the totality of the 
 army, in order not to be in want. Besides those magazines 
 proper for the immediate subsistence of the army, we should 
 reckon on two more well supplied. 
 
 " The first for a body of militia of twenty thousand men, 
 who will join us in case of an expedition, and this magazine 
 ought to be furnished for three full months ; the other for a 
 fleet which our allies may send us, and which should likewise 
 be furnished with provisions, and for three months. Besides, 
 the eastern States ought to establish, in time, considerable 
 spare magazines, especially of hard bread and salt provisions. 
 The general of the artillery must, without delay, furnish a 
 return of what he thinks he shall want for the next campaign, 
 and the necessary preparations for a siege and bombardment 
 ought to be made with the greatest celerity. 
 
 " The general of the engineers shall furnish a return of all 
 lie wants, utensils, etc., for the same purpose. 
 
 "With regard to the clothing of the army, it is to be wished 
 each State would send their recruits ready clothed, no matter 
 of what color, for next campaign, and that whatever clothing 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 249 
 
 the States shall collect or receive from France, should be all 
 stored up, not to be delivered till when the campaign is over. 
 
 " But the most essential matter is to provide ourselves with 
 at least ten thousand stand of arms against the beginning of 
 May next, without reckoning on those which are expected 
 from France. It is the least number we may want in case the 
 army is formed agreeably to the present plan. 
 
 " The more difficult it is to make the above-mentioned regu- 
 lations, the more the moments are precious, and the more ne- 
 cessary it is to do our utmost efforts to effect them. We are 
 already at the end of January. If the recruits have not joined 
 the regiments by the 1st of April, the' expense and trouble of 
 assembling them shall avail nothing. 
 
 "If the magazines are not supplied for seven months against 
 the harvest, the army is lost. If we can not have at least ten 
 thousand stand of arms before the recruits join, the men will 
 become useless. 
 
 " I make no doubt of a vigorous campaign being carried on 
 in Europe. I doubt still less of our allies assisting us effica- 
 ciously on this continent. It would be unhappy if we could 
 do nothing on our side at such favorable instants. 
 
 " Our late disappointment at the southward should strike 
 us: two thousand men more under the orders of General Lin- 
 coln would have insured us the defeat of the enemy in Geor- 
 gia, and we would now have no fatal consequences to appre- 
 hend on that side. 
 
 "I can not forbear of observing here that most of the indi- 
 viduals of this continent are tired with the present war. I 
 wish this consideration may induce us to do our utmost to 
 bring it to a happy termination in one glorious campaign." 
 
 Steuben informed Washington of the delivery of the me- 
 morial on the 29th of January, 1780, in the following note : 
 
 " 1 delivered yesterday to the board of war, the annexed 
 memorial. It is only a general calculation, which requires a 
 more exact examination. The Hon. Mr. Livingston, a men> 
 
 11* 
 
250 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ber of Congress, was deputed, on their part, to the board. 
 He communicated the answer of your Excellency on the 
 scheme of incorporating the regiments. 
 
 " If any thing should induce me to advise an incorporation, 
 it would be the vacancies of officers, which I know not how 
 to fill. I fear, however, it will produce a great deal of discon- 
 tent and other ill consequences. 
 
 " Mr. Peters proposed to put off all arrangement, and to 
 consider in this moment only the number of men which the 
 respective States are to furnish for the next campaign. The 
 number of infantry which I proposed in my memorial was ad- 
 mitted. I represented, however, that it would be necessary 
 to add forty men more to each regiment, on account of the di- 
 minution which may happen from this time to the beginning of 
 next campaign. Mr. Livingston objected to the number of 
 cavalry which I proposed, on account of the impossibility of 
 mounting it. This consideration was, however, suspended, not 
 to defer the simple calculation of the men. 
 
 " Sunday, 30. — I have received an order from the board 
 of war to procure, without any delay, the returns, the list of 
 which is here inclosed. I beg, sir, you will interpose your 
 authority, that these returns may be transmitted immediately. 
 
 " It appears indispensably necessary to prohibit the distri- 
 bution of the arms, cartridges, etc., until the quantity now in 
 the regiments and magazines is well known and ascertained. 
 
 " I beg, dear general, you will let me know your opinion 
 of the proportion for an army, which you will find in my me- 
 morial, as I wish to act solely by your Excellency's direction. 
 Be pleased, sir, to honor me with your confidence, and be sure 
 that my zeal for the service can only be equaled by the pro- 
 found respect with which I am, etc." 
 
 Washington acknowledged the receipt of Steuben's let- 
 ters and memorial in the following letter, dated Morristown, 
 the 8th of February 1780 :* 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 4G4. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 251 
 
 " I have received your letter, with the papers annexed, and 
 have carefully considered the contents, on which I shall give 
 you my sentiments with freedom and confidence. The princi- 
 pal point on which your memorial to Congress turns, is the 
 force requisite for the next campaign. To determine this on 
 good grounds, we ought first to settle the following questions : 
 Will it be in our power to make an offensive, or must we con- 
 tent ourselves with a defensive campaign ? 
 
 "It is not possible to decide this question without a more 
 intimate knowledge of our resources of finance than I at pres- 
 ent possess, and without ascertaining whether our allies can 
 afford a squadron for an effectual cooperation on this continent. 
 I think, with vigorous exertions, we may raise a sufficient 
 number of men for offensive operations, if we were able to 
 maintain them ; but from the view I have of our affairs, I do 
 not believe the state of our treasury will admit this without 
 assistance from abroad. Whether this is to be obtained, Con- 
 gress alone can judge. On the other hand, from the particu- 
 lar situation of the enemy's posts in this quarter, I should not 
 advise you to calculate measures on the principle of expelling 
 them, unless we had certain assurances that an adequate na- 
 val force will be ready to cooperate with us through all con- 
 tingencies. If a foreign aid of money, and a fleet, are to be 
 depended upon, I should then recommend that all our dispo- 
 sitions should have reference to an offensive and decisive cam- 
 paign ; and in this case I should ask at least one third more men 
 than you estimate, to be immediately raised by a general draft. 
 
 " But as I doubt whether these two preliminaries can be 
 placed upon such a footing of certainty as to justify our act- 
 ing in consequence, I imagine we must of necessity adopt the 
 principle of a defensive campaign, and pursue a system of the 
 most absolute economy. On this principle, however, if I un- 
 derstand your estimate, I do not think it will be more than 
 sufficient. When the deductions for unavoidable casualties 
 are made, this number will give us less than twenty thousand 
 
252 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 for our efficient operating force. This is as little as we can 
 well have to contain the enemy within bounds, and prevent 
 their making any further progress. Including the detachment 
 which lately sailed from New York, they have near twenty 
 thousand men lit for actual service in these States ; to say noth- 
 ing of the recruits they will probably send over to complete 
 their battalions, which will be an augmentation of force. For 
 these reasons I approve the estimate you have proposed, as 
 best suited to our present circumstances. 
 
 "The number of cavalry you propose is in good proportion, 
 and in a military sense necessary. Cavalry, if there is an act- 
 ive scene to the southward, will be particularly useful there ; 
 but the question of expense is a very serious one, and, like the 
 rest, must be referred to those who are acquainted with our 
 money resources. Another point is, whether the regiments 
 had better be incorporated with each other and completed to 
 such a standard as will give the number of men required. A 
 committee of Congress, as you have been informed, sent me 
 a proposal, which has been referred to their consideration, for 
 reducing the number of battalions, and asked my opinion upon 
 it. Though I was fully sensible of the inconveniences which 
 will infallibly attend a reduction, I did not dissuade from it, 
 principally on two accounts ; one, a conviction that the em- 
 barrassments in our finances require every expedient for sav- 
 ing expense ; the other, the incompetency of the present num- 
 ber of officers to the present number of corps. But though I 
 do not disapprove, I am far from being much attached to this 
 plan. Congress can best balance the advantages and disadvan- 
 tages, and determine which preponderate. 
 
 " I sincerely wish that what you recommend with respect to 
 magazines, could be carried into execution, but I fear it will 
 be impracticable in the present exigency. Every thing, how- 
 ever, that is possible ought to be attempted. There is no dan- 
 ger of the magazines exceeding our wants ; and we have been 
 under dreadful embarrassments, through the whole course of 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 253 
 
 the war, from temporary and precarious supplies. The arms 
 ought, at all events, to be provided. I have issued an order 
 requiring the returns demanded by the board of war to be 
 made out with all dispatch. They will be forwarded as fast 
 as they are collected. There are some points of inferior im- 
 portance in your memorial which I approve, but do not require 
 a particular enumeration." 
 
 In the meantime the negotiations with the board of war 
 went on, as appears from the following letters : 
 
 " When Congress," whites Steuben, on the 5th of Febru- 
 ary, 1*780, "shall have determined on the number of recruits 
 each State is to furnish, I believe it will be necessary for the 
 States to appoint one place of rendezvous in each State, where 
 their respective recruits will assemble, and the commander-in- 
 chief should at the same time order a field officer of each State, 
 and a captain, two subalterns and four sergeants of each regi- 
 ment, to repair to their respective places of rendezvous. 
 
 " In proportion as the recruits arrive, they ought to be pre- 
 sented to the field officers who, in presence of a deputy from 
 his State and a skillful surgeon, must examine particularly 
 each man and determine whether he is fit or unfit for service. 
 These officers ought to be strictly charged not to receive any 
 man above fifty or under eighteen years of age. 
 
 " The surgeon ought to examine whether they are not crip- 
 pled or maimed, hunch-backed, lame, blind, or otherwise de- 
 formed, whether they have no rupture or fresh w r ounds, or any 
 foul disorder. All such men ought to be absolutely refused. 
 
 " No prisoner of Avar, whether taken on sea or land, is to 
 be accepted. As soon as one hundred recruits are accepted, 
 the field officer will command one captain, tw T o subalterns, and 
 four sergeants to conduct them to the army, where they will 
 be delivered to the inspector of the division or brigade to 
 which they shall belong, who will distribute them among the 
 several regiments of their State. The field officer shall con- 
 duct, himself, the last recruits. 
 
254 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 "If you think this arrangement proper, gentlemen, T be- 
 lieve it must be communicated immediately to the commander- 
 in-chief and the generals of the several States." 
 
 And on the 6th of February, 1780, Steuben continues: 
 
 " Our cavalry not being armed with carabines, nor exer- 
 cised for the service on foot, as the dragoons in Europe, this 
 inconvenience results, that they are ill-guarded both in camp 
 and quarters. When it is somewhat too far in the front of the 
 infantry, it is exposed to be surprised, so that instead of form- 
 ing a chain to cover the army in front, the army is obliged to 
 form a chain for the security of the cavalry. Being thereby 
 at too great a distance from the enemy, our cavalry officers 
 can seldom surprise the advanced posts and patrols. When 
 they want to strike a blow of partizan, they must make a 
 march that tires the horses out before they are brought into 
 action. 
 
 " If our cavalry had (as the legions have now in Prussia 
 and had lately in France) a certain number of chasseurs or 
 light infantry with them, to guard them in their camps or 
 quarters upon the lines, to secure their marches, support their 
 enterprises and cover their retreat, in case of need, I am 
 persuaded our officers would strike hardy blows and harass 
 the enemy considerably. These chasseurs ought to be com- 
 manded by intelligent officers, and be under the immediate 
 order of the commandant of the legion. Detachments taken 
 from the line will not so well answer the purpose as troops 
 already trained to those maneuvers, and known to the com- 
 manding officer of the corps. 
 
 " These reasons, among several others, induce me to pro- 
 pose that the corps of Major Lee, already partly formed on 
 this footing, should be carried to a better proportion, i. e., 
 that his infantry, which now consists of eighty men, should be 
 carried up to the number of his cavalry, which consists of one 
 hundred and fifty. This infantry might then be divided into 
 three companies, each of which would be attached to a squad- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 255 
 
 ron of cavalry. The reputation this officer has already ac- 
 quired supplies him with the means of enlisting the number of 
 men he may want. 
 
 " I find this little augmentation so necessary for the good 
 of the service, that I must recommend it to your considera- 
 tion, and request you to order Major Lee to recruit his corps 
 to the above-mentioned number." 
 
 Congress, however, did not adopt Steuben's proposition 
 for this time ; it resolved only on the 9th of February 1^80,* 
 " That, for the ensuing campaign, the States be respective- 
 ly required to furnish, by draughts or otherwise, on or before 
 the 1st day of April next, their respective deficiency of the 
 number of thirty-five thousand two hundred and eleven men, 
 exclusive of commissioned officers, which Congress deem ne- 
 cessary for the service of the present year. 
 
 " That the quotas of the several States be as follows : 
 New Hampshire, 1,215 ; Massachusetts Bay, 6,070 ; Rhode 
 Island, 810; Connecticut, 3,238; New York, 1,G20; New 
 Jersey, 1,620 ; Pennsylvania, 4,855 ; Delaware, 405 ; Mary- 
 land, 3,238 ; Virginia, 6,0*70 ; North Carolina, 3,640 ; South 
 Carolina, 2,430 ; exclusive of blacks. 
 
 "That all the men, whose times of service do not ex- 
 pire before the last day of September next, be counted to- 
 wards the quotas of the States to which they respectively be- 
 long, whether they compose the battalions in the line of the 
 several States, those of the additional corps, including the 
 guards, the artillery, and horse, or the regimented artificers in 
 the departments of the quarter-master general and commis- 
 sary general of military stores, who, being credited to the 
 States respectively, should be provided for, deemed and treat- 
 ed in the same manner with the men in the several State 
 lines ; and it is recommended to the several States to make 
 like provision for the officers and men of the artillery, horse, 
 additional corps, including the guards and regimented artifi- 
 * Resolutions, Acts, and Orders of Congress, vol. vi., 1780. p. 2G. 
 
256 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 cers, as may be made in pursuance of any resolution of Con- 
 gress, for the officers and men of their respective battalions, 
 with such exceptions respecting the regimented artificers as 
 have been made by Congress in their acts concerning them. 
 
 u That the commander-in-chief be forthwith directed to 
 transmit to the several States accurate returns of the troops 
 now in service belonging or credited to their respective quotas, 
 to the intent that immediate measures be taken by the govern- 
 ments of the States to bring the men to be raised into the 
 field with certainty and expedition." 
 
 The following letters comprise all the details extant, with 
 reference to the foregoing subject : 
 
 STEUBEN TO W A S II I N G T O N . 
 
 "Philadelphia, February 14, 1780. 
 
 " The day before I had the honor to receive your Excel- 
 lency's letter of the 8th instant, I had sent you a copy of the 
 resolution of Congress, which regulated the number of men 
 which each State has to furnish for next campaign. If, as I 
 hope, the officers are not included, and if the number of men 
 to be employed out of the line of battalions does not exceed 
 the proportion, our army will be considerably stronger than it 
 was at the beginning of last campaign. 
 
 "It would be very difficult, my dear general, to judge, 
 with any degree of certainty, of our money resources, and, 
 consequently, the question whether we shall act offensively or 
 defensively must remain yet some time undecided. In either 
 case, however, we must have an army, and that army, more or 
 less strong, must be armed and provided for. My representa- 
 tion to Congress lias been limited to these two objects. The 
 season being so far advanced, I was frightened to see that be- 
 fore my arrival the States had not yet been called upon for 
 their quotas of men, and it was not without great importuni- 
 ties Congress were brought to pass the resolves which I have 
 sent to your Excellency. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 257 
 
 " I can not yet answer that the States will all send their 
 full numbers ; but they will at least, I believe, begin to recruit 
 immediately. ' 
 
 " But, supposing we shall have all the men, is it not to be 
 feared we shall want the arms ? We can not much rely on a 
 supply from France ; the disaster which has retarded the 
 voyage of Mr. Gerard leaves us almost no hopes to receive 
 any thing before June or July next. 
 
 " The board of war told me that there are only about five 
 hundred stand of arms in the military stores on which we may 
 rely. I will, however, make the most exact researches upon 
 this subject; wherefore I expect, with the greatest impatience, 
 the returns of the arms of the army and those of General 
 Knox. With regard to the provisions and necessaries, I hear 
 there is a commission appointed to regulate that branch. 
 
 "Mr. De la Luzerne has not yet fixed the day of his de- 
 parture, but it will be, I believe, towards the end of this 
 month, and I shall give you notice beforehand. He wished 
 much to be better acquainted with the means on which Con- 
 gress may rely with some degree of certainty, before he should 
 speak on that point to your Excellency." 
 
 "Philadelphia, February 23, 1180. 
 
 "The delay which must result from collecting the returns 
 of all the dispersed corps which you mentioned in your letter 
 of the 18th inst., is a difficulty which I apprehended as soon 
 as I saw the resolutions of Congress. Besides that, it will be 
 almost impossible to make out those returns with the neces- 
 sary exactness. We shall certainly lose two months at a time 
 when w T e ought not to lose two days. 
 
 " I think that if each State had carried their regiments of 
 infantry to a certain fixed number, in adding to each company 
 eight men as supernumeraries, which would make seventy-two 
 men per regiment ; out of these supernumeraries the artillery, 
 artificers' and staff departments might have been recruited. 
 
258 LIFE Or STEUKEN. 
 
 As it is impossible to make such calculations very exact, a 
 margin large enough is generally left to set down the unfore- 
 seen accidents. 
 
 "An indisposition which has kept me several clays at home, 
 and much more the absence of Mr. Chancellor Livingston, has 
 prevented me from knowing the intentions of Congress with 
 regard to the additional regiments, the cavalry and the inde- 
 pendent corps. If our finances had permitted us, I should 
 have wished that at the same time the States recruit their 
 own regiments by draught, those might have been recruited 
 by enlistment. 
 
 " The number of men we can have next campaign in rank 
 and file, ought to determine the quantity of arms, ammunition, 
 etc., we shall want ; but the uncertainty of the former throws 
 •obscurity over all the rest. As we, however, are to make 
 general calculations, I have conceived the number of ten 
 thousand stand of arms more than we actually have, absolutely 
 indispensable in the army. 
 
 " I have visited the manufactories of arms and the maga- 
 zines in this town, where I have found thirty-two hundred 
 stands ready and in good order. Besides the board of war 
 have shown me a return of two thousand at Albany, and as 
 many at Carlisle, which are likewise ready and in order, so 
 that the number which I thought necessary will be together 
 towards the beginning of April. I have found, besides, in the 
 magazines, four thousand large muskets without bayonets, and 
 too heavy to serve in a campaign, but very proper to serve in 
 a fortified place. If your Excellency thinks proper, I have a 
 mind to cause two thousand to be cleaned and sent to the 
 forts at West Point, where they will be of more service than 
 in our magazines. I have also found two thousand new car- 
 tridge boxes, which might now be sent to the army. I saw, 
 yesterday, a letter from Dr. Franklin, just arrived from 
 France, in which he says he has informed the king, in Sep- 
 tember last, of the demand which Congress has made of arms, 
 
LIFE OF BTfU'BM, 250 
 
 ammunition, and clothing for our army. Though he has as 
 yet no certainty, yet he appears to have no doubt of the suc- 
 cess. Thus we may hope to receive assistance from that side 
 by the first vessel that shall arrive, and to want neither arms 
 nor ammunition to oppose- the obstinacy of the King of Great 
 Britain, who, by his last speech, appears to be very intent in 
 carrying on the war with spirit and vigor. I should likewise 
 be happy if I could assure you that we shall also be able to 
 pay and provide for our army. Congress are now endeavoring 
 to settle these matters. God grant that they may succeed 
 according to their wishes and mine. Count D'Estaing's fleet 
 has suffered another storm on the coasts of Europe." 
 
 "Philadelphia, March 15, 1180. 
 
 "Since the departure of the last letter which I had the 
 honor to write you, I have not in the least advanced in the 
 affairs which I had proposed to see brought to a conclusion. 
 Before it is known whether the number of regiments is to be 
 preserved, or whether an incorporation is to take place, it is 
 impossible to make any calculations for the formation. 
 
 "I have exerted all the means in my power to persuade 
 Congress to determine that important question, and to adopt 
 any system whatever, that your Excellenoy and the chiefs of 
 the several departments might make their arrangements in 
 consequence; but it seems that the ill state of our finances has 
 stopped all the wheels of the whole machine. 
 
 "The board of war have made a report, in which the in- 
 corporation of a fourth part is proposed. This report con- 
 tains, I believe, the same plan which Chancellor Livingston 
 has imparted to your Excellency. Several motions have been 
 made to consider and determine upon this subject, but hitherto 
 the decision has been deferred. The month of March is more 
 than half spent, and I shudder, my dear general, when I think 
 of the many important arrangements that are still to be made 
 between this time and the opening of the campaign. There 
 
260 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 is not a day but I apply from one to the other to represent to 
 them the necessity of determining the present business. The 
 day before yesterday I went to Chancellor Livingston and 
 told him that I was ready to set off for the army, perceiving 
 that my presence here was of no use. He requested me to 
 defer my departure and to communicate to the board of war 
 my opinion of the formation of the army for the next cam- 
 paign. 
 
 "As this object has already engaged my attention for some 
 time, and as I calculated and balanced the good and evil that 
 might result from an incorporation, and being entirely per- 
 suaded that such an operation in the present crisis, and at the 
 beginning of a campaign for which we are in general so ill 
 prepared, would be attended with danger, I did not hesitate 
 a moment to give my opinion in writing, such as I have the 
 honor to transmit it to your Excellency. The board of war 
 will send, to-morrow, that paper to Congress, and I am anx- 
 ious to learn the effect it will produce. 
 
 " You know, my dear general, that I have always wished 
 to see our regiments stronger, but I believe it will be prudent 
 to make use in the present crisis of the simplest means, Which 
 is that of leaving the corps such as they are, and reinforcing 
 them as well as we can. Any incorporation whatever will be 
 a general alteration in the body of the army, at the very mo- 
 ment, perhaps, when it should act. Besides, as our army will 
 have in this campaign such a great number of recruits, we 
 must be able to rely on our officers for maintaining good order 
 among the troops ; and the less is the mass of an undisciplined 
 body, the easier it is for him who has its direction to make it 
 act, and to restore it to order in case of confusion. 
 
 " The vacancies of subalterns in several regiments appear 
 to be one of the motives which might the most strongly en- 
 gage us to an incorporation ; but I think that the nomination 
 might better be suspended till the end of the campaign, and as 
 our companies are not very strong, I believe that two officers 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 201 
 
 for each will suffice, provided that the brigadiers take care to 
 send no officers on furlough during the campaign, so that none 
 are improperly employed out of the regiments ; that the field 
 officers company shall have two subalterns, and the other com- 
 panies one, when the captain is present, and two when he is 
 absent. The officers employed as quarter-masters and pay- 
 masters might even keep the administration of their compa- 
 nies, and only be dispensed from the service of the line. By 
 these means, the number of eighteen or nineteen captains 
 and subalterns would suffice to do the service of a regiment, 
 and each regiment might keep five or six vacancies. Besides 
 the numberless inconveniences wnich I fear from an incorpora- 
 tion or reduction of the regiments, I find that the proportion 
 which is wished to be incorporated is the most difficult thing 
 to determine. If we leave that proportion to the choice of 
 the several States, we shall have regiments of six hundred 
 men, while others shall consist only of one hundred and fifty, 
 which difference I consider as the source of all disorders in an 
 army. 
 
 " The proportion being fixed — suppose it to be the fourth 
 part — this question results : How many regiments has each 
 State to re-form ? Now, for instance, Massachusetts has fif- 
 teen regiments ; Pennyslvania, eleven ; New Jersey, three ; 
 Delaware, one. With such a disproportion, I do not see how 
 a fourth part can be re-formed without great difficulty and 
 confusion. Such an alteration requires such extensive calcula- 
 tions, and such mature deliberations, that we have not time to 
 undertake either at such an advanced period. 
 
 " I have yesterday received the honor of your letter of the 
 6th instant. It is with the greatest satisfaction that I see you 
 have collected the returns of the deficiencies of men. I feared 
 the difficulty of this collection the more as I knew the neglect 
 and want of exactness of several officers on the important ob- 
 iect of returns; and it is with the greatest sorrow that I must 
 observe to your Excellency that the board of war have not 
 
202 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 yet received the general return of January last, and that that 
 of December, as well as several of the preceding months, is 
 extremely imperfect. 
 
 " A necessary calculation made us lately ask for a return 
 of General Poor's brigade at the War office, and that brigade 
 has not been carried into any of the general returns ever since 
 last spring, when it joined General Sullivan's corps. 
 
 " This object, and several others which I shall submit to 
 your Excellency's consideration, will engage me to join the 
 army as soon as possible. 
 
 " PROPOSALS FOR THE FORMATION" OF OUR ARMY FOR THE 
 NEXT CAMPAIGN. 
 
 " The distribution of the number of men which each State 
 is to furnish for the next campaign, permits us to complete our 
 regiments of infantry in the lino to a number, indeed, below 
 the establishment, but which puts it in our power to form each 
 regiment into a battalion without changing the principles of 
 formation already established in the regulations. 
 
 " If we put each regiment on the footing of three hundred 
 and seventeen fighting men, exclusive of the commissioned 
 officers, drummers and lifers, and divide each into nine com- 
 panies ; then each company will consist of thirty-five men 
 under arms, including the sergeant-major and quarter-master 
 sergeant, and a brigade of four regiments will be composed of 
 one thousand two hundred and sixty-eight fighting men, and 
 the fifteen brigades now at the grand army will make a body 
 of infantry of eighteen thousand seven hundred and three me* 
 under arms. 
 
 " According to this calculation we shall have about three 
 thousand infantry more than we had the last campaign, though 
 we had then the brigades of Virginia and North Carolina, 
 which are now at the southward. TVe have nothing to do, 
 then, but to collect our recruits as quick as possible, to make 
 the regiments equal, to exercise the troops, and to fill, in some 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 263 
 
 regiments, some vacancies of subalterns, in order to have the 
 number of officers necessary for the service. 
 
 " We shall thus avoid every kind of reform and incorpo- 
 ration, which would unavoidably occasion a great deal of dis- 
 content among a number of officers, who, on account of their 
 personal merit and the effectual services they have rendered 
 their country, ought not to be exposed to their disagreements. 
 Besides, every incorporation requires necessarily a new forma- 
 tion, which could not be arranged without employing a vast 
 deal of time ; it is, one might say, a new creation, rendered 
 more difficult by the dispute about rank and seniority, to which 
 such arrangements are always subjected. 
 
 " When I examine scrupulously the motives which can 
 induce us to lessen the number of our regiments, I find none 
 strong enough to balance the inconveniences which will neces- 
 sarily result from it. The season is already so far advanced 
 that we scarcely have time enough to collect our recruits, to 
 exercise them, and to form our companies and battalions for 
 the next campaign. 
 
 " At a time when a thousand important objects take up 
 the attention of Congress and the commander-in-chief, they 
 will be incessantly troubled with endless representations, if an 
 incorporation should take place. Several other difficulties, 
 winch I could specify, will unavoidably arise. If, instead of 
 this, we leave, for the present campaign, the army on the an- 
 cient footing, we shall have time enough to make a better cal- 
 culated plan to lessen the number of regiments, and render 
 them more formidable, which plan might be put in execution 
 at the end of the campaign. 
 
 "With regard to the additional regiments, I think that in 
 granting them leave and money to recruit about three hundred 
 men, they might be preserved on the same footing as those 
 belonging to particular States. Colonel Gist's regiment is 
 joined to the Virginia division ; it wants for its completion 
 about one hundred and sixty-four recruits, who might be en- 
 
264 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 listed in that State. Those of Colonels Webb, Sherborn and 
 Spencer want in all two hundred and eighty-nine recruits to 
 be on the footing of the others ; they might be levied in Mary- 
 land, Pennsylvania, New York and New England. 
 
 " Colonel Jackson's regiment had, at last review, the com- 
 plete number of three hundred and seventeen, and does not 
 want to be recruited. The only difficulty lies with Colonel 
 Hazen's regiment, who insists on a particular agreement made 
 with Congress, whereby his regiment is to consist of twenty 
 companies, of which he has, however, given up two, so that 
 his regiment, composed of eighteen companies, would make 
 exactly a double one. He is, in consequence of this formation, 
 provided with field officers, and even with captains — but he 
 wants subalterns and privates. His regiment is partly composed 
 of Canadians, as well officers as soldiers. These have a right 
 to claim the protection of the United States, however difficult 
 it may be to satisfy all their pretensions. What I might pro- 
 pose on this object, would be to incorporate Colonel Living- 
 ston's regiment as the weakest, and mostly composed of Cana- 
 dians, with that of Colonel Hazen. Colonel Hazen returns his 
 regiment at four hundred men, and Colonel Livingston his 
 regiment at one hundred and three — five hundred and three 
 in all. Colonel Hazen should then be ordered to divide his 
 regiment into eighteen companies — each of twenty-eight men 
 — which would make the number of five hundred and four 
 men, and to form it into two battalions. 
 
 " With regard to the cavalry, my ojnnion is, that, as in the 
 present circumstances, it is impossible to put those regiments 
 on the footing of the first establishment, it is, however, neces- 
 sary to determine their number and formation. I propose, 
 then, the same means as for the formation of the infantry, 
 *. e., without incorporating or re-forming regiments, or even 
 changing the ancient formation, but only lessening the num- 
 ber of men and horses in each regiment, that the totality of 
 our cavalry may not exceed the number of one thousand horses. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 265 
 
 " The corps of cavalry which we have at present are four 
 regiments of horse, the corps of light horse under Major Lee, 
 and the raarechaussee. 
 
 "Each regiment should then be completed to two hundred 
 and four men, well mounted, including the non-commissioned 
 officers and trumpeters. Each regiment might be divided 
 into three squadrons, each squadron to consist of sixty-eight 
 horse. Each squadron should then be divided into two com- 
 panies, each company to consist of thirty-four men, including 
 non-commissioned officers and trumpeters. Each company 
 might have six supernumeraries on foot ; consequently each 
 regiment should consist of two hundred and four horse and 
 two hundred and forty men, thirty six of whom are on foot. 
 Major Lee's should still consist of one hundred and fifty horse, 
 and his infantry should only be completed. The marechaussee 
 ought to remain on the first establishment of forty horse. 
 With regard to Colonel Armand's legion, it ought to be left 
 to the direction of General Lincoln to put it on the footing he 
 shall think most conducive to the good, of the service. 
 
 "Thus the cavalry, without the above-mentioned legion, 
 will not exceed the number of one thousand and six horse in 
 the northern and southern armies. I can not, however, for- 
 bear observing that as long as our cavalry have no carabines 
 to guard themselves in their quarters, I wish each regiment 
 should be joined by one hundred and fifty foot, otherwise it 
 will never be in our power to employ our cavalry on the line, 
 and we shall be obliged to place them behind our camps, 
 where they will be always of very little service." 
 
 STEUBEN TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 " Philadelphia, March 28, IT 80 * 
 " The propositions I made to Congress respecting the form- 
 ation of the army, of which I had the honor of transmitting 
 
 * This letter may also be found in the Correspondence of the Revolution, 
 by J. Sparks, ii., 420. 
 
 12 
 
2(36 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 your Excellency a copy, remain yet on their table without any 
 decision thereon. They have, however, set aside the report of 
 the board of war on a motion for reducing the battalions, as 
 you will perceive by the resolve annexed, so that all reduction 
 or incorporation is out of the question ; and for next cam- 
 paign the regiments in the line will be augmented more or 
 less by the respective States. What is to be done with the 
 additional regiments and the cavalry ? Congress can not or 
 will not decide, though I am rather led to believe their delay 
 in this matter proceeds from the grand cause of all our misfor- 
 tunes — the bad state of our finances, which will not allow the 
 recruiting of men or purchasing of horses. 
 
 " I observed to you, my dear general, in my last, that 
 every wheel of the machine seemed stopped. Of the truth 
 of this observation I become more and more convinced, and 
 must confess that to me our situation appears very critical. 
 The late resolves respecting the money, though, attended with 
 all the success that can be wished, can not make any immediate 
 alteration for the better. Some months must elapse before 
 their good effects will be felt ; and during this time we are 
 disabled from doing any thing, while, at this very moment, 
 the greatest exertions are necessary. 
 
 " My anxiety for our southern affairs, I can not help say- 
 ing, is considerably increased by the last accounts, which seem 
 to announce a determination of General Lincoln to defend 
 Charleston with all his force. This to me appears to be play- 
 ing a hard game. 
 
 " Another danger which threatens us, and which is much 
 to be dreaded, is the declared division between Virginia and 
 Pennsylvania, the latter State having actually passed a law for 
 the raising fifteen hundred men to defend their pretended 
 rights. All these things offer but a dull prospect, rendered 
 still more dull by the cabals and factions which reign among 
 us. The civil departments of the army, at a time when their 
 whole attention should be taken up in providing for the ap- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 267 
 
 proaching campaign, are in such a state of dissatisfaction and 
 confusion, that I am very apprehensive they will make things 
 still worse than they are. 
 
 " You will perhaps think, my dear general, that I am in 
 anxiety for things which are out of my sphere ; but when you 
 consider that all my happiness depends on our success, you will 
 not blame me for the interest I take in the cause. The same 
 motives make me apprehensive that the necessary arrange- 
 ments will never be firmly established without your personal 
 assistance ; and I submit to you, my dear general, whether 
 your presence is not absolutely necessary at Congress, in the 
 present critical situation of our affairs. Your right to the con- 
 fidence both of Congress and the people is too well founded 
 not to command the greatest attention to every thing you 
 propose. The time is precious, and the prospect before us is 
 threatening. Your presence will animate our councils as it 
 does our armies. My attachment to the cause, and the re- 
 spectful confidence I have in your person, induce me to ex- 
 press, in the strongest terms, the desire I have to see you 
 here." 
 
 WASHINGTON TO STEUBEN. 
 
 " Morristown, April 2, 1780.* 
 " The propositions made by you to Congress, for the ar- 
 rangement of the army this campaign, appear to me, upon the 
 whole, best adapted to our circumstances, and especially since 
 so much of the season has elapsed without entering upon it. 
 I am glad the proposed incorporation has been suspended. I 
 doubt, however, the practicability, at this time, of augmenting 
 the cavalry or recruiting the additional men, from the circum- 
 stance you mentioned, the extreme distress of the Treasury, 
 which seems to be totally exhausted, and without sufficient re- 
 sources for the current demands of the service. The present 
 crisis is indeed perplexing beyond description, and it is infinite- 
 ly difficult to prescribe a remedy. 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vii., 9. 
 
208 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 "When I approve your plan for the additional regiments, 
 it is with one condition — that Congress can find means to pro- 
 vide for the officers, so as to put them upon an equal footing 
 with the other parts of the army. If this can not be done, 
 they can not continue in the service. I have incessant appli- 
 cations to this effect, and have just written again to Congress 
 on the subject. If the situation of the officers can not be 
 made more tolerable, it will be preferable to dissolve those 
 corps, incorporate the men with the State lines, and let the 
 officers retire, to be entitled to pay, subsistence, and the emol- 
 uments decreed at the end of the war. This will be a very 
 bad expedient if it can not be avoided ; but it is better than to 
 leave the officers in such a state that they must be miserable 
 while they stay in the army, obliged, in a little time, the 
 greater part of them to quit, while the corps, for want of care, 
 will rapidly decline, and a number of good men be lost to the 
 service. 
 
 "Your anxiety on the score of southern affairs can not 
 exceed mine. The measure of collecting the whole force for 
 the defense of Charleston ought, no doubt, to have been well 
 considered before it was determined. It is putting much to 
 hazard ; but, at this distance, we can form a very imperfect 
 judgment of its propriety or necessity. I have the greatest 
 reliance on General Lincoln's prudence, but I can not forbear 
 dreading the event. Ill as we can afford a diminution 01 our 
 force here, and notwithstanding the danger we run from the 
 facility with which the enemy can concentrate their force at 
 our weak points, besides other inconveniences, I have recom- 
 mended to Congress to detach the Maryland division to rein- 
 force the southern States. Though this detachment can not, 
 in all probability, arrive in season to be of any service to 
 Charleston, it may assist to arrest the progress of the enemy, 
 and save the Carolinas. 
 
 " My sentiments concerning public affairs correspond 
 too much with yours. The prospect, my dear baron, is 
 
LTFE OF STEUBEN. 2G9 
 
 gloomy, and the storm threatens. Not to have the anxieties 
 you express, at the present juncture, would be not to feel that 
 zeal and interest in our cause by which all your conduct shows 
 you to be actuated. But I hope we shall extricate ourselves, 
 and bring every thing to a prosperous issue. I have been so 
 inured to difficulties in the course of this contest, that I have 
 learned to look upon them with more tranquillity than former- 
 ly. Those which now present themselves, no doubt, require 
 vigorous exertions to overcome them, and I am far from de- 
 spairing of doing it I am very sensible, my 
 
 dear baron, to the obliging assurances of your regard, and I 
 entreat you to believe there is a perfect reciprocity of senti- 
 ments, and that I am, with great consideration and the truest 
 esteem," etc., etc. 
 
 STEUBEN TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 " Philadelphia, April 6, 1780. 
 " I had the pleasure of receiving your favor of the 2d in- 
 stant yesterday. The necessity there was of having something 
 done for the additional regiments induced me to write the 
 board of war a letter, pressing their immediate attention to 
 those corps, but, though some days have since elapsed, and 
 the necessity of coming to an immediate decision in this affair 
 is acknowledged, yet through the absence of Mr. Livingston 
 and Mr. Pickering, no report has yet been made to Congress. 
 Under such circumstances of delay, there appeared to me but 
 one way of having any thing done for the army in any season ; 
 this was the appointment of a committee, with full powers, in 
 concert with your Excellency, to make every arrangement 
 necessary for the next campaign ; to determine the formation, 
 and every other thing necessary to be done for the additional 
 corps, as well cavalry as infantry ; to devise the means of put- 
 ting the officers on a footing with the other parts of the army, 
 and, in fact, to do every thing necessary to be done to put the 
 army in a proper condition for the ensuing campaign. 
 
270 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " This proposition has been debated in Congress these two 
 days. Yesterday Mr. Lowell gave me hopes it would take 
 place, and I have since been informed a committee is actually 
 named to draw up instructions for the committee before men- 
 tioned. So soon as I hear the members are actually named, 
 I shall lose no time in putting myself more immediately under 
 your Excellency's orders. 
 
 " From every observation I have made, I can not perceive 
 that the State of Pennsylvania have taken the least step tow r ard 
 recruiting their regiments for the next campaign. What this 
 delay can be owing to, I can not say ; but I should imagine a 
 hint from your Excellency to the president might have some 
 effect." 
 
 The letter to the board of war, above referred to, reads as 
 follows : 
 
 "Philadelphia, March 29, 1180. 
 
 " I observe that Congress have, by a resolution of the 25th 
 instant, deferred the consideration of any new arrangement of 
 the army till the 1st of December next. The regiments in the 
 line of the different States will, therefore, remain on their pres- 
 ent footing, being completed more or less by their respect- 
 ive States ; but what is to be done with the several addi- 
 tional regiments and corps remains yet to be decided. 
 
 " These regiments being in general too much reduced to 
 remain on their present footing, and the only means of com- 
 pleting them by recruits being at this time impracticable, I 
 would propose that power be given to General Washington 
 to draw together such of those corps as are not at the south- 
 ward, and by incorporating the regiments, or otherwise, as 
 he may judge proper, to form them in such a manner as may 
 appear to him most conducive to the public service. 
 
 "I would by no means be understood to incorporate them 
 into the regiments of the different States ; on the contrary, I 
 am of opinion such a measure would have a very bad effect, ea- 
 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 271 
 
 cially at this juncture, as the greatest part of the officers must 
 in that case be disbanded. 
 
 "I can not help taking this opportunity to represent to the 
 board, that a general dissatisfaction prevails in these corps on 
 account of the disadvantages they have hitherto labored under, 
 compared with the troops of the several States, for though 
 by a resolution of Congress the several States have credit for 
 the men serving with these corps, yet they have never re- 
 ceived any benefit from that resolve, either in receiving re- 
 cruits or supplies of any nature whatsoever. 
 
 " The only means to remedy this is, in my opinion, to ap- 
 point a commissary to supply them with clothing, and such 
 other articles as are furnished by the different States to their 
 troops, the extra prices of which should be charged to the 
 several States which have credit for the men as part of their 
 quota in the field ; the supplies furnished to the Canadians, 
 and others to no particular State, to be charged to the Conti- 
 nent. Some means should also be found for supplying the ar- 
 tillery, cavalry, and others, who are in the same disadvanta- 
 geous situation. 
 
 " With respect to the keeping up the additional regiments, 
 the only means that occurs, is to give them liberty and furnish 
 them with money to recruit ; the promotion of the officers 
 should take place in that line in the same manner as in the 
 line of the different States. 
 
 " The little time we have before the opening of the cam- 
 paign, will, no doubt, induce the honorable board to lay these 
 matters before Congress as soon as possible." 
 
 Washington sharing Steuben's apprehensions, in a letter of 
 the 3d of April, 1780, laid the alarming state and condition of 
 the army before the president of Congress, which, on the 6th 
 of April, appointed a committee of three* to confer with the 
 commander-in-chief on the subject of his letter, together with 
 
 * Resolutions of Congress. Dunlap's edition, vi., 52. 
 
272 
 
 LIFE OF STEU B E N . 
 
 the report of the board of war and the letter from Baron 
 Steuben. They were instructed to proceed to head-quarters, 
 and, in conjunction with the commander-in-chief, to effect such 
 reforms and changes in all the departments of the army as its 
 present condition required. They were authorized, with the 
 advice of General Washington, "to reduce, incorporate or 
 unite to State lines the several additional corps," to inquire 
 into and regulate the clothier's, quarter-master's, commissary's 
 and medical departments, to visit the different posts and see 
 that such regulations as they should adopt were carried into 
 execution, "to abolish unnecessary posts, to erect others, to 
 discharge useless officers, to stop rations improperly issued, 
 and to exercise every power requisite to effect a reformation 
 of abuses, and the general arrangement of those departments 
 which were in any wise committed to their charge," and to 
 inform Congress from time to time of the measures they had 
 taken. The committee was chosen by ballot and consisted of 
 Schuyler, Matthews, and Peabody.f They went at once to 
 head-quarters, and it is due to the reports which they made 
 in the course of the summer that the reforms in September 
 and October, 1780, were adopted by Congress. The com- 
 mittee was discharged on the 11th of August, 1780. 
 
 Steuben had thus reached the object which he had in 
 view while in Philadelphia, and in the middle of April re- 
 turned with the committee to head-quarters. He accompanied 
 at the same time the French minister, Chevalier De la Lu- 
 zerne, who now paid his long-intended visit to the commander- 
 in-chief. They arrived at Morristown on or about the 20th of 
 April, 1780. Washington ordered Steuben to perforin some 
 maneuvers in honor of their distinguished foreign guest. He 
 did so first on the 24th of April, with four battalions, where- 
 upon in general orders, on the 25th of April, the commander- 
 in-chief, at the request of the ambassador of France, "had the 
 
 f J. Sparks, in Washington's Writings, vii., 14 and 15.' 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 2*73 
 
 pleasure to inform Major General Baron Be Steuben and the 
 officers and men of the four battalions, that the appearance 
 and maneuvers of the troops yesterday met his entire appro- 
 bation and afforded him the highest satisfaction."* 
 
 On the following day a grand review was held and highly 
 commended by Mr. De la Luzerne and the commander-in- 
 chief, as will appear from the following general order of the 
 26th of April :f 
 
 " His Excellency, the minister of France, was pleased to 
 express, in the warmest terms, his approbation of the troops 
 in the review of yesterday. Applause so honorable can not 
 but prove a new motive to the emulous exertions of the army. 
 The general has seen, with peculiar satisfaction, the zeal of all 
 ranks to manifest their respectful attachment to a gentleman 
 who, to a title of being the representative of the illustrious 
 friend and ally of these States, adds that of having given 
 distinguishing proofs, during his residence among us, of the 
 sincerest disposition to advance their interest." 
 
 * General Orders. Steuben MS. Papers. 
 
 f General Orders, copied in Steuben's Order Book. Steuben MS. Papers. 
 12* 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Walker represents Steuben at Head-Quarters during his Absence. — He is only 
 partly Successful. — His Letters to Steuben. — Steuben returns to Head- 
 Quarters in April, 17S0.— II is special Reviews.— Commencement of Hostili- 
 ties in New Jersey. — Steuben at Connecticut Farms. — His Dispositions for 
 the advanced Troops and the Militia of New Jersey. — Steuben goes to 
 West Point to assist General Howe. — He exercises and maneuvers the 
 Troops, instructs the Recruits, and controls the Arms. — His Plan for the 
 formation of a Light Infantry approved by Washington. — Scammel's Re- 
 port ABOUT THE NEW COMPANIES. — STEUBEN'S MEMORIAL CONCERNING THE SAME 
 
 to the General-in-Chief. — All his Propositions approved. — Steuben's Letter 
 of the 28th of July. — General Distress. — Exhaustion of the Public Credit. 
 — Steuben's Poverty. — He can not buy a Tent. — Interesting Letter of 
 General Greene. — Bad State of Paterson's Brigade. — The Summer is passed 
 in Inactivity.— Lowell's Letter complaining of the Apathy of the People. 
 — The Arms expected from France do not arrive. — Steuben collects as 
 many Arms and Bayonets as possible.— The French Auxiliary Corps of 
 eochambeau arrives. — washington removes his head-quarters to tappan. — 
 Arnold's Treason. — Steuben Member of the Court Martial against Andre. 
 — He pities the Latter and despises the Former. — Jonathan Arnold changes 
 his Name into that of Jonathan Steuben. — His Petition to the Assembly of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 WHILE Steuben was in Philadelphia, Benjamin Walker, 
 his aid-decamp, represented him at head-quarters in 
 all the business regarding the inspectorship. He made in 
 Steuben's and his own name repeated representations for 
 the introduction of a better order in carap, and by the 
 attention that was paid to them produced a very salutary 
 effect in the army, which this winter, for want of provisions, 
 credit and money, and on account of the extreme cold, 
 suffered at Morristown as much as during the encampment 
 at Valley Forge. 
 
 Steuben tried especially to get reliable reports about the 
 number and the state of the troops, as well as about the 
 quantity and quality of arras, which he had to lay before 
 Congress as the basis for the approaching campaign. The 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 275 
 
 punctual delivery of these returns was the more difficult as 
 the army, in consequence of the inactivity during the winter 
 and of the absence of Steuben, relaxed in its discipline. It 
 was scattered over a very largely extended area of country, 
 and thus the connection between the different corps was con- 
 siderably weakened. 
 
 As far as circumstances allowed, Walker succeeded in re- 
 modeling the form of the returns of arms and getting them 
 made out with more correctness. He was instrumental that 
 the general-in-chief issued orders for the introduction of better 
 order into the camp, and that on the 31st of January, 1780, 
 he wrote a severe letter to the commanding officers of each 
 brigade, in which Washington pointed out the several abuses 
 existing in their brigades, and ordered the necessary remedies 
 to be immediately applied, and reprimanded them for the little 
 attention that had been paid to the regulations established, 
 and for their want of order in every respect. 
 
 " I now inclose you," says Walker in a letter of the 24th 
 of February, 1780, to Steuben,* "some extracts from general 
 orders ; they have the appearance of a desire of introducing 
 some order, and I can not help thinking the general has it at 
 heart, but, my dear baron, he is in a difficult station, and 
 rendered more difficult by our unhappy circumstances ; and 
 the introduction of order into such an ill provided army is 
 nearly impossible. Is there any prospect of our being better 
 supplied ?" 
 
 Walker, at the same time, undertook the arduous task to 
 collect all the returns which Steuben wanted in Philadelphia 
 for proving to Congress the exact strength of the army for 
 the ensuing campaign ; but all his other efforts for promoting 
 the ends of his general were ineffectual, and thwarted by the 
 more pressing troubles to get food and supplies for the almost 
 starving soldiers. "I am not negligent," writes he, on the 
 11th of March, 1780, to Steuben,f ".in my attendance at hend- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ii. t Ibidem. 
 
27G LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 quarters, though to little purpose. You who know with what 
 reserve the general conducts himself with those in much 
 higher stations than myself, will hardly suppose he enters into 
 conversation with me, except at table. His inquiries are con- 
 lined to, ' When did you hear from the baron ?' " 
 
 "Notwithstanding," says he, in another letter, on the 13th 
 of February, 1780, "I did everything in my power to con- 
 vince the majors of brigade of the necessity of your having 
 the returns called for, as soon as possible, only those of six 
 brigades are yet come in ; those of Hand's, the second Penn- 
 sylvania and the two Connecticut brigades are yet wanting. 
 In examining those returns which have come in, I find they 
 have returned the men on furlough and recruiting, among 
 those who can not appear under arms ; but as I imagine your 
 intention was to know what number of men will be actually 
 effective at the opening of the campaign, and as those men 
 will doubtless return before that time, I shall deduct them in 
 making out the general returns. 
 
 " Instead of the regimental returns being digested into 
 brigade returns, they have sent in all the regimental returns. 
 This, and the many different forms in which they are made 
 out, makes it difficult to get them into any order. In general 
 returns, however, I shall do it in such a manner as will explain 
 every thing you want to know, and I have no doubt you will 
 be satisfied with them. I observe, also, that in their returns 
 of arms and accouterments they have confined themselves 
 to those articles, excluding the ammunition, drums and fifes, 
 though I have no doubt you meant they should be included ; 
 but on a retrospection to the list you have sent, you say a re- 
 turn of t/ie arms and accouterments, and they have been care- 
 ful to put down no more than was ordered." 
 
 When Steuben, in April, joined the army, he resumed his 
 old duties. He made a critical inspection of the arms of all 
 brigades, in order to have an estimation of the number of arms 
 wanting for the service of the ensuing campaign, exercised the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 277 
 
 troops and maneuvered with them on a large scale. Thus the 
 troops were well prepared, when, in the beginning of June, 
 the State of New Jersey was harassed by the invasions of 
 Knyphausen. It is certain, that on the 6th. of June, Steuben 
 took part in the affairs of Connecticut Farms and Springfield, 
 and it is stated by eye witnesses, as for instance, Ashbel Green,* 
 that he reconnoitered the American posts on this occasion ; 
 but it does not appear that Steuben held a command in the 
 army. It rather seems that he acted as the chief of Wash- 
 ington's staff. We found at least two documents in the Steu- 
 ben Papers, which refer to this kind of participation in the 
 events of that period. 
 
 One of them, bearing date the 11th of June, 1780, con- 
 tains a disposition for the advanced troops. " All reports from 
 the advanced posts," it orders, " are to be sent in the first in- 
 stance to the baron's quarters, and all deserters, prisoners, and 
 every kind of intelligence from the enemy are to be forwarded 
 to the same place. General Maxwell," it continues, " will com- 
 mand the right wing of the advanced troops, consisting of the 
 first and second Jersey, and Spencer's Continental regiments, 
 and Tily's, Frelinghuysen's and Webster's regiments of militia, 
 and the detachment under Major Bryan. General Hand will 
 command the left, consisting of the third Jersey regiment, 
 the corps under Major Gibbs, and Courtland's and Stark's 
 regiments of militia. In case the enemy should advance, the 
 general has no doubt the troops will defend their respective 
 posts with that courage and determination which has so often 
 distinguished them ; but should the superior force of their 
 enemy oblige them to give way, they will retreat in the fol- 
 lowing order," etc. 
 
 The other paper is a plan drawn by Steuben, for the alarm 
 posts and plans of rendezvous of the militia of New Jersey, 
 during Knyphausen's invasion ; but happily the inactivity of 
 
 * The Lifo of Ashbel Green, by James M. Jones, New York, 1844, p. 
 109. 
 
278 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the enemy had given time to the American army to make dis- 
 positions which rendered the calling out of the militia unne- 
 cessary, and consequently the whole was countermanded.* 
 
 The commander in-chief apprehended at that time, that 
 while Knyphausen engaged the main army near Morristown, 
 Clinton meditated an attack on West Point, the key to the 
 Highlands. Major General Howe was in command of that 
 important post ; but by some was not considered competent 
 for the task. Washington, therefore, not to hurt the feelings 
 of that deserved officer, resolved to send a general of approved 
 bravery, experience and military judgment, to the assistance 
 of Howe, and paid Steuben the compliment to order him, just 
 in this critical moment, to West Point. It was about the mid- 
 dle of June when Steuben left the army, which, as late as the 
 21st of June, moved from Morristown toward Pompton and 
 further on to the Highlands. 
 
 " The enemy, the day before yesterday," writes Alexander 
 Hamilton, dated Whippany, the 25th of June, I780,f "made 
 a forward movement to Springfield, which they burned, and 
 retired to Elizabethtown Point. The same evening they 
 crossed over to Staten Island, and there are a great many con- 
 curring circumstances which make it probable we shall next 
 hear of them on the North river. As you are at West Point 
 the general wishes you to remain there until the present ap- 
 pearances come to some result. He has confidence in your 
 judgment, and wishes you to give your advice and assistance 
 to the commanding officer. As you have no command in the 
 post, you can only do this in a private, friendly way : but I 
 dare say General Howe will be happy to consult you. You 
 will consider this as a private letter in which I rather convey 
 you the general's wishes than his commands." 
 
 Steuben remained in West Point, and the posts under its 
 control to the beginning of August, when Arnold was ap- 
 pointed to the command. His principal business during that 
 
 * Alexander Hamilton's "Works, vol. ii., p. 42. f Ibidem, vol. i., p. 142. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 270 
 
 time consisted in making the necessary arrangements for an 
 offensive campaign, for which purpose he especially exercised 
 the troops, formed the light infantry companies and procured 
 arms for the northern army. There were in its eight brigades 
 about three thousand old soldiers, allowing five hundred for 
 the duty of the guards and pickets, and five hundred for mak- 
 ing fascines, gabions and other necessary works for fortifica- 
 tion. About two thirds of the old soldiers and all the recruits 
 were daily at exercise. To render the recruits as serviceable 
 as the short time allowed, Steuben agreed with General Howe 
 that none of them were to be employed on guard or fatigue, 
 and directed the particular attention of the inspectors to their 
 instruction. They were exercised twice a day, one hour and 
 a half in the morning at the reveille beating, and one hour and 
 a half in the evening before sunset ; the first six days without 
 arms and wholly employed in learning to carry themselves 
 well, to march and to dress. At this exercise the command- 
 ing officers of regiments had to attend, and they were answer- 
 able for the attendance of the officers of their respective regi- 
 ments, and that no recruit was on any account exercised by a 
 non-commissioned officer. 
 
 With respect to the arms, each colonel had to give a re- 
 turn of the arms and accouterments in the possession of his 
 regiment, with which he was charged in an account kept by 
 the inspector for that purpose, and the colonel on his part had 
 to charge the captains, and take receipts for those in possession 
 of their companies. When more arms were wanted the return 
 was to be signed by the colonel and to be countersigned by the 
 inspector, and a receipt taken by the inspector for the arms, 
 etc., delivered in return and charged to the regiment. When 
 it had arms to return it was directed to deliver them to the 
 conductor and take his receipt for them, which receipt they 
 had to change with the inspector for his receipt. 
 
 Another object to which Steuben devoted much care was 
 the number of men absent, or improperly employed out of the 
 
280 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 regiment. All those on furlough were immediately recalled, 
 and those who came under the latter description called in and 
 exercised. Standing guards which, notwithstanding the many 
 orders to the contrary, were still in existence, were at once 
 relieved ; the wagoners, masters, and others, who were old 
 soldiers, so far as possible changed for recruits, and, as much 
 as circumstances permitted, discipline and improvements intro- 
 duced in the corps of General Howe, which in this respect was 
 utterly neglected. 
 
 On the 14th of July, 1780, Steuben laid the following 
 plan for the formation of the light infantry before the com- 
 mander-in-chief for his approbation : 
 
 " Each regiment to furnish one captain, one lieutenant, 
 three sergeants, one drum, one fife, and forty-two rank and 
 file. The colonels to be answerable that there are in each com- 
 pany twenty-five old soldiers, who have been w T ell exercised, 
 the other seventeen to be chosen amongst the most robust 
 and active recruits. As soon as a regiment is augmented to 
 two hundred and ninety effective rank and file, the light in- 
 fantry company to be augmented to fifty. Four companies of 
 light infantry to form a battalion, to be commanded by a lieu- 
 tenant colonel or a major appointed by the commander-in- 
 chief. Two battalions of light infantry to form a regiment, to 
 be commanded by a colonel appointed by the commander-in- 
 chief. Four or six battalions to form a brigade, commanded 
 by a brigadier — the whole to form a division commanded by 
 a major general. 
 
 " Each regiment will be obliged to keep its light infantry 
 company complete during the campaign ; each brigade in the 
 line that furnishes a battalion of light infantry is, besides those 
 belonging to the companies, to furnish two subalterns, one as 
 an adjutant, the other as quarter-master and pay-master, one 
 sergeant-major, the other quarter-master sergeant. 
 
 " Each regiment of light infantry to be furnished in the 
 following manner : 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 281 
 
 FIRST BRIGADE. 
 
 1st Pennsylvania brigade to furnish 4 companies, which form 1 battalion, 200 
 2d " " * 4 " " " " 200 
 Jersey brigade, with Spencer's, to furnish 4 companies, which form 1 bat- 
 talion, 200 
 
 New York brigade to furnish 4 companies, which form 1 battalion, . 200 
 
 SECOND BRIGADE. 
 
 1st Connecticut brigade to furnish 4 companies, which form 1 battalion, 200 
 
 2d " " " 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 1st Massachusetts " " 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 2d " " " 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 THIRD BRIGADE. 
 
 3d Massachusetts brigade to furnish 4 companies, which form 1 battalion, 200 
 
 4th " " " 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 N. Hamp. 3 andR. Isl. regt. 1, in all 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 Stark's regt. 2 and Hand's regt. 2, » 4 " " " 1 " 200 
 
 Total . . . .48 . . . .12 . 2,400 
 Companies. Battalions. Bank & File. 
 
 As early as the 16th of July, Washington issued an order 
 founded on Steuben's plan, and directing that one captain, one 
 subaltern, three sergeants, and twenty rank and file, each from 
 five feet eight inches to five feet ten inches in height, were to 
 be drafted from each regiment of the first brigade, and partic- 
 ularly of the old soldiers, as light infantry. 
 
 " On the 20th of July," reports A. Scammel to Steuben,* 
 "I finished inspecting seventeen companies of the strength 
 above mentioned. The officers made a genteel, officer-like 
 appearance — the non-commissioned officers appeared to be 
 well chosen. The men were well fitted to the field, firm, and 
 well built ; their arms in general good and in fine order, and 
 nothing but the want of clothes prevented their making a com- 
 plete military appearance — all old soldiers, and the greater 
 part of them were in the light infantry last year. When they 
 marched from the parade they appeared equal to the storming 
 of another Stony Point." 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ii. 
 
282 LIFE OF STEUREN. 
 
 In consequence of Washington's directions, Steuben, on 
 the 25th of July, commenced drafting from the second brigade 
 the light infantry in West Point, Fishkill and environs. For 
 this purpose he ordered from each regiment thirty men with 
 six sergeants, out of which number he chose twenty men and 
 three sergeants to form a company. On the 22d of July, 
 1780, he wrote from West Point, as follows, to General Wash- 
 ington : 
 
 " To avoid all disorder, which results from drawing by 
 separate corps, I proposed, in my last letter to your Excel- 
 lency, that the light infantry should draw nothing as a sepa- 
 rate corps, except their rations, which are to be distributed 
 by a commissary, the forage by a forage master, the ammuni- 
 tion by a conductor, who are to be appointed particularly for 
 the light infantry. 
 
 " The arms, accouterments, camp equipage, clothing, and 
 even the pay, will be furnished by each regiment to which the 
 company belongs. For this purpose, the quarter-master of 
 each battalion of light infantry will keep his books and ac- 
 counts with the quarter-masters and pay-masters of the regi- 
 ments to which the company belongs. The first regiment of 
 Pennsylvania, for instance, furnishes one company to the first 
 battalion of light infantry. Then this regiment furnishes for 
 this company one horseman's tent for the officers, eight com- 
 mon tents for the non-commissioned officers and privates, eight 
 camp kettles, and the other equipage in proportion, and the 
 same w T ith respect to clothing, etc. I submit to your Excellency, 
 if it will not be necessary to publish this arrangement in gen- 
 eral orders before the battalions are formed, in order that the 
 chiefs of the departments may become acquainted therewith. 
 
 " Another object, before the formation of this corps, is to 
 determine in what order the battalions are to be formed in 
 order of battle, to avoid all disputes concerning rank and 
 posts of honor. By the inclosed arrangement, the geograph- 
 ical order adopted in the army will be nearly complied with, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 283 
 
 except that three companies of New Hampshire are to be in- 
 corporated in a battalion with those of New York. Thus the 
 order will be as follows : 
 
 1. 2. 3. 
 
 _J 
 
 8 Companies, Penn- 4 Companies, New 8 Companies, New 
 
 sylvania. Jersey ; 2, Hand ; 2, Hampshire; 1, Rhode 
 
 Stark. Island ; 4, N. York. 
 
 4. 5. 6. 
 
 8 Companies, Con- 8 Companies, Massa- 8 Companies, Massa- 
 
 necticut. chusetts. chusetts. 
 
 " If you approve of this arrangement, the first and second 
 battalions will be composed out of those five brigades which 
 are with your Excellency, and the other four will be formed 
 out of the eight brigades here under General Howe. I have 
 no doubt that the first battalion of light infantry, furnished by 
 the two Pennsylvania brigades, can and will be properly com- 
 posed. The second, furnished by the brigades of Jersey, Stark 
 and Hand, may be equally so, and as for the four battalions 
 here, I will take all the pains in my power to form them in such 
 a manner as to meet with your Excellency's approbation. 
 
 " If it was possible, my dear general, that our whole in- 
 fantry could be uniformly clothed in linen hunting shirts and 
 overalls, with small round hats, cocked up one side, and good 
 shoes, it would be the most convenient uniform for the season. 
 These we can easily procure for them. I will give orders here 
 that all the light infantry shall be provided with bayonets, 
 and would be much obliged to your Excellency to have the 
 same orders issued for those with you." 
 
 On the 23d of July, 1780, Alexander Hamilton, Washing- 
 ton's aid-de-camp, answered from head-quarters :* 
 
 " On the formation of the light infantry the general has al- 
 ready written to you. I presume it will be ultimately nearly 
 as you have proposed. . . . Mitre nous, it is not easy to find 
 good majors for this corps in the Massachusetts line, and as it 
 * Alexander Hamilton's Works, vol. ii., 42. 
 
284 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 will act a good deal with the French troops, we wish it, for 
 this additional reason, to be well officered. Prescott will an- 
 swer the purpose, but he is not yet to know that he is in con- 
 templation. We shall not long continue in our present posi- 
 tion. The distinctions of departments are an old story, which 
 now do not exist, except with respect to South Carolina. You 
 are with a detachment of the main army. I dare say all you 
 are doiim* will be found right." 
 
 "I have made," reports Steuben, from Fishkill, on the 28th 
 of July, 1780, to Washington, "the necessary arrangements 
 for the light infantry, and shall be happy if they meet your 
 Excellency's approbation. The companies are formed agree- 
 ably to your Excellency's orders. I have myself chosen the 
 non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and even the arms, 
 and I dare Hatter myself that the corps will be the admiration 
 of our allies as much as the terror of our enemies. Thereis 
 hardly a man under twenty or above thirty years of age ; thuy 
 are all robust and well made, and have indeed a military ap- 
 pearance, and as many of the recruits have served before, 
 nearly two thirds of every company will be old soldiers. I 
 have chosen from each regiment, besides three sergeants, two 
 drummers and lifers, and forty-two, rank and file, as a re- 
 serve. They are to remain with their companies and be ready 
 to reinforce or fill up any vacancy that may happen in the 
 light companies." 
 
 An extremely great evil still prevailing in the northern 
 army, and arising from the want of discipline, was the scarcity 
 of arms and provisions, which again led the soldiers to muti- 
 nies, marauding and disobedience. Public credit was totally 
 exhausted ; the pay of the soldiers amounted to nothing, as 
 it was made- in entirely worthless Continental money, without 
 allowance for depreciation. The people at large, especially 
 in the summer of 1780, were tired of the war, or expected 
 all aid, and their deliverance from the British, from their 
 French allies. A large French lleet and army were expected, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 285 
 
 and mostly on this account individual exertions were thought 
 superfluous. To illustrate this ruinous state of things we need 
 not to quote hundreds of letters and complaints which we 
 found in the MS. Steuben Papers. It is more than evident 
 from Washington's letters and other documents with which 
 the public are already familiar. With respect to the person 
 of Steuben it may suffice to state, that notwithstanding re- 
 peated applications, he suffered as much as any other officer, 
 and that he was even unable to get a tent for his own use. 
 
 " I am exceedingly mortified" — writes Nathaniel Greene, 
 then quarter-master general, to Steuben, from Preakness, on 
 the 18th of July* — "that you meet with so much trouble in 
 getting a few horses and a marquee to cover you. Will any 
 man at a future day believe that a people, contending for the 
 first rights of human nature, would leave those employed upon 
 this important business so badly supplied with the sinews of 
 war that the common conveniences requisite for a soldier's 
 comfort can not be had ? Tell it not in Dan ! publish it not 
 in Askalon ! But so it is ; and how can I help it ? 
 
 " I have no marquees here. There are ten coming from 
 Boston, and I have given Colonel Hay directions at all events 
 to reserve one for you. The saddles may be had at Morris's. 
 What shall we do this campaign ? We are most like a brok- 
 en merchant, too poor to undertake any thing great, and too 
 proud to attempt what is within our power. Ambition hurries 
 us beyond our abilities, and I wish it may not expose our pov- 
 erty in more disagreeable colors than we at present imagine. 
 It is noble to attempt, but will it not be ruinous to fail ?" 
 
 If officers of the highest rank were thus exposed to suf- 
 fering and hardship, it was nothing but a natural consequence 
 of this culpable neglect that not the least attention was paid 
 to the wants of the private soldier. " I esteem it my duty," 
 writes General John Paterson, on the 15th of September, 
 1780, to Steuben,! " to represent to you the disagreeable and 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ii. f Ibidem. 
 
28(3 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 distressing circumstances of the brigade under my command, 
 for the want of provisions. Had this been new or accidental, 
 I should not have taken notice of it, but for a number of weeks 
 we have not had an allowance of meat more than half the time ; 
 particularly in this month we have had but seven rations and 
 a half. Should this continue, I am fearful of the consequences. 
 The officers, already fretted by the treatment they have met 
 with from the country, are, I believe, in general determined 
 to quit the service at the close of the campaign, and unless 
 times have a better aspect, I fear the others will follow their 
 example. Those in my brigade are really in distress, and 
 depend solely on the ration they receive for their support, 
 not one to twenty being able to purchase a dinner. It has 
 also a very bad effect upon the soldiery ; they, from being 
 moral and peaceable, I find, are giving way to those vices 
 which are the peculiar attendants of an army without provi- 
 sion. 
 
 " You may depend, sir, this representation does not pro- 
 ceed from a feverish, complaining disposition, but the contrary. 
 My wish is to see the army well supplied, which I think will 
 effectually prevent all those evils we fear. Resignations, mu- 
 tiny and marauding, would in a great degree, if not totally, be 
 prevented, and a s])irit of obedience take place in their stead." 
 
 But there was no money to provide for the necessary sup- 
 plies and the most indispensable articles of the troops, and the 
 whole summer of 1780 passed away under deliberations whether 
 the army should be confined to the defensive or take the offen- 
 sive. When Washington himself ceased to hope for any im- 
 provement, was it, then, to be wondered at that other promi- 
 nent men, like James Lovell, for instance, gave up all hopes 
 that the people would awake from their apathy ? " What 
 course is to be pursued," he asked Steuben, in a letter of 
 the 15th of July, 1780, " when the French fleet arrives ? An 
 angel from heaven, warlike as the best of Milton's, could not 
 now tell. He would be, as we are, obliged to go into the dis- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 287 
 
 tractiog field of ifs, and a?ids, and buts, suppositions and con- 
 jectures. Above all, he would be obliged to say, ' If there is 
 any true spirit remaining in the people at large, we may hope 
 to ruin the enemy.' " 
 
 It was a severe blow to the army that just now, when the 
 arms were most wanted for the light infantry and the army in 
 general, the expected supplies from France did not arrive. 
 Steuben endeavored to procure them from other sources, and 
 in concert with Generals Knox and Howe did his utmost to 
 get as many arms as possible, and to meet the immediate 
 emergency. 
 
 " Previous to the reception of your last favors," he writes, 
 from Fishkill, the 28th of July, 1780, to Washington, " I had 
 been informed of our disappointment in regard to the arms 
 expected from France. Mr. Izard made no secret of this de- 
 tention. The distress I foresaw this disappointment would 
 bring upon us, determined me on a measure for w 7 hich, if disap- 
 proved by your Excellency, I must be accountable. I engaged 
 General Howe to write to Connecticut and Massachusetts. I 
 wrote myself, and engaged also Generals Huntington and Pat- 
 erson to w r rite to them, to lend- us fifteen hundred stand of 
 arms each, and to send them on immediately, and I have made 
 myself answerable for their return whenever our arms arrive 
 from France ; these three thousand, and what we shall be able 
 to collect from our stores, will, I hope, suffice. 
 
 "I have disarmed all the wagoners, general and staff 
 officers' waiters, and indeed every man who will not be 
 present, in rank and file, in action. This will add a con- 
 siderable number of arms. With regard to the recovery of 
 arms carried off, it will, I fear, be difficult, if not impossible ; 
 it would even be difficult to discover to w T hom to attribute 
 such negligence. The field officers were absent and the regi- 
 ments commanded sometimes by a captain, sometimes by a 
 lieutenant ; under these circumstances what individual officer 
 can be made answerable ?" 
 
288 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 How difficult it was to get the arms collected appears 
 from Steuben's letters to General Knox, of which we give 
 here some extracts. 
 
 "As it is very uncertain," he writes, on the 16th of July, 
 "what number of recruits may join us, I am endeavoring to 
 collect together at this place all the arms and accouterments I 
 can hear of. Those from Albany I expect every day. I have 
 ordered on six hundred new cartridge boxes and two thousand 
 bayonet belts and scabbards which were at New Haven ; 
 those from Morristown I beg you will order here immediately, 
 as I imagine the brigades at head-quarters will be more than 
 supplied from those which come from Philadelphia." 
 
 And on the 21st of July he continues: 
 
 "I would be glad if you would have all the bayonets that 
 can be collected forwarded on this way as soon as possible, as 
 the arms from Albany amount in all but to thirty-one hundred 
 and six, and but nine hundred and forty-one bayonets. You 
 will also please to send orders to all the laboratories, that the 
 cartridges to be made in future shall be of the size of nineteen 
 to the pound, as the generality of the arms are French, and 
 the cartridges of that size may upon occasion be used with 
 English muskets, and the English size cartridges (sixteen to 
 the pound), can not be used with French muskets. I would 
 be much obliged to you if you would give orders to all the 
 field commissaries, conductors, etc, not to deliver any arms, 
 etc., to any order but that of the inspectors, as I have an 
 instance of an abuse being committed, for want of an arrange- 
 ment of that kind, the other day, by General Glover's brigade, 
 which drew a large quantity of military stores at Springfield, 
 more than their proportion would come to. Such an unequal 
 distribution will never do, my dear general, and if you do not 
 give the above orders I must renounce having any thing to do 
 
 with the distribution I have given orders for whatever 
 
 Glover's brigade have received to be returned and distributed 
 equally with the rest." 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 289 
 
 .... "Among the three thousand arms arrived from 
 Albany," he writes on the 27th of July, "nine hundred only 
 have bayonets, nor do I know where to procure them. We shall 
 also be very short of cartridge boxes. I have ordered fifteen 
 hundred to be repaired here. God knows if it will be done. 
 These fifteen days past I have been endeavoring to get the 
 arms from Chester to Newburg, where I have prepared a store 
 for their reception, to deliver them to the brigades. I have 
 been also ten days trying to get the arms from Albany from 
 on board the sloops, but neither the one or the other can be 
 done. My orders are less respected than those of a corporal. 
 The army is under marching orders, and nearly four thousand 
 are unarmed ; the arms are here, and can not be delivered 
 because nobody will do his duty. There were at Philadelphia, 
 I believe, five thousand arms with bayonets, and fifteen hun- 
 dred new cartridge boxes, with drums, fifes and other articles, 
 and there are, I believe, one thousand arms at Carlisle. In 
 our present circumstances they should all be collected or we 
 shall lose the campaign." 
 
 Steuben joined the main army when, in consequence of 
 the arrival of the French auxiliary corps under Rochambeau 
 on Rhode Island, and the movements of Sir Henry Clinton, 
 Washington crossed and recrossed the Hudson ; and acted on 
 his staff when he established his head-quarters near Tappan. 
 Steuben's services being no longer required at West Point on 
 account of Arnold's appointment to the chief command there, 
 he continued with the head-quarters of the army. 
 
 Towards the end of September the world was startled by the 
 treason of the notorious Arnold. His crime led to the capture 
 of the unfortunate Andre. Steuben was one of the members of 
 the board of the fourteen general officers appointed to examine 
 into the case of Andre, and who, on the 29th of September, 
 1780, were compelled to sentence him to a felon's death. The 
 baron was exceedingly afflicted, relates North, with the in- 
 evitable fate of the unfortunate British adjutant general. "It 
 
 13 
 
290 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 is not possible," he said, "to save him. He put us to no 
 proof, but in an open, manly manner, confessed every thing 
 but a premeditated design to deceive. Would to God the 
 wretch who drew him to death could have suffered in his 
 place!" 
 
 Arnold's flight, however, gave birth to equally strong, but 
 very different feelings in Steuben's breast. He let no occasion 
 pass to manifest his utmost abhorrence of the name and char- 
 acter of the traitor, whose name ever grated harshly on 
 Steuben's ear. It is characterized by an anecdote frequently 
 told, and published in almost as many different forms as nar- 
 rators, which we give here after Jones,* in the correct version, 
 as it was obtained from the former neighbors of Jonathan 
 Steuben. 
 
 " On one occasion, after the treason, the baron was on pa- 
 rade at roll-call, when the detested name, Arnold, was heard 
 in one of the infantry companies of the Connecticut line. The 
 baron immediately called the unfortunate possessor to the 
 front of the company. He was a perfect model for his profes- 
 sion ; clothes, arms, and equipments in the most perfect order. 
 The practiced eye of the baron soon scanned the soldier, and, 
 'Call at my marquee, after you are dismissed, brother sol- 
 dier,' was his only remark. After Arnold was dismissed from 
 parade, he called at the baron's quarters as directed. The 
 baron said to him, 'You are too fine a soldier to bear the 
 name of a traitor — change it at once, change it at once.' 
 'But what name shall I take?' replied Arnold. 'Any that 
 you please, any that you please ; take mine, if you can not suit 
 yourself better; mine is at your service.' Arnold at once 
 agreed to the proposition, and immediately repaired to his or- 
 derly, and Jonathan Steuben forthwith graced the company 
 roll, in lieu of the disgraced name of him who had plotted 
 treason to his country. After the United States had con- 
 
 * Annals and Recollections of Oneida County, by Pomroy Jones. 8vo. 
 Rome, 1851, p. 441. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 291 
 
 quered their independence our hero returned to Connecticut, 
 and on his petition the General Court legalized the change of 
 name.* A few years after, he wrote the baron, who had now 
 settled on his patent in this country, that he had married and 
 bad a line son born, and that he had named him Frederick 
 William. The baron replied, that when the son had arrived 
 at the age of twenty-one he would give him a farm. The 
 baron soon after paid the debt of nature, but his letter was 
 carefully preserved. A few years after its settlement, Jona- 
 than Steuben removed to the town of Steuben, with his family. 
 When Frederick William arrived at his majority, the letter 
 was presented to Colonel Walker, one of the baron's executors, 
 
 * We insert here a copy of the petition found among the Steuben MS. 
 papers in Utica, as characteristic of the man and of the spirit of the times : 
 State of Connecticut. — At a General Assembly of the Governor and Com- 
 pany of the State of Connecticut, in America, holden at Hartford, by spe- 
 cial order of the Governor, on the eighth day of January, one thousand 
 seven hundred and eighty-three : 
 Upon the Memorial of Jonathan Arnold, of Hartford, in the county of Hart- 
 ford, in the State of Connecticut, shewing to this Assembly that he is a ser- 
 geant in the Continental army, and unfortunately bears the surname of the 
 infamous Benedict Arnold, once a Major General in the Armies of the United 
 States, now a tray tor and deserter; that some time after the desertion of the 
 said Benedict, the Honorable Major General Baron Steuben, pitying the Mis- 
 fortune of any person Friendly to the American cause doomed to bear the 
 same name with a Notorious Traytor, offered the Memorialist Liberty to as- 
 sume the Name of Steuben, and by that name to be known and called, and 
 engaged to your Memorialist, on his taking and assuming the said name of 
 Steuben, to pay him the sum of Two Dollars per month, during the present 
 war, etc. ; praying this Assembly to permit him to assume the surname of 
 Steuben, and by that Name to be hereafter known and called, as per Memo- 
 rial on file. Dated January, A. D. 1783 : 
 
 Be it Enacted, by the Governor, Council, and Representatives, in Gen- 
 eral Court Assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the 
 said Memorialist have Liberty, and Liberty is hereby granted to 
 him, to take upon himself the surname of Steuben instead of that 
 of Arnold, and that the Memorialist's surname be Steuben, and 
 that by that Name, in all legal proceedings, he be ever hereafter 
 known and called. 
 
 A true copy. Examined by 
 
 George Wyllts, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
% 292 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 who at once executed to him a deed, in fee, of fifty acres of 
 land, but which had been previously leased to Samuel Sizer, 
 and as the recipient preferred the enjoyment of the land to the 
 receipt of the rents, he purchased the lease, and at once went 
 into possession. 
 
 " Jonathan Steuben lived to become a pensioner, and died 
 some fifteen or sixteen years since. His widow survived him ; 
 she also drew a pension. 
 
 " In the war of 1 812, Frederick William went with the mi- 
 litia to Sackett's Harbor, where he was taken sick and died. 
 For his services his widow received a pension. He was order- 
 ly sergeant of his company, and with the name of the baron 
 he seems to have inherited at least a portion of his distinguish- 
 ing qualifications, for he was considered one of the best discip- 
 linarians in his regiment." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Beasons why Washington, in 1780, did not assume the Offensive. — Steuben's 
 two Plans of Operation. — Contents of the first Plan. — Contents of the 
 second Plan, written on the 10th of September, 1780.— Washington acts in 
 Conformity with Steuben's Propositions. 
 
 THERE were two principal reasons why Washington did 
 not assume the offensive in 1780, and strike a decisive 
 blow. In the first place, the thirteen States did not furnish 
 one half of their contingent which they ought to have fur- 
 nished ; and then the assistance from France, particularly the 
 fleet, was too long delayed to open the campaign with them. 
 
 It is, however, interesting, notwithstanding this forced in- 
 activity of Washington, to follow the plans in detail, which he 
 formed in the beginning of summer. We therefore subjoin 
 here two proposals* made by Steuben, which give a clear view 
 of the situation, and prove the ability and activity of their 
 author in another capacity. The first of these has no date, 
 but it must have been written between the arrival of the news 
 of the surrender of Charleston, and that of Rochambeau in 
 Newport, and, therefore, probably, in the beginning of June. 
 It reads as follows : 
 
 " The great preparation made by the belligerent powers in 
 Europe, since last December, announced an intention on both 
 sides to render this campaign as decisive as possible. The in- 
 tentions of the court of France were made known to the 
 honorable Congress the beginning of January last, by the 
 minister, who at the same time exhorted the United States to 
 employ every effort in making the necessary preparations for 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, TJtica. 
 
294 • LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 a vigorous campaign on their part. It is not now necessary to 
 examine into the motives that prevented the different Legis- 
 latures from making the necessary arrangements. But it is 
 proper to know that, instead of augmenting our force, it has 
 diminished near five thousand men, whose term of service has 
 expired. 
 
 " About this time, also, Charleston was invested, and it did 
 not require any superior knowledge in the art of war to pre- 
 sume the place would fall. This has, in fact, happened ; and 
 by the capture of the garrison we have suffered a loss of two 
 thousand five hundred men. These, added to the five thou- 
 sand above mentioned, make about one half the force we had 
 last campaign. 
 
 " On the arrival of the Marquis De Lafayette, the latter 
 end of April, we were assured of the intentions of the court 
 of France to send a fleet of ships-of-the-line, and seven or 
 eight thousand troops, to cooperate with the American forces 
 on the continent, in such manner as Congress should judge for 
 the interest of the United States. It was then thought proper 
 to reinforce the army, and accordingly Congress recommend- 
 ed, and the States resolved, to raise troops for that purpose. 
 But the bad state of our finances, with other difficulties, which 
 have occurred, has prevented the execution of these resolves 
 to the present moment. Such is the situation of things at this 
 time. 
 
 " The enemy having left a garrison of three thousand men 
 at Charleston, are returned with the remainder of their force 
 to New York, where they have about ten thousand regular 
 troops, and four thousand new levies, in all fourteen thousand, 
 together with four ships-of-the-line in the harbor; besides 
 which it is reported that Admiral Graves has arrived at Pe- 
 nobscot with a fleet, the force of which we have not ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 "On the other hand, we are in expectation of the arrival 
 of the promised succor from our allies, and expect to receive 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 295 
 
 from the different States the number of men, and every other 
 assistance necessary to cooperate with them, and strike a de- 
 cisive stroke, whenever the commander-in-chief shall think 
 proper to direct his operations. 
 
 "The several objects which present themselves are, first, 
 the reduction of New York, with the capture of the garrison 
 — an event which will terminate the war. The second object 
 is the conquest of Canada — an event which must, first or last, 
 take place, to secure the peace of the continent, from which 
 many immediate advantages must result to the United States. 
 It will secure our frontier from the savages, and by changing 
 the seat of war relieve the States of New York and Jersey, 
 which have so considerably suffered ; while, at the same time, 
 we can take every advantage of the French fleet, without the 
 assistance of which an attempt to conquer Canada must prove 
 abortive and ineffectual. 
 
 u The third object is the reduction of Halifax and Penob- 
 scot — objects important to us in proportion as they are perni- 
 cious to the enemy by the loss of their naval magazines, which 
 are of the greatest importance for carrying on their opera- 
 tions on this continent. 
 
 u The fourth object is the retaking of Charleston, by which 
 the enemy will lose the whole fruits of an extensive campaign, 
 and we shall receive a principal port for the exportation of 
 our most valuable produce, tobacco and indigo. 
 
 " I might add a fifth object, which is the reduction of the 
 Floridas, by the assistance of the Spaniards, but this appears 
 too distant, compared with the others. 
 
 " We must now examine which of these objects is the most 
 important to us, the most destructive to the enemy, and in 
 fact the most decisive. We must then examine the means 
 necessary to attain success in any and every of these objects, 
 without risking every thing ; and lastly, we must examine 
 what means we can reckon on with any degree of certainty. 
 
 "The first object is the taking of New York with its garri- 
 
^9(1 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 son — without doubt the most important of the whole. A suc- 
 cess in this will, in all probability, terminate the war. New 
 York once reduced, the peace, independence and happiness of 
 America are established. To attain this object, so important for 
 us, let us consider the situation and strength of the enemy, and 
 what will be necessary on our part to succeed. The strength 
 of the enemy is fourteen thousand men. These are divided 
 on Long Island, Staten Island, and York island, on each of 
 which they are strongly intrenched, and without doubt suffi- 
 ciently provided with artillery and ammunition. With respect 
 to provisions we are not certain ; but it is very likely that 
 they are provided at least for three months. The port of New 
 York blockaded and the place invested by land, nothing re- 
 mains for the enemy but to defend themselves to the last 
 extremity, or, by signing the capitulation, to give peace and 
 independence to America. Can we expect this but in the last 
 necessity? Let us now see what means we have to force them 
 to it. According to the calculations of the greatest military 
 men, to invest a fortified place requires thrice the number of 
 the garrison. The situation of the place and other circum- 
 stances, especially having nothing to fear from without, may 
 induce a general to undertake it with double the number of 
 the garrison ; but I know very few examples of such an enter- 
 prise being undertaken with less, especially when the most 
 expensive preparations are necessary for the undertaking. 
 Reckoning, therefore, the enemy's force at fourteen thousand, 
 we must at least have twenty-eight thousand for this enter- 
 prise. Our present force is about seven thousand, and we 
 expect about six or seven thousand French troops to cooper- 
 ate with us. We want, therefore, a reinforcement of fourteen 
 thousand recruits to have double the number of the enemy. 
 Our army will then consist of fourteen thousand soldiers and 
 fourteen thousand recruits. But may we expect ten thousand ? 
 If we receive the fourteen thousand recruits between this and 
 the 1st of August, with respect to the number of men, we 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 297 
 
 may, I think, undertake the enterprise. With the arms and 
 ammunition we expect with the French fleet, and those we 
 have now in store, I think we shall be sufficiently provided in 
 that respect. I will take it for granted that the States have 
 taken precautions for providing the army with provisions and 
 forage necessary for the enterprise. With respect to artillery 
 I suppose that with what we have, added to what the French 
 will bring, and what the State of Massachusetts can lend us, 
 we shall have a sufficient number of cannon, but I am not cer- 
 tain if we shall have a sufficiency of bombs. I suppose, also, 
 that the States of York and Jersey will furnish workmen, arti- 
 ficers and material necessary for constructing the batteries and 
 other works necessary for a regular siege. In fact, I take for 
 granted that the whole of the States will exert every nerve 
 to assist in an enterprise on which so much depends. In this 
 case we ought certainly to undertake the enterprise against 
 New York. But as success will depend in some measure on 
 naval operations, it is necessary to compare the force we may 
 expect, with that of the enemy. At present we only know 
 with certainty that the enemy have four ships-of-the line at 
 New York. What the French will bring, or what force Ad- 
 miral Graves has with him, is uncertain. We should, there- 
 fore, consider whether we can hazard the enterprise with a 
 force of three or four vessels less than the enemy. This can 
 only be determined by those who are more acquainted with 
 naval operations. But taking it for granted that we can, we 
 have only to consider the manner of carrying it into execu- 
 tion. It is impossible for me to enter into a detail of the opera- 
 tions necessary for the fleet — operations in which I confess 
 myself entirely ignorant. Nor shall I mention any further 
 than it is necessary they should facilitate and cover the move- 
 ments of the army. As the little knowledge I have of the 
 ground is gained entirely from maps and information, my 
 opinion on the operations of the army will, doubtless, in many 
 instances, be erroneous, and I submit it entirely to the judg- 
 
 13* 
 
298 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 raent of the commander-in-chief and those officers who are 
 better acquainted with the ground than I am. 
 
 " Having on our part the number of men and means be- 
 fore mentioned, the French fleet should enter the harbor and 
 immediately land two thousand men on Staten Island ; at the 
 same time the Jersey brigade, with one thousand militia, 
 should go on the island and join them. If the enemy on the 
 island stay there till this is done, it appears to me their retreat 
 to New York will be cut off by the fleet, and none left but by 
 way of Constable's Point or Bergen Neck, which I should 
 think might be also cut off by a sufficient force towards Pau- 
 lus Hook. Their works on the island must then be reduced 
 either by assault, cannonade, or bombardment, and that part 
 of their force, which I estimate at from fourteen hundred to 
 sixteen hundred men, must be ours whether we succeed at 
 New York or not. In this enterprise I doubt not the Jerseys 
 will assist with a great many brave volunteers, who will ren- 
 der the success still more probable. I do not imagine the 
 enemy will undertake to defend Staten Island without hav- 
 ing reason to expect a superiority on the water. But what- 
 ever may be their determination thereon, ours must be to ren- 
 der ourselves masters of the island as soon as we possibly 
 can. In the meantime our army should pass the North river, 
 and approach towards King's Bridge. For the safety of this 
 maneuver I suppose some frigates or vessels of force should 
 run up the North river. The enemy will then be shut up on 
 York island and the Heights of Brooklyn. Should we attempt 
 our approaches on York island, the great number of works 
 they have would afford them the opportunity of disputing 
 every inch of ground, and even where they have no works 
 the nature of the ground is such that our superiority of num- 
 bers would be rendered useless. Suppose, on the contrary, 
 that two or three Continental brigades, a large number of 
 militia, and all the cavalry could shut up the enemy at King's 
 Bridge, whilst the remainder of the army, joined with four 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 299 
 
 thousand French troops, go on Long Island, and form a regu- 
 lar attack on their works at Brooklyn ; these once reduced, 
 either by regular approaches or by a coup de main, the situa- 
 tion of the enemy would become critical. We could establish 
 batteries and bombard the city. The French troops alone 
 could guard those Heights, whilst all our army might enter by 
 King's Bridge and shut the enemy within narrower limits. 
 In the meantime the fleet might enter the East river, burn 
 the vessels, and afford us an opportunity of harassing the 
 enemy in their position on York island. The remainder of 
 our operations follow, of course. If we arrive at this period 
 of the affair, success and glory will attend us. To cover our 
 passage to Long Island, to keep open the communication, and to 
 protect the vessels that may arrive to our assistance from New 
 England, it would be necessary to have a couple of vessels of 
 force in the Sound, which may be detached for that purpose 
 round the east end of Long Island. 
 
 " Allowing as granted all the favorable suppositions which 
 precede my plan for this enterprise, I would also wish and ex- 
 pect that all America, and especially New England, would con- 
 cur in assisting all in their power, that all privateering should 
 be suspended, and every vessel, whether large or small, should 
 be employed in seconding an enterprise of such importance, 
 on which the salvation of America so much depends. 
 
 " The more important this enterprise is, the more ought 
 we to be cautious in undertaking it without a certain proba- 
 bility of success. Nothing, it is true, can be gained without 
 risk ; but prudence will dictate to us not to hazard in one 
 unhappy hour what has cost us so much trouble and danger. 
 Let New York be our first object for gaining an honorable 
 peace, but let it be our last if we are to risk for it not only 
 our own honor, but that of our allies. If we are not very 
 certain that the fleet of our allies is at least equal to that of 
 the enemy — if our land force does not exceed that of the en- 
 emy by ten thousand men — if we have not the necessary am- 
 
300 LI V B O F STETBEN. 
 
 munition, provision, and other necessaries to the enterprise — 
 if our operations can not begin before the 20th of August — I 
 say, in any of these cases, I reject all thought of the enterprise, 
 and refer to the second object, which is the conquest of Can- 
 ada. 
 
 " I have already mentioned the advantages which may be 
 expected from this enterprise. To them I add two other mo- 
 tives, which appear to me important. In the first place, the 
 inhabitants of that country who are well affected to our cause 
 have been in anxious expectation of our assistance since the 
 taking of the northern army. Seeing that we do nothing for 
 their assistance, they will detach themselves from our interest, 
 and attach themselves to the enemy. In the second place, we 
 can never hope so favorable an opportunity as the present, 
 when we have a French fleet and army to second the enter- 
 prise. The reciprocal attachment the Canadians and French 
 have for each other, would also make both act with more zeal 
 and vigor. In this enterprise, as well as that against New 
 York, I would also suppose the superiority of the French 
 fleet, without which all the operations will be attended with 
 much difficulty. But, taking the superiority for granted, I 
 would desire that the fleet should enter the port of Newport 
 and land and refresh the troops ; the ships named for the ex- 
 pedition, with half the French troops, should then proceed for 
 the river St. Lawrence, provided with every thing necessary 
 for the siege of Quebec, and with four thousand stand of arms, 
 with ammunition, to distribute to the Canadians who would 
 join ; the New York and New Hampshire brigades to be also 
 embarked on the French fleet, and joined with the French for 
 this expedition ; Stark's and Hand's brigades to go up the Con- 
 necticut river, and enter Canada by the road made by Colonel 
 Hazen, and form a junction with the French troops. 
 
 "The taking of Quebec would certainly be the principal 
 object in this expedition ; but we should put ourselves in a 
 state of safetv in the country, even should Quebec not be re- 
 
L I V K OF S T B U B EN. :101 
 
 duced in the course of this campaign. If I am not wrongly 
 informed, the river St. Lawrence forms a strait twenty four 
 miles below Quebec, where the channel does not permit the 
 entry of more than one vessel at the time, by which means 
 the passage to Quebec may, perhaps, be disputed by some 
 vessels or frigates. However, of this the old French seamen 
 will be the best judges. The little general knowledge I have 
 of that country does not permit me to sketch out a plan for 
 the operations which may be practicable. This expedition 
 will change our campaign in this quarter to a defensive one. 
 We shall have the troops from Massachusetts Bay, Rhode 
 Island, Connecticut, Jersey, Pennsylvania, joined with three 
 thousand French troops, the cavalry, and in case of necessity, 
 a body of militia, to keep the enemy in New York. I even 
 think w r e might do this and reserve a detachment of French 
 troops at Newport. 
 
 " Should the enemy send any detachments from New York 
 we shall perhaps be able with the help of the French vessels 
 left on our coasts, to form an expedition against Penobscot or 
 some other place. The expedition against New York being- 
 laid aside, the danger w r ould not be so imminent, should we, 
 instead of twelve or fourteen thousand, receive only seven 
 or eight thousand recruits, and it is in this case that I would 
 propose an expedition to Canada, not to lose the advantages 
 to be derived from the French fleet and army. 
 
 " The third object which presents itself is the conquest at 
 Halifax, on which I can say nothing. It seems to me that this 
 should be undertaken only in case we can not hope for success 
 from the first and second objects ; that then we should keep 
 with our army entirely on the defensive, and leave this expe- 
 dition entirely to the French general and admiral. 
 
 u The fourth object is the retaking of Charleston ; certainly 
 a very interesting object for us, but equally difficult and ex- 
 pensive. And as this seasou will not permit us to act in that 
 country, I am of opinion that after having tried something to. 
 
302 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the northward we may then see what is to be done in that 
 warm climate in a season more advanced, and consequently 
 more favorable for military operations. 
 
 " I say little of the conquest of Florida. If our southern 
 States should perceive that the Spaniards have any real inten- 
 tion against that quarter, I doubt not they will afford every 
 assistance the proximity of their situation permits." 
 
 The second proposition bears date the 10th of September, 
 1780, therefore, at a time when the proposed attack against 
 New York was already abandoned, and Washington obliged to 
 confine himself to the defensive from want of troops. It is a 
 very able expose, and contains ideas and historical parallels 
 which prove that Steuben was an able staff officer and a credit 
 to his military school, even in this line. It is as follows : 
 
 u By the state of affairs that your Excellency has been 
 pleased to lay before the council of war, our situation seems 
 such that it will be extremely difficult to determine what 
 should be our operations during the course of this campaign. 
 The only thing that appears certain is that neither circum- 
 stances nor the means we have, permit us at the present mo- 
 ment to think of any offensive operation whatever. What 
 can be undertaken against an enemy placed on three islands, 
 superior in naval force, and at least equal in land force, with- 
 out mentioning the advantages that an army of veterans has 
 over one, the half of which is composed of young recruits ? 
 We can not even expect to keep them within their limits. 
 They have it in their power to pass the rivers and make incur- 
 sions wherever they think proper, and I shall be much aston- 
 ished if the enemy do not assemble their whole force, pass the 
 river and try to engage us in a general action. If any con- 
 sideration prevents them it is that, having so large a propor- 
 tion of German troops, they are apprehensive of their desert- 
 ing on such an occasion, while the English fleet blocks the 
 port of New York, and thereby prevents a junction with the 
 French troops. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 303 
 
 " Let us examine what the enemy could risk by such an 
 enterprise. We could not hinder their debarkation ; they can 
 take a position opposite to ours, and keep up a sure commu- 
 nication to their vessels on the river, and to Paulus Hook. 
 They can from thence examine our position, which, in my opin- 
 ion, is good for defense in front, and even on the flank ; but so 
 soon as the enemy make a movement towards our left, we shall 
 be obliged to quit this position, to gain a march of them towards 
 King's Ferry. In either case we are exposed to a general af- 
 fair, in which, for the above-mentioned reasons, the enemy has 
 no other risk but a repulse. In an army of old soldiers a check 
 exposes it only to the loss of a certain number of men ; but 
 in an army composed of one half recruits, a check often brings 
 on a total defeat. If our position was at such a distance from 
 the North river, that a body of militia, mixed with some light 
 troops, could threaten their rear and cut off their communi- 
 cation, in that case we might, I think, venture to offer them a 
 general action. 
 
 " I repeat that I think our position advantageous. Our front 
 is covered by Hackensack river, and by throwing some large 
 trees in it, at the places where it may be forded, the enemy 
 might be prevented from forcing a passage to a good distance 
 on our left. But if this position had been one or two marches 
 further from the place where the enemy could debark, without 
 losing sight of the two objects we have in view, which are the 
 communication w r ith Pennsylvania and with King's Ferry, I 
 confess I should think it more advantageous. But in this case 
 we must abandon Dobbs's Ferry, which I should think can be 
 easily reoccupied, whenever our circumstances will permit us 
 to act offensively. In our present situation I can not think it 
 of any great utility, and I fear that the enemy will one day 
 carry it without our being able to secure it. 
 
 " Upon a general view of the situation, and especially after 
 the unhappy affair to the southward, I think that our only ob- 
 ject should be to stop the progress of the enemy, till some 
 
304 LIFE OF ST K U BEN. 
 
 more fortunate events permit us to act on our part. To do 
 this I would not only wish the army to be kept together, but 
 I should wish for as speedy a junction as possible with the 
 French troops. How far this will be possible, both with re- 
 spect to the safety of the French fleet and the subsistence, in 
 case they join, I confess I am not able to judge. But suppose 
 it possible, we shall then be superior to any force that the en- 
 emy can bring against us, and they will consequently be obliged 
 to keep on their islands, till the arrival of a fleet of our allies 
 gives us an opportunity to change our system. What appears 
 to me most likely is, that the enemy, after the defeat of Gen- 
 eral Gates, will endeavor to push their conquest to the south- 
 ward, and being sure that we are not able to undertake any 
 thing against the three islands, they will embark what troops 
 can be spared, and make a descent in Virginia, where there is 
 nothing but militia to oppose their progress. How to stop 
 them in that quarter is the most difficult to answer. The succes- 
 sive detachments we have already sent have lost us the troops 
 of six States. Always inferior to the enemy, and not sup- 
 ported by the provincials or militia, they have been sacrificed 
 as fast as they have been sent. Can we now risk to expose 
 the Pennsylvania line to the same fate ? At any rate we can 
 not before the junction ef the French troops with our army. 
 
 " But suppose this line was detached, considering how 
 much they would be weakened in the march, by desertion and 
 sickness, they would not be sufficient to resist the enemy with- 
 out the assistance of a considerable corps of militia. So soon 
 as the southern States have a body of at least three thousand 
 men, and we are joined by the French, I will not then hesi- 
 tate in giving my advice to reinforce them by sending the Penn- 
 sylvania line to the southward ; but I should give it up for 
 lost, if it was to be opposed alone to the efforts of the En- 
 glish. 
 
 " To attempt to retake, by detachments of our army, what 
 we have lost in that quarter, we shall in the end be defeated 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 305 
 
 by detail. I could cite many examples in Europe where whole 
 armies have been defeated by detachment. Prince Eugene, 
 against the French, risked his reputation and the loss of the 
 house of Austria for having weakened his army by detach- 
 ment — he was totally defeated by detail. But our own expe- 
 rience will suffice. The troops of six States have already been 
 lost, and if these States can not, or will not, replace their 
 troops, the State of New Hampshire would at last be left to 
 defend the whole thirteen States. 
 
 " To detach any part of the army at present seems to me 
 of more dangerous consequences than any progress the enemy 
 can make to the southward. In fact, they can only ravage the 
 country, and this we can not hinder even with a superior force ; 
 and should they take possession of any places on the coast, so 
 soon as the maritime forces of our allies become superior to 
 theirs on their coast, they must abandon them. 
 
 " However critical our situation may seem at present, the 
 moment the second division of the French, or a fleet from the 
 West Indies, arrives on the coast, the face of affairs will en- 
 tirely change. 
 
 " The greatest danger, in my opinion, that can threaten 
 the country is a defeat of our army. The disaffected would 
 then raise their heads, the people would be discouraged, and 
 all our resources become more difficult. We should even in 
 that case lose every advantage that we might reap from the 
 arrival of a fleet of our allies to our assistance. My opinion 
 then is absolutely this, to play a sure game, and rather suffer 
 some little insult than risk the whole ; to keep our army to- 
 gether as much as possible, and prepare ourselves to act with 
 vigor when our allies arrive to our assistance. 
 
 " To these observations I must add, that the only assistance 
 we ought to give to the southern States would be to send one 
 or two officers perfectly acquainted with the order established 
 in our army, to give the necessary instructions to the new 
 officers the States will be obliged to create. This is, I think, 
 
806 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 all we can do in the present moment. But should a fleet of 
 our allies arrive, and put us in a situation to act offensively, 
 what are the objects which then present themselves to our 
 operations ? The season and the strength of our allies must 
 decide this. The enterprise against New York appears out 
 of the question for this campaign, at least if we have not a 
 superiority by sea by the 15th instant ; and even then I think 
 the force we have, which is not half from what was demanded 
 from the States, will not permit us to hazard it. 
 
 "The second object is Charleston, against which an ad- 
 vantageous expedition may be carried on by sending two 
 or three thousand men to reinforce those already to the 
 southward. With the rest of our army we must take a posi- 
 tion in the mountains of West Point. The French fleet and 
 army at Rhode Island, joined with those we expect, will be 
 able to carry on the operations on the sea side, whilst five 
 or six thousand men from us can shut them within their 
 lines at Charleston. The climate of that country will per- 
 mit us to act in winter. The harvest has been abundant 
 both in rice and corn, and the country abounds in cattle. 
 Nothing then is wanting but proper arrangements to sup- 
 port the troops destined for the expedition during their ope- 
 rations. 
 
 " With regard to an expedition against Canada, I must 
 confess I am not sufficiently acquainted with the situation of 
 that country. I am told that an expedition by land is most 
 practicable during the winter. If an excursion with a small 
 corps is meant, I believe it ; but if we mean to maintain our 
 ground, I think the cooperation of a fleet in the river St. Law- 
 rence is absolutely necessary, and how far this can take place 
 in winter, it is not in my power to judge. 
 
 " The other objects are Halifax and Penobscot, the latter 
 of the least importance. The operations by sea have too much 
 influence in these enterprises for me to form any judgment of 
 them. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 307 
 
 " In all cases we should endeavor to draw advantage from 
 the arrival of a fleet, proportioned to the superiority it gives 
 us over the enemy. This we may do, provided we keep our 
 army together, and are ready to act immediately on their ar- 
 rival." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 History of the Inspection of the Army, from the 19th of February, 1779, to 
 the 25th of September, 1780. — General Order of the 12th of May, 1779, con- 
 firms the Resolutions of Congress, and defines the Duties of Inspector 
 General, Assistant Inspectors, and Brigade Majors. — The Adjutant General 
 for the Time appointed Assistant Inspector. — Regular monthly Inspec- 
 tion of the Troops ordered by Washington. — The Muster-Master's and In- 
 spector's Departments united.— Steuben's Proposals of the 7th of May, 
 1780. — The Inspection extended to the Cavalry and Artillery. — Increase of 
 the Assistant Inspectors. — Resolution of the 25th of September, 178i>.— 
 Steuben not satisfied with it. —His Letter to Washington of the 23d of Sep- 
 tember, 1780, specifies his Objections. — He continues to act on the Staff of 
 the General-in-Chief. — His Plan for the daily Meeting of the General- 
 in-Chief with the General Officers. — His Services in the new Formation of 
 the Army. — Resolutions of Congeess of the 3d and 11th of October, 1780 ; 
 the Latter correcting the Former by advice of Washington, based on 
 Steuben's Opinion. — Excellence of Washington's Staff. — Steuben's Letter to 
 Washington about the Adoption of the new Arrangement. — He proposes 
 another Division of the Cavalry. — He details his Plan for the Formation of 
 a new Army. — His Reasons for the Same. — Steuben is sent South. — His De- 
 parture a serious Injury to tice Discipline of the Army. 
 
 WE have seen in chapter IX. that on the 19th of February, 
 1779, Congress, repealing all former temporary orders, 
 issued by the commander-in-chief, first resolved on the per- 
 manent establishment of the department of inspector general. 
 This plan was somewhat modified by the resolution of the 25th 
 of September, 1780. 
 
 We propose to give in this chapter the acts, orders and 
 memorials constituting the exterior progress of the inspector- 
 ship for the period included between the first and second reso- 
 lutions, viz., from the 19th of February, 1779, till the 25th of 
 September, 1780. 
 
 The preceding chapters have furnished ample proof that 
 the office of. inspector was without doubt the most important 
 in the army, and that Steuben's preeminence is principally 
 based upon his labors in this department. He created it, and 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 309 
 
 in spite of the ill feelings, suspicion and animosity of the gen- 
 eral officers at the beginning, gradually extended its duties, 
 and finally succeeded in convincing the whole army of its 
 pressing necessity. Without his energy the Americans would 
 never have gained confidence in their own strength nor learned 
 to turn to account apparently adventitious circumstances. 
 
 In consequence of the resolve of the 18th of February, 
 1779, Steuben formed his system of regulations, which, as 
 stated above, was approved by Congress, and ordered to be 
 published on the 29th of March, 1779. "Congress having 
 established a system of regulations," say the general orders 
 of the 12th of May, 1779,* "the commander-in-chief flatters 
 himself that all officers will zealously employ themselves to 
 become thoroughly acquainted with them, and with all possi- 
 ble punctuality and dispatch put them in practice within the 
 limits of their respective commands. To forward this desir- 
 able purpose, the inspector general is immediately to enter 
 upon the exercise of his office as established by Congress. 
 
 " He will take care that copies of the Regulations are dis- 
 tributed to all the regiments, one for each officer, who is to be 
 answerable for it, and in case he quits the regiment is to de- 
 liver it up to the commanding officer. He will give the neces- 
 sary instructions to the sub-inspectors and majors of brigade, 
 relative to the duties they are to perform. He will see that a 
 uniform formation takes place forthwith in the several regi- 
 ments, and whenever he perceives a regiment so far reduced 
 as not to be able to turn out under arms the number prescribed 
 for forming a battalion he is to report the same to the com- 
 mander-in-chief that the necessary arrangements may be made 
 accordingly ; for the present the battalions to be divided into 
 eight companies, from which the light infantry will be drawn. 
 He will by turns visit the different regiments at the hours of 
 exercise, and see that every thing is conducted in strict con- 
 formity with the regulations. He will at all times pay particular 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Utica. 
 
310 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 attention that the service of the guards be performed with 
 the greatest exactness." 
 
 On the 22d of May the duties of the sub-inspectors were 
 defined by the following general orders : 
 
 " The sub-inspectors have to consider themselves as under 
 the orders of the commanding officers of the divisions to which 
 they belong. They are to receive their instructions relative 
 to the department, from the inspector general, and to see that 
 the new regulations are carried strictly into execution ; they will 
 take the general orders from the adjutant general and commu- 
 nicate them to their major generals ; they are to receive all di- 
 vision orders and communicate them to the majors of brigade. 
 When their division is detached they are to perform the du- 
 ties of adjutant general. On a march they remain with the 
 general commanding the division, and assist in executing the 
 maneuvers. In camp or garrison they are to see that the 
 established duties are regularly performed, and particularly to 
 attend to the formation, and above all, to the service of the 
 guards ; to take care that all orders are communicated with 
 precision and dispatch, to see the brigade majors themselves 
 take the order from the adjutant general, and in case a bri- 
 gade major is sick, that duty must be performed by some other 
 major in the brigade, or by the oldest captain. To see the 
 brigade majors keep their ... * and detail in exact order, 
 and that no regiment furnishes more than its proportion for 
 duty. In camp to have two orderly sergeants from the divi- 
 sion to carry orders, and on march a dragoon for that pur- 
 pose." 
 
 On the 20th of June the duties of the brigade majors were 
 likewise defined by general orders : 
 
 "They had to consider themselves as under the orders 
 
 of the officer commanding the brigade, and to receive their 
 
 instructions relative to the department from the inspector 
 
 general ; to remain on all occasions with the brigade ; to keep 
 
 * Torn off in the original. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN 31] 
 
 the details and see that every thing prescribed in the regu- 
 lations is carried strictly into execution ; to be present at the 
 formation of all guards and detachments from the brigade, 
 and see that they are formed agreeably to the rules estab- 
 lished ; to receive the general orders from the adjutant gen- 
 eral, and direct orders from the sub-inspector, both of which 
 they are to communicate to their brigadier, and having added 
 those he may issue, communicate the whole through the adju- 
 tants to the several regiments in the brigade. If a brigade 
 major is hindered, by sickness or any other cause, from attend- 
 ing for orders, he is to inform the brigadier who is to order 
 another major or the oldest captain to attend in his stead ; in 
 camp to have an orderly sergeant ; extraordinary orders to be 
 sent from the adjutant general to the nearest major of brigade, 
 noting on the order the hour he sent it. The brigade major 
 having taken a copy will immediately dispatch it to the next, 
 noting the hour, etc., etc. ; so with the rest till it returns to the 
 adjutant general. When a brigade major leaves the brigade 
 to go for orders or any other purpose, he must leave an adju- 
 tant to perform his duty in case any order come during his 
 absence. To regulate their watches by the adjutant general, 
 that the different beats may begin at the same time ; the bri- 
 gade major of the day to attend the formation of all detach- 
 ments in camp." 
 
 Congress, on the 22d of June, 1779, appointed the adjutant 
 general, for the time being, assistant inspector general.* On 
 the 1st of July, Washington directed the regular monthly in- 
 spections of the troops, by the following general orders :f 
 
 " The whole army for the future to undergo a monthly in- 
 spection, in which the state of the arms, accouterments, cloth- 
 ing, and camp equipage, is to be carefully examined. At 
 these inspections the following returns to be made to the in- 
 spector : 
 
 " 1. A return of the strength of each company regimentally 
 
 * Journals of Congress, v., 264. \ Steuben MS. Papers, Utica, 
 
312 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 digested, accounting for all absentees, together with the alter- 
 ation since the last return. 
 
 " 2. A return of the different articles of clothing in pos- 
 session of each corps, with the quantity received, lost, worn 
 out, or otherwise deficient, since the last inspection. 
 
 " 3. A return of arras, ammunition and accouterments of 
 each company, accounting for the alterations, and distinguish- 
 ing such as are in the hands of the men absent on command, 
 etc., from those present." 
 
 It is already seen that Steuben, in the course of 1779, es- 
 tablished, as much as circumstances allowed, good order and 
 discipline in the service, in the exercise and maneuvers of the 
 infantry, and the formation of battalions. His next object was 
 to introduce economy in the government of the corps, and to 
 establish an administration calculated to stop the abuses hith- 
 erto existing in the grant of furloughs and discharge of the 
 men, as well as in the waste of arms. 
 
 For this purpose Steuben exerted himself to get the mus- 
 ter-master's and inspector's departments united in one. He con- 
 sidered this union as the corner-stone, and the only solid basis 
 on which the edifice of inspection could be erected. Without 
 it the inspection was nothing more than a nominal establish- 
 ment, the object of which was perpetually regarded with 
 jealousy. It was inconsistent with the proper duties of an 
 inspector to review only the men, while they were to be mus- 
 tered by another ; it was impossible to discover and avoid the 
 disorder resulting from this duality ; it was a wholesale squan- 
 dering of money and time that two duties which belonged to- 
 gether were thus separated. Before the inspection was intro- 
 duced, the muster-master department was supposed to perform 
 its task in some way or the other ; but after the inspection 
 was established, it became a nuisance, and utterly superfluous. 
 " Redouble your efforts, my dear general," wrote John Ter- 
 nant, from Philadelphia, on the 30th of September, 1779,* "that, 
 * Steubon MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 313 
 
 this union may soon take place, and that finally we may de- 
 cidedly be something. Congress, some time since, thought 
 seriously of this plan, and I let no opportunity pass to prove 
 to my acquaintances what large advantages would result from 
 it for the army and the public treasury. Everybody seems to 
 wish this change, and the matter would probably soon be set- 
 tled were it not for the ministerial dispatches which engage at 
 present the attention and the care of Congress." 
 
 Steuben, however, finally succeeded. Congress, by reso- 
 lution of the 12th of January, 1780, discontinued the muster- 
 ing department, and annexed to it that of the inspection, in 
 consequence of which the commanders of corps and regiments 
 were compelled to give to the inspector an exact account of 
 their men, arms, accouterments, ammunition, clothes, and camp 
 equipage. It is due to this arrangement that considerable sav- 
 ings were effected in men as well as in the above-mentioned 
 articles. Only from this time can it be said that the inspect- 
 orship was firmly established. 
 
 On the 7th of May, 1780, immediately after his return to 
 the camp at Morristown, Steuben laid the following remarks 
 before the commander-in-chief:* 
 
 " The inspection in the army has hitherto extended only to 
 the infantry in the line ; the cavalry, light infantry, and inde- 
 pendent corps have yet no other rules than the articles of war, 
 resolves of Congress, and occasional orders given them. Their 
 discipline and manner of performing the service is different as 
 they have commanders who have each prescribed such rides 
 as they thought proper. This variety is the greater in this 
 part of the army, as it has no chief to establish uniformity. 
 
 " The artillery, having a general officer at its head, is not 
 subject to that inconvenience ; the service is more uniform, 
 and wants no other inspection but that of its general, or per- 
 sons appointed by him. General Knox has, however, thought 
 proper to appoint an inspector of brigade to receive the in- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Utica. 
 14 
 
314 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 structions of the inspector general, and introduce them into the 
 artillery. 
 
 " By a resolve of Congress of January last, the department 
 of muster-master was annexed to the inspection, by which ar- 
 rangement every part of the army, without exception, must 
 be reviewed and mustered by the inspectors, and an exact ac- 
 count given of the men, horses, arms, accouterments, clothing, 
 camp equipage, and every thing belonging to the Continent. 
 
 "The department having become thus extensive, will re- 
 quire an additional number of officers, and specific instructions 
 in the duties of the inspector general, inspectors and sub- 
 inspectors. The following resolutions will be necessary : 
 
 "That the department of the inspector general shall in 
 future consist of the following officers, viz.: 
 
 "1. An inspector general. 
 
 "2. An assistant inspector general, to be the adjutant gen- 
 eral for the time being. 
 
 " 3. An inspector for each division of the army, to be a 
 colonel or a lieutenant colonel in the line. 
 
 " 4. A sub-inspector for each brigade, to be a major or one 
 of the oldest captains of the brigade. 
 
 " 5. An inspector for the artillery, artificers, general's 
 guard, arid all detached corps of infantry, as also for the 
 militia which may join the army, to be a colonel or lieutenant 
 colonel, and to have under his direction two sub-inspectors 
 of artillery, nominated by General Knox, one for the main 
 army and one for the southern department. 
 
 " G. An inspector for the cavalry, who shall be a colonel or 
 lieutenant colonel, and have under his direction two sub- 
 inspectors, one for the cavalry in the northern, and the other 
 for the cavalry in the southern department. 
 
 "The two inspectors for the artillery and cavalry to be 
 always near head-quarters, where the inspector general's office 
 will be established, from whence they will receive their in- 
 structions. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 315 
 
 u Im consideration of the multiplicity of business the in- 
 spector general will have, he shall, in addition to the two aids 
 allowed him as major general, be permitted to take one or two 
 officers from the line as aides-de-camp to assist in the business 
 of his office ; that he be also allowed as many orderly dragoons 
 as occasion may require, to distribute his orders to the in- 
 spectors, and for every other military purpose necessary ; and 
 in traveling from one part of the army to another he shall 
 have a sufficient guard of cavalry to escort him ; that he be 
 allowed a covered wagon, with the necessary chests for the 
 transportation of the books and papers belonging to the office, 
 and that the board of war furnish him with the books, paper 
 and other things necessary for the business of the office : 
 
 "That each inspector be allowed, during the campaign, a 
 small wagon with two horses, to transport his baggage and 
 papers, and a marquee for himself; and as one riding horse is 
 not sufficient for the fatiguing duties of the office, that he be 
 allowed a good public horse, which is to be returned on his 
 relinquishing the office : 
 
 " That the inspectors and sub-inspectors be appointed by 
 the commander-in-chief; that they keep their rank and right 
 of command and promotion in the line in the same manner as 
 if they had not accepted the office of inspector, but that they 
 suspend the exercise of their respective commands, unless 
 when ordered to exercise them by the general-in-ehief or com- 
 manding officer in a separate department; that when an 
 inspector is ordered to review any troops detached "from the 
 army, his traveling expenses be paid by the States ; that each 
 inspector be allowed a sergeant from the line as a clerk: 
 
 "The aides-de-camp of the inspector general shall furnish 
 themselves with one horse at their own expense, but as that 
 will not be sufficient to perform the respective duties of their 
 office, that they be allowed each one good horse by the public, 
 w 7 ith the necessary allowance and forage ; that they be also 
 allowed, in addition to their present pay as aides-de-camp, the 
 same addition as is allowed to the sub inspectors: 
 
31 6 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 "That the commander-in-chief shall give particular in- 
 structions to the inspector general relative to the duties to 
 be performed by him, and the officers in his department, par- 
 ticularly recommending him, 
 
 " 1st. To form a system of discipline for the cavalry and 
 light troops : 
 
 " 2d. To collect into one volume all the resolves of Con- 
 gress which relate to the arrangement of the army: 
 
 " 3d. To furnish every month, to the commander-in-chief, 
 as exact a return as possible of the state of the army : 
 
 "That the inspector general always establish his office as 
 near to head-quarters as circumstances will permit; that all 
 returns which pass through the office to the board of war 
 be signed by him ; that no person whatever have a right to 
 demand any return or extracts from the office, but by the 
 express order of the board of war or commander-in-chief; that 
 in the absence of the inspector general the office be under the 
 'direction of the adjutant general, as assistant inspector gen- 
 eral." 
 
 How far these propositions were taken into consideration 
 and acted upon by Congress, will appear from the following 
 resolutions, bearing date the 25th of September, 1780:* 
 
 PLAN OF THE INSPECTING AND MUSTERING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 " W/iereas, The institution of this department hath been 
 found of great utility to the armies of these United States, 
 and experience hath shown that it may be rendered still more 
 useful by an extension of its powers and objects; therefore, 
 
 u IZesolved, That the former establishment, by a resolution 
 of the 18th of February, 1779, and all subsequent resolutions 
 relative thereto, be repealed, and the department hereafter 
 have the following form, powers and privileges: 
 
 "There shall be an inspector general with the main army 
 
 * Journals of Congress, vi., 190-195. Session of tho 25th of September, 
 
 mo. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. HI 7 
 
 of the United States, to be appointed by Congress, who shall 
 be allowed two secretaries, in addition to the aid he is allowed 
 in the line of the army, to be taken from the rank of captains 
 and subalterns, who shall receive, in addition to their pay, six 
 dollars per month. 
 
 " There shall be one assistant inspector general with the 
 main army, who shall be adjutant general for the time being, 
 and shall receive, in addition to his pay, ten dollars per 
 month ; and one to every separate army, when consisting of 
 two or more divisions, who shall be the deputy adjutant gen- 
 eral, and shall receive, in addition to his pay, eight dollars per 
 month. 
 
 " There shall be one inspector to each division of the army 
 of the United States, one to the corps of cavalry, and one to 
 the corps of artillery, to be taken, when the service will ad- 
 mit, from the line of colonels, lieutenant colonels, who shall be 
 allowed, in addition to their pay, seven and a half dollars per 
 month, and forage for three horses, including what they are 
 entitled to in the line of the army, and one extra ration of 
 provision, when the state of the magazines will admit. 
 
 " There shall be one sub-inspector to every brigade in the 
 army of the United States, one to the corps of cavalry, and 
 one to the corps of artillery, if thought necessary by the 
 commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of a separate army, 
 to be taken from the line of majors in the brigade, when the 
 service will admit, who shall be allowed, in addition to their 
 pay, five dollars per month, and one extra ration, when the 
 state of the magazines will admit. 
 
 "The commander-in-chief and commanding officer of a 
 separate army are hereby empowered to appoint inspectors 
 and sub-inspectors to the militia, while in actual service, agree- 
 ably to the foregoing plan, who shall have the same powers, 
 privileges and emoluments as those serving with the Conti- 
 nental army. 
 
 " It shall be the duty of the inspector general to frame a sys- 
 
318 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 tem of regulations for the exercise and discipline of the troops in 
 the manual evolutions and maneuvers, for the service of guards 
 and detachments, and for all camp and garrison duty ; and if 
 approved of by the commander-in-chief, and ratified by Con- 
 gress, such regulations shall be enforced by the order of the 
 commander-in-chief throughout the army. 
 
 " The assistant • inspectors general shall assist in the gen- 
 eral duties of the department, agreeably to the directions they 
 shall receive from the inspector general, through the order 
 of the commander-in-chief, and when the inspector is not 
 present, shall have the chief direction of the same, agreeably 
 to the orders they may receive as aforesaid : they shall never- 
 theless continue to perform their duties of adjutant and dep- 
 uty adjutant generals. 
 
 " The inspectors shall attend to the execution of the reg- 
 ulations established for the army in their respective divisions, 
 and in such garrisons as they may be ordered by the inspector 
 general or assistant inspectors general ; at all times perform- 
 ing the duty of adjutant general to the same ; and when a de- 
 tachment of more than one division is sent from the army, the 
 oldest inspector of the marching troops shall act as adjutant 
 general to the detachment. 
 
 " The sub-inspectors shall do the duty of majors of bri- 
 gade to the brigades to which they belong, and attend to the 
 execution of the regulations established for the army, in their 
 respective brigades, and such garrisons, detachments and in- 
 dependent corps as they shall be ordered by the inspector 
 general, or assistant inspector general with a separate army. 
 
 " The inspector general, and the assistant inspector gen- 
 eral, shall review and muster the troops, in service, once every 
 month, at which review he, or they, shall inspect the number 
 and condition of the men, their discipline, the state of their 
 clothes, arms, accouterments and camp equipage, and the num- 
 ber of rations they have drawn since the last review ; report- 
 ing such soldiers and recruits as are unfit for service, to the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 319 
 
 major general or commander of the division, the brigadier or 
 commander of a regiment detached from the brigade or di- 
 vision to which such disabled soldier may belong, to be by 
 them, or either of them, discharged or transferred to the corps 
 of invalids if, on the examination of the surgeon of the reg- 
 iment, they shall be found unfit for further service in the field. 
 But no such soldier shall be deemed legally discharged or 
 transferred, except his discharge or transference is signed by 
 the major general, brigadier or commandant, as aforesaid, and 
 a certificate of his inability, specifying the nature of it, signed 
 by the surgeon, is annexed thereto ; noting, at the same time, 
 all alterations that have happened since the last review or 
 muster, and, as far as possible, in w T hat manner, reporting 
 them with the deficiencies, neglects and abuses to the com- 
 mander-in chief, or commanding officer present, and the board 
 of war. 
 
 " At every muster three rolls shall be made out by the 
 commanding officer of each troop or company, signed and 
 sworn to by him ; one of which rolls shall be returned to him, 
 certified by the mustering officer; one shall be retained by the 
 mustering officer, the other shall be certified and delivered to 
 the regimental pay-master, to be affixed to the pay rolls. 
 
 " Each brigade shall be mustered by its sub-inspector, un- 
 der the superintendency of the inspector of the division, who 
 shall be responsible with the sub-inspector for the exactness 
 and fidelity of the musters ; and, in like manner, all garrisons, 
 independent corps and detachments, shall be mustered by such 
 inspector, or sub-inspector, as the inspector general, or assist- 
 ant inspector general with a separate army, shall order. 
 
 " The sub-inspectors shall deliver an abstract of all such 
 musters, regimentally digested, to the inspector of the divis- 
 ion, who shall digest them into division abstracts, in the same 
 form, and transmit them to the assistant inspector general, and 
 in a separate army, to the commanding officer. 
 
 " The inspector general shall transmit, once every month, 
 
'320 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 a copy of the abstract of the musters of the whole army, to 
 the commander-in-chief, and another to the board of war. 
 
 " No commanding officer of a regiment shall muster the 
 regiment he commands, but another inspector shall be ordered 
 to do that duty by the inspector general. 
 
 ' ; The assistant inspector in a separate army, shall do the 
 same duties in that army as the inspector general doth in the 
 main army, respecting the musters, according to the direc- 
 tions he shall receive, and orders of the commanding officer. 
 
 a The commissary of issues shall be obliged to deliver to 
 the inspector general, and assistant inspectors with a separate 
 army, an abstract, by brigades, of the rations actually issued, 
 and of all issues to all separate corps, garrisons and detach- 
 ments. 
 
 " All muster-rolls shall be sworn to before a general offi- 
 cer, or commandant of a separate post or detachment, who are 
 hereby empowered to administer the oath, and certify it on 
 each muster-roll, in the words following, to wit : 
 
 " I, A. B., do swear, that this muster-roll is a true state of 
 the company under my command, without fraud to the United 
 States, or to any individual, according to the best of my knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 A. B., Captain, Lieutenant, 
 
 " Ensign, or Cornet, Commandant. 
 " Sworn before me. this day of 17 . 
 
 "The mustering officers are empowered and directed to 
 require from all the officers, whose troops are mustered, all 
 papers and vouchers relative to their enlistments and musters. 
 
 "The inspector shall keep accounts, with officers command- 
 ing regiments, of all the arms and accouterments delivered 
 their regiments, and returned in by them ; no arms or accou- 
 terments shall be delivered without an order from the inspector 
 of the division, to whom returns for arras and accouterments 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 321 
 
 wanted shall be made, in the form directed in the resolution 
 for the order and discipline of the troops of these United States. 
 
 " All officers of the inspectorship shall retain their rights 
 of command and promotion, in the same manner as if they 
 had not assumed the office. They are to suspend the exer- 
 cise of their respective commands, except when they happen 
 to be the superior in the division, brigade, or regiment to 
 which they belong, or when they are appointed to execute 
 any particular service by the commander-in-chief, or command- 
 ing officer of a separate army ; and are exempt from all com- 
 mon camp and garrison duty, that they may attend to that of 
 the inspecting as well in time of action as at all other times. 
 
 " The inspector general, as often as the commander-in-chief 
 shall think fit to order, shall visit every part of the army, and 
 review the same, to see that uniformity prevails throughout 
 the armies of these United States. 
 
 " The inspector general shall keep books, in which the 
 returns, etc., passing through his office, shall be registered. 
 He shall be charged with collecting into one or more volumes 
 all the resolves of Congress, and regulations of the board of 
 war, relative to the army. 
 
 " The traveling and other incidental expenses for the exe- 
 cution of the business of the office, shall be settled by the 
 auditors with the army, upon such principles as shall be estab- 
 lished by the commander-in-chief, and paid out of the military 
 chest. 
 
 " The quarter-master general shall furnish all necessary 
 books, papers, etc., for the department. 
 
 " Each inspector shall be allowed, when the circumstances 
 of the army will permit, a marquee and common tent ; each 
 sub-inspector a horseman's and common tent ; if not provided 
 for as officers in the line. 
 
 "All the regulations respecting the objects of this depart- 
 ment shall be finally approved and established by Congress, 
 but, exigency of the service requiring it, temporary ones may, 
 
 14* 
 
322 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 from time to time, be introduced by the inspector general, 
 with the approbation of the commander-in-chief, and trans- 
 mitted to the board of war within one month after their intro- 
 duction ; that, being examined and reported to Congress by 
 them, they may be rejected, altered, amended, or confirmed, 
 as Congress shall deem proper. 
 
 "Resolved, That Baron Steuben be and hereby is contin- 
 ued inspector general of the armies of these United States, 
 and vested with power to appoint all officers necessary to carry 
 the aforesaid plan into execution, they being first approved of 
 by the commander-in-chief. 
 
 "Resolved, That the assistant inspector be allowed four hun- 
 dred dollars per month, of the old emission, in addition to his 
 pay as adjutant general, from the 1st day of February last to the 
 1st day of October next. The inspector shall be allowed, from 
 the 1st day of February last to the 1st day of October, three 
 hundred dollars per month, of the old emission, and the sub- 
 inspectors shall be allowed two hundred dollars per month, of 
 the old emission, from the 1st day of February aforesaid, to 
 the 1st day of October next, in addition to the pay and sub- 
 sistence to which they are entitled by their respective ranks." 
 
 Steuben himself says, about these resolutions, in a letter 
 from Philadelphia, on the 23d of October, 1780, to the com- 
 mander-in-chief:* "I am not very happy in the arrangement 
 of my department. The plan relative thereto, which your 
 Excellency has delivered to the committee which was at camp, 
 after having been a little altered by that committee, was sent 
 to Congress. Congress referred it to the board of war, who, 
 after having altered it, sent it back to Congress, who thought 
 proper to refer it to a committee of three, who made new 
 alterations. Now it has been so much altered, that it does 
 not at all resemble itself. No intimation was given me of it, 
 and I read it in a printed copy, which fell accidentally into 
 my hands. 
 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, vol. iii., p. 128. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 323 
 
 "The monthly addition of from five to eight dollars* to the 
 pay of officers of such merit as those whom your Excellency 
 nas chosen for the inspectorship, appears to me so very mean, 
 that I will not take upon myself to make them such a propo- 
 sition. When the ancient majors of brigade, who, in the first 
 institution, were taken from the line of lieutenants or ensigns, 
 had an addition to their pay of twenty-four dollars per month, 
 how can nine dollars now be proposed to a colonel for dis- 
 charging so important and painful a function? I am now en- 
 deavoring to find how much the muster-master's department 
 has cost the States. I am sure that the addition I ask for the 
 officers of inspectorship will not amount to an eighth part 
 of it. 
 
 " Several resolutions, in this arrangement, are contradictory 
 to one another, and others are not sufficiently clear. I am, 
 therefore, determined to present a memorial to Congress, in 
 order to have the inspector's department established on the 
 footing proposed by your Excellency, without any alteration. 
 If Congress desire that I should continue in this office, I flat- 
 ter myself that they will have a regard to my representation." 
 
 Steuben, however, did not confine his activity to the in- 
 spection of the troops ; he continued to act on Washington's 
 staff and give his opinion on all the important questions re- 
 specting the army. 
 
 Thus we found among his papers the draft of a planf for 
 the daily meeting of the commander-in-chief with the general 
 officers, to keep up a continual communication between and 
 consult with each other. " For this reason," said he, " in 
 every European army, every day, at a certain fixed hour, 
 which is generally between eleven and twelve o'clock, all the 
 general and field officers of the army, and the chiefs of the 
 several departments, assemble at head-quarters, where the 
 orders of the day are issued to them by the commander-in- 
 
 * Steuben speaks of silver money, the Congress of paper money. 
 | Steuben MS. Papers, Utica. 
 
324 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 chief, or, in case lie is prevented from attending, by the officer 
 next in command ; and if any general or chief of any depart- 
 ment can not attend in person, such general sends an officer 
 of his corps to represent him. The English army, it is true, 
 have not this custom, but were obliged to submit to it in the 
 last war, when commanded by Prince Ferdinand." He then 
 described the way in which tilings were done in the Prussian 
 army, and showing the advantages arising from this practice, 
 finally proved that this daily meeting was the more necessary 
 in the American army, from the great distance at which the 
 generals and heads of departments lived from each other, and 
 their consequent imperfect acquaintance. The commander-in- 
 chief himself did not see the officers so often as he should, to 
 communicate his sentiments to them, and to know their opin- 
 ions on the different subjects he would desire. Steuben there- 
 fore proposed that an arrangement should be introduced into 
 the army, according to which the orders should be issued 
 every day, at eleven o'clock, at head-quarters, at which the 
 general and field officers of the day, and those of the day pre- 
 ceding, the adjutant general, quarter-master, inspector general, 
 inspectors and majors of brigade, and other general officers, 
 were to attend. 
 
 To remedy the many abuses still existing in the army, and 
 absolutely contrary to the military constitution, Steuben sub- 
 mitted to Washington sundry regulations for the better pres- 
 ervation of order and discipline. Thus he fixed the punish- 
 ment of officers who absented themselves without leave from 
 their regiments, regulated the number of the soldiers who were 
 taken from their regiments as servants for the general and 
 other officers, abolished the standing guards, prohibited that 
 guards should be sent too far from the corps to which they 
 belonged, and ordered precautions against the surprise of ad- 
 vanced posts by the enemy. 
 
 Steuben's services, however, were of the utmost impor- 
 tance in the new formation of the army. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 325 
 
 Congress, as stated in chapter XIII., had made only tem- 
 porary arrangements for recruiting and drafting the army for 
 the campaign of 1*780. In the course of the summer of that 
 year, Washington's and Steuben's apprehensions, that scarcely 
 half the number required on paper would be in the held, were 
 more than amply confirmed. Congress finally arrived at the 
 conviction that the large number of the regiments was one 
 of the principal impediments in the way of a thorough and 
 definite reform, and that mere recommendations to the several 
 States to supply their quotas would not answer the purpose. 
 They therefore concluded a new arrangement, and, informing 
 Washington of their design, asked his opinion thereon, and 
 his objections to the alterations which had passed Congress on 
 the 3d of October, 1780,* and which read as follows: 
 
 " Hesolued, That such of the sixteen additional regiments 
 as have not been annexed to the line of some particular State, 
 and all the separate light corps of the army, both of horse 
 and foot, and also the German battalion, be reduced on the 
 1st day of January next ; that the non-commissioned officers 
 and privates in those several corps be incorporated with the 
 troops of their respective States, and that such of them as do 
 not belong to any particular State, be annexed to such corps 
 as the commander-in-chief shall direct. 
 
 " That the regular army of the United States, from and after 
 the 1st day of January next, consist of four regiments of cav- 
 alry, or light dragoons ; four regiments of artillery ; forty-nine 
 regiments of infantry, exclusive of Colonel Hazen's regiment, 
 hereafter mentioned ; and one regiment of artificers. 
 
 " That each regiment of cavalry, or light dragoons, consist 
 of six troops, and that each troop consist of sixty-four non- 
 commissioned officers and privates, with the same number of 
 commissioned officers as at present. 
 
 " That each regiment of artillery consist of nine companies, 
 and that each company consist of sixty-five non-commissioned 
 * Resolutions of Congress, Vol. VI., page 20G-209. 
 
320 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 officers and matrosscs, with the same number of commissioned 
 officers as at present. 
 
 " That each regiment of infantry consist of nine companies, 
 and each company consist of sixty-four non-commissioned offi- 
 cers and privates ; and 
 
 " That the regiment of artificers consist of eight compa- 
 nies, and each company of sixty non-commissioned officers and 
 privates. 
 
 "That the several States furnish the following quotas, viz. : 
 New Hampshire, two regiments of infantry; Massachusetts 
 Bay, ten regiments of infantry and one of artillery ; Rhode 
 Island, etc., one regiment of infantry ; Connecticut, five regi 
 ments of infantry and one of cavalry; New York, two regi- 
 ments of infantry and one of artillery ; New Jersey, two 
 regiments of infantry ; Pennsylvania, six regiments of infantry, 
 one of artillery, one of cavalry, and one of artificers ; Dela- 
 ware, one regiment of infantry ; Maryland, five regiments of 
 infantry ; Virginia, eight regiments of infantry, one of artillery, 
 and two of cavalry ; North Carolina, four regiments of infan- 
 try ; South Carolina, two regiments of infantry ; Georgia, one 
 regiment of infantry. 
 
 " That the States shall select from the line of the army a 
 proper number of officers to command the several regiments 
 to them respectively assigned, taking notice that no new ap- 
 pointment is to be made of a higher rank than that of a lieu- 
 tenant colonel commandant. 
 
 " That the States be, and they are hereby called upon, in 
 the most pressing manner, to have their regiments completed 
 and in the field by the 1st day of January next, at furthest. 
 
 "That it be recommended to the States to fill up their re- 
 spective regiments by enlistments for and during the Avar ; but, 
 in case the full quota of any of the States can not be com- 
 pleted with such recruits, by the 1st day of December next, 
 that it be recommended to such State or States to supply the 
 deficiency with men engaged to serve for not less than one 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 327 
 
 year, unless sooner relieved by recruits enlisted for the war, 
 which they are requested to exert their utmost endeavors to 
 obtain as speedily as possible ; and, in order thereto, it is fur- 
 ther recommended, that the officers at camp be empowered 
 and directed to use every prudent measure and improve every 
 favorable opportunity to enlist, for the continuance of the war, 
 such of the men belonging to their respective States as are not 
 engaged for that period, whether now in the field or hereafter, 
 from time to time, joining the army ; and that a recruiting 
 officer from each corps be kept in the State to which the regi- 
 ments respectively belong, to enlist recruits for the war, as 
 well to relieve those who are engaged for a shorter or limited 
 term, as to supply casual deficiencies. 
 
 " That two dollars be granted to the recruiting officer for 
 every able-bodied soldier he shall enlist for the war, who shall 
 join the army ; and that a sum not exceeding fifty dollars be 
 allowed as a bounty to every such recruit. 
 
 " That the commander-in-chief be, and hereby is, directed 
 to cause returns to be made as speedily as possible to the sev- 
 eral States, of the number of men they will probably have in 
 the field on the 1st day of January next, that the States may 
 take immediate measures for completing their respective quo- 
 tas, as above recommended, by that time. 
 
 " That the commander-in-chief be, and he is hereby, di- 
 rected to make a return annually to Congress, on or before 
 the 1st day of September, of the number of troops from each 
 State, in order that Congress may be enabled to make their 
 requisitions from the several States with certainty and in 
 season. 
 
 " That the clothing be furnished and regularly served out 
 to the troops as it becomes due, and that a full compensation 
 be made for any arrearages of clothing. 
 
 "That the regiments of cavalry, artillery, and of artificers, 
 as they now stand, be considered as belonging to the States, 
 respectively, to which they are or may be assigned, which 
 
328 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 States shall complete them to the full complement, supply 
 them with necessaries, and in every respect treat them as if 
 originally raised therein, and that such other States as now 
 have non-commissioned officers and privates in any of the regi- 
 ments aforesaid, be credited in their quotas for such men ac- 
 cording to their numbers, from time to time ; for which pur- 
 pose the commander-in-chief is hereby directed to specify 
 such non-commissioned officers and privates, and the States to 
 which they formerly belonged, in the returns which he shall 
 make to the States, and in his annual returns to Congress. 
 
 "That the regiment commanded by Colonel Moses Hazen 
 be continued on its present establishment, and that all non- 
 commissioned officers and privates, bein^ foreigners, belonging 
 to any of the reduced regiments and corps, be incorporated 
 therewith, and all volunteers from foreign States, who are now 
 in the service, or may hereafter join the American army, be 
 annexed to the said regiment. 
 
 " And whereas, by the foregoing arrangement, many de- 
 serving officers must become supernumerary, and it is proper 
 that regard be had to them, 
 
 " Hesolved, That from the time the reform of the army 
 takes place, they be entitled to half pay for seven years, in 
 specie or other current money equivalent, and also grants of 
 land at the close of the war, agreeably to the resolution of the 
 16th of September, 1776. 
 
 " Ordered, That a copy of the foregoing arrangement of 
 the army be sent to the commander-in-chief, for his opinion 
 thereon, and that if there shall appear no material objection, 
 the same be carried into immediate effect." 
 
 Washington gave his remarks at length, in his letter of 
 the nth of October, 1780,* which often literally adopted 
 Steuben's views and proposals, and effected a change in the 
 arrangements of Congress, as will appear from the resolutions 
 of the 21st of October. On this day Congress resumed the 
 * Washington's Writings, vii., 245. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 329 
 
 consideration of the report of the committee on Washington's 
 letter, and thereupon 
 
 " Resolved, That the several regiments of infantry, re- 
 quested from the respective States by a resolution of the 3d 
 instant, be augmented, and consist of one colonel, one lieu- 
 tenant colonel, and one major, where the full colonels are con- 
 tinued ; or one lieutenant colonel commandant and two majors, 
 where full colonels are not continued ; nine captains, twenty- 
 two subalterns, one surgeon, one surgeon's mate, one sergeant- 
 major, one quarter-master sergeant, forty-five sergeants, one 
 drum-major, one fife-major, ten drums, ten fifes, and six hun- 
 dred and twelve rank and file. 
 
 " That there be one captain and two subalterns to each 
 company, and that the four supernumerary subalterns shall 
 each have the rank of lieutenant, one of whom is to reside in 
 the State to which he belongs, to enlist and forward on re- 
 cruits ; one drum and fife from each regiment to attend the 
 recruiting officer; the other three supernumerary officers to do 
 the duty of pay -master, quarter-master, and adjutant in their 
 respective regiments. 
 
 " That the regiments of artillery be augmented to ten com- 
 panies each. 
 
 " That, instead of four regiments of cavalry, there be four 
 legionary corps, consisting of four troops of mounted dragoons 
 and two of dismounted dragoons, each consisting of sixty pri- 
 vates, with the same number of commissioned and non-com- 
 missioned officers to each troop as at present. 
 
 "That there be two partisan corps, consisting of three 
 troops of mounted and three of dismounted dragoons, of fifty 
 each, one of which corps to be commanded by Colonel Ar- 
 mand and the other by Major Lee, and officered by appoint- 
 ment of the commander-in-chief, with the approbation of 
 Congress ; and that the commander-in-chief be authorized to 
 direct a mode for completing, recruiting, and supplying the 
 said corps. 
 
880 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 "That the whole of the troops be enlisted during the war, 
 and join their respective corps by the 1st day of January 
 next. 
 
 " That the commander-in-chief and commanding officer in 
 the southern department, direct the officers of each State to 
 meet and agree upon the officers for the regiments to be raised 
 by their respective States, from those who incline to continue 
 in service; and where it can not be done by agreement, to be 
 determined by seniority, and make return of those who are to 
 remain, which is to be transmitted to Congress, together with 
 the names of the officers reduced, who are to be allowed half 
 pay for life. 
 
 " That the officers who shall continue in the service to the 
 end of the war shall also be entitled to half pay during life, to 
 commence from the time of their reduction." 
 
 Steuben was instrumental in these happy amendments. 
 Washington was one of those sagacious men who understood 
 perfectly well how to make the most ample use of the talent 
 of his subordinate officers for the common cause. He exam- 
 ined carefully, judged calmly, and put all his officers in the 
 right place. Hence it is to be inferred that his staff was an 
 excellent one— better than even that of the King of Prussia 
 after the Seven Years' War— and for this combination of mil- 
 itary talent he won the admiration of competent judges, as, 
 for instance, that of Frederick the Great. The achievements 
 of the army were much below the common standard of war- 
 fare, but the conceptions, ideas, and plans of his staff, and their 
 execution, were inferior to none of any army. We, therefore, 
 instead of detracting from, add only a new luster to the w^ell- 
 deserved glory of the American commander, by stating the 
 part which Steuben had in the re-formation of the army. At 
 this time he wrote to Washington :* 
 
 " I feel that I am troubling your Excellency with repre- 
 sentations, which I need not, were I not actuated by zeal for 
 * Stoubcn MS. Papers, Utica. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 331 
 
 our service, the comfort of our army, and that of their es- 
 teemed commander-in-chief. I was mortified, during the last 
 campaign, to witness the difficulties which you had to encounter 
 daily, and the obstacles which you alone were capable of sur- 
 mounting. They certainly add to your glory in the eyes of 
 every soldier in the world. 
 
 " I examined the causes of these difficulties, and I soon 
 found that they were the radical defects in the constitution of 
 the army. Respect for the framers of that constitution would 
 cause me to refrain from allusion to the subject were I not 
 convinced that it is diametrically opposed to that order and 
 organization which are recognized as absolutely necessary in 
 every army in the universe. It is in vain to assure me that 
 the American arms have won glory and distinction without 
 that order and regular formation which are supposed to be so 
 essential. I admit that our brave troops have achieved ex- 
 ploits so brilliant that posterity will scarce credit them. I 
 am positive that the same spirit still animates our officers and 
 soldiers, and that they would still fight with the same heroic 
 energy that they have hitherto displayed. But I maintain also 
 that order and a regular military formation w T ould not only 
 much facilitate military operations, but spare the lives of many 
 brave soldiers, and largely diminish the now enormous ex- 
 penses of the State, which are caused by the present disorder. 
 To seek to prove by any chain of argument the truth of my 
 opinions in this regard, would be to doubt the penetration of 
 so experienced and enlightened a general as your Excellency. 
 Besides, what I have just said is only a recapitulation of what 
 you have frequently remarked yourself. 
 
 " Concerning the remedial measures, of the necessity for 
 which your Excellency is quite as much convinced as I am, the 
 following, I believe, are the most important considerations : 
 to amend, without destroying, the constitution already estab- 
 lished, and so satisfactory to a part of our officers, notwith- 
 standing its many defects ; to amend it so as not to wound 
 
332 
 
 LIFE OF STEU P> E X . 
 
 the ambition and laudable sensibility of our brave officers, 
 who have won rank and dignity at the expense of their blood 
 and fortune. Nothing is more distasteful to a brave soldier 
 than, after having served his country with zeal and devotion, 
 to see the army re-formed with which he won distinction. 
 But it appears to me utterly impossible to keep all the regi- 
 ments which we have nominally on foot. In the plans Which 
 I have presented to your Excellency, I have pointed out, per- 
 haps, the only means of maintaining the old constitution in 
 the formation of battalions as feeble, as I have proposed. But 
 if we can not keep the strength of our regiments formed in 
 battalions to eighty files, and if the battalions below that 
 number can not be incorporated with others in the same po- 
 sition, then I own that I am incapable of finding a better way 
 to establish a permanent formation. The mode of dividing 
 brigades into battalions, which was tried during the last cam- 
 paign, caused immediate discontent among the colonels. Be- 
 sides this, that formation was only used on field days, and on 
 the march, when it was so altered from day to day that one 
 day the brigade marched in four battalions, another in three. 
 
 " On entering camp the formation of battalions ceased alto- 
 gether, and each regiment camped by itself. At the affair at 
 Monmouth, if I am not mistaken, I saw that each colonel led 
 on his own regiment, no matter how strong or weak it was. 
 The general of the division can never judge whether the regi- 
 ments or battalions are complete, or whether the half of them 
 is wanting. In camping, also, the quarter-master general can 
 never calculate the necessary space for so many regiments if 
 their force is not equal. The adjutant general experiences the 
 same, if not greater, difficulties for the details of the service. 
 The distribution of all necessaries, the discipline, service of 
 guards — in short, every thing connected with the service goes 
 wrong from this disproportion in the strength of the different 
 corps. I consider it, therefore, quite impossible to establish 
 order and uniformity in anyone branch, if uniformity of form- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 333 
 
 ation be not adopted. I am as much opposed as any one to 
 the introduction of novelties. I feel the difficulties, and I dis- 
 play in all my operations my desire to maintain all that is not 
 absolutely injurious in the present constitution. But uniform 
 ity is impossible, without it is to be found in the formation 
 of the corps. Every system is a mere chimera without the 
 permanent establishment of a uniform formation." 
 
 It appears that in consequence of this letter, and the pre- 
 vious correspondence of the last winter, Washington asked 
 Steuben's opinion about the new formation of the army, which 
 he gave in the following memorial :* 
 
 " Last winter Congress were about determining on a new 
 arrangement of the army. The motives then prevailing being 
 the weakness of the regiments, it was proposed to dimin- 
 ish their number, and thereby give more respectable com- 
 mands to those officers who might remain. It was also pro- 
 posed to make some provision for those officers who, by this 
 reduction, would be thrown out of the line. All this was in 
 operation, but put off from time to time till the campaign was 
 near opening, when it was thought too late, and the number 
 of regiments, therefore, remained the same, except Sherborn's 
 additional regiment, which was incorporated into the others. 
 
 " The regiments, very far from being complete in men, 
 were as little so in officers. Those of the ISTew England line 
 especially were so destitute that it was with difficulty the ser- 
 vice could go on. Two thirds of the companies were com- 
 manded by subalterns, many by sergeants, and some even by 
 corporals, and many regiments were without any field officers, 
 the result of which was a continual disorder and loss in the 
 army, and every species of camp equipage. The greatest 
 necessity obliged some officers to go on furlough during the 
 winter. Those who remained suffered the greatest misery, 
 and were obliged to do severe duty by absence of others and 
 the great number of vacancies in every regiment. As fast as 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
3o4 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the regiments were recruited, the officers joined their colors, 
 and stimulated by a true love of their country, redoubled their 
 zeal in forming the recruits; and I must do them the justice to 
 say, that their success in perfecting themselves in so short a 
 time, and in the middle of the campaign, exceeded my greatest 
 hopes. I appeal to the commander-in-chief and all the general 
 officers, that our army was never in such perfection of disci- 
 pline and order as in the present moment. With what pains 
 then must those officers see the moment approach when all 
 that labor and pains shall be lost in the dismissal of the great- 
 est part of the soldiers who have cost them so much trouble. 
 
 " This moment will, however, inevitably arrive, and all we 
 can do is to prepare for the creation of a new army for the 
 next campaign. The manner to procure men is, I believe, the 
 principal object that at present occupies Congress. It is, how- 
 ever, to be wished that some means might also be thought of 
 to keep together our brave officers. The great sacrifices they 
 have already made for their country, with the many disgusting 
 circumstances they meet with in the service, threaten us with 
 dangerous consequences, besides the great number of vacan- 
 cies already in the regiments. It is with pain I see every day 
 officers who have served with reputation from the beirinnimr 
 of the war, resign their commission for no other motive but 
 that they can no longer support the misery to which they are 
 reduced, without any prospect of a remedy. 
 
 "The last year the want of men induced Congress to think 
 of reducing the number of regiments. This year the want of 
 officers will be another motive for an incorporation for next 
 campaign. 
 
 "Congress proportioned the forces to be raised for the de- 
 fense of the United States in the following manner : 
 
 Now ITampshiro, 3. South Carolina, G. Now Jersey, 4. 
 
 Delaware, 1. North Carolina, 9. Maryland, 8. 
 
 Virginia, 1 5. Pennsylvania, 1 2. New York, 4. 
 
 Connecticut, 8. Massachusetts, 15. Rhode Island, 2. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 335 
 
 or eighty-seven regiments altogether. To this was added Ha- 
 zen's regiment, raised in Canada, and sixteen additional regi- 
 ments, the greatest part of which no longer exist, the remains 
 of four being all that is left, viz., Jackson's, Webb's, Living- 
 ston's, and Spencer's. The State of Massachusetts have adopted 
 Jackson's, Connecticut Webb's, and Jersey Spencer's. Liv- 
 ingston's is, therefore, the last of the sixteen additional regi- 
 ments remaining. The extreme weakness of this regiment, 
 and its consisting in great part of Canadians, are motives which 
 would induce its being incorporated with Hazen's. Money 
 then being given to Colonel Hazen, with permission to com- 
 plete his regiment to the established strength, the army would 
 consist of eighty eight battalions of infantry. Should it be 
 thought necessary to reduce the number to one half, the pro- 
 portion will then stand thus : 
 
 New Hampshire, 1. North Carolina, 4. Canada, with Livingston, 1. 
 
 Pennsylvania, 6. South Carolina, 3. Massachusetts, 8. 
 
 Delaware, 1. Connecticut, 4. New York, 2. 
 
 Maryland, 4. New Jersey, 2. Virginia, *7. 
 
 or forty-four regiments altogether. 
 
 " The disproportion in these quotas can easily be settlod 
 between the States by money or recruits. 
 
 " Each regiment to consist of 
 1 Colonel Commandant, 9 Captains, 
 
 1 Colonel Second, Lieutenants, 
 
 1 Lieutenant Colonel, Ensigns, 
 
 1 Mnjor, 2 Sergeant-Majors, 
 
 1 Quarter-master, ] These officers to have their 1 Quarter-master serg't. 
 
 1 Pay-master, rank and promotion in the 45 Sergeants, 
 
 2 Adjutants, regiment, but not to be 1 Drum-Major, 
 1 Recruiting officer, j attached to any company. 1 Fife-Major, 
 
 1 Surgeon, 10 Drummers, 
 
 1 Mate, 10 Fifers, and 
 
 612 Rank and File. 
 
 Each regiment divided into nine companies, each to consist of 
 one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, one drummer, one 
 fifer, sixty rank and file, eight supernumeraries without arms. 
 Of these eight supernumeraries, all extra service men, such as 
 
336 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 wagoners, etc, are to be taken. Each regiment to be formed 
 
 into two battalions — each battalion to consist of 
 
 2 Field Officers, 20 Sergeants, 
 
 1 Adjutant, 5 Drummers, 
 
 4 Captains, 5 Fifers, 
 
 4 Lieutenants, 240 Rank and File, and 
 
 4 Ensigns, 32 Supernumeraries, 
 
 and the light company, four of which form a battalion during 
 the campaign. 
 
 " Should such an arrangement be determined on by Con- 
 gress, it should be carried into execution as soon as possible. 
 The regiments should be absolutely completed by the 1st of 
 March. 
 
 "As a regiment is during a campaign continually decreasing, 
 and as it is difficult at the end of the campaign to raise so many 
 recruits as are necessary to complete the vacancies* I propose, 
 that besides the regiment being complete at the opening of the 
 campaign, a recruiting officer of each regiment, with two ser- 
 geants, shall be continually recruiting, in order, if possible, to 
 complete the vacancies that may arise. This officer is to re- 
 cruit under the direction of the State, whence he is to be sup- 
 plied with the necessary sums for that purpose. Those States 
 which furnish more than two regiments are to choose a field 
 officer to have the direction of all the recruiting officers in the 
 State, and he to be accountable to the State. This officer is to 
 reside always at the capital, and to act at the same time as the 
 agent for the troops of the State. He has to represent to the 
 Legislature the vacancies in officers and men, and every other 
 thing respecting the troops of the State. Those States which 
 furnish only two regiments, to appoint a captain for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 " The infantry being put on this footing, the next thing is 
 to complete the other corps in the army, as the artillery, arti- 
 ficers, cavalry, independent corps, etc., in proportion. 
 
 " In the above plan it appears that the forty-four regi- 
 ments of infantry, exclusive of commissioned officers, amount 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 337 
 
 to twenty-six thousand eight hundred and forty men, and the 
 eight supernumeraries for each company for dragoons, servants, 
 etc., to three thousand one hundred and sixty-eight men — in all 
 thirty thousand and eight. The resolve of Congress of the 
 9th of February, 1780, fixes the total to be raised at thirty- 
 five thousand two hundred and eleven, making a difference of 
 five thousand two hundred and three, which is sufficient to 
 complete the under-mentioned corps. It will first be necessary 
 to fix on the number of which each corps shall consist, and 
 then portion it to each State. 
 
 " The cavalry is to be reduced to four regiments, besides 
 Lee's legion, Armand's legion, and the corps of marechaussee. 
 Each regiment of cavalry to consist of two hundred dragoons, 
 mounted, divided into five troops of forty each, exclusive of 
 officers, and three companies of infantry of fifty each, armed 
 with rifles or fusils, to guard the cavalry in their quarters. Ar- 
 mand's legion to consist of one hundred and fifty dragoons in 
 three troops, and one hundred and fifty infantry in three com- 
 panies. Lee's legion the same. The marechaussees to remain 
 on their first establishment of fifty horses in one troop. The 
 whole cavalry will then consist (including their infantry), of 
 eleven hundred and fifty horse and two thousand and fifty 
 men. It might be determined for New England to complete 
 the two regiments with the northern army ; Virginia to com- 
 plete Lee's corps, and the other States to complete the two 
 regiments to the southward ; Armand's legion and the mare- 
 chausee, composed of strangers, to be recruited at the expense 
 of the Continent. 
 
 " To complete the whole infantry, cavalry, and the trains 
 of the army, will amount to thirty-two thousand and fifty-eight 
 men, which leaves three thousand one hundred and fifty-three 
 to complete the artillery, artificers, sappers and miners. 
 
 "I am of opinion that a diminution of the number of regi- 
 ments, on some just plan, will be for the benefit of the service, 
 and agreeable to the officers ; the command of a regiment will 
 
 15 
 
338 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 be as respectable for a colonel as that of a company for a cap- 
 tain. The regiments will never be destitute of officers, and 
 the number of officers is proportioned to the number of men. 
 The officers will not be put to the pain of being reduced, 
 which would give cause to many complaints, and, I dare say, 
 all would stay honorably employed, and have it more in theii 
 power to render service to their country." 
 
 RE CA PITUL ATI ON . 
 
 44 regiments infantry, each of 682 men, inclusive of commissioned 
 
 officers, ... . 
 
 Deduct supernumeraries, 
 
 Leaves number of fighting men, 
 4 regiments cavalry, each 200 men, 
 4 regiments infantry, each 150 men, 
 Armand's legion, 
 Lee's " 
 
 Marechaussees, 
 
 Total infantry, 
 Total cavalry, 
 
 Total men, 
 
 30,008 
 3,168 
 
 
 
 . 26,840 
 
 800 
 
 600 
 
 
 150 
 
 150 
 
 
 150 
 
 150 
 
 
 50 
 
 — 
 
 
 1,150 
 
 900 
 
 900 
 
 
 . 27,740 
 
 • 
 
 • 
 
 1,150 
 
 28,890 
 
 Washington, in his letter of the 11th of October, 1780, 
 often literally adopts Steuben's views and proposals ; and that 
 they had the desired effect will be apparent from a compari- 
 son of his memorial with the last resolve of Congress. On the 
 23d of October, 1780, Steuben, then on his way to the South, 
 wrote as follows to the commander-in-chief:* 
 
 u It is with the greatest satisfaction I acquaint you that 
 the plan of arrangements for the army, which your Excellency 
 sent to Congress, has been agreed upon yesterday, without 
 any alteration. The granting the half pay for life, to the re- 
 duced officers, has met with some opposition, but the propo- 
 
 * Correspondence of the Revolution, ill-, 126, 127 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 339 
 
 sition has not only passed, but it was moved and resolved, 
 immediately after, to extend these advantages to all the offi- 
 cers in the service. 
 
 "In the minutes which Colonel Hamilton has delivered 
 me, by your Excellency's order, I find that the four regiments 
 of cavalry, or rather legions, were thus fixed : 
 
 Four troops of mounted dragoons, sixty men each, .... 240 
 Four companies dismounted, or chasseurs, sixty men each, . . . 240 
 
 Total, 480 
 
 " General Sullivan and Colonel Bland have told me that 
 this is altered in your Excellency's letter, and that there are 
 to be 
 
 Four troops of mounted dragoons, sixty men each, .... 240 
 Two companies of chasseurs, sixty men each, 120 
 
 Total, 360 
 
 "Your Excellency will allow me to make here a short 
 observation on the subdivision of this cavalry, without alter- 
 ing the totality of the foot or horsemen. Cavalry, especially 
 when two deep, are not very terrible in their attacks in front, 
 and least so when against infantry. The attacks of the cav- 
 alry, when they intend to overthrow or break a line, are gen- 
 erally made by troops or squadrons, or in column, or en echi- 
 quier (checker- wise). The deeper they are the surer they are 
 to break through. If then, instead of four, a regiment was 
 divided into six troops, the object would be better answered. 
 
 "There is another reason which has determined the King 
 of Prussia to divide his light horse, or hussars, into six com- 
 panies, forming three squadrons. The cavalry, after an at- 
 tack, are generally in disorder ; they must then be rallied by 
 the sound of the trumpet. When they are divided into thren 
 squadrons, the right, left, and center only indicate how the 
 men are to rally, which is not so easy when they are divided 
 
340 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 into four troops. When three squadrons are in order of bat- 
 tle, the signals, whether the right, left, or center squadron is 
 to charge, still meet with difficulty when the cavalry is divided 
 into four squadrons or troops ; and this is the reason why, in 
 several European services, an odd number has been adopted 
 for the maneuvers of the light horse. 
 
 " Besides, our regiments of cavalry will have, I believe, as 
 those of infantry, three field officers. Each of them will then 
 command a squadron, which will consist of two companies. 
 Wherefore I propose that each regiment of cavalry may be di- 
 vided into three squadrons, each squadron into two compa- 
 nies, each of which shall consist of forty men, which will make 
 eighty men for a squadron. The companies of chasseurs ought 
 to be likewise three in number, each company to consist of 
 fifty men, rank and file, attached, on all occasions, to the first, 
 second, and third squadron of a regiment. And, as it often 
 happens that the squadrons are separated from one another, 
 each company of chasseurs ought to be always attached to its 
 squadron, as well to support it in its maneuvers as to guard it 
 in its quarters. As by this subdivision the totality will not 
 suffer a great alteration, I believe it will not alter the general 
 plan. I will, therefore, mention it to no one besides your Ex- 
 cellency, and I think it is in your power to order this sub- 
 division, if you think proper." 
 
 When Steuben wrote this letter he was already on his way 
 to the South. A more urgent necessity had determined the 
 gen eral-im chief to take the inspeotor general from the field of 
 action which was particularly suited to his tastes and abilities. 
 It was unfortunate for the army that it was left by Steuben at 
 a period when his system just commenced to take root, and 
 when his presence was more than ever required, on account 
 of the re formation of the troops. However honorable this 
 change might have been for Steuben, it was pernicious in its 
 effects on the army, as the edifice, scarcely erected by him, 
 was threatened with overthrow, in consequence of his absence. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 341 
 
 More than a year passed away before Steuben could resume 
 his activity in this sphere, and devote his attention to the 
 inspection and re-formation of the army. During this time 
 nothing, of course, was done in his department. 
 Let us follow him to the South. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 War in the South from 1778 till 1780.— Capture of Savannah.— Clinton proceeds 
 to the South. — Capture of Charleston. — Gates Commander-in-Chief of the 
 Southern Army. — His Defeat at Camden. — Greene his Successor. — Greene's 
 Antecedents. — His Friendship with Steuben. — Steuben appointed to the 
 Command in Virginia. — Washington's flattering Letter to Steuben. — Con- 
 gress ratifies Greene's and Steuben's Appointments.— Steuben goes from 
 Philadelphia to Richmond. — Visit to Mount Vernon. — Greene's Instructions 
 to Steuben. — Steuben's Task very difficult. — Conflicts with the State Gov- 
 ernment unavoidable. — Condition of Virginia. — Steuben's Relations to Jef- 
 ferson.— The State of Things there similar to that of the Army at Valley 
 Forge. — Steuben's Requisitions on the State not complied with. — Lawson's 
 Corps ordered to join Greene's Army. — It refuses to March. — Correspondence 
 between Greene and Steuben about the Subject. — Squandering of the rich 
 Resources of the State. — General Disorder. — Steuben's Letter to Wash- 
 ington. — Colonel Green is detached to the South. — His Officers at first 
 refuse to March. — Muhlenberg brings them back to their Duty. — Muhlen- 
 berg's Character and Life. — The State Government orders new Levies, bt:t 
 the Recruits do not come. — Rendezvous at Chesterfield Court-House itnder 
 Colonel Davies. — Steuben's Description of his Situation. — His Measures 
 against Desertion. — His Precautions at the assembling of the Recruits. — 
 Bad Situation of the Troops at Chesterfield. — Want of Discipline. — Insub- 
 ordination. — Theft and Robbery not Uncommon. — Letters of Davies, Gib- 
 son, and Lee. — The Governor's Orders for Blankets and Clothing for Five 
 Hundred Men. — Steuben indisposed. — Greene wants him to join his Army. — 
 Impediments thrown in his Way. — Arnold's Invasion. 
 
 TpO the state of inactivity in which, during the years 1779 
 J- and 1780, the two armies in the North remained watching 
 each other, the theater of war in the South formed a striking 
 contrast. Towards the end of the year 1778, an expedition 
 was sent into Georgia by Clinton, Savannah taken, and part of 
 his troops left by him in Georgia and South Carolina. The oc- 
 cupation of these States was of the greatest importance to the 
 English, inasmuch as the richness of the country put them in 
 possession of plenty of victuals and of various stores, while 
 they were able, not only to deprive the Americans of a part 
 of their necessary supplies, but also to prevent them from in- 
 vading Florida. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 343 
 
 The hot season of the year very soon put an end to the 
 plundering expeditions into the interior, carried on by the 
 English. At the beginning of the winter l779-'80, however, 
 Clinton himself left for the South, and besieged, in the com- 
 mencement of 1780, Charleston, which was forced to surrender 
 in May. This success, on the part of the English, secured to 
 them, forthwith, the possession of the whole State of South 
 Carolina. Cornwallis, to whom Clinton had left the com- 
 mand, soon after the capture of Charleston invaded the inte- 
 rior without finding any obstacle, and there was nothing to 
 prevent him from advancing as far as Virginia, if Congress 
 did not dispatch at once a new army and a new and qualified 
 general for the submission and relief of the southern States. 
 
 In this critical state of things nearly all eyes in Congress 
 were bent upon General Gates. Although the splendid suc- 
 cess achieved by him at Saratoga was due rather to General 
 Philip Schuyler, his predecessor in the command, it was, as it 
 always happens in similar cases, exclusively credited to Gates, 
 and as nothing since had disturbed his fame so easily acquired, 
 he was esteemed by all equal to Washington as an officer, and 
 by some ranked above him. Without, therefore, asking the 
 opinion of the general-in-chief, Gates was at once made com- 
 manding general of the southern army. The hope of reaping 
 new laurels, accelerated his journey, and having arrived at 
 the place of his destination, he thought himself so sure of 
 success that he did not heed the good advice of officers as tried 
 as General De Kalb. Venturing to attack an enemy so greatly 
 superior both in numbers and in the talent of their leader, he 
 staked the issue of the whole campaign upon a single battle. 
 The result was, that on the 16th day of August, 1780, he was 
 totally defeated in the battle of Camden. The gallant De 
 Kalb received a mortal wound, the regular army was anni- 
 hilated, and the militia, especially the Virginians, totally and 
 ignominiously dispersed, and in consequence of this defeat the 
 whole South was exposed to the operations of Lord Corn- 
 
344 1,1 9 K O K 8 T B KEN. 
 
 wallis. At this critical period all depended upon Gates's 
 successor. Congress, distrusting their own judgment, gave 
 Washington the power to appoint him, and Washington 
 selected for the command Nathaniel Greene, one of the ablest, 
 most patriotic and energetic generals of the Revolution. He 
 justified the choice of the commander-in-chief, and won for 
 himself immortal laurels on the field which was thus offered as 
 a scope for his talents and enterprise. 
 
 The reputation of Greene was at this time already es- 
 tablished. As the officer in whom Washington placed the 
 greatest confidence, he had shared with him the honors and 
 exploits of all the campaigns. Being the son of an humble 
 miller and blacksmith in Rhode Island, who at the same time 
 was a Quaker preacher, it is not strange that his school edu- 
 cation was very limited. What Greene afterwards became he 
 owed solely to himself. After having worked all day at the 
 plow or at the anvil, we find him spending the night in study. 
 In his thirst after knowledge nothing was beyond his reach. 
 History and mathematics he fancied above all; Ca3sar and 
 Plutarch were his favorite authors. At the outbreak of the 
 difficulties with England, the young and enthusiastic Greene 
 sided, of course, with the colonies. He had already acquired 
 considerable personal importance at home, and in the year 
 1770 was elected to the House of Representatives of Rhode 
 Island. When war became inevitable he passed the whole 
 of the time in the study of the military art. Soon after the 
 battle of Lexington the militia of Rhode Island met, and 
 Greene, in the capacity of brigadier general of that colony, 
 conducted sixteen hundred men to the camp near Boston. A 
 few months later he was honored by a commission of equal 
 rank in the Continental army. 
 
 Washington in his instructions informing Greene of his 
 appointment to the command of the southern army, remarks:* 
 
 u I also propose to send Baron Steuben to the southward 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vii., 212. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 345 
 
 with you. His talents, knowledge of service, zeal and activity, 
 will make him very useful to you in all respects, and particu- 
 larly in the formation and regulation of the raw troops, who 
 will principally compose the southern army. You will give 
 him a command suited to his rank, besides employing him as 
 inspector general. If Congress approve it he will take your 
 orders at Philadelphia." 
 
 In a letter dated Preakness, October 22, 1780,* Washing- 
 ton acquaints Steuben, in the most flattering way, of his 
 appointment. " Though I am sensible," says he, " how im- 
 portant your services would be in this quarter, yet, as at the 
 southward there is an army to be created, the mass of which 
 is without any formation at all, your services there would be 
 still more essential; and as I am persuaded that your in- 
 clination is to be wherever you can be most useful, I have 
 recommended it to Congress to send you with General Greene 
 to the southern army. If Congress approve, you will take 
 his orders and proceed as speedily as possible. I wish you 
 may have been able previously to obtain a satisfactory es- 
 tablishment of your department, which, in your absence, will 
 become more necessary than it has been heretofore. But, if 
 it is not done, I would not have it detain you. Assure your- 
 self that, wherever you are, my best wishes for your success 
 and happiness attend you." 
 
 Congress, in their session of the 30th of October, 1780, 
 approved the appointment, by the commander-in-chief, of 
 Major General Greene to the southern army, and adopted his 
 opinion that the talents and service of Major General the 
 Baron Steuben, inspector general, would be very useful in the 
 southern department, to which he was directed to repair. 
 
 Greene and Steuben were old friends. They had been 
 drawn near to each other at Valley Forge, when the latter 
 was aided by the former in the introduction of his system of 
 tactics. From the very moment of Steuben's entering the 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vii., 276. 
 15* 
 
346 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 army, the importance of his acquisition was acknowledged 
 and appreciated by Greene, who became thenceforth the sin- 
 cere and eloquent advocate of Steuben's reforms, while Steu- 
 ben, at all times, was ready to assist and advise him in his 
 new position of quarter-master general. They were both act- 
 ive in departments closely related to each other, and thus had 
 every opportunity of becoming intimately acquainted, and of 
 appreciating their mutual value. Steuben, therefore, placed 
 himself most readily under the command of his old friend, 
 who shared the same zeal and disposition. During the whole 
 of the campaign, their relatiou was kept up, pure and undis- 
 turbed, and affords a very favorable contrast to the various 
 chicaneries and jealousies so often indulged in by other gen- 
 erals, who thus render their own respective positions tedious 
 and disagreeable. 
 
 Steuben at once proceeded to Philadelphia to receive his 
 orders from Greene, and to make his preparations. He left 
 that city in the beginning of November, 1780, in company 
 with General Greene. The family of the latter consisted of his 
 two aids, Major Burnet and Colonel Morris; that of Steuben, 
 of Major Benjamin Walker and Duponceau. u We spent," 
 relates Duponceau,* " the first night together, if I recollect 
 right, at Chester. General Greene, having some business to 
 transact with the Governors of Delaware and Maryland, we 
 parted somewhere in the State of Delaware, and pursued our 
 route to Richmond, in Virginia. On our way, the baron paid 
 a visit to Mrs. Washington at Mount Vernon. We were most 
 cordially received and invited to dinner. The external appear- 
 ance of the mansion did not strike the baron favorably. * If,' 
 said he, ' Washington were not a better general than he was an 
 architect, the aifairs of America would be in a very bad condi- 
 tion.' The house at that time might he considered handsome, 
 and perhaps elegant ; but at present, the most that can be said 
 of it is, that it was a modest habitation, quite in keeping with 
 * Duponceau, MS. Letters, No. xi., dated Philadelphia, September 9, 1837. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 347 
 
 the idea that we have of Cincinnatus, and of those of the other 
 great commanders of the Roman republic. In the interior we 
 saw only two rooms, separated by an entry, one of which was 
 a parlor, the other the dining-room. They were respectably, 
 but not luxuriously furnished. The baron having accepted 
 the invitation, we sat down to dinner. Mrs. Washington was 
 accompanied by a young lady, a relative, whose name, I think, 
 was Miss Custis. The table was abundantly served, but with- 
 out profusion." 
 
 Greene arrived at Richmond about the middle of Novem- 
 ber, and after a short stay went further south. " The distress 
 and suffering," he wrote to Jefferson, on the 20th of Novem- 
 ber, " of the inhabitants of North and South Carolina deserve 
 the most speedy support to keep alive that spirit of enterprise 
 which has prevailed among them lately so much to their honor ; 
 and it is much easier to oppose the enemy in those States while 
 the tide of sentiment is in our favor, than it will be to secure 
 Virginia after they are overrun ; a misfortune which may prove 
 fatal to the happiness and independence of America." 
 
 On the other hand, Greene was too good a general not to dis- 
 cover at once that his success in the South depended in no small 
 degree upon the state of things in Virginia; that unless affairs 
 there were put on a better footing, he could not hope to satisfy 
 what was generally expected from him. If he were to reconquer 
 the Carolinas, he had to rely on Virginia, which had to secure 
 and cover his rear, and provide him with the means of carry- 
 ing on an obstinate war. In this emergency, Greene counted 
 on Steuben, from whose energy, talents, and discretion, both 
 he and the army looked for the happiest results. On the 20th 
 of November, 1780, before leaving Richmond for Hillsborough 
 to take the command of the southern army, he gave the follow- 
 ing instructions to Steuben :* 
 
 " As the enemy are still in Chesapeake Bay, and as it is al- 
 together uncertain whether they mean to leave this State or 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. iii. 
 
348 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 not, I leave you to take command here. I have such an en- 
 tire confidence in your capacity and experience, that I shall 
 not pretend to give any particular instructions, but leave you 
 perfectly at liberty to govern yourself as circumstances shall 
 render necessary. 
 
 " You will, as soon as possible, collect a state of the force 
 now on foot in this State, the different corps and time of ser- 
 vice, which you will be kind enough to forward me, with such 
 remarks thereon as may occur. It is also my earnest desire 
 that you collect, as soon as possible, all the officers belonging 
 to the Virginia line, and fix with them the names and number 
 that will continue in service. The resolutions of Congress 
 will be your guide in this business. 
 
 " I wish you to examine into the conditions of all the pub- 
 lic works and stores belonging to the Continent in this State, 
 and that a general return be made of the articles belonging to 
 the different departments. 
 
 "The quarter-master general's department is totally de- 
 ranged in this State, and no deputy appointed to act. You 
 will get the governor to make an appointment without loss of 
 time, and give the persons appointed directions to lay in fo- 
 rage, and provide for forwarding the pubic stores through this 
 State coming from the northward. The stores from Philadel- 
 phia will come by the way of Lancaster, York, Fredericks- 
 town, in Maryland, and Fredericksburg, in Virginia. This 
 matter is of great importance, and will claim your immediate 
 attention. 
 
 " I am told there is a great number of arms in this State 
 which are out of repair, but that a considerable part of them 
 are easily put in order. As there is a pressing demand for this 
 article, and as it will increase upon the recruits coming in to 
 be raised in this State, it will be highly important to the 
 service to fix upon some plan to have them repaired. You 
 will, therefore, concert with the governor, as they are State 
 arms, the most proper measures for having them put in repair. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 349 
 
 " It is my desire that Colonel Lawson's corps of horse and 
 foot should march immediately and join the southern army ; 
 and you will give the orders accordingly, having first settled 
 with the governor whether they are under Continental orders 
 or not. 
 
 u Let an officer be appointed to superintend the recruiting 
 service in the State, and direct him to fix the places of rendez- 
 vous for receiving the recruits as soon as possible. Colonel 
 Davies, I think, will be a very suitable person for this service. 
 I shall leave with you a copy of the requisition made to this 
 State, and desire you to urge an immediate compliance. 
 
 " You will write Congress and the board of war the state 
 and condition you find things respecting our prospects of sup- 
 plies of clothing, and means of transportation. 
 
 " As soon as Major Lee's legion arrives at this place, 
 you will order them on to the southern army without loss of 
 time. 
 
 " I am altogether uninformed respecting the ordnance de- 
 partment in this State. I beg you, therefore, to call upon 
 Colonel Harrison, the commanding officer of artillery in the 
 southern department, and who is now with the troops below, 
 and get an account of him of the state of artillery and other 
 branches of the ordnance department in the southern States, 
 which I wish you to provide me a copy of. 
 
 " I beg you to let me hear from you as often as possible, 
 giving a state of the train the public business is in." 
 
 The task thus imposed upon Steuben was extremely diffi- 
 cult and odious, especially that part of it which consisted in 
 forwarding as many reinforcements as possible from Virginia, 
 for Greene's army. While its proper fulfillment required a 
 good deal of judgment and military experience, the duties of 
 his office were such as to lead to an inevitable conflict with the 
 State government. He was placed in this dilemma, either to 
 please the State of Virginia and neglect the general interest, 
 or to serve the general interest and incur the certain enmity 
 
,150 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 of the State of Virginia. It is superfluous to say that he chose 
 the latter at the risk of his popularity. However respectfully 
 his solicitations and demands were received at first, the nature 
 of the relation between the commanding general and the State 
 government was such that in the course of time they grew 
 tired of each other, and the governor considered the interests 
 of his State injured by yielding to the demands which Steu- 
 ben made for the public good. 
 
 Considering this awkward position, all the entanglements 
 and' troubles Steuben had afterwards with the State govern- 
 ment may be easily accounted for. From different stand- 
 points, and with a great deal of pre-occupation, the executive 
 and legislative power, as well as Steuben, have been eulogized 
 and reprehended, or what blame was due to one has been 
 charged to the other. This, however, is not just. 
 
 Steuben was in Virginia to attend to and provide for the 
 interests of the whole continent. He looked upon the single 
 State merely as the coordinate means for promoting and ob- 
 taining the higher end. The State, however, was looking only 
 to itself, and no matter how good its intentions, often was 
 wanting in judgment and failed to acknowledge the necessity 
 of such military measures as the circumstances called for. The 
 State imagined itself more than once a victim of conspiracy, 
 when Steuben, for the sake of the southern army, for the ben- 
 efit of the entire South and the whole Union, disposed of what 
 belonged to the State; it saw usurpation of rights, and trans- 
 gression of powers, in the orders of the general commanding. 
 Though it may be admitted that sometimes these were rather 
 at variance with what was commonly understood as liberty 
 and independence, they were not the less in accordance with 
 the interests of the country. An army managed upon demo- 
 cratic principles is an absurdity, a contradiction in itself. 
 Never did a nation prove the truth of this doctrine better than 
 the Americans. They were only successful, and continued to 
 be so, after their army was disciplined ; in other words, after 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 351 
 
 every man had learned to obey and bow to the absolute will of 
 the general-in-chief or his superiors. 
 
 There is no doubt that Steuben, with the views and prin- 
 ciples of strict obedience he had acquired in the Prussian 
 army, often came in conflict with the ideas prevailing at the 
 time in this country, and that he must have hurt the feelings 
 of a good many. But if he made a mistake now and then, he 
 was prompted by his anxiety to promote the general welfare, 
 and even a blunder ought not to detract from his great merit. 
 
 On the other side, party fanatics went so far as to accuse 
 Jefferson, the governor at the time, that he had done too little 
 for the defense of the State. This imputation is just as ground- 
 less as that against Steuben, and probably would never have 
 been raised if Jefferson had not been so famous in politics in 
 later years. He did all he could, and responded to Steuben's 
 requisitions, so long as it was in his power, but as energetic 
 and active as he was, he was not able to overcome the difficul- 
 ties with which the people of the State blocked his path. In 
 regard to Jefferson's relations with Steuben, we must remark, 
 that no matter how often they varied in their respective plans 
 and pretensions, they esteemed each other highly. Steuben 
 did not hold the governor responsible for the delays and faults 
 of the State ; but found that the slow movements of the Leg- 
 islature, and the want of enthusiasm in the people, produced 
 them. Jefferson, on the other hand, did not look upon Steu- 
 ben as an obstinate grumbler, but as a general ever ready 
 and anxious to promote the interests of his country. These 
 amicable relations continued until Steuben's death. 
 
 The evil which affected the whole of Virginia, and which 
 almost led to her ruin, was the infinite disorder, the reckless- 
 ness pervading all classes, and the incredibly extravagant squan- 
 dering of all her resources. 
 
 The state of things which Steuben noticed on his arrival 
 at Valley Forge was bad, but in Virginia it was still worse. 
 We do not mean to say that the State and its inhabitants were 
 
352 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 inactive at the start, or that they were unwilling to make sac- 
 rifices. They did every thing at the wrong time, without plan, 
 control or system, and thus did more harm than good. Every 
 thing was in confusion. Nowhere was any discipline notice- 
 able. Embezzling and squandering, robbery and theft, were 
 carried on on a great scale. The natural consequence of this 
 chaos was, that the zeal of the people, when they saw the 
 unavailability of all exertions heretofore made, became ex- 
 tremely lax. They considered their personal sufferings only ; 
 they paid no attention to the general trouble ; they concealed 
 what they possessed ; nothing could move them to make fresh 
 sacrifices, and they looked even upon the man who was to set 
 matters and things aright, as their enemy, and opposed Steu- 
 ben's arrangements wherever they could. 
 
 Under these circumstances we need not be surprised at the 
 unwillingness, on the part of the State, to comply with the 
 requisitions which Steuben had made on it for supplying the 
 southern army. He had asked* 
 
 " That the State immediately furnish its quota, agreeably 
 to the new establishment, and that the men be supplied with 
 clothing, blankets, arms and every accouterment necessary to 
 equip them lor the field, in a winter's campaign, and that Law r - 
 son's corps, and General Stevens' militia, continue in service 
 until the regular regiments are formed. 
 
 " That the State immediately lay up a magazine of ten 
 thousand barrels of flour and five thousand barrels of beef 
 and pork, at Taylor's Ferry, and upwards upon the Roanoke ; 
 and if it shall be found that provisions can be conveyed down 
 the Wateree River in boats, that they take measures for lodg- 
 ing the whole upon the waters of the Yadkin, near Bythinia. 
 
 a That the State put up three thousand head of cattle, to 
 be stall-fed for the use of the southern army, to be driven to 
 camp for slaughter as they are called for, and that some per- 
 son be appointed to set about this business without loss of 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiv. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 353 
 
 time, as it will be impossible to feed the southern army alto- 
 gether upon salted provisions, for want of the means of trans- 
 portation. 
 
 " That the State furnish one hundred good road wagons, 
 with a driver, four horses and harness complete to each 
 wagon, and that these be got ready for service as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 "That the State furnish forty artificers for the use of 
 the southern army ; that twelve of them be shipwrights or 
 boat-builders, twelve house carpenters, four wheelwrights, six 
 smiths, three armorers, two saddlers, and one harness maker. 
 These may be negroes, if such can be had. 
 
 " That the State furnish two hundred hogsheads of rum 
 or other spirits, to be deposited with the provisions upon the 
 Roanoke. 
 
 " That the State furnish such quantity of provisions at the 
 dhTerent places of rendezvous for receiving recruits, as the 
 officer superintending this service in the State may require, 
 and that full and ample supplies of forage be provided for 
 the use of the quarter-master general's department to enable 
 him to perform the business of transportation, and other ser- 
 vices that may be required of him. 
 
 u That the State supply the military chest with five thou- 
 sand pounds of specie, or the value thereof, to defray the con- 
 tingent expenses of the army, and that such sums be advanced 
 to the officers of the Virginia line as will enable them to equip 
 themselves for the field." 
 
 In the course of our history we shall have to revert fre- 
 quently to this state of things, in order to understand fully 
 the protraction of the war in the South. 
 
 To resume our narrative : Greene was well aware that his 
 weak side was not in Virginia, and wishing to secure himself 
 against the advancing of the enemy into North Carolina, he 
 most urgently directed Steuben, as well in his above-quoted 
 instructions as in a letter written two days later, at Peters- 
 
354 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 burg, that he should order Lawson's corps to march imme- 
 diately southward. 
 
 Notwithstanding the representations of Steuben and the 
 orders of the governor, Lawson made no haste to obey. He 
 arrived on the 26th of November, 1780, in Richmond, and did 
 not report himself to Steuben until the 28th. According to 
 his returns his corps consisted of three hundred and seventy, 
 eight men available for duty. Steuben proposed to pass them 
 in review on the 30th of November, and to send them on the 
 1st of December to Hillsborough, on their way to join the 
 southern army. Anxious to support Greene with all his power, 
 Steuben informed him on the 28th of November, of his inten- 
 tion. He indeed reviewed the corps on the 30th at Peters- 
 burg, but found only fifty-seven cavalry and two hundred and 
 eighty infantry, who were ordered to march the next morning. 
 On the appointed day General Lawson told Steuben that the 
 Assembly had passed a resolution for discharging the men at 
 Petersburg, and the next day the resolution w^as really sent 
 by the governor to Steuben, w T ho made every effort to engage 
 the men for a longer term. But his exertions were vain ; the 
 men had already the idea of going home, and nothing could 
 induce them to stay. Steuben then asked Lawson and the 
 colonel's opinion, if they thought the men would proceed un- 
 der the enlistment by which they were already engaged, and 
 was told they would proceed with great reluctance and many 
 would desert. On considering this he was in favor of dis- 
 charging them. " I can assure you, sir,'' says Steuben, in a 
 private letter, of the 4th of December, 1780, to Greene, "that 
 you need not regret their not joining you, for from the ill con- 
 dition of the corps with respect to discipline, arms, etc., and 
 the short time of their enlistment, they would have rendered 
 very little service." 
 
 " Upon the whole," answers Greene, from the Pedee, on 
 the 28th of December, 1780,* "I am not sorry that General 
 
 * Greene's MS. Letters. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 355 
 
 Lawson's corps did not come on ; they would have been of 
 little use, their time of service being too short. Nor am I sur- 
 prised at what you inform me respecting the officers of the 
 Virginia line. They have been too long neglected, and on 
 that account have been too much indulged in being at home, 
 until all sense of duty and discipline are lost. The State 
 either value their services too low or have not the ability to 
 provide for them. They are either poor or blamable, which, I 
 am not able to determine. However, you must talk one lan- 
 guage to the State, and another to the officers. The State 
 must be pressed to provide, and the officers to obey. Our 
 force is so small, and that which we have so badly provided, 
 that it is of the highest importance reinforcements come for- 
 ward as fast as they can be equipped fit for service ; and what 
 renders it more necessary at this time, is, the enemy have re- 
 ceived a large reinforcement and our force is divided." 
 
 Steuben did all he could in order to accomplish Greene's 
 wishes, and to prevail upon the government of the State to 
 dispatch a considerable number of troops, but he was not suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 " Instead of forwarding to General Greene the reinforce- 
 ments, he expects," writes Steuben, on the 27th of November, 
 1780, to Jefferson,'" " we are keeping a number of corps dis- 
 persed about the State, where no enemy has been these eight 
 days, thereby exposing General Greene with an inferior force 
 to the enemy, and exhausting what little provision was col- 
 lected in the State." Generals Muhlenberg, Wilson, and Nel- 
 son, still continued at the head of their separate armies. The 
 expenses of keeping such a number of corps were of course 
 enormous and wholly unnecessary. " I find confirmed," writes 
 Greene, on the 27th of November, 1780, f "in this State, what 
 I apprehended, that is, that the numerous militia which have 
 been kept on foot, have laid waste almost all the country, and 
 the policy, if persisted in, must in a little time render it alto- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. iii. f Greene's MS. Letters. 
 
356 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 gether impracticable to support a regular body of troops suffi- 
 cient to give protection and security to the State. The ex- 
 penses attending this business in the waste of stores of various 
 kinds exceed all belief. Twelve millions of money, I am told, 
 have been expended since last spring. I hope Virginia will 
 avoid this destructive policy, and I beg leave to recommend 
 it both to them and to you not to keep a man more in the field, 
 of the militia, than is absolutely necessary for covering the 
 country from the enemy's ravages." 
 
 Steuben fully appreciating and sharing General Greene's 
 apprehensions, imparted them, as in duty bound, to the gov- 
 ernor, and proposed to discharge immediately all the militia 
 who were not destined to go South ; but for a long while he 
 could not succeed in effecting his object. It was even im- 
 possible to get a return of the number of men whom the State 
 had on foot, or the time for which they were enlisted ; and 
 when they were finally discharged, the arms and other articles 
 with which they had been provided on entering the service, 
 were lost, or at least not forthcoming. 
 
 "The more difficult it is," said Steuben, in a letter to 
 Washington, dated on the 18th of December, 1780,* "to re- 
 cruit our army, the more necessary is it to remove the abuses 
 which cause the reduction of the number of our battalions. 
 In consequence of your Excellency's orders a good many of 
 these abuses have already been abolished in the northern 
 army ; but they are still luxuriously growing in the southern 
 army, where they are sapping all military order, while in 
 the Virginia line they have even reached their highest pitch. 
 This State, having only a handful of regulars in the field, is 
 continually ransacked by bands of officers and soldiers, who 
 have always a pretext for not joining their regiments, and 
 who are drawing pay and rations for doing no service at all, 
 while they are committing excesses everywhere. Since the 
 Virginia line was detailed to the southern army, it was never 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Utica. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 357 
 
 regularly formed ; nay, since I have been in the United States 
 it has not had a regular organization. Your Excellency will 
 recollect that in Valley Forge the brigades of Woodford and 
 Scott consisted only of a few soldiers and officers, confusedly 
 mixed together without any distinction of companies or reg- 
 iments. In such a condition every corps must be ruined. 
 The officers do not care for their soldiers, and they scarcely 
 know the officers who have to command them." 
 
 This carelessness on the part of the officers was still on the 
 increase in Virginia. 
 
 The next thing Steuben proposed to do, was to pick out 
 four hundred of the best provided men of Muhlenberg's 
 corps, which at that time consisted of about nine hundred 
 men, and to send them on immediately, under the command 
 of Colonel Green, to reinforce the southern army. 
 
 " This has produced an event," writes Steuben to Greene, 
 at Petersburg, on the 4th of December, 1780, " which appears 
 to me very extraordinary. Yesterday a paper was handed 
 me, signed by the officers, complaining of ill usage from the 
 State, and of the distressed situation of the officers and men, 
 concluding, that till something was done for them, they would 
 not think of marching. You may suppose I was exceedingly 
 shocked at such a proceeding ; however, as it was not ad- 
 dressed to me, I thought it more prudent to take no other 
 notice of it, than to speak to General Muhlenberg on the 
 subject. I represented fully to him, and to Colonels Harrison 
 and Green, the fatal consequences of such a proceeding, and 
 they promised to speak to the officers." 
 
 Muhlenberg, Green and Harrison made every effort to an- 
 swer Steuben's wish, and by their influence on officers and 
 men they succeeded in getting the offensive resolution with- 
 drawn. Thus the corps was brought to reason, and after 
 being completely provided with clothing, arms and camp 
 equipage, marched, on the 14th of December, for the southern 
 army. The whole detachment consisted of four hundred and 
 
358 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 fifty-six men. The peaceable means to which Steuben was 
 obliged to resort to quell this mutiny, exposes but too clearly 
 his helplessness and the insufficiency of his power. 
 
 We shall hereafter very often meet Muhlenberg, as he 
 commanded under Steuben in Virginia, and during that time 
 came in daily contact with him. 
 
 John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg,* born on the 1st of October, 
 1746, in La Trappe, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, was in 
 his character very much like Steuben. He had the same frank 
 and true-hearted soul, and in every respect was a capable and 
 faithful officer. His father, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, from 
 Eimbeck in Hanover, came to America in the year 1742, prompt- 
 ed by the theological circle of Francke in Halle, and became here 
 the founder of the German Lutheran Church. He may well be 
 looked upon as the most important and influential German who 
 immigrated in the last century, and enjoyed the highest esteem 
 and social position among all classes. His oldest son, Peter, was 
 also intended for a preacher, and after having spent his boyhood 
 in the woods and mountains of La Trappe, in the year 1763 
 was sent to Halle, in order to complete his education. The 
 sprightly and energetic boy was, however, ill fitted for his 
 intended vocation. He preferred rambling about in the woods 
 and fields to the school hours on the benches of the Orphan In- 
 stitute, and was of course an indifferent scholar. Little more 
 than a year he bore the confinement. One day he had a fight 
 with one of his teachers, and ran away from the college. He 
 chose the only opening offered to him in his distress, by en- 
 listing as a private in a regiment of dragoons which happened 
 to pass through Halle. Being recognized by a friend of his 
 family, Muhlenberg owed it to him that after having served 
 nearly a year, he was discharged, and at once sent back to 
 America. The iron discipline exercised in the military service 
 of that time had somewhat softened his temper, and his father, 
 
 * The Life of Major General Peter Muhlenberg, by H. A. Muhlenberg, 
 Philadelphia, 1849 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 359 
 
 glad to see him back, forgave him all his past offenses. If 
 Peter had been allowed to pursue his own inclinations, he 
 would have followed hunting and farming, but he felt himself 
 bound to acquiesce in the wishes of his father, and became 
 a preacher. In this capacity he acted at first in New Ger- 
 mantown, Somerset county, in the State of New Jersey, and 
 afterwards in Woodstock, Dunmore county, Virginia. Here 
 he took an active part in the difficulties and troubles just com- 
 mencing with England, communicated with the most impor- 
 tant politicians of the State, as Patrick Henry and Washing- 
 ton, and was elected member of the House of Burgesses and 
 of the convention at Williamsburg. When, in the winter of 
 1775-1776, the hostilities commenced in Virginia, and six new 
 regiments were created, in addition to those already existing, 
 Muhlenberg was nominated colonel of the eighth. From this 
 period he became a zealous soldier. In taking leave of his 
 little congregation, in the middle of January, 1776, and men- 
 tioning at the end of his sermon that the hour of battle had 
 come, he at once threw off his gown, and stood before his 
 hearers in full uniform in the pulpit, ordered the drummers to 
 beat a march, and opened a list for the signature of recruits. 
 Nearly three hundred German members came forward to en- 
 ter their names, and thenceforth followed the standard of 
 Muhlenberg. This corps distinguished itself during the whole 
 war, under the name of the " German Regiment," by its 
 good discipline and bravery. Muhlenberg, after having been 
 employed, during the year 1776, in defending the southern 
 provinces, received orders, in the summer of 1777, to join the 
 main army, where he remained until the winter of 1779. At 
 this time he was sent once more to Virginia, and was com- 
 mander-in-chief in that State until the arrival of Steuben. 
 
 It was Steuben's design and task to dispatch all the Vir- 
 ginia regulars to General Greene in the South, so soon as their 
 places were filled by the new drafts of recruits who were to 
 assemble, and so soon as the cloth, accouterments and arms 
 
360 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 necessary for their equipment, could be collected. But the 
 difficulty of procuring men, stores and arms was much greater 
 than could reasonably be expected. For attaining his purpose 
 Steuben ordered Muhlenberg's corps, and those of the militia 
 who were engaged for three months and more, to Petersburg, 
 while he appointed at the same time Colonel William Davies, 
 an excellent officer, to proceed to Chesterfield to collect, equip, 
 discipline and forward to the army the recruits who were to 
 be raised in the State. He also ordered two magazines to be 
 established there for the quarter-master's and field commissa- 
 ry's stores, and barracks provided for at least three hundred 
 men. As soon as two hundred men were assembled and 
 equipped in the best possible manner, Colonel Davies had to 
 form them into four companies of fifty men each, with at least 
 two officers to each company, and thus send them to the army. 
 The Virginia troops under General Greene were literally 
 naked, and consequently dirty, and exceedingly deficient in dis- 
 cipline. " I wish you to inform the State," writes Greene to 
 Steuben, on the 8th of December, from his camp at Charlotte, 
 " that the troops must be properly found with every thing to 
 fit them for service, or that they will not be received. Urge 
 the State to begin the forming the magazines upon the Ro- 
 anoke, for I am much afraid provision will fail us in this State ; 
 not altogether from a scarcity, but the want of money. Use 
 every argument you can to convince the Assembly of the ne- 
 cessity of clothing their troops. If they mean they shall ren- 
 der any service, or do not wish to fall a sacrifice to death, de- 
 sertion and disease, I beg them to give their men good cover- 
 ing, for without it this will be their portion." 
 
 Thus the most prominent difficulties in Steuben's way were, 
 how to raise the troops and keep them up to their number, 
 and how to provide them with clothing, arms and provisions. 
 " By the inclosed copy of General Greene's instructions to 
 me," writes Steuben, on the 8th of December, 1780, to the 
 board of war and Washington,* " you will see what kind of 
 * Steuben MS. Copy-Book. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 361 
 
 business I am left here to transact, but I can not so easily rep- 
 resent to you the difficulties I meet with in the execution. 
 The derangement of the finances is more sensibly felt here than 
 in any other part of the continent. All the wheels of the ad- 
 ministration are stopped ; the late invasion of the enemy has 
 completed the confusion. The few articles which were in 
 the Continental as well as State magazines were distributed, 
 without any orders, to the several corps of volunteers, militia, 
 etc., and although the strictest orders have been given to col- 
 lect the whole, I fear a considerable number will be lost. 
 
 " The quarter-master's department, and indeed almost all 
 the departments here have no head. The executive part of 
 the administration is carried on only by expedients, while the 
 Legislature can not agree on any system whatsoever. They 
 are now debating on the state of finances, and the new ar- 
 rangement of the army has not yet been taken into considera- 
 tion. 
 
 " I find it absolutely impossible to give you an exact ac- 
 count of the troops of this State. I have found under the 
 orders of General Muhlenberg a body of about eleven hun- 
 dred men, part of whom are enlisted for eighteen months, 
 another part for eight months, and a third for three months. 
 All these men I have found naked and as ill armed as possible. 
 There were, besides, the scattered remains of two State regi- 
 ments, consisting of one hundred and twenty men, enlisted 
 for the war. These troops are commanded by officers of differ- 
 ent corps and regiments who remained in the State under 
 the order of General Scott. They dispersed since that time 
 through the country, and some have joined General Muhlen- 
 berg on the late invasion. Another number of officers in the 
 line are still scattered through the State and have not joined 
 General Muhlenberg, notwithstanding the general orders he 
 has issued to them to do so. 
 
 " Nothing will be more difficult than to arrange the line 
 of the officers of this State according to the new establish- 
 
 1G 
 
362 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ment. Those who are actually exchanged, the great number 
 who still remain prisoners of war, those of the old and new 
 State regiments, and of the additional regiments, all have dif- 
 ferent pretensions, of which it is not an easy matter to de- 
 cide. 
 
 " The ninth regiment is now garrisoned at Fort Pitt. This 
 regiment consists only of one hundred and fifty men ; it has 
 all its officers, and is commanded by Colonel John Gibson. 
 Colonel Morgan is at the army under General Greene, and 
 commands a company of Gibson's State regiment and several 
 other small detachments, of which no returns have as yet been 
 transmitted to me. There are with him some officers belong- 
 ing to different corps. Brigadier General Stevens commands 
 a body of militia and three months' men at Hillsborough, with 
 whom, I think, he has now joined General Greene at Salis- 
 bury. 
 
 " The State had raised, besides, a body of volunteers under 
 the command of Brigadier General Lawson. The raising of 
 this corps occasioned a great deal of expense. They were en- 
 listed only for six months, and w r ere not all together when 
 their time w r as so far advanced as to have nearly expired at 
 the time of their march to the southern army. This consid- 
 eration engaged the government here to dismiss them before 
 they had rendered any service, and the whole expense is lost 
 to the public. The brigade consisted of fifty-seven horse and 
 two hundred and eighty-three infantry. 
 
 " Another corps of volunteers and three months' men was 
 in the same case. It consisted of about three hundred rifle- 
 men, and the time of their service was to expire in six weeks, 
 which induced me to discharge them to save provisions. 
 
 " You have now very nearly, gentlemen, a complete ac- 
 count of the present state of the military in Virginia. 
 
 " As soon as the enemy had left the bay, my first care; was 
 to dismiss the militia and those several corps that were fruit- 
 lessly exhausting our magazines. I gave immediate orders, to 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 363 
 
 collect the articles so much wanted to equip the men who are 
 to reinforce the southern army. 
 
 " My first design was to reinforce General Greene with 
 Lawson's corps and a detachment of infantry of eight hundred 
 men ; but the former being disbanded and the other troops 
 unprovided with every kind of necessaries, all I could do was 
 to equip a regiment of four hundred infantry whom I will set 
 on their march the 10th of this month, under the orders of 
 Colonel Green, and who will join in fifteen days the army at 
 Salisbury. 
 
 " Colonel Lee's corps arrived here this day ; I furnished 
 him with twenty-five good men as this State's quota, toward 
 recruiting his corps ; they will set forward immediately and 
 arrive about the same time. 
 
 "I have assembled the rest of the troops at Chesterfield, 
 where there are barracks. In proportion as they are equipped, 
 I will send them forward by detachments to the army. 
 
 "Neither the new arrangement nor any other formation 
 can take place until the officers and their men have joined the 
 army. I will, therefore, publish an order to all the officers in 
 the line to repair to Chesterfield, whence they will conduct 
 the detachments. When they are arrived at the army, the 
 new establishment may in pursuance to the orders of Congress 
 be finally determined on." 
 
 It was impossible to get a return of the number of men 
 whom the State had on foot, or of the time for which they 
 were enlisted. Even a return of the Virginians in service at 
 the South, necessary as it was for determining how many men 
 were still to be raised, could not be given by the inspector, 
 Colonel O. H. Williams, as the Virginia troops were entirely 
 deranged after the defeat of Camden, and as there was no 
 regular corps left in camp except the regiment of Colonel 
 Buford. Under these circumstances it was not in the power 
 of Steuben to arrange the State line according to Greene's 
 orders. The scattered situation of the officers, their different 
 
064 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 pretensions, and several other impediments, rendered it utterly 
 impracticable to make any arrangement before all the officers 
 arrived at camp. The country was full of officers and men, 
 sent from the army under various pretenses, by which the 
 service suffered exceedingly. Steuben, therefore, ordered all 
 the Continental officers belonging to the Virginia line, to as- 
 semble at Chesterfield Court-house, on or before the 10th of 
 February, 1781, that their claims might be considered and 
 finally decided upon. Those who failed to attend were to be 
 considered as having resigned, those living in the vicinity of 
 Chesterfield had to repair thither as soon as possible, to take 
 charge of the troops who might be ready to join the southern 
 army. In order the more effectually to keep the troops to- 
 gether, Steuben laid a plan for preventing desertion, before the 
 governor, in which he clearly indicates the abuses and disorder 
 prevailing in the army. 
 
 " By the long continuation," so it begins, " of a war, it is 
 natural that the difficulty and expense of raising men should 
 increase ; and, therefore, every possible means should be em- 
 ployed for the preservation of the men after they are raised, 
 and every abuse which has a contrary tendency should be in- 
 quired into, and those who commit them severely punished. 
 
 " The incomplete state our regiments have always been in, 
 has had a very bad effect in this respect ; the regiments were 
 obliged to be incorporated into one another, and the officers 
 being shifted about no longer, had not that attachment to their 
 men which is necessary for their preservation ; on the contrary, 
 being disgusted at the instability and smallness of their com- 
 mands, they became careless of their men and suffered them to 
 absent themselves when w T ell, and when sent away sick, took 
 no pains for their recovery or their return, and every doctor 
 in an hospital gave furloughs and discharges, whereby num- 
 bers of men have been lost to the service. 
 
 " As discharges from the army have been without any pre- 
 scribed form, and not printed, it is more than probable that 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 365 
 
 many have been counterfeited by deserters, who have thus 
 returned with impunity to their homes. That these, and other 
 abuses, have been too often committed in this State, is evident 
 from the very small number of the eighteen month men now in 
 service." 
 
 Toward the latter part of December, 1780, the State As- 
 sembly had resolved to raise three thousand men by enlist- 
 ment for the war, or by draft for eighteen months, in order to 
 complete their line on the new establishment. Steuben found 
 this force too small for the purpose intended. Persuaded that 
 even this number could not be collected if no greater precau- 
 tions were taken than hitherto, he proposed the following plan 
 to the government : 
 
 " That there should be one general rendezvous for all the 
 recruits of the State at Chesterfield Court-house, where Colo- 
 nel Davies was appointed to command. 
 
 " Besides this there should not be less than six nor more 
 than eight places of rendezvous, appointed by the Legislature 
 at places thought most proper, where the recruits should be 
 delivered by the county lieutenant, or some person authorized 
 by him. A captain, two subalterns, and four sergeants, to be 
 stationed at each of these places to receive the recruits, and 
 written instructions should be given to each captain, with a 
 description of the recruits that were to be accepted. With 
 each recruit a paper should be delivered specifying his age, 
 size, trade, place of residence, county for which he served, if 
 drafted or enlisted, and for how long, and the bounty he re- 
 ceived ; and as the Assembly had determined that each district 
 should furnish their recruits with certain articles of clothing, 
 whatever clothing was delivered with the recruit should also be 
 inserted, and the whole signed by the person who delivered them. 
 
 " The officer receiving the recruit should give duplicate 
 receipts to the county lieutenant, one of which he had to keep, 
 and to send the other to the governor as voucher for the de- 
 livery of the recruit. From these places of rendezvous the 
 
366 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 recruits were to be sent, properly officered, to the general ren- 
 dezvous, where they were to be equipped and sent by detach- 
 ments to the army. 
 
 " Colonel Davies was to be furnished by government with 
 the number each county had to furnish, that he might inform 
 them from time to time what progress they made in complet- 
 ing the quota assigned to them. 
 
 " With these precautions," concludes Steuben, " I have 
 hopes that the deficiencies will not be so great as they have 
 always been. Indeed I am fully of opinion that hitherto no- 
 body has known how many recruits have been delivered by 
 the State or received by the army." 
 
 It is proved by the fact that the number of recruits assem- 
 bling in December, 1780, at Chesterfield Court-house, did not 
 amount to more than five or six hundred men, that energetic 
 measures should be speedily adopted to remedy the existing 
 abuses. These men were so naked, that if some clothing and 
 blankets could not be procured, at once for them, they must 
 all fall sick before they could be ordered to march. While 
 thus the poor Continentals were perishing for want of the 
 barest necessaries, the blankets, which the State of Virginia 
 had issued, and which the militia had agreed to give up for 
 the troops, were delivered to General Lawson's corps, which 
 consisted mostly of persons of property — that same corps which 
 refused to march for the South, and which, being engaged only 
 for a short term, had come into the field well provided with 
 clothing. " Shoes and blankets," writes Davies, on the 31st 
 of December, 1780, to Steuben, "and, indeed, almost every 
 kind, of clothing, are universally wanting. I think not more 
 than one hundred and fifty can take the field as at present 
 clad, but with clothing I think four hundred might march. 
 Indians are not more naked, nor half so miserable. We have 
 seventy good tents, but we have not, nor have I ever been 
 able to get, notwithstanding my frequent applications, any 
 cords to make loops with." 
 
J. 1FE OF STEUBEN. 367 
 
 " It has been," reports Davies on another occasion, " a mat- 
 ter of great concern to me, that the officers can not be pre- 
 vailed upon to confine themselves to this station ; they do not 
 look upon the men as permanently theirs, and therefore they 
 will not pay the same attention to them as if they were. Thus 
 they are entire strangers to the men ; many have deserted, and 
 nobody knows any thing about it ; and to this hour soldiers 
 are dropping in, one after another, belonging to no company, 
 and begging to be admitted. Some of the companies, too, 
 have no officers here, owing to furloughs which have been 
 granted, and to their delay in coming up from Petersburg, so 
 that the greatest difficulties have occurred in completing the 
 rolls. I thought it better to send them to you imperfect as 
 they are, than run the risk of delay which you seemed in your 
 letter desirous for me to avoid." 
 
 u It is needless to repeat to you," writes Colonel EL Lee, 
 Jr., on the 17th of December, from Baleysburg, to Steuben, 
 "our nakedness and wants. Their influence I have already 
 experienced, having lost three of my old soldiers and one 
 wagoner since the morning. Shoes, boots, overalls, shirts, 
 blankets, vests and coats compose the essential part of our 
 distress. We want axes and horse shoes exceedingly, being 
 entirely destitute of these articles." 
 
 On the same day Colonel Davies asked two or more whip 
 saws and hand saws for the use of his post at Chesterfield, as 
 he had borrowed those he had had in use, and been compelled 
 to return them. "We are exceedingly distressed," says 
 Davies at another place, " for want of somebody to attend to 
 our men in camp, as the hospital is so full we can not lind room 
 for them. Three have died in the huts within these four 
 days, ow T ing to the hardships of their situation." 
 
 These instances may suffice to show the nakedness of the 
 troops, the total insufficiency of means, and the neglect on the 
 part of the government to provide the most indispensable 
 necessaries of equipage to make the soldiers lit for duty. 
 
3G8 LIFE B a T B U BEN. 
 
 It was but the natural consequence of this state of things 
 that insubordination, want of discipline and desertion pre- 
 vailed generally. Even theft and robbery sometimes oc- 
 curred. "The store containing some clothing," writes Colonel 
 George Gibson, dated Batavia, on the 22d of December, 1780, 
 to Steuben, " for the regiment late under my command, was 
 broken open on Wednesday last, and robbed of many valuable 
 articles to a considerable amount. Lieutenant Russell, who 
 first discovered the depredation, found the corporal absent from 
 his guard and drunk, and from every other circumstance he 
 is induced to believe the guard either were the sole perpe- 
 trators of the villainy, or else collusively so. The many rob- 
 beries committed by the very rascals who were placed as guards 
 have been so frequently practiced by the soldiery in our line, 
 that impunity seems to have fixed this mode of doing busi- 
 ness as a matter of duty. However, I hope in God the example 
 that will be made of these miscreants will deter others from 
 attenvpting any thing of the kind in future." 
 
 Under these circumstances Steuben's operations proceeded 
 but very slowly. He prevailed, how r ever, on the governor to 
 give orders for the immediate purchase of clothing and blan- 
 kets for five hundred men to equip the troops at Chesterfield ; 
 he endeavored to procure as many good arms as possible, with 
 bayonets, and this done he intended to send to Greene another 
 detachment like that under Colonel Green. Steuben wished, 
 himself to join General Greene as soon as he had succeeded in 
 arranging the Virginia line. He was laboring under a severe 
 indisposition, partly from the innumerable vexations to which 
 his official duties subjected him, and partly from the badness 
 of the accommodations that were provided for him. " It is 
 the way," writes Davies, on the 25th of December; 1780, to 
 13. Walker, " this thankless, and I was going to say, worthless 
 country treats all her officers. It' it would be equally con- 
 venient to the baron, I will cheerfully give up my quarters to 
 him." Greene himself was anxious to got the assistance of 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 309 
 
 Steuben. " As I am now," writes he on the 28th of December, 
 1780, from his camp on the Pedee, "without a single general 
 officer with me in this camp, except General Huger, who is a 
 brigadier for this State, and not desirous of commanding other 
 troops, it is my wish you should come forward as soon as you 
 have made the necessary arrangements on the Virginia line. 
 We are now in a camp of repose, and could we get clothing 
 we might improve our discipline. Your aid in this and many 
 other matters will be essential both to me and the service." 
 
 But it was impossible for Steuben to comply with Greene's 
 order, although his own wishes strongly prompted him to do 
 so. In the first place there was no prospect of his being able 
 to conclude his business in Virginia, and in addition to this 
 another serious obstacle arose, which still further impeded 
 Steuben's progress. This obstacle was the invasion of the 
 State by Arnold. 
 
 16* 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Invasion of Virginia by the English under Mathews and Leslie. — The Impor- 
 tance of this State to the South. — Invasion of Arnold. — Steuben asks 
 Four Thousand Militiamen from the Governor. — Steuben's Report to Wash- 
 ington and Greene. — The Enemy lands, on the 4th of January, 1781, at West- 
 over. — Richmond is Arnold's Destination. — Steuben can collect only One 
 Hundred Men. — His Orders badly executed. — The Magazines of the State 
 
 TRANSFERRED TO WeSTHAM. — ONE HUNDRED AND FlFTY CONTINENTALS ORDERED TO 
 
 that Place. —The Magazines at Richmond taken by the Enemy. — Steuben 
 goes to Manchester, opposite Richmond. — Arnold Plunders and sets Fire to 
 Richmond, but does not cross the River. — He retires. — Steuben follows him 
 to Petersburg. — Gibson, Davies, Garrington, and Smallwood assist Steuben. 
 — General Nelson operates on the left Bank of the River. — Want of Arms 
 on the Part of the Americans. — Arnold embarks on the 10th of January. — 
 The Militia sent after him precipitately retreats. — Steuben encamps at 
 Hood's. — He sends Five Hundred Militiamen to Nelson for the Defense of 
 Williamsburg. — His Opinion about the future Operations of the Enemy. — 
 Steuben suffers Privation in Every Thing. — The State remains Inactive. — 
 Steuben marches with Seven Hundred Militiamen to Cabin Point, and sends 
 Lawson after the Enemy. — The Latter arrives, on the 19th of Janua.ry, at 
 Portsmouth. — A. Council of War pronounces against an Attack of Ports- 
 mouth — Steuben shuts Arnold up in Portsmouth, and makes his Dispositions. 
 — Misery and Want everywhere in the State. — The People are Indolent. — 
 Reason why no Cavalry exists. — The Militia plunder and rob in Richmond. 
 — Jefferson supports Steuben as much as he can. — Difference between them 
 about the Division of Expenses between the Continent and the State. — 
 Bad Effects op this Dispute on the War. — Jefferson to Washington about 
 Steuben.— Colonel Meade to Alexander Hamilton.— Davies' and Howell's 
 Letters to Steuben about the Want of precautionary Measures on the Part 
 of the State. — Evil Consequences of this Policy. 
 
 AFTER the transfer of the seat of war to the South, Vir- 
 ginia, with her rich resources, was repeatedly invaded by 
 the British. The exposed situation of the country, her scat- 
 tered population and easily accessible streams, inlets, rivers 
 and creeks contributed much to assure success to an invading 
 army, as was proved in May, 1779, when General Mathews 
 made a descent upon Virginia with two thousand men, and 
 burnt, ravaged and plundered the whole sea-board without 
 opposition. 
 
 So soon as Virginia was invaded and the great store-house 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 371 
 
 destroyed, as some had justly called this State, which chiefly 
 supplied the South, and was so conveniently situated midway 
 between the northern and southern theater of war, all resist- 
 ance in the South was rendered fruitless, and the operations 
 of Lord Cornwallis, in the Carolinas were greatly facilitated. 
 The breaking up of Virginia, therefore, soon became one of 
 the principal designs of the British. 
 
 In the fall of 1780 another attack was made upon that 
 State. Lord Cornwallis, after his victory at Camden, sent a 
 considerable body of troops, under Ferguson, towards Vir- 
 ginia, and, at the same time, an expedition sailed from New 
 York, under General Leslie, for the same destination. They 
 entered the mouth of James river on the loth of October, 
 1780, but finding a strong opposition from the forces under 
 General Muhlenberg, who then commanded in Virginia, they 
 were confined to Portsmouth, and having miserably failed in 
 their object returned to New York on the 25th of November, 
 a few days after Steuben's arrival, Colonel Ferguson having 
 been previously defeated at King's Mountain. 
 
 The appointment of Greene to the southern army, and the 
 command of Steuben in Virginia, made it a matter of impor- 
 tance to the British to renew their efforts to cut off the sup- 
 plies of men and provisions which Virginia was destined to 
 furnish for the southern army. The notorious Arnold was 
 deputed to accomplish the task which Leslie had failed to 
 perform. He could not have arrived at a more inopportune 
 moment for the Americans. The militia, which had been 
 collected to operate against Leslie at Portsmouth, was just 
 disbanded ; the first enlistment of troops and forwarding of 
 men to the South had scarcely begun, and the general con- 
 fusion appeared greater than at any time before, when the 
 news of Arnold's arrival spread over the defenseless and panic- 
 stricken country. 
 
 Although the government of the State had been informed, 
 as early as the 9th of December, ] 780, of the approach of a 
 
372 LIFE OF STEUREN. 
 
 hostile expedition, nothing was clone towards meeting at least 
 the first difficulties and embarrassments. Everybody looked 
 upon Steuben as their chief reliance in their hour of pressing 
 need ; but we have seen, in the preceding chapter, how little 
 could be expected from the feeble force, if such it can be 
 called, at his disposal. 
 
 We can not give a better description of the invasion than 
 the reports which Steuben made to Generals Greene and 
 Washington, on the 8th and 11th of January, 1781, and which 
 we quote in full. 
 
 "On the 31st of December," writes Steuben to Greene, 
 " the governor informed me of a fleet of twenty-seven sail 
 having arrived at Willoughby Point, in consequence of wdiich 
 I immediately dispatched Colonel Senf and Captain Fairlie 
 down the south side to procure intelligence of their strength 
 and destination ; and General Nelson was sent, the same day, 
 down the north side, to act as circumstances might require. 
 Notwithstanding these precautions, we did not receive the 
 least intelligence till the 2d of January, when the governor 
 informed me that nineteen ships, two brigs and ten sloops and 
 schooners were in Warrasquiack Bay, and were getting under 
 way to proceed up the river, and that their destination was 
 Petersburg. I directly waited on the governor and council, 
 and requested four thousand militia might be called out, esti- 
 mating the enemy's force at twenty-five hundred. 
 
 "The distressed situation of the Continental troops at 
 Chesterfield Court-house would only permit one hundred and 
 fifty of them to be ordered out. These I formed into a bat- 
 talion and sent to Petersburg to cover the public stores, and 
 at the same time sent Colonel Carrington there to remove 
 them. I also took proper measures for the removal of the 
 stores and hospital from Chesterfield, in case the enemy should 
 move that w r ay. 
 
 "The next day, on the 3d of January, w^e were advised of 
 the enemy's arrival off Williamsburg, where General Nelson 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 373 
 
 had collected about one hundred and fifty militia. Here a 
 flag was sent with a letter, to which General Nelson returned 
 a verbal answer, that he would defend the town. They 
 landed a few troops at Jamestown, but reembarked them 
 again immediately and proceeded up the river. At midnight 
 their foremost vessel passed Hood's, where we had a battery 
 of two iron ten pounders and a brass howitzer. Three shots 
 were "fired, two of which struck the vessel, on which the rest 
 of the fleet brought to. A party landing below, the militia 
 (about seventy) evacuated the battery, and the cannon and 
 howitzer fell into their hands. They burnt the carriages of 
 the guns and carried off the howitzer. 
 
 " The 4th, in the morning, we received intelligence that 
 the enemy's fleet lay at Westover, and were preparing to dis- 
 embark. It was then evident their object was Richmond, 
 and orders were immediately given for the removal of the 
 public stores. As the enemy had twenty-five miles to march 
 before they reached the town, I was in hopes a force would 
 collect sufficient, at least, to check their progress, but, to my 
 surprise, about one hundred men were all that could be as- 
 sembled. These I sent down under the command of Major 
 Dick, a State officer, to whom I gave orders to harass the en- 
 emy by firing at them from every favorable piece of ground. 
 These orders were, however, badly executed. The enemy 
 moved that evening to Four Mile Creek, where they en- 
 camped at about eleven o'clock. 
 
 " What few Continental stores were in town I sent out to 
 Westham, having previously ordered Major Claiborne up the 
 river to collect boats there to transport them across. I also 
 ordered the one hundred and fifty Continental troops to march 
 from Petersburg and take a position opposite to Westham ; 
 and Colonel Davies, having sent all the stores and the hospi- 
 tal from Chesterfield, was ordered to the same place with the 
 remainder of his naked troops. The State stores, of which 
 great quantities were in town, were under the direction of 
 
i> T4- L I F E O F S T E U B E N . 
 
 Colonel M., by whose inactivity and downright negligence 
 a great part was lost. Of their artillery, I secured, myselfj 
 five pieces which were mounted ; the rest, consisting of three 
 brass, and a great number of iron pieces, fell into the enemy's 
 hands. Not a single man, except those I had sent out, under- 
 took to oppose the approach of the enemy. I thought it pru- 
 dent to cross the river in the evening, and took my quarters 
 in Manchester, and next day, about twelve o'clock, the enemy 
 took possession of the town, having marched twenty-five miles 
 with eight hundred and fifty men and about thirty horse, with- 
 out receiving a single shot. They left about half their force 
 in town, and proceeded immediately with the rest to West- 
 ham, where they burnt all the public buildings, consisting of 
 a foundery, with a boring-mill, powder magazine, and some 
 small shops, and returned to Richmond the same evening. 
 The Continental stores had been all sent across the river, and 
 some of the State stores. What part was left I have not yet 
 learned. About three hundred militia had arrived at West- 
 ham on their way down, and arms were actually recrossing 
 for them, but hearing of the enemy's approach, and being un- 
 armed, they dispersed. 
 
 " The next morning, I ordered the battalion of Continen- 
 tal troops, to which I had attached two of the State pieces of 
 artillery, to Manchester, where there were about two hundred 
 militia collected. With these I intended to oppose any at- 
 tempts they might make to cross. They, however, did not 
 attempt it, but about eleven o'clock began to set fire to the 
 public buildings, and before one o'clock, had entirely quitted 
 the town. They burnt a rope-w r alk, the public work-shops and 
 two or three public stores. Two of the inhabitants came out 
 with propositions from Arnold to pay for half of the tobacco 
 on their giving hostages for the delivery of the whole to ves- 
 sels he should send for it. The governor refused to agree to 
 it, and as they did not come out as a flag, I refused their re- 
 turn. The tobacco, how r ever, was left unhurt. A great part 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 3*7 5 
 
 of the inhabitants having removed, their houses were plun- 
 dered by the soldiers. The enemy marched that night to 
 their former position at Four Mile Creek, where they en- 
 camped, and yesterday got to Westover. On their return, 
 great excesses were committed by straggling parties. As 
 there were great quantities of grain and flour at the mills 
 near Warwick, I marched my little force, on the 6th, in the 
 evening, to that place. Yesterday I advanced to Osborn's, 
 and this day arrived here at Petersburg. I find about four 
 hundred and fifty militia here under Colonel Gibson, whom I 
 had ordered to take the command in the absence of Generals 
 Muhlenberg and Weedon. On the first intimation of the en- 
 emy's approach, I wrote these gentlemen, but have heard 
 nothing from them. The public stores, of which great quan- 
 tities were in this town, were all removed by the great exer- 
 tions of Colonel Carrington and Colonel Gibson. Yesterday 
 General Smallwood arrived here, and has been so obliging as 
 to stop and afford us his assistance. Some vessels of the en- 
 emy were sent up this river yesterday to take or destroy some 
 merchant vessels lying there, but by the disposition which Gen- 
 eral Smallwood made with some ship guns and the militia, 
 they were obliged to abandon their enterprise. 
 
 " General Nelson, during all this time, was on the other 
 side of the river. On the 3d, he was twelve miles above Wil- 
 liamsburg, with one hundred and seventy-five men ; the next 
 day he moved four miles higher, and wrote me that he ex- 
 pected to have three hundred and fifty militia by the 5th at 
 noon ; the 7th, he w r rote me from Long Bridge, on Chicka- 
 hominy, that the enemy were moving down to their shipping, 
 and that the rain the preceding night had incapacitated his 
 men for immediate service. In fact, the enemy returned as 
 they went, without a single shot, and have lain quietly at 
 Westover, in a scattered manner, all this day. 
 
 " As the stores were all removed hence, and a consider- 
 able force of militia collected, I do not imagine the enemy 
 
376 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 will attack this place. I have some hopes of being able to 
 annoy them from Hood's on their return. The river there 
 is very narrow, but we have yet no guns. I have sent to have 
 those which are there remounted, and shall march there my- 
 self, with all the militia I can arm, so soon as I hear the enemy 
 are moving down. 
 
 " The greatest distress we now feel is the want of arms ; 
 great part of those belonging to the State were damaged by 
 the militia during the late invasion, or were scattered at differ- 
 ent^ places and never collected or repaired. Those at Rich- 
 mond were, on the enemy's approach, sent off in such disorder 
 that part of them are not yet found. The militia are coming 
 in, and no arms to put in their hands, while, on the other side, 
 General Nelson has fifteen hundred stand, and only five hun- 
 dred men. 
 
 " I can not conclude without mentioning how much I am 
 indebted to Colonel Davies and Lieutenant Colonel Carring- 
 ton for their assistance on this occasion." 
 
 " The enemy," continues Steuben," at camp near Hood's 
 on the 11th of January, 1781,* " lying still at Westover on the 
 9th, and some vessels which had lain at the mouth of the Ap- 
 pomatox, dropping down that day to their fleet, I thought it 
 evident they had no design against Petersburg, and therefore 
 ordered the few militia who were assembled there to march to 
 Prince George Court-house, and went there myself, that I might 
 be more at hand to prepare against any movement of the ene- 
 my. The 10th, in the morning, I was informed they were em- 
 barking their troops, and on reconnoitering them myself from 
 Coggin's Point, I found their embarkation completed, and the 
 vessels preparing to sail. 
 
 " It had been found impracticable to remount the cannon 
 
 at Hood's, or to prepare any obstruction to their passing that 
 
 place. Of this, however, the enemy were ignorant ; and think- 
 
 * Greene's MS. Papers and Sparks's Revolutionary Correspondence, iii., 
 203. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 377 
 
 ing it very probable they would land a party to examine these 
 works before they attempted to pass, I ordered three hundred 
 infantry and about thirty horse, under Colonel Clark, to lie in 
 ambush to receive them. About twelve o'clock the fleet got 
 under way, and at four o'clock I saw them, from Hood's, come 
 to within cannon shot. At dark they landed troops from 
 eighteen boats — deserters say five hundred — who immediately 
 attacked a small picket we had, and pursued them to within 
 forty paces of the ambuscade, when our troops gave them a 
 fire ; but on their returning it, and charging bayonets, the 
 militia immediately fled. After throwing the cannon into the 
 river, the enemy returned to their ships, which, at daylight, 
 were five miles below. I ordered three hundred infantry and 
 two troops of horse down to Cabin Point, and encamped with 
 the remainder, about five hundred men, at this place. As an 
 attempt might be made at Williamsburg, and as General 
 Nelson had only four hundred men, I ordered five hundred 
 and sixty militia, who were then on their way to join me, to 
 cross the river and reinforce him. The next great object for 
 the enemy being Hunter's works and the stores at Fredericks- 
 burg, I wrote the governor to countermand the militia from 
 that quarter. General Weld on had already advanced with 
 about three hundred and fifty as far as Hanover Court-house 
 before he received the governor's letter. It is left with him 
 to return or not, according as he, from his knowledge of the 
 force that can he collected, may think necessary. 
 
 " I can not yet form any judgment of the future operations 
 of the enemy. Should they mean to pillage Williamsburg, 
 Nelson's corps may harass, but can not prevent them. If 
 they take possession of Norfolk, I shall collect what force 
 is necessary and endeavor to keep them en echec ; or if they 
 should go into the Potomac, I shall immediately march to 
 form a junction with the militia under General Weedon, and 
 cover Fredericksburg. 
 
 " The militia are coming in from all quarters, but without 
 
378 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 arms, for which they apply to me. I have delivered about 
 five hundred we had belonging to the Continent. Those of 
 the State were so scattered in removing them on the alarm, 
 that their officers can not collect them again. The troops have 
 neither tents nor camp kettles. It is impossible to describe 
 the situation I am in — in want of every thing ; and nothing can 
 be got from the State, rather for want of arrangement than 
 anything else." 
 
 " The enemy," says Steuben, in concluding his report to 
 the board of war, "having passed Hood's on the 13th, I 
 marched with seven hundred militia to Cabin Point. The 
 Continental troops being too naked to keep the field, were 
 sent back to Chesterfield Court-house. On the 14th the ene- 
 my landed at Hardy's Ferry, twenty-two miles below Cabin 
 Point, and began their march toward Smithfield. Supposing 
 Colonel Parker, with the militia of the lower counties, would 
 oppose them in front, I detailed Major Willis with three hun- 
 dred infantry and fifty horses to harass their rear. My orders 
 were badly executed, and the enemy entered Smithfield on the 
 15th without opposition. Having that day received a rein- 
 forcement of four hundred men, I immediately detached them 
 under General Lawson, with orders to march towards Smith- 
 field, and act in conjunction with Colonel Parker, who, I sup- 
 posed, had retired towards Suffolk. 
 
 " On General Lawson's approach the enemy crossed Xan- 
 simond river at Sleepy Hole, and encamped on the opposite 
 bank, and General Lawson being joined by the troops under 
 Colonel Parker, occupied Smithfield. The 19th the enemy 
 marched to Portsmouth, where Arnold established himself 
 and their vessels fell down to Hampton Roads." 
 
 At a meeting of officers, convened for the purpose of de- 
 termining the question, whether the Virginia militia had the 
 means of forcing Arnold to quit Portsmouth, it was their unani- 
 mous opinion, founded on their acquaintance with the ground, 
 that they were not in a situation to undertuke such an enter- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 379 
 
 prise. The operations of Steuben and his generals were, there- 
 fore, necessarily confined to preventing the enemy from mak- 
 ing incursions into the country on either side of James river, 
 or, should they undertake to come out with their whole force, 
 to rendering any enterprise of theirs difficult, always having 
 in view the keeping open the communication across the James 
 river. 
 
 To secure this object Steuben repaired to Smithfield, and 
 having reconnoitered and obtained all possible information 
 concerning the ground, he made the following disposition, in 
 which he had in view a primary object, the keeping up as small 
 a number of militia as possible.* 
 
 Colonel Parker, with the Suffolk militia, at Reddock Mills, 
 a very strong pass, with a small advanced post at Cooper's 
 Mills, four miles in his front, had to prevent the enemy's par- 
 ties from making any excursions, and, if forced, to fall back on 
 General Lawson. General Lawson was posted at McMay's 
 Mills, four miles from Smithfield, with nine hundred infantry 
 and a troop of State horse ; a small detachment from this force 
 advanced to Suffolk, to support Parker in case of need, and 
 keep open communication. Pickets were also kept at Sleepy 
 Hole and near the mouth of Nansimond river. General Muh- 
 lenberg was at Cabin Point with two regiments consisting of 
 eight hundred infantry, and Armand's cavalry ; General Nelson 
 with one thousand infantry, and some volunteer horse at Wil- 
 liamsburg, to keep posts from thence to Newport News. 
 
 If the enemy came out in force, General Muhlenberg was 
 to support Lawson and form a junction with him, and oppose 
 the enemy should they march toward South Quay. 
 
 The correctness of the foregoing reports of Steuben, little 
 flattering as they may be, is established by the statements of 
 persons who at that time took a prominent part in public 
 affairs ; and it is also proved, that however glaring the defi- 
 
 * MS. Letters to Greene and board of war, Richmond, January 25th and 
 29th, 1181. 
 
380 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ciencies may have been, however culpable the shortcomings 
 of others were, Steuben discharged his duties to the utmost, 
 and where he could not remedy the defects himself, distinctly 
 showed others how they might advantageously do so. A few 
 instances will suffice to demonstrate the condition of affairs. 
 
 When Arnold ascended the river and demanded the sur- 
 render of Williamsburg, General Nelson, who was so destitute 
 of all the necessary appliances that he even had no telescope, 
 returned a verbal answer, stating that he would oppose him 
 as long as he had a man to fight, and apologizing for not writ- 
 ing, as he had no pen and ink. It is unnecessary to mention 
 that the militia's arms were unfit for service, and the little am- 
 munition they had, almost destroyed, as it was at that time 
 almost a matter of course. Nelson was one of the most ener- 
 getic and patriotic officers in the State ; but in consequence 
 of the general confusion and slowness of the militia he could 
 not act as he wished. lie could form no communication with 
 Steuben, nor afford him the necessary assistance. " Our ex- 
 presses," he writes, on the 4th of January, to Steuben, " be- 
 have most infamously ; the conduct of the county lieutenant 
 of New Kent is censurable, and the situation of this country 
 and other causes, which your knowledge of our affairs will 
 readily suggest to you, have defeated my utmost exertions." 
 
 One of the greatest deficiencies on the part of the Ameri- 
 cans was the want of cavalry. Armand's corps, the only cav- 
 alry at the disposal of Steuben, consisted at that time of only 
 forty horses, and it was extremely difficult to supply even it 
 with remounts. In spite of the absolute necessity of employ- 
 ing that corps the governor did nothing in the matter, giving 
 as a reason, that the executive was not authorized to impress 
 horses for the Continental service. The people did not like to 
 sell their horses on credit, and preferred to keep them until 
 they were afterwards seized by the British. The officer whom 
 Claiborne, on the 10th of January, had sent out to impress 
 horses, returned with only five. Under these circumstances 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 381 
 
 the enemy, with his one hundred horses, had even a superior- 
 ity in cavalry, and ravaged the country unmolested. This want 
 of cavalry during the whole campaign prevented the Ameri- 
 cans not only from harassing the enemy, or in any way inter- 
 fering with their operations, but from striking any decisive 
 blow at them, as will hereafter appear from the narrative of 
 subsequent events. 
 
 " I was pleased to see," writes W. Smallwood to Steuben, 
 dated Petersburg on the 7th of January, " that Colonels Gibson 
 and Carrington had accomplished in their respective depart- 
 ment every thing that circumstances would admit, though at 
 the same time I lament the defenseless situation of the country 
 at this alarming crisis, and the peculiar difficulties you have 
 to encounter. Perhaps timely and vigorous exertions in this 
 quarter might prevent or suspend the enemy's approach here, 
 which would have a salutary effect with respect to the public 
 and private stores." 
 
 As if the invasion of the country were a misfortune not 
 sufficiently great, some classes of the inhabitants of Richmond 
 availed themselves of the opportunity afforded by the British, 
 to enrich themselves by robbing and plundering, and forced 
 the officers of the State to employ their men for the protection 
 of the public property against the native population, instead 
 of against their foreign invaders. 
 
 " The welfare of my country," writes the brave Claiborne 
 to Steuben, on the 8th of January, 1781, dated Richmond, 
 u the comfort of the soldiers and the orders of my superiors, I 
 have ever exerted myself to promote and execute, but empty 
 handed as I am at present, and the little assistance I get, al- 
 most render all my efforts ineffectual. There is no commander 
 here nor will any body be commanded. This leaves what pub- 
 lic stores a few of the virtuous inhabitants have collected, 
 exposed to every passenger, and the property of the individ- 
 uals to the ravages of the negroes. Both public and private 
 property have been discovered to a considerable quantity, that 
 
*<382 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 was secreted clandestinely in and about town, and I am sorry 
 to say that there is a stigma which rests upon the conduct of 
 some of our own men with respect to the pillaging of public 
 and private goods, that does not upon the British troops ; the 
 one acted as an open enemy, but the other in a secret and infa- 
 mous manner. I shall take proper measures to find them out 
 and have them collected. I had a party of the militia given 
 me by Colonel Haskins and patrolled the streets of Richmond 
 during the night. I am sorry that the militia differ so much 
 from the Continental soldiers !" 
 
 Jefferson appreciated the difficulty of the situation in which 
 Steuben was placed, and used every exertion to assist him in 
 repelling the blackest traitor who had ever disgraced the 
 American history. He did every thing that Steuben sug- 
 gested for the benefit of the service, provided subsistence for 
 the troops, and contributed to carry out Steuben's orders as 
 far as the power with which he was invested, allowed. At 
 this period their correspondence manifests mutual confidence, 
 good will, and community of opinion, and though the limits 
 of their respective departments and relations were not at all 
 regulated or distinctly drawn, they found no difficulty in ar- 
 ranging them. 
 
 One of the principal items of controversy was the ques- 
 tion, what expenses were to be considered as Continental and 
 what as belonging to the separate States ? Jefferson under- 
 stood that the rule of Congress was to admit no expenses 
 to be Continental which were incurred by any State merely 
 under an apprehension of an invasion, but that when a State 
 was actually invaded, all expenses became Continental. Con- 
 sequently he wished Steuben to consider the militia of every 
 place under his command from the moment of their being 
 enlisted, and to direct their movements and stations as he 
 pleased. " This," remarks Steuben, in a letter to Jefferson, 
 dated the 11th of January, 1781, "naturally throws the pro- 
 vision for such troops as shall be employed on such particular 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 383 
 
 occasion into the hands of Continental officers upon the great 
 scale ; but as it would be impracticable for those officers to take 
 up the business before it is brought within the view of those 
 under whom they are acting and whose orders they are bound 
 to obey, it certainly must of necessity be incumbent on the 
 State officers to bring it to that point from which it will regu- 
 larly be taken up by the Continental officers. I think that 
 this might take place from the time the troops are armed, 
 fitted for the field and brought to the place of rendezvous ; 
 then the general commanding has charge of them as a part of 
 his force, and at the same time all his subordinate officers, both 
 military and staff, have them under their view. As the arms 
 to be put into the hands of the militia are the property of the 
 State and subject to the direction of officers not under my 
 command, I do not conceive those troops connected with me 
 or subject to my orders before they are armed and equipped 
 for the field." 
 
 Jefferson, although he could not state the exact time at 
 which the expenses attending an invasion became Continental, 
 nevertheless, maintained that the militia, as soon as they had 
 received their call, were subject to Steuben's orders. 
 
 This difference of opinion existing between the general 
 commanding and the governor, was a great drawback to the 
 State itself and to the progress of the whole southern war. 
 Steuben only executed the design of Congress and acted in 
 accordance with its special orders, when he asked of the State 
 to deliver to him, at its own expense, the militiamen, fit for 
 service and properly equipped. It was, however, the interest 
 of the State to keep up such a difference of opinion, as thus 
 no immediate efforts were needed and no sacrifices were to be 
 made. Owing to the constant disorder, things were advanced 
 so far in Virginia, that the people only looked to their own 
 safety, and cared nothing about the evil consequence of such 
 a policy to the United States, and especially to the South. As 
 Congress had not the means of enforcing its decrees, but 
 
384 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 on the contrary depended for the execution of them entirely 
 on the good will of the individual States, it was Virginia which 
 remained in the right. Steuben had to suffer the worst con- 
 sequences from this want of help, which the State would not 
 or could not afford. Moreover, the Continent did not aid him, 
 and always directed him in an off-hand manner to the State. 
 
 The governor, in his account of the invasion which he sent 
 to Washington on the 10th of January, 1781, speaks in very 
 high terms of Steuben's merits. When, in a letter addressed 
 to the latter himself, he said that he was very sorry that the 
 means with which he was furnished were not likely to add to 
 his reputation, except that by undertaking to make the most 
 of them Steuben's zeal would be still more fully displayed, 
 Jefferson wrote to Washington in the following terms about 
 him :* 
 
 "In the meanwhile Baron Steuben, a zealous friend, has 
 descended from the dignity of his proper command, to direct 
 our smallest movements. His vigilance has, in a great meas- 
 ure, supplied the want of force in preventing the enemy from 
 crossing the river, which might have been very fatal. He has 
 been assiduously employed in preparing for the militia, as they 
 should assemble, pointing them to a proper object, and other 
 offices of a good commander." 
 
 " I congratulate you," writes Colonel William Da-vies, at this 
 time, to Steuben, f "upon the enemy's leaving this part of the 
 country, and hope, sir, you may never again experience the 
 mortifications which the very destitute and unprepared state 
 of this country must have occasioned. The nakedness of the 
 troops at this place (Chesterfield Court-house) exceeds descrip- 
 tion. Above sixty of them are so naked as to be unable to do 
 duty in quarters, and much more so in the field. To all such 
 who live within forty or fifty miles of this place, and can return 
 in eight or ten days, I have given furloughs for the purpose 
 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, by J. Sparks, iii., 202. 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. iv. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 385 
 
 of getting clothing. The troops here have been one day en- 
 tirely out of meat, and without particular care I fear they will 
 be distressed frequently for that article. I shall endeavor as 
 well as I can to secure a sufficiency, but every thing in this 
 country seems in so ruinous a train, that despondency has 
 almost taken possession of me. I hope your exertions and in- 
 fluence will in some measure check the rapidity with which 
 we are rushing to ruin ; but something extraordinary must 
 happen to put us on a good footing." 
 
 " Arnold, you know, was coming here," writes Colonel 
 Meade to Alexander Hamilton on the 13th of January, 1781.* 
 " He has really been here, and, with shame be it said, marched 
 twenty-five miles and back without having a single musket 
 fired at him ; but let me observe, in justice to the people at 
 large, that there are fewer disaffected by far in this State than 
 any other in the Union, and that the people turn out with the 
 utmost cheerfulness. The misfortune on the present invasion 
 was, that in the confusion the arms were sent everywhere, and 
 no timely plan laid to put them into the hands of the men who 
 were assembling. The baron has no doubt given the general 
 the particulars of the whole affair. He can hardly be himself 
 and say any thing on the subject that ought not to be credited." 
 
 " I am still unable," writes James Lovell to Steuben on the 
 22d of January, 1781, f "to promise you a supply of arms and 
 clothing. But I can not refrain from expressing to you, by this 
 opportunity, how much I am affected with pleasure by any 
 occurrence which redounds to your glory. The Governor of 
 Virginia mentions very honorably your conduct with a small 
 body of militia, of which you have condescended to take the 
 command, while a traitorous villain was striving to make ex- 
 tensive ravage on James river. Your own letters to Congress 
 have confirmed the propriety of the governor's grateful senti- 
 ments. I would to God you w r ere at the head of a body suit- 
 
 * Alexander Hamilton's Works, i., 208. 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. iv. 
 17 
 
386 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ably equipped to execute the directions which your great 
 military knowledge enables you to give whenever you are in 
 a field action. I regret much the mortification which I know 
 your warm zeal in our cause must have met with from your 
 inequality of men, artillery and, in short, every means of 
 giving a final blow to Arnold's schemes. I regret more, that 
 you have no prospect but the continuance of such disadvan- 
 tages. The chapter of disadvantages has heretofore been 
 greatly in our favor." 
 
 Unfortunately it was far from being closed, as will be seen 
 from the following chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Arnold's Invasion interrupts the Measures for the Support of the Southern 
 Army.— Steuben's Task. — Its Difficulties. — The Government does Little or 
 Nothing. — Jefferson and Steuben.— Their Conflict.— Steuben tries to raise 
 three Thousand Recruits to be furnished by the State. — They arrive very 
 slowly.— Characteristic Anecdote.— Good Effect of Steuben's Severity.— 
 Bad Conduct of the Militia.— Letter of E. Meade. — Complaints of Innes and 
 Muhlenberg.— The Desertion tolerated and protected by the State.— Rea- 
 sons why.— Davies's Propositions for remedying this Evil.— The apathetic 
 People make no Sacrifices.— Claiborne's Complaints.— Want of Necessaries. 
 — Government does not resort to energetic Measures. — All Burden and 
 Responsibility fall on Steuben.— Colonel Mumford's punishable Negli- 
 gence.— Steuben's Orders against squandering Provisions. — Greene appreci- 
 ates Steuben's Efforts.— Greene's Operations in the South after his Depart- 
 uss from Virginia.— He divides his Forces and separates from Morgan.— 
 Morgan's Victory at Co wpens.— Greene advances to the Great Pedee.— -Corn- 
 
 WALLIS FOLLOWS HIM.— GREENE JOINS MORGAN AGAIN.— He RETIRES TO VIRGINIA. 
 
 — cornwalli8 at hillsborough, the center of the tories.— their enthusiasm 
 for the royal cause. — greene beaten at guilford court-house. — corn- 
 wallis goes to wilmington.— greene's difficulty with the virginia mllitia. 
 —Steuben tries in vain to assist him.— He dispatches a Detachment under 
 Campbell.— Steuben's Designs for the further Support of Greene.— He can 
 not fulfill his Promise, as the Recruits do not arrive. 
 
 rpHE greatest mischief occasioned by Arnold's invasion, was 
 -*- the obstruction which it offered to the preparations for the 
 support of the southern army. The arrangements which Steu- 
 ben was making for this purpose were either wholly over- 
 turned or materially delayed, the greater part of the provis- 
 ions oonsumed, and the raising of recruits and every supply 
 required liwx Virginia was retarded for two months. What- 
 ever arms the St**^ possessed were distributed among the 
 militia, who scarcely amoved to four thousand men. 
 
 While the forces under MttMenberg were watching and 
 confining Arnold at Portsmouth, Steuv« n exerted himself at 
 Richmond to collect provisions, arms and tn^ n f or t ne rein- 
 forcement of Greene's army, which, for want of the ~- X peeted 
 supplies, was in the most distressed situation. The task ,^ s 
 
388 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 certainly a most arduous one, as he could do little or nothing 
 if not supported by the Executive of the State. 
 
 " Sure am I," said he, " if an officer ordered to superintend 
 and expedite militia movements does not in that service lose 
 his reputation, he may risk it on all other occasions." u I must 
 beg your Excellency," he wrote at this time to Governor Jef- 
 ferson, " to consider that this shameful opposition made to the 
 last invasion of the enemy falls in some measure on me as the 
 commanding officer in the State, and I can not but reckon it 
 among my misfortunes to have been here at that time. My 
 wish is to prevent a repetition of the disgrace, but I can do 
 nothing without the assistance of the government." 
 
 It appears, however, that the latter had not the power to 
 do what it considered to be its duty, and that it was jealous 
 of the authority exercised by the commanding general. It is 
 really surprising that a conflict between the civil and military 
 officers did not break out sooner, as the ground was prepared 
 for such a calamity from the moment they entered on the dis- 
 charge of their respective duties, and as the often high-handed, 
 though well-intentioned proceedings of Steuben, and the irri- 
 tability of his temper frequently broug'ht him in collision with 
 the too keen democratic views of Governor Jefferson. 
 
 " We did not think proper," writes Jefferson, on the 10th 
 of March, 1781, to Steuben,* "to resign ourselves and our 
 country too implicitly to your demands, but thought we had 
 
 some right of judgment left to ourselves We can only 
 
 be answerable for the orders we give, and not for their execu- 
 tion. If they are disobeyed from obstinacy of spy*** or want 
 of coercion in the laws, it is not our fault- We can only en- 
 deavor to engage the willing. The "Executive have not by the 
 laws of this State any power ^ call a freeman to labor even 
 for the public good wi fjA ° ut ms consent, nor a slave without 
 that of his mas<-~-' ? 
 
 This ? * a inking illustration of the inefficiency of the law 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. vi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 389 
 
 as it existed in cases of public emergency or danger. If the 
 governor's power was insufficient to enforce service for the 
 protection of the fatherland, and for the due observance of the 
 orders he issued, what was the utility of his position ? Was 
 it not a clog on the efficiency of the military power, which 
 was exercised only for the good of the confederacy ? 
 
 Steuben's first object was to raise the three thousand 
 (eighteen months') militiamen, whom, according to the new 
 plan, the State had promised to provide. Virginia was for 
 this purpose divided into ten divisions, each of which had to 
 furnish its quota, and send them to the general rendezvous at 
 Chesterfield Court-house, where Colonel Davies commanded, 
 and formed the detachments for the southern army. But in 
 raising recruits, the State was completely lethargic. On the 
 12th of February not a man had been engaged on the new 
 plan, and with the greatest difficulty four hundred men had 
 been collected and clothed at Chesterfield Court-house to be 
 sent to the South. The men either came in very slowly, or 
 did not come at all, or they deserted immediately after their 
 arrival in camp, or they sent even dwarfs or children to fill 
 their places. On the 4th of March Steuben remonstrated to 
 the governor in regard to this ill-disposed people, who sent 
 recruits entirely unfit for service, whom he could not accept 
 for the defense of their own country. 
 
 If, under such circumstances, Steuben gave way to passion, 
 and uttered contemptuous expressions, it is not to be wondered 
 at. North, in his already-quoted pamphlet, mentions a char- 
 acteristic anecdote in this respect. " Men," says he, " sufficient 
 to form a regiment had, with much pains, been collected to- 
 gether at Chesterfield Court-house. The corps was paraded, 
 and on the point of marching, when a well-looking man, on 
 horseback, and, as it appeared, his servant on another, rode 
 up, and introducing himself, informed the baron that he had 
 brought him a recruit. ' I thank you, sir,' said the baron, 
 4 with all my heart ; you have arrived in a happy moment ! 
 
390 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Where is your man, colonel ?' for he was colonel in the mili- 
 tia. ' Here, sir,' ordering his boy to dismount. The baron's 
 countenance altered ; we saw and feared the approaching storm. 
 A sergeant was ordered to measure the lad, whose shoes, when 
 off, laid bare something by which his stature had been increased. 
 The baron, patting the child's head with his hand, trembling 
 with rage, asked him how old he was. He was very young, 
 quite a child. i Sir,' said he to the man, ' you must have sup- 
 posed me to be a rascal !' ' O no, baron, I did not.' * Then, 
 sir, I suppose you to be a rascal, an infamous rascal, thus to 
 attempt to cheat your country. Take off this fellow's spurs ; 
 place him in the ranks, and tell General Greene from me, Col- 
 onel Gaskins, that I have sent him a man able to serve, in- 
 stead of an infant whom he would basely have made his sub- 
 stitute ! Go, my boy, take the colonel's spurs and his horse 
 to his wife ; make my compliments, and say her husband has 
 gone to light for the freedom of his country, as an honest man 
 should do. By platoons ! — To the right wheel ! — Forward — 
 March !' Colonel Gaskins fearing the consequences, let the 
 man escape on the arrival of the corps at the river Roanoke ; 
 nor was he tardy in returning and making application to the 
 civil authority for redress. But Governor Jefferson, Mr. Mad- 
 ison, and other gentlemen of the council, not doubting the 
 purity of the baron's motive, and fully appreciating his hon- 
 est zeal, prevented any disagreeable results attending this high- 
 handed exertion of military power." 
 
 In regard to the service, these despotic proceedings had at 
 least one good effect, as Davies writing on the 10th of March, 
 1781, states that "since the treatment that men met with, 
 people seemed afraid to bring in the dwarfs and children they 
 formerly counted upon." 
 
 In some parts of the State young men who were entirely 
 fit for service, did not answer the call, excusing themselves on 
 the ground of having previously served a few days, because, 
 according to the militia laws, they could not be called out 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 391 
 
 again after having once been discharged. On the other hand, 
 by a law of the State, no county was obliged to draft men for 
 the Continental lines while its militia were in actual service. 
 Thus it happened that well populated counties as, for instance, 
 Spottsylvania, the militia of which, during the last invasion, 
 had been under arms for only a week or two, on the 1st of 
 April, 1781, had sent only twenty-three recruits, while the 
 government had fixed its contingent at ten times that num- 
 ber. The militia proved to be of damage and disrepute to 
 the State rather than of honor and advantage. Their conduct 
 was extremely loose and provoking. Complaints were contin- 
 ually made from all parts of the State against them, and be- 
 came from day to day louder and more frequent. 
 
 " I have experienced," writes E. Meade, from camp at 
 Edmond's Hill, on the 19th of March, " a disagreeable want 
 of duty here — a tine field of dishonor ; no reliance can be put 
 in the major part of the militia ; my feelings have been ex- 
 ceedingly hurt." 
 
 " I have received," says Jefferson himself on the 24th of 
 February,* in a letter to Steuben, " repeated information that 
 the nakedness of the militia on service near Williamsburg, and 
 want of shoes, is such as to have produced murmurings almost 
 amounting to mutiny, and that there is no hope of being able 
 longer to keep them in service. The precedent of an actual 
 mutiny would be so mischievous as to induce us to believe an 
 accommodation to their present temper most prudent." And 
 at another occasion, on the 27th of April, 1781, \ "We have 
 found, by experience, that the men of those counties where 
 the enemy are, can not be kept in the field — they desert and 
 carry off their arms." 
 
 Colonel Innes reports from York on the 11th ofMarch,| 
 " that he has no provisions for the next day, and that the 
 militia, already dissatisfied, wants only a good plea for mutiny 
 and desertion." 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. v. f Ibidem, vol. vi. % Ibidem, vol. vi. 
 
392 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Major Fosey informs Steuben, from Stanton, on the 8th 01 
 March, " that not a single man could be raised in the county of 
 Augusta, which had to furnish three hundred and forty-four 
 men, that they had remonstrated to the Legislature against the 
 measure of drafting for eighteen months, and begged that the 
 term of three months be substituted." 
 
 The militia already under arms did not behave much better. 
 We have, in this respect, Muhlenberg's interesting statement 
 of the 8th of April, 1781, in which he says:* "The militia 
 who have served their term of three months have partly dis- 
 charged themselves, and compel me to discharge the remain- 
 der. I tried every method in my power to prevail on them 
 to continue until I could be reinforced from some other quar- 
 ters, but in vain. About one hundred deserted within two 
 nights out of my camp, and this morning about one hundred 
 out of Colonel Duncan's regiment, stationed at Chackatuck, 
 stacked their arms and marched off. The remainder marched 
 to camp with their arms and accouterments, and now claim 
 their discharge, which I shall be compelled to grant them, as 
 their stay will ruin the few troops I have left." 
 
 Among the innumerable complaints against the militia we 
 have found, however, one letter which does not blame them ; 
 but even in this instance the praise resembles a strong repro- 
 bation. Captain A. Singleton, speaking of an engagement of 
 General Greene's army on the 15th of March, 1781, says, that 
 " the militia, contrary to custom, behaved well for militia." 
 
 The greatest annoyance, however, and detriment to the 
 service was the wholesale desertion of the militia. The tolera- 
 tion, and even protection, with which it met through the State, 
 was so dangerous and alarming a mischief that Steuben and 
 Davies took every measure in their power to stop it, and to 
 recover those who were already gone. They drew memorials 
 upon this subject, which were laid before the Assembly, and 
 wrote to the governor, asking that laws might be made to 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. vi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 393 
 
 remedy the evil. " I am just completing," writes Da vies to 
 Steuben from Chesterfield, on the 10th of March, 1781,* "the 
 descriptive list of deserters to be put into the hands of the dele- 
 gates. This I conceive to be a matter of great consequence. 
 Above two hundred have deserted from this place, at least five 
 hundred that were enlisted in the counties never joined the 
 army, and they are daily deserting from different places, and 
 not a single measure is yet taken to advertise them. Colonel 
 Campbell has sent me a list of a number who have deserted 
 from him. I mean, therefore, to have a descriptive, alphabet- 
 ical list printed at the expense of the government, and to put 
 three or four copies in the hands of each Assemblyman, to be 
 published and advertised at the court-houses, churches, and 
 other places of public resort. But I submit the matter to your 
 decision." 
 
 All these steps, however, and the remonstrances were in 
 vain, since it was not in the power of the government to alter 
 this anomalous and revolting state of things, to which we find 
 a clue in a letter of Davies, written ten days after the above 
 quoted, which is one of the most interesting documents of the 
 time, and on more than one account deserves to be given in 
 full. 
 
 " I find, notwithstanding," writes Davies, " every thing 
 that has been urged formerly, no summary mode is yet estab- 
 lished by the Assembly for the recovery of the bounties the 
 divisions detain from the substitutes they agree with. They 
 bargain with a man for six or seven thousand pounds, pay 
 him at the time one thousand or fifteen hundred, f and prom- 
 ise him the remainder in two or three months. The soldier 
 inquires how it is to be got ; they tell him he is to have a fur- 
 lough after he gets here, or if he does not get one, they will 
 send or bring him the money. When the poor fellow arrives 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. vi. 
 
 f Paper money of course, the relation of silver to paper being in the pro- 
 portion of one to one hundred and forty at this time. 
 
 17* 
 
394 LIFE OE STEUBEN. 
 
 here he applies for a furlough and is refused : the divisions 
 never send him his money, he soon spends all he has, draws 
 no pay, and perhaps no clothing, and finding in the midst of 
 his distresses, that although he has a great deal of money due 
 him, yet he never shall get a copper of it while he continues 
 with the troops ; he, therefore, deserts with a determination 
 to try to get it from his division. When he applies to them 
 they refuse to pay him a farthing, tell him he is a deserter ; 
 but for their own sake they tolerate and even encourage him 
 in his desertion, as by that means they save the remainder of 
 the bounty in their own pockets and evade any further de- 
 mands in the law too. The rest of the people in the country 
 think it would be very hard to apprehend the man as a de- 
 serter and bring him to his officers, who probably will punish 
 him, when he did not get half his bounty ; and having no author- 
 ity themselves to compel the division to make up the remainder 
 that is due, of course the whole matter is overlooked, and be- 
 tween fraud on one side and compassion on the other, the pub- 
 lic service is essentially injured. If some speedy check is not 
 put to this growing evil, every law that is passed in future for 
 raising men, will produce two deserters for one soldier, till the 
 numbers of the former will be too considerable to be controlled, 
 and the people at large will be entirely wearied out by the fre- 
 quent drafts that are called for to make up the deficiencies. 
 The only source, therefore, from which we can hope any relief, 
 is in the particular interest of each respective division. The 
 advantage of the public at large is too remote an object to 
 make such impression ; it must be more immediately interest- 
 ing to make them feel. I would, therefore, propose that every 
 division shall be answerable for the conduct of its substitute 
 in this particular, but I would confine this responsibility to de- 
 sertion only ; all other deficiencies in the number of men should 
 be made good by the State at large." 
 
 In the presence of all these difficulties the government, 
 however, did not dare to resort to energetic measures. In- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 395 
 
 stead of removing the existing and menacing impediments, 
 the government only evaded them and made no arrangements 
 to complete the Continental forces. In a similar manner it 
 treated the militia, confining itself to the least possible exac- 
 tions. Thus the governor wrote to Steuben, on the 19th of 
 April, 1781, "that he should only endeavor to get the militia 
 to the fixed term of two months in the field, with a right to 
 retain them one week longer, if reliefs should not come in." 
 
 It was not this deficiency in the militia alone that troubled 
 Steuben, and prevented him from supporting the southern 
 army. The measures taken by the government for the defense 
 of the State were so imperfect, that they threw innumerable 
 and unforeseen obstacles in his way, and that other able offi- 
 cers retired from the service in disgust. The State had no 
 money, no credit, no provision, in short, it was almost desti- 
 tute. R. Claiborne, the quarter-master of the State, wrote 
 on the 4th of April, 1781,* to Steuben, that he was unable 
 to comply with his demands for accouterments, wagons, and 
 camp equipage for five hundred infantry, saying that he had 
 not a farthing of money. "To purchase by contract," he con- 
 tinues, " is impracticable, as there is not a person that will 
 trust the public two days ; and to make and manufacture in 
 time, would be a vain attempt. My representations to the 
 quarter-master general and the government of this State, have 
 been early and frequent ; but little or no aid is given to me. 
 I have received only five hundred thousand pounds of paper 
 money since I have been in this department, which, at one 
 hundred and forty for one, went but a small way. I am alto- 
 gether disappointed in the wagons that are to come from the 
 counties for Continental use, and have failed in the means of 
 transportation directed in the governor's instructions some 
 time since, to the commissioner of the provision law. The 
 commissary of hides for this State, upon whom I am depend- 
 ent alone for leather, is in Philadelphia, and has not a gallon 
 * Stenbon MR. Papors, vol. vii. 
 
396 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 of oil in his whole department. This has been the case for a 
 long time, and whether it will be taken into consideration by 
 the board of war, from whom he derives his appointment, I 
 can not say. I have written to the qnarter-master general 
 npon the subject. With respect to wagons, I have not one 
 that is not employed in business that can not be dispensed 
 with ; and the horses that are not engaged are such as no one 
 would employ. To hire is impossible, as no one will take the 
 price to which we are limited, when they can get three times 
 as much from private individuals. I am very fearful that noth- 
 ing can be done in laying up a magazine of forage at Peters- 
 burg. Camp equipage you will find we have none. In short, 
 sir, I have no money, no materials, no credit, and beg while 
 this is my situation, you will place no dependence on any thing 
 to come from the department. Sensible of the increasing diffi- 
 culties in transacting the public business, I find myself obliged 
 to resign. I was in hopes, when I accepted the appointment, 
 that it would be in my power to discharge the duties ; but as 
 I am not supported in the purchasing department, I could not 
 expect it in the field. As to my influencing the field duties, 
 I am preparing such instructions as will be necessary. If it is 
 for me to do, I beg leave to remind you that I have nothing 
 to begin with, neither people, money, credit nor materials, so 
 that if I fail, I hope you will attribute it to its true cause — 
 want of means." 
 
 This state of things, animadverted upon by Claiborne, had 
 not only reference to his department, but was to be met w r ith 
 throughout the whole State. Coats could not be made for 
 want of cloth, shoes could not be obtained for want of leather, 
 and shirts were not to be had for want of linen, nor would 
 tailors or artificers work on trust for the country. Even Jef- 
 ferson declared the procuring of hats or leather caps a despe- 
 rate case, and blankets cost too much to be able to provide 
 the troops with them. The factories were partly stopped for 
 want of money, partly from the refusal of the workmen to 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN". 397 
 
 work, on account of which refusal the government was com- 
 pelled — as, for example, in the county of Prince George — to 
 offer to each man, who had worked twelve days on the batter- 
 ies at Hood's, an exemption for six weeks from military duty. 
 Nelson complained, on the 6th of April, 1781, to Jefferson,* 
 that for the last twelve months he had received no money for 
 his men. In the same way all the commanding officers were 
 in want of every thing, and, being refused on all hands, ap- 
 pealed as a last resort to Steuben for redress and assistance. 
 To one of them, who, on account of insufficiency of means, did 
 not execute his orders, he remarked, laconically, though in 
 very indifferent English, " You have not to inquire if my or- 
 ders are riht or rong, you have to obey them, and the service 
 will be well done." 
 
 Notwithstanding the scarcity of provisions, they were often 
 wasted by the negligence of officers, or stolen by the commis- 
 saries. Out of one hundred pairs of shoes, for instance, which 
 were delivered to Colonel Davies from Petersburg, only fifty- 
 three were forthcoming, and the one hundred at Warwick 
 turned out to be only eighty-two pairs.f Fourteen hundred 
 and ninety-five yards of cloth, which the governor estimated 
 to be sufficient for four hundred suits, made only three hun- 
 dred and fifty jack-coats, as the cloth was only half as wide as 
 represented. The shoes were so bad that one day's wear de- 
 stroyed them. The most shocking carelessness, however, is 
 furnished by Colonel Mumford, about whom Davies writes to 
 Jefferson as follows, viz. :\ 
 
 " From the negligence of Colonel Mumford, the issuing 
 Continental commissary general in this State, there is the 
 most shameful waste of provisions and scandalous abuses in 
 that department that can well be conceived. He has not, for 
 many months, paid the least attention to his deputies, and has 
 even refused to appoint the necessary issuers for the troops 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. vii. f Ibid., vol. v. % Ibid., vol. vii. 
 
398 L I F B OF STEUBEN. 
 
 below. The provisions delivered by Mr. Brown for the pur- 
 poses of the army in this State, are put into the hands of men 
 appointed by anybody that chooses to call himself a command- 
 ing officer; no account is ever rendered of the issues, nor will 
 the authority of these occasional commandants be acknowl- 
 edged by Congress, and the receipts of these commissaries, 
 acting under these appointments, will, of course, be inadmis- 
 sible as sufficient vouchers to make the United States charge- 
 able with the provision furnished by the State to their service. 
 Independent from the difficulty which may arise hereafter in 
 the adjustment of the commissary's accounts, I would observe, 
 too, the amazing waste which results from the relaxed state of 
 that department, and that, although the resolves of Congress 
 expressly say there shall be no issuing post of provisions or of 
 forage, at any place where there are not Continental troops 
 stationed, yet in this State there are these petty commissa- 
 ries in a variety of little towns, where perhaps there will not, 
 and there have not, been ten Continental soldiers in a twelve- 
 month." 
 
 To prevent a further waste of public stores, and to estab- 
 lish regularity, Steuben, in a general order of the 10th of 
 April, 1781, decreed that in future no issues of .provisions 
 should be made for more than three or four days at a time, 
 without a special order from some commanding general or 
 field officer, and only on particular occasions ; and that no per- 
 son should act as issuing commissary at any post or station, 
 who was not properly authorized for that purpose by the com- 
 missary general. 
 
 Supported only by a few able officers, Steuben had to strive 
 against the stream of popular prejudice, native jealousy, and 
 almost universal apathy. The only comfort which he had was, 
 that the general whom he had to reinforce understood his diffi- 
 cult position ; that Greene, who found himself involved in still 
 greater embarrassments, appreciated Steuben's energetic, al- 
 though fruitless efforts, and the character of Virginia — that 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 399 
 
 u lifeless and inactive State ;" and that he encouraged Steuben, 
 while narrow-minded egotists would have thrown the blame 
 of their temporary want of success upon the insufficiency of 
 his cooperation. Strong evidence of Greene's conviction that 
 Steuben was not to blame for the untoward position of affairs, 
 is given in the letters which he wrote to Steuben. 
 
 * To your address and industry," writes he on the 3d of 
 February, 1781, "I feel myself principally indebted for what 
 is coming (of reinforcements). Whatever misfortune may 
 happen for want of force, it is no fault of ours. The southern 
 States are in such a defenseless condition that they must fall 
 under the dominion of the enemy, unless reinforcements are 
 immediately sent from the northward. Such destruction of 
 public stores (on the part of the militia) is enough to ruin a 
 nation. These are some of the happy effects of defending the 
 country with militia, from which good Lord deliver us ! O, 
 that we had in the field, as Henry V. said, some few of the 
 many thousands that are idle at home !"* 
 
 It will be remembered that Greene, when he left Steu- 
 ben, on the 20th of November, 1780, in Virginia, proceeded 
 at once further South. On the 2d of December he reached 
 the encampment of the American army at Charlotte, North 
 Carolina, while the main body of the British army was lying 
 at Winnsborough, South Carolina, between the Broad river 
 and the Catawba. The forces of which Greene could dispose 
 were not more than nine hundred and seventy Continentals 
 and one thousand and thirteen militia, of whom eight hundred 
 men only were properly clad and equipped for service. The 
 destitute condition and the want of discipline in which he 
 found them, prevented Greene from hazarding the risk of a 
 general engagement ; all he could do at present was to disci- 
 pline and accustom his troops to active service in the field, 
 and by deceiving the British commander as to his intentions 
 
 * MS. letter of February 3, 1781, in the Greene Collection. 
 
•100 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 and movements, to avoid an unforeseen attack on the part of 
 Cornvvallis. 
 
 For this purpose he divided his forces, and sent one por- 
 tion, under Morgan, to operate on the British left and rear, 
 while he advanced with the main body to a strong post on the 
 frontier of South Carolina, on the Great Pedee, to threaten 
 the right wing of the British army, and, if possible, cut off 
 its communication with Charleston. Cornwallis sent Tarleton 
 against Morgan, and a battle was fought at the Cowpens, in 
 which the American arms were victorious. Cornwallis him- 
 self broke up his camp at Winnsborough, and marched north- 
 ward, in order to cut off Morgan's communication with Greene. 
 He did not succeed in this project, as Morgan, a few hours be- 
 fore Cornwallis reached the Catawba, had crossed it unmolest- 
 ed. Greene thus effected his junction with Morgan, and took 
 the command. Pursued by Cornwallis, he retired to the left 
 bank of the Yadkin, and joined, at Guilford Court-house, the 
 main body of his army. It was the design of Cornvvallis to 
 prevent the American army from falling back on Virginia, 
 whence they had the means of obtaining supplies and recruits. 
 Marching up the Yadkin, he moved toward the Dan, but 
 Greene succeeded in retiring, on the 14th of February, into 
 Virginia, whereupon Cornwallis, master of North and South 
 Carolina, established himself at Hillsborough, the center of the 
 Tories, who were so enthusiastic that in the course of a day he 
 obtained seven companies of volunteers. Shortly after this 
 reinforcements arrived, and Greene was in a position to re- 
 cross the Dan and to follow Cornwallis, who, for want of pro- 
 visions and for the better protection of the Tories, had left his 
 quarters, and encamped at Allimance Creek. Greene's army 
 now consisted of about four thousand five hundred men, amono- 
 whom were sixteen hundred Continentals. He felt strong 
 enough to offer a battle to Cornwallis, who accepted it, and 
 defeated the Americans, on the 15th of March, at Guilford 
 Court-house. Cornwallis, however, gained nothing by this 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 401 
 
 victory ; he found no provisions in the neighborhood of Guil- 
 ford, and withdrew his forces to Cross Creek (Fayetteville) ; 
 hut being disappointed again in his expectations of obtaining 
 supplies, he fell back on Wilmington, at the mouth of Cape 
 Fear river. Greene, instead of pushing forward, was obliged 
 to discontinue the pursuit of Cornwallis, as the Virginia mili- 
 tia claimed their discharge. He, therefore, was compelled to 
 transfer his operations to South Carolina, and marched, on the 
 7th of April, toward Camden. A few days before, he was 
 obliged to disband the militia, whose term of service was ex- 
 pired, and who, in spite of all entreaties and remonstrances, 
 refused to serve a day longer. The volunteers who had joined 
 him, dropped off by hundreds, nor was it in the power of per- 
 suasion or threats to prevent them. Had they continued with 
 him, Greene would have been able to strike an effective blow 
 against Cornwallis ; now he had to wait for reinforcements 
 from Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. His expectations 
 rested chiefly on Virginia ; but notwithstanding his energetic 
 exertions to assist him, Steuben effected little or nothing. 
 
 Before the invasion of Arnold, as detailed in chapter XVI., 
 Steuben was only able to send a detachment of four hundred 
 and fifty-six men to General Greene. After the withdrawal 
 of the enemy to Portsmouth, he endeavored to collect a new 
 force and forward it to the South, but for the reasons we have 
 given above, this was now much more difficult than at any 
 previous time. On the 17th of February, 1781, he informed 
 Greene that a thousand militia were ordered to join him im- 
 mediately from Botetourt, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Wash- 
 ington and Henry counties, and that he had strained every 
 nerve to dispatch from Chesterfield a detachment of four to 
 five hundred men. " I can not yet say," he continues, " what 
 we may be able to do, but be assured that no other object 
 shall draw off one moment my attention from succoring you. 
 The others are but secondary objects ; they must and shall be 
 considered in that light." Steuben applied for this purpose 
 
402 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 to Jefferson, and agreed with him that the militia of Rock- 
 bridge, Augusta, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, would 
 be the most speedy and effectual reinforcements for General 
 Greene ; but as there were no other troops to supply their 
 places, and as they refused to march, the governor and Steu- 
 ben were forced to abandon the project out of regard to the 
 safety of the State. Steuben communicated at the same time 
 with General Smallwood and Governor Gist, in order to as- 
 certain what reinforcements he could expect from Maryland 
 and Delaware for the southern army. 
 
 " General Greene's situation," he says, in a letter from 
 Richmond, on the 12th of February, 1781, to Smallwood, " not- 
 withstanding his last success, is very disagreeable, and calls for 
 the immediate exertion of this State and Maryland. I must 
 beg you, my dear general, to push your State to raise and 
 send on a reinforcement to the South without delay."* 
 
 On the 25th of February Steuben succeeded in getting off 
 the detachment, under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, while 
 four hundred, rank and file, marched from Chesterfield via 
 Petersburg and Taylor's Ferry. " My plan is," he concludes 
 a letter to Greene, on the 27th of February, 1781, f "to send 
 off the third detachment of infantry on the 1st of April, the 
 fourth detachment on the 15th of April, and the fifth on the 
 1st of May. With the latter I intend to join you myself, and 
 to leave Colonel Davies to send off the others in the same or- 
 der. The object of supporting you has taken a very great 
 part of my attention, and I can only lament that my success 
 falls so far short of my zeal." 
 
 Instead of the five hundred recruits, however, whom he 
 expected to find at the rendezvous towards the end of March, 
 1781, and to send forward on the 1st of April to Greene, only 
 seven had come in, and even of these, two deserted. General 
 Muhlenberg did not fare much better. He had expected to 
 receive one hundred and four men as the contingent from 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. f Greene's MS Papers. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 403 
 
 New Kent for service within the State, but only nine ar- 
 rived, thus proving that not only were the people disinclined 
 for service out of the State, but even for the defense of their 
 own homes. Steuben was consequently unable to fulfill his 
 promise, both in this and subsequent cases. The slowness 
 with which the militia assembled, and the difficulty to keep 
 them together, rendered it impossible to collect the troops 
 necessary for the defense of Virginia, and therefore it was out 
 of the question to weaken it still more by sending detach- 
 ments to the South. The militia, under Colonels Green and 
 Campbell, thus remained the only reinforcements which were 
 sent, through Steuben's exertions, to the southern army. 
 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Muhlenberg watching Portsmouth. — His involuntary Inactivity. — General 
 Want of Necessaries in the American Camp. — Arnold keeps Quiet. — Three 
 French Ships in the Bay taken for the whole French Fleet. — The Mistake 
 discovered. — Steuben prepares for an Attack against Portsmouth. — The 
 Commander of the French Ships refuses to assist him.— Washington induces 
 the French Admiral to set Sail for Chesapeake Bay. — Rochambeau detaches 
 Troops there.— A decisive Stroke against Portsmouth prepared. — Hope of 
 taking Arnold Prisoner. — Washington sends Lafayette to Virginia. — Rea- 
 sons why. — Instructions given to Lafayette. — His Letter to Steuben. — La- 
 fayette expects to capture Arnold.— The State does Nothing towards fur- 
 thering the Objects of the Expedition.— Steuben's Correspondence with 
 Jefferson and Nelson. — Steuben and Lafayette. — Parallel of Washington- 
 Irving BETWEEN THEM INCORRECT.— INSTEAD OF THE FRENCH, AN ENGLISH FLEET 
 
 arrives.— On Account of its Arrival, Lafayette, who had just left the 
 State, returns. — General Phillips arrives at Portsmouth, and takes the 
 chief Command in Virginia. — Rejection of Steuben's Plan for the Expul- 
 sion of the Enemy from the State.— Want of Horses and Arms.— Steuben 
 in Chesterfield. — He desires to join Greene. — His Letter to Greene. — 
 Greene's noble Answer. — Steuben for the Present remains in Virginia. 
 
 rpO return to the operations in Virginia, where we left Gen- 
 ■*■ eral Muhlenberg watching Arnold in Portsmouth. On ac- 
 count of the scarcity of provisions, want of arms and supplies, 
 and the general destitution which prevailed in camp as well as 
 in the whole State, Muhlenberg was unable to attack the ene- 
 my, still less to strike a decisive blow. He spent the greater 
 part of February in inactivity, and although thoroughly dis- 
 gusted w T ith this state of things, had no power to mend his 
 condition. He had two thousand men, but it must not be for- 
 gotten that they were militia, and as ill provided as the re- 
 cruits at Chesterfield, whose condition has been described in 
 the previous chapter. Among his whole force he counted 
 about three hundred bayonets and only two brass six pound- 
 ers. He, therefore, could not think of a regular siege of the 
 strongly fortified place, and the only thing left to him was to 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 405 
 
 skirmish with the enemy as often as possible, and thus to ac- 
 custom his troops to action. Arnold, on the other side, was 
 very cautious, and remained at Portsmouth. He expected re- 
 inforcements, and did not want to fight, when his presence 
 alone was sufficient to engage the whole military power of the 
 State, and to prevent the dispatch of reinforcements and pro- 
 visions to the southern army. Jefferson, at the beginning of 
 February had intrusted to Muhlenberg the execution of a 
 plan for the seizure of Arnold, and his delivery into the hai 
 of the governor; but owing to the extraordinary precautions 
 which Arnold took for his own security, the project failed.* 
 
 Thus matters stood when, on the 16th of February, three 
 French vessels arrived at the mouth of James river, one of 
 sixty-four guns and two frigates. Colonel Dabney, who com- 
 manded the lower posts, took tbem for the whole French fleet 
 and reported thus to Nelson. "What you expected," writes 
 the latter on the 16th of February, to Steuben, "has taken 
 place. I give you joy with all my seal. Now is our time ; not 
 a moment ought to be lost !" 
 
 The mistake was, however, soon discovered. The ships 
 came from Rhode Island, where a storm had given a tempo- 
 rary superioritv to the French, who had hitherto been block- 
 aded by ths British fleet, and were under the command of Mr. 
 De T^Jy, who was on a cruise between New York and Charles- 
 con. Steuben immediately sent Captain Duponceau on board, 
 to inform the French commander of his situation; and expect- 
 ing a cooperation on his part against Portsmouth, at once 
 made all the necessary preparations, both for this enterprise 
 and for the security of the French vessels in case of danger. 
 For the first project he ordered General Gregory to assemble 
 all the force in his power on the other side of the Dismal 
 Swamp, and hold them in readiness to second Steuben when- 
 ever he should be ready. A line of expresses was established 
 between his post and Suffolk, by means of which he could 
 * Bowen's Life of Steuben, p. 59. 
 
400 I-1FE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 have given him the necessary advice in less than twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 General Muhlenberg advanced with about one thousand 
 men to within sixteen miles of Portsmouth, leaving the posts 
 at Cooper's Mill and Suffolk properly guarded to cover his 
 retreat. General Nelson had orders to hold himself in readi- 
 ness to march at the first notice. General Weedon formed a 
 corps of eight hundred militia at Fredericksburg, with orders 
 *o march toward Williamsburg in case of an attack on Ports- 
 month. This corps was to have marched to Newport News, 
 and if th Q French vessels had been obliged to retire to York 
 river, it was to have covered the battery erected there for 
 their defense. Sia. or seven armed merchant vessels in James 
 river were to have joined the French vessels and assisted Steu- 
 ben's operations ; all the boats that could be found were col- 
 lected at Sandy Point to transport the troops ; eight eighteen 
 pounders and two mortars were got in readiness. Such were 
 Steuben's preparations, when Mr. De Tilly informed him that 
 he was not to remain in the b^y, that his orders were to cruise 
 between Charleston and New York, an d that he should sail 
 the moment the wind would permit him. 
 
 The appearance of those vessels had m4 alarmed the 
 enemy in Portsmouth and encouraged the YirgWi a militia. 
 General Muhlenberg advanced near Portsmouth, surpri&Qj a 
 picquet, made one sergeant and twelve men prisoners, killed 
 two yagers, and took a wagon and eight horses. He remained 
 within a mile and a half of the town, all next day, but the 
 enemy kept close in their works. The departure of the French 
 vessels, however, destroyed all hopes of succeeding in an at- 
 tack on Portsmouth.* Mr. De Tilly alleged as a reason for 
 not cooperating with Steuben, that the size of his ships ren- 
 dered it unsafe for him to attempt to go up Elizabeth river, 
 where Arnold had drawn up his vessels ; but this was a flimsy 
 
 * MS. letter of Steuben to Greene, from Chesterfield Court-house, on the 
 2 2d of February, 1781, in the Greene Papers. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 407 
 
 excuse, as by stationing himself at the mouth of Elizabeth 
 river, De Tilly would have cut off Arnold's retreat and forced 
 him to surrender.* 
 
 While Steuben and Muhlenberg were subjected to this 
 disappointment, Washington, most anxious to seize the traitor 
 Arnold, had prevailed on the French admiral to promise the 
 cooperation of his whole fleet in the attack against Ports- 
 mouth. Accordingly, Admiral Destouches resolved to sail for 
 the Chesapeake in order to block up Arnold in the bay and 
 prevent his receiving succor. Count Rochambeau, the com- 
 mander of the French troops, sent a corps of eleven hundred 
 and twenty infantry under Baron De Viomenil, on board 
 the French fleet, to carry out more effectually Washington's 
 plan. 
 
 Every thing warranted the hope of decided success. At 
 head-quarters they considered Arnold already as a doomed 
 man, and to judge from the importance which was attached 
 to his capture, it would almost appear that the expedition was 
 undertaken more with the view of taking personal revenge 
 against Arnold, than with the more important and real object 
 of relieving Greene and saving the whole South by the defeat 
 of the enemy in Virginia. It is strange, that, even in the 
 reflecting and comprehensive mind of Washington, so much 
 stress should be laid on making a prisoner the detested leader 
 of the British forces — a project that was nothing but a roman- 
 tic fancy. In like manner, in the beginning of 1778, Washing- 
 ton had formed a plan to abduct Sir Henry Clinton from New 
 York, and only the shrewd suggestions of Alexander Hamil- 
 ton prevented the attempted execution of the plan.f 
 
 Steuben, after having forwarded Colonel Campbell, with 
 four hundred men, to the southern army, had no Continentals 
 left, and only militia under his orders. " Convinced," writes 
 Washington to him on the 20th of February, 1781, from New 
 
 * Life of General Peter Muhlenberg, by Henry A. Muhlenberg, p. 230. 
 f Washington Irviug's Life of Washington, iii., 392, 393. 
 
408 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Windsor,* "that a naval operation alone will probably be in- 
 effectual, and that militia would be unequal to the reduction 
 of Arnold in his works, I have detached a corps of twelve 
 hundred men from this army, chiefly consisting of the light 
 infantry, and of course commanded by the Marquis De Lafay- 
 ette, which will, I hope, arrive at the Head of Elk about the 
 6th of March, to embark there and proceed down the bay to 
 Hampton Roads or the point of operation. This corps will 
 carry with it some heavy artillery, but if you can procure any 
 inr addition, it will be of great importance. I am to desire 
 you will make such arrangements with respect to the militia 
 and supplies, and will take such a position as you judge will 
 be most conducive to the success of the enterprise. The 
 Marquis De Lafayette will open a correspondence with you 
 for this purpose." 
 
 In the instructions given to Lafayette in regard to the 
 enterprise against Portsmouth, Washington says:f "When 
 you arrive at your destination you must act as your own 
 judgment and the circumstances shall direct. You will open 
 a correspondence with Baron Steuben, who now commands in 
 Virginia, informing him of your approach, and requesting him 
 to have a sufficient body of militia ready to act in conjunc- 
 tion with your detachment. It will be advisable for him to 
 procure persons in whom he can confide, well acquainted 
 with the country at Portsmouth and in the vicinity; some 
 who are capable of giving you a military idea of it, and others 
 to serve as guides. You should give the earliest attention to 
 acquiring a knowledge of the different rivers, but particularly 
 the James river, that you may know what harbors can best 
 afford shelter and security to the cooperating squadron in case 
 of blockade by a sujjerior force. You are to do no act what- 
 ever, with Arnold, that directly or by implication may screen 
 him from the punishment due to his treason and desertion, 
 
 * Washington's Writings, by J. Sparks, vii., p. 421. 
 f Ibidem, p. 419. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 409 
 
 which, if he should fall into your hands, you will execute in 
 the most summary way." 
 
 Lafayette could scarcely wait to reach Virginia ; his sole 
 aim and purpose, the object of his most ardent desires, was the 
 capture of Arnold, who, he constantly dreaded, would evade 
 the snares in which he hoped to catch him. " Nothing will 
 be wanting," he wrote from Morristown, on the 24th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1781, to Steuben,* "to hurry the detachment, which 
 you will find to be an excellent body of troops. I hope that 
 the French ships will strictly blockade Mr. Arnold, and as 
 your position will no doubt exclude the possibility of his 
 taking any advantage by land, I hope we may, before long, 
 give a good account of him. Should he by chance make any 
 proposition, no communication ought to be held with him that 
 might countenance any pretension to his being a prisoner of 
 war." 
 
 "The article of my letter of the 24th inst.," he continues 
 on the 26th of February, in Philadelphia,! " relating to any 
 terms Arnold might propose, is the more important as it is 
 the more positively expressed in my instructions." 
 
 On the 3d of March, when he arrived at the Head of Elk, 
 he wrote to Muhlenberg :J " In all cases I am to request you 
 that no communication be held with Arnold that may in any 
 way give him the least claim to the advantages of a prisoner 
 of war." 
 
 It can easily be imagined that Steuben, who had done 
 every thing in his power to defend Virginia, and since his 
 arrival in the State had suffered under the most embarrassing 
 difficulties, was looking with uneasiness upon the sudden in- 
 trusion of Lafayette, just at the moment when he had the 
 agreeable prospect of taking Portsmouth. " To-morrow," he 
 writes on the 3d of March, 1781, to Greene,§ "I set out for 
 Williamsburg to finish my preparations for the arrival of the 
 
 * Gates MS. Papers, vol. xix., p. 12. f IbicL > P- 13 ' 
 
 % Ibid., p. 1 6. § Greene MS. Papers. 
 
 18 
 
410 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 marquis and the fleet. I have communicated to him the plan 
 of operation I should have followed had the fleet been here 
 to assist me. I think the same plan, with very little alter- 
 ations, should be now adopted. I flatter myself that a mar- 
 quis and minus six hundred troops that are coming, it 
 would have been in my power to have delivered to you Mr. 
 Arnold, but this honor is reserved for another. But do not 
 think, my dear general, that this idea, however mortifying, 
 will in the least relax my zeal in the affair ; on the contrary, 
 ! hope the marquis will find every thing prepared for his ar- 
 rival." 
 
 The State of Virginia was unable to furnish the articles 
 which were required for the expedition against Portsmouth. 
 They had no money and no credit ; the only thing they could 
 do was to issue impress warrants for horses, boats and pro- 
 visions. Even Steuben asked the governor in vain for sur- 
 geons, with instruments and bandages for the troops. The 
 Executive promised to provide every thing that was wanted, 
 but put Steuben off from day to day. There was no powder 
 even to be had. In Muhlenberg's camp the whole ammunition 
 amounted to eight rounds a man and provision for four days. 
 But what was worse than all, the reinforcements which the 
 State had promised did not arrive, yet it was on the strength 
 of the promise, and on a belief in the energetic cooperation of 
 the State, that Steuben had represented to Lafayette " the 
 facility of taking the fortifications of Portsmouth, sword in 
 hand." 
 
 " On my arrival yesterday afternoon," writes Lafayette to 
 Washington, from Yorktovvn, on the 15th of March,* "I found 
 that Baron De Steuben had been very active in making prep- 
 arations, and agreeably to what he tells me, we shall have five 
 thousand militia ready to operate. This, with the Continental 
 detachment, is equal to the business, and we might very well 
 do without any land force from Xewport. In your first letter 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, by J. Sparks, iii., 264. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 411 
 
 to the baron, I wish, my dear general, you would write to him 
 that I have been much satisfied with his preparations. I want 
 to please him, and harmony shall be my first object." 
 
 The preparations which Steuben had made^for the attack 
 on Portsmouth are detailed in his letter to General Greene, on 
 the 16th of March, as follows : "Four eighteen-pound cannon, 
 two thirteen-inch mortars, eight field pieces, seven or eight 
 thousand pounds of powder, with shells and balls sufficient ; 
 four troops of cavalry, each thirty, one hundred and twenty; 
 nine regiments four hundred each, three thousand six hundred 
 men ; five hundred riflemen, six hundred militia from Carolina 
 and Princess Ann counties : in all four thousand eight hundred 
 and twenty militia." Unfortunately, however, the greater 
 part of these supplies, both of men and arms, existed only on 
 paper, and Steuben was again forced to complain to the gov- 
 ernment about the unfulfillment of its promises, as will be seen 
 from the following letter to Governor Jefferson, dated the 9th 
 of March, 1781:* 
 
 " I have received a letter from General Muhlenberg, dated 
 the 7th instant, informing me that the reinforcements which 
 were to have joined him on the 5th, had not then arrived, and 
 consequently he was prevented from detaching the eight hun- 
 dred men destined to join General Gregory, and to secure the 
 passage of the Great Bridge. At the same instant arrived 
 twelve men, being all of the one hundred and four who were 
 ordered from New Kent. They are unarmed and demand my 
 orders. I am extremely sorry to declare that I shall give 
 neither arms nor orders. On the assurance I received from 
 government by Colonel Walker, I had the weakness to write 
 General Washington and Marquis Lafayette that every thing 
 was ready for the expedition. My credulit} T , however, is pun- 
 ished at the expense of my honor, and the only excuse I have 
 is, my confidence in government. The quarter-master writes 
 me, that he has implored the assistance of government in pro- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
412 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 curing stores for the expedition. In fact, if the powers of 
 government are inadequate to the furnishing whnt is indispen- 
 sably necessary, the expedition must fail. In this situation I 
 suspend giving any orders till I receive your Excellency's an- 
 swer to this, which answer I will lay before the marquis and 
 the commander of the French fleet, that they may not engage 
 too far in an enterprise for which there is no prospect of car- 
 rying it through." 
 
 These apprehensions and hopes are confirmed in a letter of 
 Steubens', dated the 10th of March, to General Nelson. "An 
 event is approaching," he says,* " which will have much influ- 
 ence on the operations of the next campaign. Your indispo- 
 sition at this time is particularly unfortunate, as it deprives me 
 of your counsel and assistance at a time I am in the greatest 
 want of them. You are better acquainted than I am with 
 the strength and weakness of this State, and you have the 
 confidence of the people. Judge then how much I regret 
 your absence. I am in want of every thing, and government 
 have not the power to assist me, in consequence of w r hich I 
 am disappointed in the most essential arrangements. Even 
 the militia, ordered out for this expedition, refuse to come. 
 . . . Here we have a pleasing prospect before us. We may, 
 I think, be certain that a fleet will come to cooperate with us, 
 and in that case the grand traitor can not escape. If we, 
 through neglect, fail in this, it will have a bad effect on the 
 rest of our operations this campaign." 
 
 Irving, in the fourth volume of his Life of Washington,! 
 in order to prove that " the youthful marquis was not so san- 
 guine as the veteran baron," quotes Lafayette's letter, dated 
 the 7th of March, 1781, to Washington, according to which 
 Steuben declared the taking of Portsmouth, sword in hand, a 
 very easy affair. But he does not mention under what con- 
 ditions and suppositions Steuben thought thus. The above 
 letters, which are by no means sanguine, fully explain the 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. f Page 435. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 413 
 
 grounds on which Steuben's opinion was formed, and on this 
 account deserve particular consideration. 
 
 The French fleet left Newport on the 8th of March, and 
 its arrival in Chesapeake Bay could reasonably be expected 
 about the middle of March. Lafayette reached the camp of 
 Muhlenberg, near Suffolk, on the 19th of March. This gen- 
 eral had been very active in the meantime. He held the ac- 
 tual command of the troops in the field, while Steuben was 
 occupied in making preparations for the arrival of the French 
 fleet, and gained many advantages over Arnold, by cutting 
 off foraging parties, driving in his outposts, and even taking 
 his post at Great Bridge. Surrounded on the land side by 
 Muhlenberg, Arnold could not expect to keep the place, if he 
 did not soon receive relief. Every thing was ready to effect 
 the capture of the place, should the French fleet arrive and 
 lend the expected assistance by sea. 
 
 At last, on the 20th of March, a large fleet was seen in 
 the bay. The hopes of all parties were excited in the highest 
 degree. The Americans were jubilant at the idea that Arnold 
 could not escape, and that the British must suffer a decided 
 defeat. But their joy was short, and was soon turned into 
 bitter disappointment. On the 23d it was discovered that 
 the fleet which had arrived was the British squadron under 
 Arbuthnot, which had sailed two days after the departure of 
 the French from Newport, that about twenty leagues off the 
 Capes it fell in with the French fleet and engaged it for an 
 hour and a half, and that Admiral Destouches, though not 
 beaten, had decided to return to Newport, while the British, 
 considerably damaged, steered off and anchored first in Lynn- 
 haven Bay, and then opposite Portsmouth, to repair their 
 damages and send their wounded to the hospital. This inde- 
 cisive engagement on the part of the British amounted to a 
 complete victory, as Arnold and Portsmouth were saved. 
 Thus the Americans were once again disappointed in their 
 hopes of a successful expedition. 
 
414 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Lafayette, whose troops had not advanced farther than 
 Annapolis, returned by water to the Head of Elk, and prepared 
 to join the main army on the banks of the Hudson. It would 
 be impossible to understand this movement on his part, were 
 it not for the reason, that in consequence of the failure of the 
 arrival of the French fleet, he presumed his task at an end. With 
 true French ardor for flourish he expected to capture Arnold, 
 and withdrew when he found that the glory at which he aimed 
 could not be won. The critical state of affairs in the South 
 should have prevented Lafayette from drawing off his troops 
 to the northward, the more so as the force of the enemy was 
 lessened in the North by the detachment under Phillips, which 
 arrived in Portsmouth while Lafayette was still in Williams- 
 burg.* 
 
 Thus Steuben, who, notwithstanding Lafayette's presence, 
 had not been superseded in the command, was again left alone. 
 Arnold, however, was soon relieved by General Phillips, who, 
 with two thousand men, reached Portsmouth on the 26th of 
 March, and being the senior general took the command. His 
 object appeared to be to join Lord Cornwallis ; but in the first 
 instance he remained quiet at Portsmouth with a force of about 
 three thousand five hundred men. 
 
 " Nothing wall hinder," wrote Steuben on the 23d of March 
 to the board of war, " the enemy to penetrate further into the 
 country ; they will even be obliged to do so for subsistence. 
 Virginia asks assistance, and a great part of the people expect 
 it. I am very apprehensive that the invasion will stop all suc- 
 cor from this State to the southern army. The magazines will 
 be exhausted, and all this merits the consideration of Congress 
 and of our allies."! 
 
 Steuben's force was still so small that he could scarcely 
 take the precautions indispensable for the security of the State. 
 His first care was to save those articles which at so much 
 
 * Greene's letter to Steuben, dated the 3d of April, 1781. 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 415 
 
 trouble and expense had been collected for the expedition 
 against Portsmouth. On this occasion the State assisted him 
 with great energy. Steuben's next task was to prevent, if 
 possible, the enemy from making incursions into the country, 
 and from forming a junction with Cornwallis. On the 27th of 
 March he directed Muhlenberg to collect the whole of his 
 force at one point, and to recall the two regiments which, 
 under Colonel Parker, were detached to the Great Bridge. 
 No time was to be lost, for if the enemy were, in the mean- 
 time, to send their new troops, it would have been difficult, if 
 not impossible, to execute this project. Colonel Parker, how- 
 ever, by making night marches, and crossing a considerable 
 portion of the Dismal Swamp on logs, succeeded in effecting a 
 junction with Muhlenberg, who now removed to his old camp 
 near Scott's, leaving two regiments at Cooper's Mills and a 
 battalion at the Chackatuck. " I am now," says Muhlenberg, 
 on the 3d of April, in a letter to Steuben,* " in my opinion, in 
 the best position this place affords, either to prevent them 
 making incursions into the country, or to keep pace with them, 
 should they move up James river, which I am inclined to 
 think they will attempt. Report says, that Arnold is to 
 march by land, whilst the fleet, with part of the troops on 
 board, moves up the river." But the wiiolesale desertion of 
 the militia forced Muhlenberg to retire still further and higher 
 up the country, as the enemy would have broken him up if he 
 had continued within their reach. Shortly previous to this, 
 and just before the departure of Lafayette, Steuben had formed 
 a project for effectually delivering the State from the enemy, 
 and laid it before the Executive, Lord Cornwallis being then 
 in the environs of Hillsborough, 1ST. C. Steuben proposed to 
 the government to march with the whole of the militia, and 
 by forced marches cross the Roanoke, and in conjunction with 
 General Greene engage the forces under his lordship before 
 the enemy in Virginia could have time to form any plan. This 
 *, Steuben MS. Papers, vol. vii. 
 
416 I, I V B W STEUBEN. 
 
 maneuver he flattered himself would at least drive Cornwallis 
 from North Carolina, and probably, by obliging General Phil- 
 lips to follow Steuben with all his forces, have removed the 
 seat of war from Virginia. 
 
 Steuben submitted this plan to Lafayette, General Wee- 
 don, and Colonel Gouvion, who approved it. On his way to 
 Richmond he met Lieutenant Colonel Morris, who came di- 
 rectly from General Greene, and informed him that Cornwallis 
 had already begun to retire to Cross Creek, and that General 
 Greene wanted a reinforcement to enable him to pursue the 
 British with vigor. This served to strengthen Steuben's opin- 
 ion, and as he had then upwards of four thousand militia to- 
 gether, he confined his requisition to two thousand men, whom 
 he only required for thirty or forty days. The State govern- 
 ment, which, according to General Weedon, " had not an idea 
 beyond local security,"* answered that, although the proposi- 
 tion seemed to them to be founded on very probable princi- 
 ples, yet, as the number of arms that such a detachment would 
 necessarily carry with them was greater than the number 
 that would remain in the State, it would be a measure unjusti- 
 fiable in the present circumstances of affairs, the enemy having 
 lately received a great reinforcement ; that although the mili- 
 tia at present in service would be unable to resist the whole 
 force of the enemy in any quarter, yet, being strangers to their 
 certain intentions, the militia would be able to repel the in- 
 cursions of detachments, which otherwise would be rendered 
 utterly impracticable for the want of arms. 
 
 Steuben, therefore, had to remain in Virginia. He re- 
 paired to Chesterfield Court-house, in order to accelerate the 
 departure of the new levies destined for the southward, " My 
 situation," he says, in a report to Washington, dated on the 
 15th of April, 1781,1 " is not the most agreeable, as I am ob- 
 liged to undertake the defense against three thousand regular 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xi. 
 
 f Revolutionary Correspondence, by J. Sparks, iii., 291-293. 
 
LIFE O F S T E IT B E N . 417 
 
 troops, with nothing to oppose to them but militia, whose 
 numbers decrease every day. Those who have served since 
 the beginning of the invasion have discharged themselves, and 
 are not yet replaced by others, in consequence of which Gen- 
 eral Muhlenberg is left on the south side of the river with 
 only seven hundred men, and General Weedon on the north 
 side with about six hundred men. If the enemy have any in- 
 tention to penetrate the country, the opposition which we can 
 make will avail little. 
 
 " A very great evil resulting from this invasion is, that it 
 stops the recruiting for the army. So long as a county has 
 any militia in the field, so long that county is prevented from 
 drafting ; and as most of the counties have had part of their 
 militia either here or with General Greene, little or nothing 
 has yet been done in the business. Only fifty-two have yet 
 come in, and of these some have already deserted. Some who 
 came as substitutes have received twenty-five and thirty thou- 
 sand pounds for eighteen months. 
 
 "I am much at a loss what to do for arms, when the re- 
 cruits do come in. I had reckoned on those by M. De Tilly ; 
 and I must entreat your Excellency to order them on by land, 
 as we have not the least prospect of a single musket any other 
 way. We shall also be much distressed for ammunition. 
 General Greene presses me for a supply, while I can scarcely 
 find enough to supply the militia. The marquis has sent one 
 hundred thousand cartridges to Fredericksburg ; these I will 
 take care to forward to General Greene. Your Excellency 
 has, I presume, been informed that the lead mines have given 
 out. This article is not now to be had here. If the eastern 
 States do not send us a supply we shall be sadly at a loss. 
 Powder is also scarce. A powder mill near this was blown 
 up some time since, supposed by an emissary of the enemy. 
 I imagine Maryland would furnish some, on application of the 
 board of war. 
 
 " Another important and verv difficult object is remount 
 18* * 
 
418 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ing the cavalry. The Assembly have passed a law limiting 
 the price of horses for the cavalry at five thousand pounds — a 
 price inadequate to the purchase of the meanest horse. Very 
 indifferent horses, which have been impressed, have been val- 
 ued at from twenty to thirty thousand pounds, and upwards.* 
 Nothing, therefore, can possibly be done till the meeting of 
 the Assembly. The southern army will require, at least, three 
 hundred cavalry horses for next campaign. I suppose thirty 
 guineas to have been the old price of such horses. Allowing 
 now forty guineas, the whole will amount to twelve thousand 
 guineas. The price must be limited, or the Continent will not 
 be able to pay the expense of remounting two regiments of 
 cavalry. 
 
 " I beg your Excellency's directions for my guide in mak- 
 ing a proper representation to the Assembly, which meets on 
 the 10th of next month. Swords will also be much wanted 
 for the cavalry. I have ordered six hundred to be made at 
 Mr. Hunter's works, but dare not reckon on them in time. 
 Cartridge-boxes are an article the State can not furnish. If 
 possible, two thousand should be sent immediately from Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 " The little success I have had in creating the line of this 
 State, and in furnishing the necessary supplies for the south- 
 ern army, induced me to request General Greene to call me 
 to the army." 
 
 Steuben communicates his troubles and disappointments 
 in a more confidential manner to his friend General Greene, 
 than he would have done in his official correspondence with 
 the gen eral-in-chief. Greene appears to have fully appreciated 
 his embarrassing situation, and his letters are full of sympathy 
 for Steuben's sufferings, and a vain, though sincere desire, to 
 alleviate them. Greene's letters do credit alike to his head 
 and heart, and are a convincing proof of the ability and fine 
 feeling of that noble man. 
 
 * Paper money, of course. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 419 
 
 " If I preferred," says Steuben, in a letter from Chesterfield 
 Court-house, on the 2d of April, 1781,* " my own inclinations 
 to the public interest, I should immediately set out to join 
 you ; my desire to act under your immediate directions, and 
 the disgust I have from my situation here, are motives equally 
 forcible to urge my departure hence. I, however, think it my 
 duty to remain here till I am to bring my first detachment 
 with ine, which I intend shall amount to five hnndred infan- 
 try and sixty to eighty cavalry, and for this I am now exert- 
 ing my utmost." 
 
 " I see and feel," writes Greene, on the 3d of April, from 
 his camp on the Deep River,f " for your disagreeable situa- 
 tion, and any thing that is in my power to grant you, you 
 may command. But if you leave Virginia all things will run 
 into confusion, and I am so far from thinking that you are dis- 
 graced by your command in Virginia, that everybody allows 
 you to have acquired great credit, and though it is not of that 
 splendid kind, it is nevertheless very honorable, and is found- 
 ed upon the same line of conduct irom which General Wash- 
 ington has justly acquired so much honor — I mean that of 
 guarding against misfortune. My greatest expectations of 
 support are from Virginia, drawn forth under your regulations 
 and arrangements. If you leave them, State policy and par- 
 tial views will counteract all the support we may expect from 
 that quarter, and we shall all fall together to the southward. 
 Nothing in my power shall be wanting to do justice to your 
 reputation, and I feel my obligations to you for your exer- 
 tions. Should you continue to wish to join the army, you 
 shall most readily have my consent, for I am greatly in want 
 of your aid here as well as there ; but it is my opinion that 
 you can be more extensively useful there than here." 
 
 " However, my dear baron," continues Greene on the 6th 
 of April, " when you consider the critical and disagreeable 
 situation I am in, the little prospect I have of acquiring glory, 
 * Steuben MS. Papers. f Greene MS. Papers. 
 
420 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and the almost certain disgrace that will accompany my ma- 
 neuvers, from the nature and constitution of our army, and from 
 the many difficulties I have to combat, and compare your situ 
 ation with mine, you may think yourself happy that you are 
 not in as perplexing a state as I am. I wish both our pros- 
 pects were better, but mine, of all men, is the most disagreea- 
 ble. Let us labor, and faint not ; happily we may get through 
 the thorny path in due time, and by ways and means not very 
 clear to either at present." 
 
 This noble appeal to Steuben's ambition and sense of duty, 
 had the desired effect ; he remained in Virginia. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Dark Prospects in Virginia.— Steuben almost despairs as to an Improvement.— 
 Lafayette appointed to the chief Command in Virginia. — He arrives in 
 
 ElCHMOND ON THE 29TH OF APRIL.— TlLL THEN STEUBEN COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.— 
 
 His Dispositions at the Invasion of Phillips— The Latter ascends the 
 James River, lands on Sandy Point, and goes as fak as Petersburg.— Steu- 
 ben, everywhere hampered, can not do much.— The Militia does not arrive. 
 —Steuben, however, opposes Phillips 1 Advance.— Steuben's Report. — Jeffer- 
 son's Acknowledgments.— Phillips' and Arnold's plundering Inroads to- 
 wards Richmond.— Lafayette puts a Stop to them.— Phillips retires.— Corn- 
 walli8 marches from wilmington into virginia, and forms a junction with 
 Phillips at Petersburg.— Lafayette goes to Wilton. — Steuben on the Chick - 
 
 AHOMINY ACCELERATES THE LEVY OF THE RECRUITS.— HlS LETTER TO GREENE ABOUT 
 
 his Position in Virginia. — He wants to join G-reene. — The Latter consents to 
 his Wish.— Point of Fork the general Rendezvous.— Fifteen Hundred Re- 
 cruits ORDERED TO ASSEMBLE THERE.— STEUBEN FINDS ONLY TlIREE HUNDRED AND 
 
 Forty. — He provides them with Arms. — He transports the Magazines to the 
 Point of Fork.— The State does Nothing for the Protection of its Inhabi- 
 tants AGAINST THE DEVASTATIONS OF THE ENEMY. — It HAS NO CREDIT. — CLAI- 
 
 borne's sad but true Report.— Negligence in recruiting. — General Deser- 
 tion. — Steuben has only Five Hundred Men under him. — He intends to 
 join Greene with them. — His Reasons for this Plan explained in a Let- 
 ter to Lafayette. — He asks Greene by what Road he wishes him to 
 march to the South.— Greene's Answer does not arrive.— It is intercepted 
 on the Way.— Steuben secures, in the meantime, the Magazines as well as 
 possible. 
 
 IN the meantime it became every day more apparent that 
 the whole South must be abandoned to the enemy, and 
 Greene's army sacrificed, if he were not speedily reinforced. 
 The clouds hanging over Virginia were growing darker and 
 darker ; and even Steuben seems to have become somewhat 
 discouraged. On the 11th of April he wrote to General Hand, 
 then adjutant general of the army, as follows : " I wish it was 
 in my power to give you a pleasing account of affairs in this 
 part of the continent ; bujt indeed every thing is gloomy, very 
 little in our favor, and appearances entirely against us. How- 
 ever, we must do and suffer ; and if by any means we may 
 
422 LIFE OF ST B V B E N 
 
 obtain the prize we fight for, the price can scarcely be too 
 great."* 
 
 The apprehended junction of Phillips with Cornwallis 
 proved the danger of delay, and determined Washington to 
 order Lafayette, on the 6th of April, 1781, to march to the 
 South, and put himself under the orders of General Greene, 
 who appointed him to the chief command in Virginia. 
 
 Notwithstanding his forced marches, and every possible 
 exertion, it took Lafayette fully three weeks to reach Rich- 
 mond, where he arrived on the 29th of April. Steuben, there- 
 fore, continued to hold the command in the State, and if not 
 crowned with success, he at least had the satisfaction to prove 
 on the occasion of Phillips' invasion, that even the militia 
 could be disciplined into soldiers, and, when properly led, 
 make an honorable stand against the English regulars. Im- 
 mediately after the arrival of Phillips in Virginia, Steuben 
 made the following disposition of his forces :f 
 
 " Should the enemy penetrate into the country, the whole 
 militia will turn out, receive all the spare arms and be em- 
 bodied in battalions, regiments, or detachments, as General 
 Muhlenberg thinks proper. Should the enemy dislodge Gen- 
 eral Muhlenberg from Broadwater, his retreat will be Peters- 
 burg, whence his movements must be such as to enable him 
 to keep the upper country. Should the enemy direct his march 
 toward North Carolina, General Muhlenberg's corps will still 
 endeavor to keep their right flank at the same time ; the troops 
 on the other side of the river will follow the enemy and march 
 in the rear. In case the enemy should move up James river 
 so far as Richmond, General Muhlenberg's first movements 
 will still be to Petersburg, and from thence the further move- 
 ments of the enemy will regulate and determine his move- 
 ments. 
 
 " The corps under General Nelson will consist of eight 
 * Muhlenberg's Life, by H. A. Muhlenberg, Philadelphia, 1849, pp. 285 
 and 246. 
 
 f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiv. 
 
LIFE OF STEU B E N" . 423 
 
 hundred men infantry, and as many horses as can be collected, 
 should the enemy land below. . . . * river. This corps must 
 cross said river and govern his retreat and movements as those 
 of the enemy may make it necessary. But as soon as the 
 enemy lands at the south side, General Nelson's corps must 
 endeavor to cross James river at the most convenient place, 
 in order to follow their march in the rear. Should the enemy 
 come up by the way of York river, General Nelson's corps 
 must act according to circumstances in order to annoy the 
 enemy. As the fort at Hood's is not in a state of defense, and 
 our force in the field not sufficient to make the .necessary re- 
 sistance so low down the river, the stores and arms from Prince 
 George Court-house are directed to be carried to Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 General Phillips, after having fortified himself at Ports- 
 mouth, on the lGth of April ascended James river. He em- 
 barked his men in twenty-five flat-boats, each of which carried 
 one hundred men. Muhlenberg, agreeably to Steuben's orders, 
 had previously removed all the stores on the right bank of 
 the river, from the lower parts of the State to Prince George 
 Court-house ; but even this place was too near James river to 
 be secure as a depot. Steuben, therefore, thought it prudent 
 to remove them still further into the country beyond Rich- 
 mond. At the same time Colonel Innes had packed the pub- 
 lic stores on the left side of the river, and held them in readi- 
 ness for removal at a minute's warning. On the 18th of April 
 the British fleet came opposite the mouth of Pagaa's Creek. 
 Muhlenberg, in order to keep ahead of the enemy and to ad- 
 vise Steuben of their movements, on the 19th broke up his 
 camp at Broadwater, and marched via Wall's Bridge to Cabin 
 Point, while the enemy proceeded on the 20th to Jamestown, 
 and the next day landed at Sandy Point. Steuben had fixed 
 the rendezvous of the cavalry at Petersburg, and ordered the 
 other troops to retire before any superior force toward Rich- 
 * Left blank in the original. Probably the Chickahominy. 
 
4 2 4 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 mond. He was at this time at Chesterfield Court house, and 
 engaged in forming a corps of cavalry, and in removing, with 
 the assistance of Davies, the stores from Powhattan Court- 
 house to Cumberland old Court-house and the Point of Fork. 
 On the 23d the enemy arrived at Westover, where two hun- 
 dred armed and three hundred unarmed militia were unable 
 to offer any effective resistance. Thus the enemy was able to 
 commit considerable depredations. The number of the militia 
 in the field being too small to offer battle, Steuben ordered 
 his, officers to avoid as much as possible the risk of a general 
 action, which .would inevitably have led to a defeat. He, there- 
 fore, thought it best to harass the enemy by small detach- 
 ments, which could easily retreat, when beaten, to some place 
 of rendezvous. "The militia," writes Steuben, on the 21st 
 of April, 1781, from Chesterfield Court-house, to Washington 
 and the board of war,* " come in very slowly. Arms will be 
 wanted for them and swords for the artillery that might as- 
 semble. The battery at Hood's is not half finished ; every 
 thing is in the same confusion as when Arnold came up the 
 river. There is not a single company of regular troops in the 
 State, and the militia are too inexperienced to hope for the 
 least resistance from them." 
 
 On the 24th of April the enemy reached City Point at the 
 entrance of the Appomatox into James river, about twelve 
 miles from Petersburg. Steuben had left Chesterfield Court- 
 house on the 2 2d, from which place he had directed the re- 
 moval of the stores and the movements of the troops, and 
 went down to Petersburg, where he took the command of the 
 American forces. As some doubts are entertained! whether 
 Steuben was present at the ensuing engagements, we think it 
 best to insert here the report which Steuben made to Wash- 
 ington and Greene, about the affair near Petersburg, and 
 which proves that he and not Muhlenberg commanded the 
 Americans on that occasion. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. \ Muhlenberg's Life, p. 247. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 425 
 
 " On the 24th,'- be writes on the road from Petersburg to 
 Chesterfield Court-bouse, ten miles from Petersburg, on the 
 25th of April,* "I reconnoitered the enemy's fleet, then lying 
 off Westover, and consisting of thirteen topsail vessels and 
 twenty-three flat-bottomed boats full of men. The whole num- 
 ber of troops on board I judged to be about two thousand five 
 hundred ; a Hessian sergeant who deserted to us made them 
 three thousand. The fleet of the enemy soon came to sail and 
 stood up the river toward City Point, w T hich continued to keep 
 me in doubt on which side they would debark. I, therefore, 
 ordered the militia under command of General Muhlenberg 
 to retire to the vicinity of Blandford. The same evening the 
 enemy landed all their force at City Point, which fully evinced 
 that their first object was Petersburg. Being obliged to send 
 large detachments to the neck of land between Appomatox 
 and James rivers, I had not more than one thousand men left 
 to oppose the enemy's advance. In this critical situation there 
 were many reasons against risking a total defeat — the loss of 
 arms was a principal one ; and on the other hand to retire with- 
 out some show of resistance, would have intimidated the in- 
 habitants and encouraged the enemy to further incursions. 
 This last consideration determined me to defend the place as 
 far as our inferiority in numbers would permit. I made choice 
 of Blandford as the place of defense, and the bridge of Poca- 
 hontas as our retreat ; the troops were disposed accordingly 
 and passed the night under arms. 
 
 " The morning of the 25th I was informed that the enemy 
 was within three miles of our advanced posts, and that elev- 
 en flat-bottomed boats, with troops, were at the same time 
 moving up Appomatox river. Towards noon the enemy came 
 in sight, formed themselves and displayed to their left ; but it 
 was near three o'clock before the firing commenced, which 
 continued from post to post till past five o'clock, when the su- 
 perior number of the enemy and a want of ammunition obliged 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii., and Greene Papers. 
 
426 L IFE OF S T E U B I N ■. 
 
 me to order the retreat, and the bridge to be taken up, which 
 was executed in the greatest order, notwithstanding the fire 
 of the enemy's cannon and musketry. The troops with the 
 same good order retreated to this place, where they are just 
 encamped. 
 
 " I am not yet able to ascertain our loss, but believe it not 
 great. I do not think the enemy took a single prisoner. The 
 enemy's loss I am also unable to form any judgment of. 
 
 " General Muhlenberg merits my particular acknowledg- 
 ments for the good disposition which he made, and the great 
 gallantry w T ith wmich he executed it. Indeed the gallant con- 
 duct of all the officers, and the particular good behavior of 
 the men, must, I am persuaded, have attracted the admiration 
 of the enemy. I have the pleasure to say that our troops dis- 
 puted the ground with the enemy inch by inch, and the ma- 
 neuvers were executed with the greatest exactness." 
 
 Jefferson, on the 26th of April, congratulated Steuben on 
 " this initiation of our militia into the business of war," and 
 found Steuben's opinion justified, that the more the militia 
 were employed in a small way, the more contented they 
 would remain, and the more they would improve. In his let- 
 ter- to Washington, on the 9th of May, 1781,* he said that, 
 " The enemy was received by Steuben" — mind, not by Muh- 
 lenberg ! — " with a body of militia, somewhat under one thou- 
 sand, who, though the enemy were two thousand three hundred 
 strong, disputed the ground very handsomely two hours, du- 
 ring which time the enemy gained one mile only, and that by 
 inches." 
 
 "I am happy," says Greene, on the 14th of May, 1781, in 
 reply to Steuben's report,! "that you came to so judicious a 
 determination of not hazarding a general action, and yet not 
 permitting the enemy to advance without considerable oppo- 
 sition. Your report of the good conduct of General Muhlen- 
 berg, and the troops under his command, affords me great 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, iii., p. 308. f Greene MS. Papers. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 
 
 427 
 
 pleasure, and claims my entire approbation. This spirited op- 
 position will have a most happy effect upon their future opera- 
 tions." 
 
 Phillips, after having destroyed the vessels lying in the 
 river at Petersburg, and burned the tobacco warehouses, pro- 
 ceeded to Chesterfield Court-house, where he continued his 
 work of devastation. Arnold pursued a similar course near 
 Warwick, and having set tire to all the tobacco magazines, 
 soon after joined Phillips in Manchester, opposite Richmond. 
 It was their chief design to capture this latter place, because 
 it was of importance as the capital of the State, and the key 
 to the strategical operations in the interior of Virginia. Steu- 
 ben alone was too weak to keep the city against the attack of 
 the united forces of Arnold and Phillips. All depended upon 
 the arrival of Lafayette, who might be expected at any mo- 
 ment. Fortunately he arrived in time, and as he was soon 
 joined by about two thousand militia, the enemy did not dare 
 to cross the river, which was at that time without a bridge. 
 Laf lyette took up a position at a point above the falls of James 
 river, at which all the boats had been collected, and assumed 
 the chief command of the American forces in Virginia, while 
 Phillips, on the 2d of May, slowly descended the river, and 
 halted opposite Cobham, where his movements were closely 
 watched by Lafayette. 
 
 On the 5th of May, Phillips, while still below Burwell's 
 Ferry, was informed, by a dispatch from Lord Cornwallis, that 
 he was on his march to Virginia, and that he intended to form 
 a junction with him at or near Petersburg. Lord Cornwallis, 
 after having arrived at Wilmington, N. C, at once understood 
 that little or nothing could be done against the enemy from this 
 remote place, and that in the Carolinas and Georgia no deci- 
 si? e blow could be struck. He therefore eagerly seized the ad- 
 vantage which Phillips' arrival in Virginia opened to him, and 
 resolved to march across North Carolina, and, after having 
 joined Phillips, to effect a junction with Clinton. He remained 
 
428 LIFE OP STEUBEN, 
 
 only eighteen days in Wilmington, to rest his army, and on 
 the 24th of April commenced his march northward. It was 
 one of the most daring and noble enterprises during the whole 
 war, and deserves the admiration of both friend and enemy. 
 When the orders of Cornwallis reached Phillips, the former 
 was in Halifax, some seventy miles from Petersburg. Phillips 
 ascended the river again, and landed his forces at City Point, 
 whence he marched towards Petersburg. Lafayette, who 
 had received the same news of the approach of Cornwallis, 
 tried to prevent a junction ; but he came too late, and on the 
 9th of May Phillips entered Petersburg unmolested. This 
 British general died on the 13th, and Arnold had the tem- 
 porary command, when, a week after, Cornwallis arrived in 
 Petersburg, and took the command of all the British forces in 
 Virginia. Lafayette, thus defeated in his design, recrossed 
 James river, and established himself at Wilton, some twenty 
 miles below Richmond, on the north side of that stream ; but 
 Lord Cornwallis, on the 24th, followed him, crossed the river 
 at Westover, and, being reinforced by the arrival of two Brit- 
 ish regiments and two Anspach battalions, drove Lafayette 
 towards the back country. 
 
 The first object of Cornwallis was, of course, to beat La- 
 fayette ; his next, to destroy such of the enemy's stores as 
 might be within his reach after the American army had been 
 either defeated or obliged to retire.* 
 
 It is not the purpose of this work to follow in detail the 
 movements of Lafayette, except so far as they were connected 
 with Steuben, who remained with him as long as there was 
 any probability of coming to action. While Phillips lay in 
 the river, Steuben commanded the militia, and formed the 
 rear of the American forces on the upper part of the Chicka- 
 hominy, at N"ew Kent Court-house and Bottom Bridge ; but 
 when the approach of Cornwallis became certain, and when 
 his operations carried the American forces too far from their 
 * Stedraan, History of the American War, ii., 430. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN". 429 
 
 rendezvous, he exclusively devoted his time to accelerate by 
 his presence the levy of the recruits for the South, to protect 
 the stores, and regulate their supply on and near James river, 
 beyond Richmond. 
 
 " When the marquis arrived," says Steuben, in a letter to 
 Greene, dated Carter's Ferry, on the 15th of May, 1781,* " I 
 looked on myself discharged from attending the operations in 
 the field, the more especially as he had three brigadiers under 
 him. I therefore again turned my attention to collecting and 
 equipping the recruits, and, with the marquis's consent, fixed 
 the general rendezvous at Albemarle barracks. We have as 
 yet only four hundred and thirty recruits assembled, unarmed, 
 unequipped, and without clothes, nor do I expect above four 
 hundred more. All the south side of James river, and those 
 counties on the north side, which lay near the coast or river, 
 are not obliged to draft their levies so long as they have any 
 militia in the field. If, therefore, the enemy continues here, 
 near two thirds of the State will not furnish any recruits. In 
 fact, if, with our greatest efforts, we get a thousand men from 
 Virginia, it will be the utmost. 
 
 " Notwithstanding this, my care to keep together and 
 equip the few we have got, has not failed to draw on me the 
 censure of many of the great men here, who pretend that 
 these recruits ought to be sent immediately into the field, and 
 relieve so many of the militia ; other wise men ridicule the 
 distance from the enemy to which I have sent them, while 
 their respective plantations are exposed. 
 
 " I am sorry to say that the desertion that prevails among 
 the recruits equals that of the Virginia troops with you. I 
 despair, my dear general, of ever seeing a Virginia line exist. 
 Every thing seems to oppose it ; wdth all the trouble I can 
 take I find it impossible to assemble either officers or men, 
 and even w r hen a few are got together, I hear of nothing but 
 of furloughs for the officers, and of the desertion of the men. 
 * Greene MS. Papers. 
 
430 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 The few recruits we have are formed into a regiment, under 
 Colonel Gaskins. About one hundred and fifty of them are 
 armed. I shall order them in a couple of days to the fork of 
 the river, which will, in some measure, gratify the people by 
 protecting their magazines, which are all assembled at that 
 place, and they may, at the same time, be disciplined and 
 equipped there. I shall also send some officers to Albemarle 
 barracks, to receive the recruits that may be sent in from the 
 other rendezvous, to equip them and send them on to join the 
 regiment at the Fork. 
 
 u Having completed these arrangements, I shall join the 
 marquis till I receive your orders, and I must give you notice, 
 that, from the many difficulties which daily occur, and of 
 which I have mentioned only a small part, my presence in 
 this State has become entirely useless. I shall, with great 
 pleasure, fly to put myself under your more immediate com- 
 mand, and I beseech you, my dear general, to call me as soon 
 as possible, for never was a man more disgusted than I am at 
 the conduct and proceedings in this quarter." 
 
 A few days after the date of this letter, Steuben received 
 one from General Greene, of the 1st of May, in which he an- 
 ticipated Steuben's desire to join him, and gave him the fol- 
 lowing directions :* 
 
 " The Marquis De Lafayette writes me that he is ordered 
 to Richmond with his detachment, agreeable to my applica- 
 tion. This will afford me an opportunity of indulging your 
 wishes in joining the army. And it is my wish that you 
 should march with all the Virginia drafts that are fit to take 
 the field as soon as you can. General Wayne, I am told, is 
 on the march for this army with the Pennsylvania line. You 
 will please to write him to follow as soon as possible. Our 
 situation requires immediate support. I beg you to get the 
 best state of the stores you can, and bring with you, and 
 write to the board of war our deplorable condition respecting 
 * Greene MS. Papers. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 431 
 
 arms. Unless a new supply can be had, or» larger armories 
 established for their repairs, we can not keep the field. I beg 
 you to take every possible measure to improve both. Bring 
 forward also the cavalry with you that is fit for duty, ours be- 
 ing much broken down, and the enemy having more than two 
 to our one, and should we meet with another defeat, and the 
 enemy have a superior body of horse, nothing less than total 
 ruin must follow. You will please to furnish the marquis 
 with the best information you can respecting the state of 
 things in Virginia. I find myself so beset with difficulties 
 that I need the counsel and assistance of an officer educated 
 in the Prussian school, and I persuade myself I shall have in 
 you both the friend and the general I want." 
 
 Steuben immediately communicated this letter to Governor 
 Jefferson and Lafayette at an interview in the council cham- 
 ber at Richmond, and as the barracks at Chesterfield Court- 
 house had been burnt by the enemy, and as the situation was 
 no longer proper for the rendezvous of the troops, he men- 
 tioned to the governor the necessity of fixing on some place 
 less exposed, where he might collect the recruits, equip and 
 form them; and with the consent of Lafayette, Albemarle 
 barracks was agreed on for the place. As the governor had 
 said that those counties who bad militia in the field would not 
 proceed to draft, Steuben asked him what would be the num- 
 ber of the recruits of those counties that were not so circum- 
 stanced ? " About fifteen hundred men," answered Jeffer- 
 son, in the presence of Lafayette. All that had been col- 
 lected at that time were three hundred men at Manchester, 
 badly armed and worse clothed. Steuben determined, there- 
 fore, that they should march immediately to Albemarle bar- 
 racks, to be clothed and equipped for the field ; that the other 
 recruits should join them as soon as they came in, and that af- 
 terward they might join General Greene or the marquis, as cir- 
 cumstances might require. Orders were accordingly given to 
 them to march by way of Carter's Ferry. The day after, Steu- 
 
432 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ben received a letter from Colonel Davies, in which he repre- 
 sented that Albemarle barracks was a very improper place on 
 many accounts ; that a great difficulty would occur in trans- 
 porting provisions there ; that there was no wood near it, and 
 that the barracks were nearly destroyed. He pointed out the 
 fork of James river as the most proper place. " Many articles 
 for the equipment of the troops, were," he said, " already 
 there ;" and he promised to make every necessary arrange- 
 ment for the reception of the troops at that place. On this 
 letter, Steuben joined Lafayette at Wilton, and he having no 
 objection, the Point of Fork was determined on. The mar- 
 quis desired him to repair there to hasten the equipment of 
 the fifteen hundred recruits whom they expected, and who 
 were to join either General Greene or Lafayette. 
 
 On his arrival at the Fork, Steuben found, however, that 
 not more than five hundred and forty men had yet come in, 
 and of these a great number were unfit for the service. They 
 were without arms and clothing, and badly equipped, and 
 every day diminished in number by desertion and sickness. 
 It was with difficulty that they were provided with arras, 
 which had just arrived from Philadelphia. 
 
 While Steuben was thus occupied, Lord Cornwallis crossed 
 James river, and Lafayette retreated up the country. 
 
 The principal part of the Continental stores was then on 
 the south side of the river, at Prince Edward, Charlotte and 
 Halifax Court-houses ; those of the State were dispersed every- 
 where, and a great part of them, by order of the government, 
 were deposited at the Point of Fork. The retreat of Lafay- 
 ette induced Steuben to represent to the agent and to the 
 commissioner of the State the necessity of removing them 
 higher up into the mountains. He told them that the troops 
 were by no means destined to guard the stores, but that he 
 should remove them as circumstances might direct. The 
 greater part of the stores was accordingly removed, and 
 those which, by the negligence of their own officers fell into 
 the hands of the enemy, were very inconsiderable 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 433 
 
 In general, all the preparations for the protection of the 
 State against the enemy continued as insufficient as ever. All 
 the departments were in disorder, which increased to the high- 
 est degree when the Executive and Legislature, at the approach 
 of Cornwallis, moved hurriedly from Richmond to Charlotte- 
 ville. The enemy seemed more determined to destroy prop- 
 erty than to fight. The forces which were left to protect the 
 stores were so inefficient and careless, that at the first appear- 
 ance of the enemy they would have been lost. At Prince 
 Edward's Court-house, for instance, all the officers and inspect- 
 ors superintending the stores, laboratories, etc., w T ere absent 
 when Steuben sent an officer to look at them. The guards 
 there were without an officer, and only a few militia present 
 under the command of a tavern keeper. For w T ant of wag- 
 ons the stores there could scarcely be removed, and upwards 
 of fifteen hundred arms were unfit for service. Only two men 
 had been employed by the State for the repair of arms since 
 January, and there was no hope of any abatement of this 
 shameful neglect. 
 
 The government had to furnish arms and wagons, horses 
 and drivers, and all the necessary means for the defense of the 
 State ; but it was impossible to get any material assistance 
 from the powerless commonwealth. The officers, who pledged 
 their personal credit for meeting the present exigencies, lost 
 the confidence of the people when they could not pay on ac- 
 count of the failure of the State, and instead of the support 
 which they expected from the public, they received only exe- 
 crations for their sacrifices. The noble Claiborne, deputy 
 quarter-master for the State, who, as he justly remarked of 
 himself, had made it his study and practice to promote the 
 public interest, tried in vain to protect the State against the evil 
 consequences of this carelessness. " It gives me much concern," 
 he writes to Steuben, from Richmond, on the 18th of May,* 
 " to assure you, that what I have repeated to you a long time 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. 
 19 
 
434 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 since lias really come to pass. For want of material from the 
 merchants, and security at our posts contiguous to navigable 
 rivers, all the manufactories that I had established are so un- 
 fixed and broken up that I get little or nothing from them. I 
 have never been able to get any leather worth mentioning from 
 the commissioner of hides in this State. Private trade is broken 
 up, and I am without money. I have made every trial in my 
 power to procure horses and every thing else, by certificates, 
 and employing gentlemen of interest and influence ; but they 
 assure me that there is such a general dissatisfaction and sus- 
 picion among the people, that they are determined not to suf- 
 fer themselves to be deceived any longer by being connected 
 with contracts on public account. I can assure you, sir, that 
 faith in general among the people towards the public is totally 
 lost, and that nothing is to be had, unless necessity obliges 
 them to it, without cash, or some personal private obligation 
 is rendered to them." 
 
 Nevertheless it was evident that if the military stores, 
 which Davies had been laboring to collect for many months, 
 were not at once transported beyond Carter's Ferry, they would 
 have been lost, and the whole wealth of the State could never 
 have replaced them ; nay, the only dependence for General 
 Greene's army would have been almost totally cut off. The 
 loss of these stores would have proved the loss of the whole 
 country. 
 
 " Faults in war," remarks Steuben on this occasion, " sel- 
 dom go unpunished, and this State now feels the effects of its 
 indolence. With a formidable enemy in the heart of their 
 country, they are destitute of arms, or any of the resources 
 necessary for their defense." 
 
 The same improvidence prevailed in regard to the recruits. 
 Of the three thousand expected in February from Virginia, 
 only five hundred had come in on the 18th of May, and that 
 was only two days before Cornwallis' junction with Arnold ! 
 "Captain Reed informs me," writes Davies, on the 24th of May, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 435 
 
 to Steuben,* " that he has received but seven soldiers, two of 
 whom have deserted ; that it is uncertain when the draft in 
 the neighboring counties will take place, and that indeed he 
 does not know from what counties the men are to come who 
 are to rendezvous there. Major Posey writes from Stanton, 
 that of deserters and others he has collected twenty-one ; that 
 no draft has yet taken place in any of the back counties, nei- 
 ther could he inform me when it would, as the people are 
 much averse to it, and in Augusta and Rockbridge have pre- 
 vented it by force. He says he has a deserter or two deliv- 
 ered to him every five or six days, and expects to send a com- 
 pany of them down in a short time." 
 
 Steuben had formed his five hundred men in a battalion, 
 under Colonel Gaskins, which he disciplined and equipped 
 with the utmost dispatch. He, at the same time, sent ex- 
 presses to all the rendezvous to forward immediately all the 
 recruits they had. He consulted with Lafayette and deter- 
 mined to join Greene with what recruits he had, expecting to 
 be able to equip them towards the end of May. " It is cer- 
 tain, my dear marquis," he writes from Point of Fork, on the 
 20th of May, 1781,f " that if General Greene does not receive 
 other reinforcements than mine, the handful of men whom I 
 can take with me, he will not be very formidable. I have but 
 five hundred and fifty men collected, and no hopes that their 
 number will be increased, unless I defer my departure for a 
 fortnight ; but if Lawson could join me, if perhaps North Caro- 
 lina could make an effort, our force would probably be a little 
 more respectable. Bat be it as it may, I am of opinion that 
 my five hundred and fifty men, and even if I had a thousand, 
 joined to those under your orders, would never prevent Lord 
 Cornwallis from going wherever he pleases; but the five hun- 
 dred men who pass James river with me, will probably oblige 
 him to send a detachment after me, or at least to observe me. 
 By such a detachment his force against us would be dimin- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. f Ibidem, vol. xii. 
 
436 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ished, and his plan, I dare say, a little deranged. The letter 
 of General Greene to Lawson, by which he summons him to 
 the South, is of the 12th instant. I, therefore, do not doubt 
 that at that time he was already informed of the maneuver of 
 Cornwallis. But suppose even that it was not the case, as long 
 as we can carry on the war in the Carolinas, the South is not 
 conquered. This is my opinion, and I confess, that if it de- 
 pended upon me, I would not postpone my departure for the 
 South for twenty-four hours, and that I regret extremely that 
 I can not collect all the necessaries as quick as I wish. I have 
 arms, but no cartridge-boxes. I expect to-day a little ammu- 
 nition and a few blankets, shoes and shirts. That's all I can ex- 
 pect from the State. Thus I hope to be able to march hence 
 within five or six days. I propose to pass the Roanoke at two 
 places. The troops will probably cross at Taylor's Ferry, and 
 the baggage a little higher up. I am so fully convinced that 
 my appearance on the other side of James river will annoy 
 Lord Cornwallis, that I am most impatient to get awny." 
 
 On the 26th of May, Steuben informed Greene, from Albe- 
 marle Court-house, of his approaching march for the South. 
 "In obedience to your orders," he says,* "I have been here 
 since the 21st, assembling the recruits and preparing them for 
 the march. About five hundred are now together, and to- 
 morrow I expect about sixty more. This, I believe, will be 
 all I shall be able to bring with me, except about thirty of 
 Armand's corps, whom I am endeavoring to equip. The arms 
 from Philadelphia I expect here to-day. But they are without 
 cartridge-boxes. I have, however, some old ones, and some 
 hopes to receive some from Fredericksburg. The confusion 
 into which every thing has been thrown in this State, makes 
 it extremely difficult for me to collect those articles which are 
 necessary; but be assured, my dear general, that nothing 
 shall be left undone to hasten my march. I shall not wait for 
 coats, I only desire shoes, overalls, shirts and blankets. Not- 
 
 * Greeuo MS. Papers. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 437 
 
 withstanding this, I shall be happy if I get off from here the 
 
 4th or 5th of June I must beg you to determine by 
 
 what route I shall join you." 
 
 Steuben proposed to employ his time in better securing 
 the military stores of the State, until his men were in readi- 
 ness to commence their march. He hoped to receive, in the 
 meantime, another letter from Greene, as this general, when 
 he wrote his last, on the 1st of May, was ignorant of Corn- 
 wallis' moving towards Virginia, and of his subsequent con- 
 junction with Arnold, and as since that maneuver the aspect 
 of affairs had much changed in this State. 
 
 But no new orders from Greene arrived ; they were inter- 
 cepted by the enemy. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 The State's Magazines at the Point of Fork. — Steuben's Measures for saving 
 them.— His Letter to Lafayette.— Steuben complains of his isolated Position, 
 and of the desperate Condition of his Men.— Movements of Cornwallis and 
 Lafayette.— The Latter joined by Wayne.— The Former 6ends Tarleton 
 against cliarlotteville, and slmcoe against steuben, who has only flvb 
 Hundred Men under him. — Major Call's inexact Report to Steuben about 
 the Destination of the Enemy.— Steuben transports Stores and Baggage to 
 the right Bank of the River. — His Men not reliable. — Simcoe, on his Arri- 
 val at the Point, finds the Magazines on the other Bank of the River.— 
 Steuben hastens his Retreat. — Simcoe's Stratagem. — A Part of the Stores 
 
 FALLS INTO THE HANDS OF SlMCOE.— STEUBEN'S LETTERS TO GOVERNOR NASn AND 
 
 Lafayette. — His Motives for his Retreat to Willis' Creek. — Is strongly 
 
 ASSAILED FOR HIS RETREAT.— SlMCOE's AND Lee's ACCOUNT.— TlIE LOSS GREATLY 
 
 exaggerated.— Statements of Lafayette, H. Lee, and Langboene— Davies' 
 Letter.— Steuben's Measures for securing the Magazines in the Interior of 
 the State.— He marches to Cole's Ferry and summons the Militia.— His Proc- 
 lamation to the People, and Requisition from Governor Nash.— Steuben 
 receives at Elizabeth Court-IIouse the first indirect News from Greene.— 
 Greene's Letters intercepted by the Enemy. — Greene directs Steuben to 
 join Lafayette against Cornwallis.— Steuben's characteristic Letter to 
 Captain Kirkpatrick. — Steuben marches back to James River to join Lafay- 
 ette. — Lafayette's Letter of the 13th of June. — Cornvvallis in Richmond. — 
 Steuben effects his Junction with Lafayette on the 19th of June.— Corn- 
 walli8 evacuates richmond and goes down to the coast. — affair near 
 Jamestown. — Lafayette almost annihilated. — Cornwallis fortifies himself, 
 first in Portsmouth, afterwards in Yorktown and Gloucester.— Washington 
 and the French Army and Fleet arrive from the North. — Cornwallis be- 
 sieged. — Steuben, after his Junction with Lafayette, Sick.— Goes into the 
 Country near Charlotteville. — Greene orders him to march for the South. 
 —Steuben's Answer of the 18th of August.— Steuben remains in Virginia. 
 — He goes to Williamsburg. — His Letter to Greene. — His happiest Time in 
 America. — Operations before Yorktown. — Steuben receives the Command of 
 a Division. — Is the only American Officer ever present at a regular Siege. — 
 He opens the second Parallel. — Wayne his Brigadier. — Anecdotes. — Dis- 
 pute between Steuben and Lafayette. — Steuben commands in the Trenches 
 when Cornwallis offers to capitulate.— Anecdote of Captain De Kalb. — 
 Description of the Capitulation by an Eye Witness. — Close of the Cam- 
 paign. 
 
 rpiIE greater part of the stores of the State, with the ar- 
 ■*■ tillery, was still at the Fork, where they were by no 
 means safe, considering the superiority of the enemy. Steuben 
 ordered all the boats to be sent up from Richmond to the 
 Fork, to secure the communication across the river. On the 
 
LIFE OF STEU I! E N" . 439 
 
 29th of May he took up a position at the Fork, and covered 
 the removal of the stores. " Here I am," writes Steuben on 
 the 3d of June, 1781, to Lafayette,* "with five hundred and 
 fifty men in a desert, without shoes, shirts, and, what is still 
 worse, without cartridge-boxes. I write everywhere, send ex- 
 presses to all parts of the world, but I receive no answer. If 
 I did not expect Lawson, with a reinforcement, I would go 
 to Charlotteville to sing a jeremiad to my sovereign masters. 
 Please let me have news from you. I am here as I would be 
 in Kamschatka ; I do not know where you are nor what has 
 become of Cornwallis. ,, 
 
 To Mr. Cary, Speaker of the State Senate, he wrote on the 
 same day detailing his troubles, and complaining loudly of the 
 desperate condition of his men : 
 
 "The object of the present," he says,f "is to acquaint you 
 of the condition of the men now collected here. Most of 
 them arrived destitute of every article of clothing. On my 
 orders all the shoes, shirts and other things in the public 
 stores were distributed among them. It is painful to me to 
 see the number of sick men increasing every day, although 
 this is only the natural consequence of their being exposed to 
 the wet without even the most necessary clothing. Frequent 
 desertions are another consequence of this circumstance. The 
 soldier who would be willing to lose his life in battle, objects 
 to being sacrificed to misery and destitution. 
 
 " As concerns the particular articles of clothing, I expected 
 to find here shirts, shoes, overalls, linen, jackets or hunting 
 shirts, and blankets, all of which I was the more sure to be 
 provided with as they are to be manufactured in the State. I 
 would never have believed that during the whole month of 
 June the entire State of Virginia could not furnish those 
 objects for five hundred men, being the sixth part of the 
 supply voted by the Assembly in the month of November. 
 Colonel Gaskin's battalion has been provided with arms sent 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. t Tbidem. 
 
440 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 from Philadelphia ; but there is not a single cartridge-box in 
 store. General Greene has repeatedly insisted, with me, on 
 being provided with those articles in our statement of last 
 November, and I meutioned it several times to government 
 as absolutely indispensable. Saddles for cavalry and cartridge- 
 boxes for infantry should always be the first things to be 
 cared for, as they need more time to be made. And notwith- 
 standing this there is not a single one ready in the whole 
 State ; nay, I doubt whether they have ever been ordered. 
 
 "I sincerely request you, sir, to lay this before the honor- 
 able Assembly. It is disagreeable to dwell on such a state of 
 things; but it is a matter of importance for me to be justified 
 in the eyes of that estimable body and before the people of 
 this State, lest the delay before these troops can take the field 
 be charged to my negligence. Think of this poor body of 
 men camping in the woods, perishing without seeing the 
 enemy, without even being drilled, as they are destitute of 
 shirts and shoes ! 
 
 " I beg most fervently to ask you, sir, whom I may ad- 
 dress, to have this melancholy state of things mended ?" 
 
 While Steuben was thus engaged, Cornwallis had pursued 
 Lafayette, and finding that he could not prevent the latter's 
 junction with Wayne, he directed his attention to the more 
 attainable object of breaking up the Virginia Assembly at 
 Charlotteville, and of striking a blow at Steuben, whom he knew 
 to be at the Point of Fork; To obtain the first object he sent 
 Tarleton with two hundred and fifty men to Charlotteville ; 
 but only seven members were taken. At the same time Sim- 
 coe, with some five hundred men, was detached against Steu- 
 ben, and Cornwallis, with the main body, followed him; while 
 Tarleton, having left Charlotteville, went down theRivannato 
 cooperate with Simcoe, if occasion should require. This com- 
 bined movement, which made Steuben's position very danger- 
 ous, was kept so secret that he heard nothing of it till the 2d 
 of June ; and when he received intelligence that the enemy 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 441 
 
 were at Goochland Court-house, moving up the river, he 
 supposed that Lord Cornwallis and the whole British army 
 were marching against him. This news, however, was not posi- 
 tive. Steuben, therefore, only repeated his orders for remov- 
 ing the remainder of the stores and collecting all the boats on 
 both rivers above and below his position, in order to cross, 
 should there be occasion. At five o'clock in the morning of 
 the 4th of June, Major Call, of Washington's corps, arrived, 
 and informed Steuben that the enemy had divided his forces 
 into two parties, one of which had taken the route by Louisa 
 Court-house, and the other by Goochland Court-house : that 
 he had seen both columns on their march ; with difficulty 
 had escaped being taken. This report removed every doubt 
 of their intention. Steuben, therefore, gave immediate or- 
 ders for transporting the baggage of the troops across the 
 river, placed a picquet of eighty men on the point opposite 
 which he expected Lord Cornwallis would soon appear in 
 order to engage Steuben's attention, while the other party 
 crossed the north branch a little above, in order to catch him 
 between the two rivers. Steuben then marched the battalion 
 on the road, by which the party who, he expected, would cross 
 above, must come, and waited there till the whole of the bag- 
 gage had crossed. He left a picquet of fifty men on the road, 
 and crossed the remainder of the battalion. On the same day 
 General Lawson arrived and informed Steuben that he had 
 two hundred and fifty militia, whereof fifteen were horsemen, 
 who were on the other side of the river. Steuben ordered 
 them to join the recruits, who were at that time reduced to 
 four hundred and twenty men. On the same evening Colonel 
 Davies arrived to secure the State stores, in which Steuben 
 gave him every assistance in his power. He unloaded the 
 wagons of the regiments and sent them to bring away the 
 stores ; but this business was very illy executed "by the State 
 officers. 
 
 On the morning of the 4th of June, Steuben sent Lieutcn- 
 19* 
 
442 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 ant Verdier of Armand's corps with four dragoons, up the 
 road on the Point of Fork, to give intelligence of the enemy's 
 approach ; but himself and party fell into their hands. About 
 ten o'clock he received intelligence that the enemy were with- 
 in four miles of the Point of Fork, on which he sent Mr. Fair- 
 lie, one of his aids, to call in the picquet. He executed the 
 order; but was himself taken prisoner. 
 
 About noon, while on the bank of the river, Steuben per- 
 ceived the approach of the enemy. He afterward learned that 
 it Was Simcoe with between four and five hundred horse and 
 foot, that Tarleton was above him within supporting dis- 
 tance, and that Lord Cornwallis was on the other side of the 
 river about six or seven miles below him ; although, in fact, 
 Cornwallis was much further off. 
 
 As an instance of the reliance that could have been placed 
 in the men whom he had under his command, Steuben men- 
 tions that when the enemy first arrived, they fired only one 
 shot from a three pounder they had with them, and that a 
 picquet of fifty men he had posted at the landing, left their 
 posts, and that it was with much persuasion and many threats 
 they were brought back again. Contrary to Steuben's order 
 a number of canoes were still left in the north fork, and con- 
 sequently fell into the enemy's hands, and besides that, both 
 rivers were at many places fordable. Steuben, therefore, de- 
 termined to retire toward Willis' Creek, which he did as soon 
 as it was dark. 
 
 When Simcoe arrived at the Point of Fork, he found that 
 not only the stores and boats were secured, but that Steuben's 
 whole force had crossed the river, with the exception of some 
 thirty men who, waiting the return of some of the boats, were 
 taken prisoners. Thus the principal object of the British ex- 
 pedition was frustrated by Steuben's foresight. 
 
 The appearance of Simcoe, however, whose troops Steu- 
 ben, cut off as he was from any communication with the neigh- 
 borhood, had taken for the van of Cornwallis, accelerated his 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 443 
 
 march to the South. Simcoe, in order to make him believe 
 that the main British army under Corn wall is was directed 
 Ugainftt him, lighted numerous watch-fires on the surrounding 
 hills, and by this stratagem confirmed Steuben in his mistake. 
 A striking proof of the fact that it was not the arrival of Sim- 
 coe which induced Steuben to retreat from the Point of Fork, 
 is furnished by some letters which he wrote at this time. 
 
 " I was informed by Major Call, yesterday morning," 
 writes Steuben to Lafayette, from the south side of James 
 river, one mile above the Fork, on the 5th of June, 1781,* 
 " that he had seen, himself, a party of cavalry at Goochland 
 Court-house, in the morning, and another large party at Lou- 
 isa Court-house, in the afternoon ; the latter, of at least one 
 thousand men ; that both parties seem to direct their march 
 this way. The northern branch being fordable in several 
 places, my position became critical, and I therefore changed 
 my situation. This I executed immediately and came here, 
 first crossing the baggage and a quantity of State stores which 
 were at Fork Point. I have since heard nothing of the party 
 which were at Louisa ; those at Goochland remained there yes- 
 terday. General Lawson has joined me with three hundred 
 militia, and we expect about four hundred more to day or to- 
 morrow. I had ordered all the boats below this place to be 
 brought up ; but the current was too strong to permit it. I 
 intend to move from here, as soon as the weather clears up, 
 and take a position at the mouth of Willis' Creek, where I shall 
 collect every boat on the river, and from there I have a com- 
 munication everywhere." 
 
 On the same day he informed Governor Nash, of North 
 Carolina, that in the present situation of affairs he found it 
 expedient to march directly to that State. 
 
 Steuben, therefore, in his retreat was not surprised by 
 Simcoe. It is true, nevertheless, as stated, that seeing a whole 
 row of watch-fires upon the left bank of the river, he hastened 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
444 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 bis retreat, and abandoned such of his stores as were not trans- 
 portable. Considering, however, that Steuben had taken for 
 granted the approaching of a hostile body under Tarleton 
 against his left wing, and that the advancing of Cornwallis 
 towards the James river was probably intended to act in con- 
 nection with this movement ; bearing also in mind that Steu- 
 ben had no cavalry, and only five hundred raw recruits, who 
 had never seen the enemy — under such circumstances, and in 
 such a situation as we have left Steuben, w r e can not only 
 comprehend, but, moreover, we must find it quite natural that 
 he preferred sacrificing a part of his stores to that of his men, 
 and that he, in consequence, retreated. 
 
 Notwithstanding, Steuben has been assailed outrageously 
 on account of his retreat, and particularly by the government 
 of the State. The joy of his numerous enemies became appa- 
 rent when they discovered one assailable point in him. In 
 the following chapter we must once more return to this mat- 
 ter. In order to view Steuben's conduct strategically, we pro- 
 pose to examine what his gallant and, at this time, successful 
 adversary, the British Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe, says while 
 speaking of his triumph. All the absurd and insipid talk of 
 the Virginia Solons appears in its proper light when we read 
 in Simcoe's Military Journal the following :f 
 
 " Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe, who, from his childhood had 
 been taught to consider the military as the most extensive and 
 profound of sciences, had no apprehension from the talents of 
 such men as had been educated in different professions, and 
 w 7 hom accident had placed at the head of armies ; and he 
 had always asserted it as a principle, that from the superiority 
 of the king's troops, and of the officers w r ho led them, if he 
 should ever have a command in which he should be superior 
 in one species of troops, whether cavalry or infantry, he would 
 be totally unconcerned for the event of any action he might 
 have with the enemy. Baron Steuben had no cavalry, yet in 
 * Simcoe's Military Journal, p. 218-220. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 445 
 
 the present situation there was great room for anxiety, since 
 the immediate ground of encampment was not favorable for 
 the exertions of his few, but well trained, Avell officered, and 
 invincible body of cavalry, and the enemy were led by a Prus- 
 sian officer. The very military instructions of his king were 
 capable of forming better officers than any other theory could 
 possibly do, or probably could be effected by the experience 
 often campaigns under incompetent masters. In the exercise 
 also which he had given the rebel army, the Baron Steuben 
 had shown himself an able officer, and that he knew well how 
 to adapt the science of war to the people whom he was to in- 
 struct, and to the country in which he was to act. He had 
 passed the Fluvanna, but he had done this in consequence of 
 his orders to join General Greene's army. An express sent to 
 countermand this order, Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe knew had 
 been taken a few days before by Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton, 
 and it was fair to suppose that he might now have further 
 intelligence ; that he might be perfectly acquainted with the 
 number of his opponents, and might possibly determine to 
 attack Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe, as well as the detachment 
 which the intercepted letter mentioned that he was preparing 
 to meet. Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe was, therefore, appre- 
 hensive lest Baron Steuben, having secured his stores, which 
 were of great value, over a broad and unfordable river, and 
 being in possession of all the boats, should repass his troops in 
 the night, higher up the river, and fall on him, so that if the 
 British troops should be beaten, they would have no retreat, 
 being shut up between two rivers, while those of the Ameri- 
 cans, should they be repulsed, were preserved from the pur- 
 suit of the cavalry by the thick woods, which came to their 
 oncampment ; and from that of the infantry, by the fatigues 
 they had undergone in a march of nearly forty miles the pre- 
 ceding morning. These ideas occupied the mind of Lieutenant 
 Colonel Simcoe, and he would have quitted his camp had he 
 not thought the troops too much fatigued to search for a more 
 
446 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 favorable position, which was not to be attained for some miles, 
 and partly, had he not hoped that Steuben would believe him 
 to be the advance of Earl Cornwallis' army, particularly as 
 the light troops had no soldiers among them clothed like the 
 seventy-first regiment, in red. That regiment and the Queen's 
 Rangers occupied the road with rail fletches and other de- 
 fenses." 
 
 Simcoe's statement is confirmed by Henry Lee, who, in 
 his Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the 
 United States, thus describes Steuben's and Simcoe's move- 
 ments :* 
 
 " Cornwallis, with the main body, followed on the route of 
 Simcoe. The former officer conducted his march with the 
 utmost secrecy ; and by detaining as prisoners all whom he 
 overtook, he concealed his advance from the baron. Although 
 unapprised of the intended attack upon his own post, Steu- 
 ben became acquainted with the movement of Tarleton. In 
 consequence of this information he engaged with diligence 
 in removing our stores, of every sort, to the southern banks 
 of the Fluvanna ; which being done he passed the river with 
 his corps, securing all the boats on the south side. Simcoe 
 reached the Point of Fork about the conclusion of the baron's 
 passage over the river, and captured a few of our troops wait- 
 ing the return of some of the boats. Chagrined at this dis- 
 appointment, the British commander determined to recover 
 by stratagem what he had lost by his enemy's foresight. He 
 encamped on the heights opposite to our camp, and by the 
 number of his fires suggested to the baron the probability that 
 the whole British army was only divided from him by the 
 river. Thus impressed, and knowing that the corps of Tarle- 
 ton were on his left, Steuben believed himself to be in immi- 
 nent danger, and decided on saving his corps by the sacrifice 
 of his stores. During the night the baron drew off, and march- 
 ing diligently, placed himself thirty miles from his foe." 
 * Page 294. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 447 
 
 Another reproach cast on Steuben in connection with this 
 retreat has reference to the loss of the stores, and is equally 
 unjust. We have two different statements : one on the part 
 of Simcoe which, adopted by the State of Virginia and Sted- 
 man, says : " There were destroyed at the Point of Fork two 
 thousand five hundred stand of arms, a large quantity of gun- 
 powder, case shot, etc. ; several casks of saltpeter, sulphur, and 
 brimstone, and upwards of sixty hogsheads of rum and brandy, 
 several chests of carpenters' tools, and upwards of four hun- 
 dred intrenching tools, with casks of flints, sail cloth and wag- 
 ons, and a great variety of small stores necessary for the equip- 
 ment of cavalry and infantry : such linen and necessaries, as 
 would be of immediate service, were divided among the 
 captors. There were taken off a thirteen-inch mortar, five 
 brass eight-inch howitzers, and four long brass nine pounders, 
 mounted afterward at Yorktown : all French pieces, and in ex- 
 cellent order." 
 
 Lafayette,'" however, relates that no important harm was 
 done on this occasion (quelques effets peu importants sont de- 
 truits) ; Lee mentionsf that most of the arms found were mus- 
 kets out of repair ; Steuben himself, in a report to Greene, 
 says, that only a few articles fell into the hands of the enemy 
 through the negligence of the commissaries and storekeepers. 
 But even admitting that Steuben underrates his loss, we have 
 already seen that before the arrival of the enemy, the princi- 
 pal part of the stores had been safely removed. It was impos- 
 sible to save all, and Steuben succeeded in saving as much as 
 possible. That the buildings and laboratories at the Fork were 
 destroyed by the enemy was a matter of course and a conse- 
 quence of his superiority in number. Colonel William Lang- 
 born writes, that the enemy got hold of only twenty barrels 
 of powder, and except a few canoes, did not get a single boat, 
 
 * Memoires du General Lafayette, tome i., Paris, 1838, pp. 272 and 478. 
 f Lee's Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United 
 States. Force's edition, 8vo, iL, 294. 
 
i48 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 as they were all sunk by the order of Steuben. The clothier 
 stores and manufactories were, by the energy of the indefati- 
 gable Davies, removed to Stanton, from which place he writes 
 to Steuben, on the 23d of June, as follows :* . . . " The As- 
 sembly were at first much mortified at the losses we had sus- 
 tained by the rapid incursions of the enemy, and in their dis- 
 content wore really clamorous ; they moderate in their vexa- 
 tion, as they have since found that the mischief done by the 
 enemy was inconsiderable compared with the plunder of the 
 inhabitants, of whom we expect to recover a great deal." 
 
 After having effected his retreat to Willis' Creek, Steuben 
 sent back an officer to observe the movements of the enemy, 
 who reported that on the morning of the Gth the enemy had 
 constructed two rafts, each capable of transporting from eighty 
 to one hundred men, and that they had thrown a bridge across 
 the North Fork, by which they communicated with their 
 forces opposite Elk island. 
 
 " I could not see," says Steuben in a memorial, referring 
 to this subject,! " what could hinder the enemy from detach- 
 ing a sufficient party to disperse my force and render them- 
 selves masters of the stores at Prince Edward, Charlotte and 
 Halifax Court-houses. I thought it to be absurd making a 
 bravado with a small number of bad troops against such a 
 force, while the marquis, being near one hundred miles off, 
 could make no diversion on that side. I therefore gave orders 
 for dispersing the stores in such a manner that only part could 
 fall into the enemy's hands on any route they could take, and 
 sent off three officers successively to acquaint the marquis of 
 my situation. I wrote circular letters to the county lieuten- 
 ants to call out their militia, and leaving General Lawson at 
 Charlotte Court-house, I marched the recruits to Cole's Ferry, 
 on the Stanton." 
 
 Steuben reached Charlotte Court-house on the 9th of June, 
 and Cole's Ferry on the 10th. Here he halted on his march 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. f Ibidem, vol. xiii. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 449 
 
 South in order to hear further from General Greene, whose 
 last letter was dated on the 1st of May, or till he should re- 
 ceive orders from Lafayette. As it did not appear that the 
 enemy proposed to follow him immediately, he left the militia 
 at Charlotte Court-house and ordered it to be employed in 
 the defense of the State. At the same time he directed Gen- 
 eral Lawson to secure the stores, to remove those nearest 
 James river to Albemarle old Court-house, and to disperse 
 those which were further in the country, at different places in 
 a parallel line with the river, so that if the enemy marched by 
 one route to the South, they would only be able to destroy or 
 take what they found precisely in their way. In a circular 
 addressed to the county lieutenants, he appointed Prince Ed- 
 ward, Cumberland, and Amelia Court-houses, as the places 
 of rendezvous for the militia, by which he expected to increase 
 his forces, and endeavored to convince them of the necessity 
 of calling out every man that could possibly be armed. "Let 
 me intreat you," he said,* " in the most earnest manner, im- 
 mediately to get together every man in your county, who 
 can possibly be armed, and in doing this permit me to hint to 
 you the necessity of your own and your officers' exertions in 
 persuading those people to bring out their arms, who do not 
 usually bring them out, and it will depend much on the offi- 
 cer to convince them how highly criminal such negligence 
 will be in our present distress. If we succeed in collecting 
 such a body of militia as can offer resistance to the enemy, I 
 have not the least doubt that we shall not only preserve this 
 part of the State from their depredation, but that in a short 
 time they will be driven back to their shipping, and proba- 
 bly convinced of the impossibility of conquering a country de- 
 fended by freemen." 
 
 To be better secured against any attempt of the enemy to 
 pass through the southern part of the State, Steuben requested 
 Governor Nash of North Carolina to reinforce him with as 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
450 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 many of the armed militia from the counties bordering Vir- 
 ginia, as possible, and to engage as many horses as he could 
 procure, for the superiority of the enemy in cavalry had been 
 extremely prejudicial to Steuben. 
 
 When he made these dispositions he was still without news 
 from General Greene, and as late as the 9th of June he in- 
 formed him, from Charlotte Court-house, that he was on his 
 march to join him, with about five hundred and fifty recruits 
 and a number of stores, while he left General Lawson behind 
 him with six hundred militia to prevent the enemy from 
 ravaging the country in small parties. On the 12th of June 
 Steuben received intelligence from General Sumner, that he 
 was ordered to march with the Carolina line to Virginia and 
 join him. This order enabled Steuben to form an adequate 
 opinion of Greene's position and intentions, and having ascer- 
 tained that Greene's force was sufficient for his task, and that 
 his troops were more numerous than he could support, he 
 resolved to return to James river and cooperate with Lafay- 
 ette. His course soon after proved to be the right one, as 
 Greene's letters of the 14th and 23d of May, and some of 
 Lafayette's, to join the latter against Cornwallis, had been 
 intercepted by the enemy. 
 
 At this time Steuben wrote the following letter to Captain 
 Kirkpatrick, who had communicated to him the censure of 
 the North Carolina gentlemen, of his intended march south- 
 ward : " It is the fate of a general in this country," he says,* 
 "to have his actions criticised by every person without a 
 knowledge of either his reasons or orders. I am happy that 
 my conduct can bear scrutiny. I have halted here two days 
 waiting for General Greene's orders, in the meantime en- 
 deavoring to collect a sufficient body of militia to cover this 
 side of James river, and promising, if they turned out with 
 spirit, I would venture to remain in the State and join my 
 small force to theirs. My reasons for marching southward 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. Letter of Juno 12, 1781. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 451 
 
 (as I find a general must give reasons to every citizen for his 
 conduct), were positive orders from General Greene, my own 
 hopes that my moving this way would alarm Cornwallis and 
 induce him to detach a part of his army in my pursuit, which 
 would be of more essential advantage to the marquis than if 
 five times the number of my recruits would join him."* 
 
 Steuben arrived at Prince Edward Court-house on the 13th 
 of June, and having ordered General Sumner to join him with 
 all the men he could collect, armed or not, and having re- 
 quested Governor Nash to reinforce him with all the militia 
 that he could arm, on the borders of Virginia, he sent a de- 
 tachment of the militia towards Carter's Ferry, while he pro- 
 posed with the balance, to take a position opposite the Seven 
 islands in James river, where he hoped to assemble all the 
 militia that would come in. 
 
 While on his march to James river, Steuben received 
 Lafayette's order to join him without delay. Lafayette had 
 retired before Cornwallis as far as Bacoon Ford, on the Rap- 
 pahannoc ; but on the 7th of June he was reinforced by Gen- ' 
 eral Wayne, with eight hundred Pennsylvanians, and by a 
 rapid night march he was able to protect the stores along the 
 Rivanna against an attack of the British. Cornwallis there- 
 fore gave up the pursuit and returned to Richmond. On his 
 march he was closely followed by Lafayette, who, from Me- 
 chunck Creek, Albemarle county, on the 13th of June wrote 
 as follows to Steuben : 
 
 " I request you, my dear sir, that you will immediately re- 
 turn this way, and with the Continentals and militia under 
 your command, hasten to form a junction with us. I am 
 afraid General Greene's letter requesting you to remain with 
 us has not yet got to hand, but unless you have received 
 orders subsequent to General Greene's march against Ninety- 
 six and Augusta, I can assure you his desire was then to form 
 a junction. 
 
 * Gates MS. Papers, voj. xix., p. 44. 
 
452 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 "Should the enemy cross the James river, which I do not 
 believe they will do, and which none of them have yet attempt- 
 ed, it must be with a view to reconquer Carolina. In this 
 case you would be in their way, and I should request every 
 obstruction to be put in their way, as I shall myself follow 
 them as expeditiously as possible. But, on the contrary, 
 should they make the conquest of this State their main object, 
 our united force is not too much to resist them. No news 
 from the northward ; it is reported General Washington is 
 coming to Virginia with French and American troops, but I 
 had no letter from him." 
 
 Steuben made long and fatiguing marches to answer La- 
 fayette's order. As early as the 16th of June he crossed 
 Carter's Ferry, and marching across Goochland county, on 
 the 19th effected, in Hanover county, some twenty-five miles 
 north-west from Richmond, his junction with Lafayette. This 
 junction induced Cornwallis to evacuate Richmond and to 
 retire to the lower country. On the 25th he arrived in 
 Williamsburg, where he received an order from Clinton to 
 send a part of his troops to New York, the British general-in- 
 chief, from Washington's feints and sham dispositions, believ- 
 ing that the latter place was menaced. The decrease of his 
 force would have weakened Cornwallis too much to allow him 
 to continue in Williamsburg. He therefore, in conformity with 
 his instructions from the ministry, to establish at some place 
 in the Chesapeake a permanent post to serve as a central 
 point for naval and military operations, resolved to establish 
 himself in Portsmouth. Crossing James river at Jamestown, 
 Cornwallis allured Lafayette into an action, which, only for 
 the bravery of Wayne, and for the inability of Cornwallis to 
 pursue his advantage on account of the night, would have 
 resulted in the annihilation of the whole army. 
 
 The troops for New York were already embarked when 
 Cornwallis received counter orders, and Clinton's permission 
 to disembark and keep them in Virginia. He at the same time 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 453 
 
 was directed to establish a defensive post for the prote-ction of 
 the ships-of-the-line at a favorable point on the south side of the 
 river. Cornwallis, finding that Portsmouth would not answer 
 the purpose, evacuated that place and fortified himself at York- 
 town and Gloucester, where his whole force was concentrated 
 on the 22d of August, 1781. 
 
 In the meantime "Washington took care to keep Clinton 
 under the belief that he intended an attack against New York. 
 From the end of June he made all apparent preparations cal- 
 culated to fortify Clinton's illusions, and while the latter pre- 
 pared himself for a protracted siege, Washington with his 
 whole army and the French clandestinely left the Hudson, and 
 before Clinton even suspected their departure for the South, 
 they were in Virginia in the immediate neighborhood of Corn- 
 wallis. Every thing worked well in this enterprise. The 
 French fleet arrived in time in Chesapeake Bay, and from the 
 25th of September, Cornwallis was closely surrounded by the 
 American and French forces. A retreat was impossible, and 
 Cornwallis, expecting reinforcements from Clinton, strength- 
 ened his fortifications as much as possible against the combined 
 operations of the Americo-French army, which, on the 28th 
 of September, marched from Williamsburg toward Yorktown, 
 and on the 1st of October began to invest the latter place. 
 The first parallel was opened in the night of the 6th of Octo- 
 ber, and on the 19th Cornwallis capitulated with his whole 
 force. 
 
 The foregoing sketch of the principal features of this event- 
 ful campaign was necessary to lead the reader to Yorktown, 
 where Steuben resumed active duty. 
 
 A few days after his junction with Lafayette he received 
 Greene's positive orders to act with the Virginia recruits under 
 the marquis. Thus no change took place in the dispositions of 
 Lafayette ; but Steuben, immediately after his arrival at head- 
 quarters, fell sick, and with a body worn by the disease of the 
 country, and a mind harassed and chagrined, retired to a couu- 
 
454 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 try seat near Charlotteville, where, fortunate in the society of 
 two or three respectable gentlemen, he remained till the begin- 
 ning of September. Here it was that at the end of July he 
 received General Greene's order of the 18th of July, to join 
 him as soon as he could be spared from that quarter, even if 
 he should not be able to bring a single man with him. " I 
 have received," answered Steuben, on the 13th of August, 
 1781,* " your favor of the 19th of July, in which I am ordered 
 to join you. If it had pleased God, my dear general, that 
 this order had reached me a few months sooner, I should have 
 escaped a great deal of pain and chagrin ; but what I have to 
 gay on that subject shall rest till I have the pleasure to see 
 you. My duty and inclination would have engaged me to set 
 out immediately on the receipt of your letter, had not my ill 
 state of health prevented me. An eruption of blood, which 
 has covered my whole body, obliged me to retire to a coun- 
 try house. It is near Mr. Walker's, whom you saw at Phila- 
 delphia, a member of Congress, and his father, who is my phy- 
 sician. The heat of the season, uneasiness of my mind, and 
 a thousand other things have so used me up that I can not yet 
 sustain the fatigues of a journey. I shall, however, prepare 
 to take up my line of march the last of this month, and hope 
 to join you before your operations begin. 
 
 " I can say nothing to you on our affairs, either political 
 or military ; a sick man, you know, looks on things worse than 
 they really are. I have tLe consolation to hope I shall soon 
 be with the general I esteem and the friend for whom I have 
 the strongest affection." 
 
 Steuben's health improved toward the end of August. He 
 was just about to set out to join Greene, when he heard the 
 news of the arrival of the French fleet, and received a letter 
 from Lafayette, who intreated Steuben to come to his support, 
 without which he was afraid of incurring blame or of being 
 involved in ruin.f 
 
 * Greene MS. Papers. f Gates MS. Papers, xix., p. 66. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 455 
 
 The following letters are given in full, as they strikingly 
 illustrate this important epoch, and are of a special interest. 
 
 "In the moment," writes Steuben to Greene, from King 
 Williams county, the 9th of September, 1781,* " of my de- 
 parture to join you I received the glorious news of the arrival 
 of the French fleet. The whole country is flying to arms. I 
 had reason to apprehend that my departure at such a time as 
 this would have been made to operate against me, by persons 
 who seek to destroy the reputation of every honest man. You 
 are, without doubt, informed, my dear general, of the trouble 
 and vexation to which I have been exposed in this State. The 
 greatest sacrifice I can make to the public interest, is to sus- 
 pend my endeavors for redress until the present scene is fin- 
 ished. To have quitted the State before that period, would 
 have armed my enemies against me. Two days before the 
 arrival of the fleet, the marquis wrote me to hasten to his as- 
 sistance ; but your orders and my wishes to join you, made me 
 decide for the southward. I beg you, my dear general, to 
 permit my assisting this expedition which is preparing. Con- 
 sidering how small the number of your troops is, I think my 
 presence may be dispensed with for some time ; nevertheless if 
 you judge it necessary, and should you think the motives which 
 induce me to stay, insufficient, the moment I receive your com- 
 mands I shall begin my journey. To-morrow I shall join the 
 marquis. I shall give him every assistance in my power." 
 
 Lafayette was then in Williamsburg, from which place 
 Steuben, on the 19th of September, wrote to Greene as fol- 
 lows :f 
 
 " Two days after joining the marquis I had the pleasure of 
 seeing General Washington and Count Rochambeau. Every 
 thing is preparing for our grand enterprise, and, as far as we 
 have gone, fortune seems to have seconded all our endeavors. 
 The Count De Grasse's fleet has formed a junction with that 
 of Mr. Barras before the face of Graves and Hood ; two British 
 * Greene MS. Papers. f Ibidem. 
 
456 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 frigates were taken by our brave allies, after which the ene- 
 my's fleet disappeared. Cornwallis is fortifying himself like 
 a brave general who must fall ; but I think he will fall with 
 honor. The day before yesterday General Washington and 
 Count Rochambeau went on board the admiral ; we expect 
 their return to-day. Our troops, and those of our allies from 
 the North, are expected every hour. They embarked at Bal- 
 timore on the 15th instant. As soon as they arrive, our oper- 
 ations will commence. This, my dear general, is the decisive 
 moment — the happiest time I have spent in America. Every 
 advantage appears to declare in favor of the righteous cause. 
 Young Colonel Laurens called to see me yesterday ; he is just 
 back from France, and brings with him every thing which 
 will be necessary to finish the Avar. The court of France has 
 answered the emperor on his proposition of a mediation, that 
 they can enter into no negotiation without the consent of their 
 allies ; and as the haughty Briton will not consider this ally as 
 an independent State, the negotiation is broken off. I trust 
 the success of this campaign will render our enemies more 
 tractable." 
 
 When the operations against Yorktown commenced, Steu- 
 ben asked Washington for a regular command, and Washing- 
 ton, with great pleasure, gave him the combined division of 
 Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It numbered, in all, 
 two thousand three hundred and nine men, of whom one thou- 
 sand three hundred and forty-six were from Wayne's brigade, 
 and nine hundred and fifty-three from the brigade of Gist. On 
 the 3d of October, 1781, according to a report made at that 
 time, Wayne had only seven hundred and thirty men, and Gist 
 four hundred and forty-five, fit for service ; no less than six 
 hundred and seventeen were sick.* Steuben was the only 
 American officer who had ever taken part in a regular siege, 
 and he had acted also at the celebrated siege of Schweid- 
 nitz, as aid-de-camp of Frederick the Great. His services were, 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Sprague. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN 
 
 457 
 
 therefore, the more important, as the staff of Washington had 
 to consult and act in common with the staff of the French 
 army, and as Steuben, as an expert in both the theory and 
 practice of the art of sieges, was also able, in this particular, 
 where his brother officers had no experience, to maintain most 
 decidedly and energetically the honor of the American arms. 
 
 u I am happy," writes William Davies, from Richmond, on 
 the 6th of October, 1781,* "that you are still in Virginia, and 
 I sincerely congratulate you on the pleasing prospects before 
 us. You had long expressed your opinion of the necessity of 
 more attention and assistance toward us from the northward ; 
 and I doubt not that your representations in our favor have 
 had an influence in procuring the aid we have received." 
 
 Of Steuben's activity during the siege, very little mention 
 has been made. We only know that, on the 11th of October, 
 he opened with his division the second parallel, and finished 
 the same the next morning,f after having advanced, during 
 the night, within three hundred and sixty yards of the ene- 
 my's batteries. On this, as on other occasions, Wayne was 
 with Steuben. " The fact is fixed in my memory," relates 
 North, " by a circumstance that happened at the time. A 
 shell, thrown from the enemy, fell near them. The baron 
 threw himself into the trench. Wayne, in the jeopardy and 
 hurry of the moment, fell on him. The baron, turning his 
 eyes, saw it was his brigadier. 'I always knew you were 
 brave, general,' said he, ' but I did not know that you were 
 so perfect in every point of duty ; you cover your general's 
 retreat in the best manner possible.' " 
 
 " Baron De Viomenil," says Steuben,]; " commanded in the 
 trenches on the 10th of October. At four o'clock in the evening 
 he sent Count Deuxponts to tell me that he had observed, while 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. 
 
 f John C. Hamilton : History of the Republic of the United States, New 
 York, vol. ii., 267. 
 
 \ Steuben MS. Papers, Sprague. 
 
 20 
 
458 LIFE OF STEUBEN, 
 
 visiting the trenches, that ray division was extremely weak, 
 and as it was probable the enemy might make a sortie that 
 night, he wished to reinforce my left wing from five to eight 
 hundred men, if I should think it necessary. In presence of 
 General Wayne I answered Count Deuxponts that I did not 
 think that I wanted any reinforcements, and that if the enemy 
 were to attack me, I should answer for being able to hold the 
 battery until the Baron De Viomenil could arrive to support 
 me, and further, that in case he Avas attacked, he might rely 
 on me to support him with eight hundred men in two columns. 
 When Count Deuxponts had gone away, Wayne remarked 
 that I had only one thousand men in my entire division. ' No 
 doubt of it,' I replied ; ' that is my calculation, too, but if it 
 should so happen, I should, on my own responsibility, leave 
 two hundred men to defend the battery, and with the remain- 
 ing eight hundred men attack forthwith in two columns.' I 
 added that if I w^as guilty of a certain amount of gasconade 
 with regard to the number of men, it was for the honor of his 
 country, whereupon Wayne took me by the hand, and address- 
 ing himself to the officers present, said : ' Now, gentlemen, it 
 is our duty to make good the exaggeration of Baron Steuben, 
 and to support him just as if he had double the number of troops 
 that he has.' " 
 
 Steuben was so fortunate as to receive the first overtures 
 of Lord Cornwallis, during his tour in the trenches. "At the 
 relieving hour, next morning," relates North, " the Marquis 
 De Lafayette approached with his division ; the baron refused 
 to be relieved, assigning as a reason the etiquette in Europe ; 
 that the offer to capitulate had been made during bis guard, 
 and that it w T as a point of honor, of which he would not de- 
 prive his troops, to remain in the trenches till the capitulation 
 w r as signed, or hostilities recommenced. The dispute was re- 
 ferred by Lafayette to the commander-in-chief; but Steuben 
 remained until the British flag was struck. 
 
 The capture of Cornwallis closed the campaign. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 459 
 
 As there is not much known about the particulars of the 
 surrender of Lord Cornwallis, we think ourselves justified in 
 giving the few facts which we have gleaned from the sources 
 within our reach, although they have no direct bearing upon 
 the conduct of Steuben. 
 
 Thus at the storming of one of the redoubts of Yorktown 
 by the French, on the 14th of October, the first French offi- 
 cer who, at the head of the royal grenadiers of the German 
 regiment of Deuxponts, entered the works, was Captain Henry; 
 De Kalb, a cousin of the American general who fell at Cam- 
 den. Captain De Kalb had lost one of his shoes in climbing 
 the parapet ; he nevertheless kept on, and, entering the fort, 
 made a British officer prisoner.'* 
 
 We have found in a manuscript diary of an Anspach ser- 
 geant, John Conrad Doehla, the following description of the 
 closing scenes at Yorktown :f 
 
 "The 19th of October was a day most unfortunate for 
 England, when the heretofore so renowned and valorous gen- 
 eral, Lord Cornwallis, was compelled to surrender, with all 
 his troops and ships, to the allied French and American 
 armies, under the command of General Washington and of 
 the Count De Rochambeau. It was on the morning of this 
 day that I mounted, for the last time, the engineer guard. At 
 noon precisely all the guards and posts were withdrawn ; only 
 one military guard, consisting of a sergeant and sixteen men, 
 was, for an hour or two longer, on duty. 
 
 " The capitulation and the terms for the surrender were 
 then agreed upon. The French and Americans immediately 
 occupied all our works in the line, and all the magazines and 
 stores. We were left in full possession of all our equipage 
 and apparel — nothing belonging to us was taken, or even 
 touched ; we were treated with fairness and respect, as pre- 
 scribed by the usages of war. To speak out plainly, we were 
 
 * Schiller's Leben und Werko von Emil Pallcskc. Berlin, 1858, i., 364. 
 f The Gorman original is in the possession of the author. 
 
4G0 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 rather satisfied that the end of this siege had come at last, 
 escaping therefrom on unexpectedly favorable terms, while 
 we had been always of opinion that we should be taken by as- 
 sault. Had it lasted a few days longer, a general storm was 
 unavoidable — the French grenadiers were already preparing 
 for it. 
 
 "The troops under the command of the brave general, 
 Lord Cornwallis, and of General 0'IIara of the horse guard, 
 were the following: 1, the third regiment ; 2, the light infim- 
 tryi consisting of three battalions, composed of detachments 
 of all other regiments — they were all fine men, and had suf- 
 fered particularly during the siege ; 3, the forty-third regi- 
 ment, also fine soldiers ; 4, the seventeenth regiment, which 
 had suffered a good deal; 5, the twenty-third regiment, also 
 weak in men ; 6, the eightieth regiment, still pretty strong ; 
 7, the seventy-sixth regiment, or the ' Green Scotch,' a very 
 strong corps; 8, the seventy-first regiment, 'White Scotch,' 
 not strong ; 9, a body of South Carolinian militiamen, called 
 ' Volunteers ;' ] 0, the ' Royal American Rangers,' consisting 
 of six companies; 11, a regiment of light horse, or English 
 light dragoons, numbering from five to six hundred men ; 12, 
 two companies of English artillery, each of sixty men, includ- 
 ing the engineers; 13, a number of English 'pioneers,' or 
 carpenters and bridge-builders ; 14, the marines and seamen, 
 including all men belonging to the naval service. These may 
 be set down at fourteen men. 
 
 "The German troops made prisoners of war were : 1, the 
 Hessian regiment ' Prince Royal,' once strong, but now a great 
 sufferer from death and desertion; 2, the regiment 'Von 
 Bose,' the weakest of all, having suffered the heaviest losses 
 from the bomb shells and cannon balls of the enemy ; 3, the 
 corps of artillery belonging to these two regiments ; 4, the 
 Anspach regiment, Colonel Von Voit ; and, lastly, the Bay- 
 reuthian regiment, Colonel Von Seybothen, both numbering 
 about nine hundred men, and having had about forty killed 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 461 
 
 and wounded, besides losing fifty deserters. There was also a 
 body of artillery attached to these regiments, and at Glou- 
 cester Point stood a small body of Hessian and Anspachian 
 Yagers. The trophies conquered by the enemy from these 
 four German regiments consisted of eighteen beautiful stand- 
 ards and eight cannon. 
 
 " By the capitulation, it was agreed with Lord Cornwallis 
 that he should send two ships with a secret cargo to New 
 York, unmolested and without search. In these were con- 
 cealed many of the light infantry, of the horse guard, rangers, 
 tories of the country, besides a number of marines and sea- 
 men ; above all, however, the French and American deserters 
 who had joined us during the siege. Lord Cornwallis him- 
 self, and Colonel Tarleton, embarked on board these ships after 
 the surrender of the fortress, and sailed on the following day 
 for New York. 
 
 "It was on the afternoon of the 19th of October, between 
 the hours of four and five o'clock, that all our troops, with 
 arms and baggage, standards covered but drums beating, 
 marched out of the lines and of the whole camp. Brigadier 
 O'Hara commanded at the surrender. We marched on the 
 road to Williamsburg in platoons, arms shouldered, through 
 the whole army of the enemy, the band playing. The whole 
 united army of the French and Americans was marched up by 
 regiments in parade. In front of each regiment were their 
 generals and staff officers. The French, who formed the right 
 wing, had sometimes richly dressed * heiducks' (fancy ser- 
 vants) in their suite, who, being very tall and handsome men, 
 presented quite a dazzling appearance in their gold and silver- 
 laced liveries. All the French generals, Count De Rocham- 
 beau, Marquis De Lafayette, Count De Deuxponts, and Prince 
 De Lucerne, wore glittering stars and badges of military 
 orders. 
 
 " On the right wing of each French regiment was gor- 
 geously paraded a rich standard of white silk, with three golden 
 
462 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 fleurs de lis embroidered on it. Beyond these standards stood 
 the drummers and lifers, and in front of them the band, which 
 played delightfully. It must be confessed that the French 
 troops, altogether, looked very well; they were all tall, hand- 
 some men. They all wore white gaiters ; a part of them were 
 clad in red, some also in green ; most of them, however, were 
 in white regimentals. The German, or Alsacian regiments had 
 blue regimentals. 
 
 " The left wing of the line through which we had to march 
 was formed of the Americans ; in front of them their generals, 
 Washington, Gates, Steuben, and Wayne. They were pa- 
 raded in three lines, the first composed of the regulars, who 
 had also a band, playing moderately well. They looked pass- 
 able, but the militia from Virginia and Maryland, forming the 
 second and third lines, were but a ragged set of fellows, and 
 very ill-looking. 
 
 " We, now prisoners of war, stared with amazement at all 
 these troops, parading there in lines three ranks deep. We 
 were quite astonished at the immense number of our besiegers, 
 perceiving well that, compared with such a formidable army, 
 we were little more than a mere guard, and that they were 
 strong enough to have eaten us up to the last man. 
 
 "The lines of both armies extended nearly two miles in 
 length. Think only of an army of forty thousand men, al- 
 though drawn up in two lines three ranks deep, what space it 
 must cover! Our small number quite puzzled the enemy; 
 they had believed we were much stronger. 
 
 " After having passed through the lines of the armies, we 
 turned at the right upon a large plain field or flat, w r here a squad- 
 ron of French hussars had formed a circle. One regiment after 
 the other had to march into this circle, to lay down muskets 
 and all other arms. When our colonel, Baron Seybothen, had 
 marched his regiment into the circle, he had us drawn up in a 
 line, stepped in front of it, and commanded first, ' Present 
 arms!' and then, 'Lay down arms!' 'Put oil' swords and car 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 4G3 
 
 tridge boxes !' while tears ran down his cheeks ; most of us 
 were weeping like him. 
 
 " All the officers of the English army were allowed to keep 
 their swords, the English as well as the Germans. This was 
 done for military honor's sake, at the instance of the French, 
 with whom this is the custom. All the generals and superior 
 officers of the enemy were present in the circle. They showed 
 much interest towards the capitulating troops, and above all 
 they seemed pleased by the good condition and discipline of 
 our two regiments. 
 
 "When all was over, we had to march again through the 
 two lines of the allied armies to return to our camp, but this was 
 done in utter silence, and without further incumbrance, as the 
 poor equipage which we carried in our knapsacks was all we 
 possessed. All the courage and spirit, which at other times 
 animate a corps of soldiers, were extinguished, the more so as 
 on this our return march the American part of our conquerors 
 jeered at us very insultingly. 
 
 "We were again quartered in our lines and .tents, enjoy- 
 ing, however, full liberty to walk anywhere in the lines, as 
 well as in the city. And I must say that the French behaved 
 very well towards us. They were altogether kind and oblig- 
 ing. But the Americans, with the exception of their officers, 
 were strictly forbidden to come within our lines, or even to 
 enter the city. The French grenadiers, who occupied all our 
 lines, did not allow any of the American militia to approach us, 
 fearing, as they were at all times much addicted to plunder, 
 they might not forget to rob us also, or to make mischief, as 
 was their custom. 
 
 "During the 20th of October we remained in our camp in 
 order to recover a little from the hardships and many sleepless 
 nights which we had gone through during the siege, and to 
 be better prepared for the march before us. 
 
 " The French officers and seamen visited to-day the con- 
 quered English vessels, hoisted the French flag, and took the 
 
4G4 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 English colors clown. The Americans, on their side, planted 
 a high standard in Yorktown, upon the ' water battery.' There 
 are thirteen stripes in their flag, a symbol of the thirteen States 
 forming the free North American ' United States.' A part ot 
 the French and American troops left also to-day for Williams- 
 burg. 
 
 "The 21st of October, a Sunday, was the day when we 
 left Yorktown, and commenced the march into captivity." 
 
 After the capture of Yorktown, the superior officers of the 
 allied army vied with each other in acts of civility and atten- 
 tion to the captive Britons. Lord Cormvallis and his family 
 were particularly distinguished. Entertainments were given 
 in succession by all the major generals, with the exception of 
 Baron Steuben. He alone withheld an invitation, not from 
 a wish to be particular, nor that his heart was closed to the 
 attentions due to misfortune. His soul was superior to preju- 
 dice, and, as a soldier, he tenderly sympathized in their fate ; 
 while poverty denied the means of displaying that liberality 
 toward them which had been shown by others. Such was his 
 situation when, calling on Colonel Walter Stewart and informing 
 him of his intention to entertain the British commander-in-chief, 
 he requested that he would advance him a sum of money as the 
 price of his favorite charger. "'Tis a good beast," said the 
 baron, " and has proved a faithful servant through all the dan- 
 gers of the w r ar ; but, though painful to my heart, we must 
 part." Colonel Stewart, to prevent a step that he knew must 
 be attended with great loss, and still greater inconvenience, 
 immediately tendered his purse, recommending, should the 
 sum it contained prove insufficient, the sale or pledge of his 
 watch. " My dear friend," said the baron, " 't is already sold. 
 Poor North Avas sick and wanted necessaries. He is a brave 
 fellow, and possesses the best of hearts. The trifle it brought 
 is set apart for his use. My horse must go — so no more, I 
 beseech you, to turn me from my purpose. I am a major 
 general in the service of the United States, and my private 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 465 
 
 convenience must not be put in the scale with the duty which 
 my rank calls upon me imperiously to perform."* 
 
 The capture of Lord Cornwallis closed the campaign, and 
 the allied armies returned to the Hudson. Among the Ameri- 
 can generals, whom the commander-in-chief particularly named 
 in the orders issued the day after the capitulation, was Steu- 
 ben, with Generals Lincoln, Knox, Lafayette, and Duportail. 
 
 * Alexander Garden : Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America. 
 Charleston, 1822, p. 342. 
 
 20* 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Steuben's Relations with the State of Virginia and Lafayette.— The Loss op 
 the Magazines at the Point of Fohk made a Pretext for an Attack against 
 htm. — His Energy and Honesty made him many Enemies. — Resolutions of the 
 Legislature against Steuben. — Ternant and Walker write to him about 
 the Suspicion raised against him. — Washington thinks an Inquiry the best 
 Way of refuting the Charges against Steuben. — Greene's Letter. — Even 
 Lafayette in Favor of Steuben. — The Latter writes to Harrison and Nel- 
 son to get his Conduct in Virginia officially examined. — Nothing is done. — 
 Steuben's Relations to Lafayette. — Lafayette intrigued against Steuben 
 when he commenced to discipline the Army. — Probable Reasons for the Dif- 
 ferences between them.— Lafayette, fob political, Motives, appointed as 
 Commander-in-Chief in Virginia. — Steuben obeys his Orders without Dis- 
 pute. — Lafayette's Self-Glorification.— Lafayette of great political but 
 not of military importance to the united states. — hls conduct in america 
 and in Europe. — He is the counterfeit Washington. — His Relations to 
 Napoleon, the Restoration, and Louis Philip. — Steuben owes every thing 
 to his personal value, and works his way step by step.— hls sacrifices for 
 the American Cause compared with those of Lafayette. — The Merits of 
 both Men in Reference to the American Independence. 
 
 BEFORE following Steuben to the North, it is necessary 
 to examine the nature of the relations in which he stood 
 to the government of Virginia, as well as to the Marquis De 
 Lafayette, while commanding and acting in that State. 
 
 It is chiefly on account of the misconceptions as to these 
 relations that, regardless of the merits of the case, Steuben has 
 often been assailed and condemned. For the true apprecia- 
 tion of the matter, a thorough knowledge of the facts is indis- 
 pensable, and we consider it to be an act of justice, due as w r ell 
 to history as to Steuben, to detail them here, uninfluenced by 
 party bias or personal prepossession ; the more so, as not a 
 word of defense has been spoken in favor of Steuben, and as 
 even those who appreciate his services take all these charges 
 against him for granted. 
 
 We have seen, in the preceding chapters, how the exag- 
 gerated loss of the stores at the Point of Fork was taken for 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 467 
 
 a pretext by the enemies of Steuben to assail and vilify him. 
 It is a high though indirect testimony to the value and ability 
 of the man, that, for more than six months, they could not 
 find any vulnerable point on which to attack him, and that 
 they were forced either to calumniate him behind his back, or 
 when he was on the point of quitting the State. 
 
 It was inevitable that the disinterested energy with which 
 Steuben performed his duty in Virginia should make him many 
 enemies there, and that the State authorities should likewise 
 become greatly irritated against him. The preceding chap- 
 ters contain the convincing proof of either the inability or of 
 the unwillingness on the part of the government to provide for 
 the defense of the State, while Steuben exerted himself to the 
 utmost to save as much as possible. But his fault was that he 
 called things by their right names, and that, when he did not 
 find the same sense of duty in others, he never withheld his 
 censure. As he was a foreigner, peoxjle very often resented his 
 just reproaches as an insult. Lafayette, who caught at every 
 thing that he supposed could exalt himself, against his will be- 
 stows the loudest praise on Steuben, in writing, on the 23d 
 of May, 1781, to Alexander Hamilton,* that he is glad that 
 Steuben goes, as the hatred of the Virginians to him was truly 
 hurtful to the service. Steuben himself knew perfectly w T ell 
 this state of feeling and of public prejudice, and for this rea- 
 son, almost from the moment of his entering on his duties in 
 Virginia, wished to join Greene. 
 
 Steuben himself enumerates nine reasons for the irritation of 
 the Virginia government against himself, namely, that he insisted 
 most earnestly on the completion of the Virginia line, according 
 to the plan fixed by Congress ; that he remonstrated against 
 the bad rules and habits of the militia ; that he was utterly 
 dissatisfied with the behavior of the so-called volunteers ; that 
 he did not consent to the scandalous plundering of an English 
 flag-ship, on w T hich occasion the militia officers acted with such 
 * Alexander Hamilton's Works, i. ? 2G3. 
 
468 L I F E OF STEUBEN. 
 
 flagrant disregard of all subordination, and in such open vio- 
 lation of the law of nations and the honor of the country, 
 that they even intercepted Steuben's letters, and treated him 
 as a suspicious character ; that he wanted, in the hour of need, 
 some three hundred recruits, to do service in the line instead 
 of in the militia; that he loudly disapproved of the negligence 
 and waste manifested in the different departments. Thus, for 
 example, the best artillery was under the direction of a col- 
 onel whom Steuben had never seen, as lie was traveling as 
 surveyor in the upper country. The head of the corps of 
 engineers was an old, habitually drunken fellow. The depart- 
 ment of war w r as managed by a bankrupt Scotch merchant, 
 who was always in the company of abandoned women, and 
 who had neither knowledge nor application. The quarter-mas- 
 ter general was at the same time prison warden, and a good-for- 
 nothing fellow. Being compelled to derive his resources from 
 such men, Steuben got an insight into their vileness and de- 
 pravity, and complained of their unfitness. All this created 
 enemies against him with the government and with the follow- 
 ers of these men. That he complained of the want of repair 
 of the arms, of which, for instance, six thousand were made 
 unserviceable by throwing them in disorder into a salt-house 
 and other wet places ; that he reproached the government, 
 it had not provided a single saddle and cartridge-box during 
 the whole campaign, notwithstanding Steuben's repeated appli- 
 cations from the time he entered the State, and finally that he 
 had a quarrel with the governor at the time of the expedition 
 against Portsmouth, when the latter answered him that he 
 could not furnish any lead or balls, as the veins in the mines 
 had been lost, while Steuben proved that the government was 
 unwilling to comply with his request, as with due diligence 
 and care sufficient lead could be obtained. 
 
 Nothing could be said against this ; but in all such cases 
 the naked truth always hurts, and therefore Steuben's frank- 
 ness met with a very bad reception. Steuben by his zeal in 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 469 
 
 the discharge of his duties provoked the petty vengeance 
 lurking against him ; but during the whole winter no occasion 
 famished itself to give vent to it. 
 
 Steuben's retreat from the Point of Fork however furnished 
 the welcome pretext for an open attack. The State Assembly 
 passed a resolution requesting Lafayette to require an explana- 
 tion from the officers under his command, relative to the loss 
 of the stores at the Point. " I am sorry to see," writes Ter- 
 nant, on the 4th of July, 1781, to Steuben,* "that you have 
 enemies in Virginia, and even men whom I would never have 
 expected to be such ; but as they know my attachment for 
 you they do not make me any confidential communication." 
 
 "I saw Ternant," writes B. Walker, on the 13th of Au- 
 gust, 1781, to Steuben, f "this morning, and explained fully 
 the affair of the stores being lost, as I did also to General Var- 
 num. They both saw the affair in quite another light to what 
 it had been represented. In fact, from the clamor they have 
 made about this affair, many people, I believe, imagined it in- 
 cluded all the stores which the enemy have taken or destroyed 
 in Virginia." 
 
 " Baron Steuben," writes Washington, on the 6th of Octo- 
 ber, 1781, to Greene,^ "from the warmth of his temper, has 
 got disagreeably involved with the State, and an inquiry into 
 part of his conduct must one day take place, both for his own 
 honor and their satisfaction." 
 
 Notwithstanding his endeavors to get this inquiry made, 
 it never took place. Steuben, however, took all the neces- 
 sary steps which might enable him to justify his course. He 
 wrote to Greene and Lafayette, who both expressed their 
 approbation of his operations since he had been in Virginia. 
 "Your letter," answers Greene, on the 17th of September, 
 1781,§ " of the 13th of August, gives me most sensible pain. 
 I am sorry that a mind so zealous and intent in promoting the 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. f Ibidem. 
 
 % Washington's Writings, viii., p. 175. § Greene MS. Letters. 
 
470 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 public good should be subject to chagrin and mortification for 
 its well meant endeavors. But let me beg of you, my dear 
 baron, not to feel too sensibly the illiberal attacks of a mis- 
 guided populace. Merit is often vailed for a time, and the 
 best intentions subject to partial censure, and this more fre- 
 quently in republican governments than any others. But it 
 rarely ever happens that a man of worth is long without his re- 
 ward ; for though society may mistake for a time, men are gen- 
 erally willing to retract and approve when properly informed. 
 And I am so confident of the propriety of your conduct and 
 the justice of the people, that I have not the least doubt you 
 will see this verified in your case." 
 
 Lafayette, soon after his dispute with Steuben, in the 
 trenches of Yorktown, could not avoid confirming Greene's 
 testimony. 
 
 "I have been honored," said he in his letter of the 2Gth 
 of October, 1781,* "with your letter of this date, inclosing 
 one from General Greene. The high terms in which he 
 speaks, particularly on the object you allude to, are certainly 
 sufficient for your satisfaction, so that I would think it need- 
 less for me to add any thing to an opinion for which I have 
 
 the highest veneration I will, therefore, only speak 
 
 of what can be supposed to have come under my immediate 
 cognizance. 
 
 "In the beginning of the campaign I considered you and 
 the new levies as belonging to the Carolina army. The letters 
 in which General Greene and myself were positive for your 
 joining me have been intercepted by the enemy. Lord Corn- 
 wallis' intention (as I have since still more particularly as- 
 certained) was to maneuver me from a junction with Wayne. 
 His endeavors were vain, but his movements towards our 
 stores threw me, for a little time, at a pretty great distance 
 from the enemy. The account you received w r as given by 
 Major Call, whom I had requested to watch in that quarter 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 471 
 
 the motions of Lord Cornwallis. Your movements at that 
 moment must have been directed by the intelligence you 
 received, and what you conceived to be General Greene's 
 intentions. I was happy in your reunion with me, and I 
 think it determined Lord Cornwallis to a speedy evacuation 
 of Richmond. Let me add that during all the time we served 
 together I have been so well satisfied with your assistance, 
 that I was only sorry your health forced you to leave the 
 army, where your experience and exertions were so useful. 
 Should I have forgotten any thing that might add to your 
 satisfaction I will spare no pains to convince you of the senti- 
 ments I profess for you." 
 
 Nothing, however, was done in the matter, by the State, 
 which Steuben wished to get settled before his departure for 
 the North. " As my duty," he wrote from Williamsburg on 
 the 1st of November, 1781, to Governor Nelson,* "at present 
 calls me northward, I can not quit this State without asking 
 your Excellency to inform me, by an official letter, if govern- 
 ment have any complaint against me since I have had the 
 honor of serving in Virginia, that if there should be any I may 
 justify myself before my departure. A reputation acquired 
 during twenty-seven years' service authorizes me in this point 
 of delicacy." 
 
 Steuben received no answer to this letter, and as he wanted 
 an opportunity to justify himself, not only to the State of 
 Virginia but to the world in general, he finally applied to 
 General Harrison for a definite reply. U I could but be," said 
 he on the 13th of December, 1781, f "exceedingly hurt by the 
 implied censure passed on me by the resolve of the Assembly. 
 The State of Virginia had before honored me with a particular 
 mark of esteem, and conscious that I had exerted my utmost 
 to deserve it, I was unwilling to leave the State before I had 
 fully justified my conduct. I accordingly wrote to Governor 
 Nelson, desiring him to acquaint me with the nature of any 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. f Ibidem. 
 
472 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 complaint the State may have against me, but never received 
 an answer. I must, therefore, repeat the same request to you, 
 sir. Colonel Davies, General Lawson and Colonel Meade will 
 be my witnesses as to the propriety of my conduct at the 
 Point of Fork." 
 
 " The resolutions of the last Assembly," answered Speaker 
 Harrison on the 28th of December, 1781,* "respecting the 
 loss of the stores at the Point of Fork, were sent to the 
 Marquis De Lafayette, who informed the present Assembly, 
 by letter, that he had been too much engaged to enter on the 
 inquiry, for which he begged their excuse. There the matter 
 rests, and I dare say will not be again taken up." 
 
 It was, therefore, not the fault of Steuben when the matter 
 thus rested. It is only another proof of its not having been 
 near so dangerous as they had tried to make it. They were 
 glad to have found a plausible pretext in the inactivity of La- 
 fayette for letting the accusation drop. 
 
 As regards Lafayette, we remember that in February, 
 1781, when Washington expected the capture of Portsmouth, 
 he was appointed, over the head of Steuben, to the chief com- 
 mand in Virginia. Up to that time they had little to do with 
 each other. Except a letter wdiich Lafayette wrote on the 
 12th of March, 1778, during the Conway cabal, to Steuben on 
 the noble character of Washington, the Steuben Papers and 
 Lafayette's Memoirs contain no written evidence of a friendly 
 intercourse between them. But a few months later Lafayette, 
 with the Generals Lee and Mifflin, is at the head of the officers 
 who intrigue against Steuben's reforms in the army, and who 
 succeed in overthrowing the hardly-commenced new order of 
 things. Why Lafayette sided with this clique is not quite ap- 
 parent, as, according to his seniority, he stood above Steu- 
 ben. A positive interest is not likely to have instigated him, 
 as he, as well as every other intelligent officer, was bound to 
 acknowledge the evil consequences of the existing disorder. 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. viii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 473 
 
 It therefore seems that Lafayette either was afraid of Steuben's 
 growing influence, and saw in him a dangerous competitor, or 
 that in his catching at popularity, which never quitted him 
 until his death, he made common cause with the other offi- 
 cers. 
 
 Occasional remarks of Steuben's aides, as Walker and 
 North, show that they, as well as their general, thought very 
 indifferently of Lafayette's military abilities. Steuben himself 
 here and there says that he did not like Lafayette, and that he 
 was often shocked at the young man's unbounded vanity and 
 his thirst for glory, which went so far as to claim for its own sat- 
 isfaction the merits and deeds of others. If we consider, in 
 addition to this, the difference in the age, and consequently in 
 the views, of the two men, the one being a plain, matter-of- 
 fact Prussian soldier, the other a thorough, young and aspiring 
 Frenchman, we will easily understand the want of mutual at- 
 traction between them. Besides these individual differences of 
 character, taste, and objects in life, there were political consid- 
 erations, which giving Lafayette greater prominence, tended 
 to alienate them from each other even more than nature had 
 done, and accorded to the one especially a preeminent impor- 
 tance, while it threw the other undeservedly into the background. 
 
 When it was an ascertained fact that the French fleet was 
 to cooperate with the American forces against Portsmouth, 
 Washington acted very wisely in giving the chief command 
 of them to Lafayette. His appointment was a compliment 
 paid to a powerful ally, on whose good will, just in that emer- 
 gency, so much depended, and he, of course, could not care for 
 hurting the feelings of another, however meritorious officer, 
 whose brevet of major general was of more recent date, and 
 who had no political influence. " There was a necessity," 
 says Washington,* "for sending a general officer with the de- 
 tachment hence ; and political considerations, as it was to be 
 a combined operation depending upon critical circumstances 
 * Washington's "Writings, viii., 17. 
 
474 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 with the French land and sea force, pointed to the Marquis 
 De Lafayette." It was of course not at all desirable for Steu- 
 ben to leave the stage just at the moment when the last act 
 was being played, and after he had, with indefatigable energy 
 and endless trouble, prepared every thing for a successful re- 
 sult. He was, on the other hand, too good an officer not to 
 obey at once, and submit, without complaint, to the orders 
 of the commander-in-chief. Thus he formed an honorable ex 
 ception to the general rule in the American army, where the 
 insubordination of the superior officers prevailed ; where even 
 colonels (for instance ISTeuville) refused to obey a major gen- 
 eral; where newly-appointed major generals, like Smnllwood, 
 preferred to retire rather than put themselves, notwith standing 
 the express orders of the general-in-chief, under the command 
 of their senior officer. Steuben never complained to Washing- 
 ton, and only in his private letters to Greene alluded to the 
 mortification of his being superseded in the command, but ho 
 says, at the same time, that he would not in the least relax 
 his zeal. In this respect, also, he showed himself a model of 
 an old soldier, and the worthy disciple of the greatest com- 
 mander of his age. 
 
 It was, therefore, not so much on account of his appoint- 
 ment, as on account of the manner in which Lafayette exer- 
 cised the powers conferred on him, that misunderstandings 
 and differences between him and Steuben did away with the 
 good feeling which subsisted between them at the beginning. 
 Lafayette was too young and inexperienced, and too greedy 
 for glory and show, to possess the necessary coolness and im- 
 partiality essential to the due performance of his functions, 
 and inborn with great generals like Washington and Greene. 
 Pie supposed himself to be alone competent to perform the 
 task intrusted to him, and imagined that he gave convincing 
 proof of his own ability by criticising and finding fault with 
 every thing that others had done. 
 
 Thus he writes a few days after he had arrived in Vir- 
 
LIFE OF STETJBEN. 475 
 
 ginia,* that the enemy's works had not been reconnoitered by 
 Steuben, and that he thought it necessary to see with his own 
 eyes ; but he could not yet appreciate the reasons which had 
 prevented Steuben from examining the works, and at the end 
 Lafayette himself did not execute his purpose. On the other 
 hand he did nothing, and as all the necessary arrangements 
 had been previously made by Steuben, in which even Lafay- 
 ette did not propose any alteration, his silence must be taken 
 for approval, and his duties were, therefore, confined to those 
 of a mere looker on. To Hamilton he wrote, on the 23d of 
 May, 1781 :f "It became my duty to arrange the departments, 
 which I found in the greatest confusion and relaxation ;" and 
 to the general -in-chief he reported, that no departments ex- 
 isted at the time of his ai rival, and that he had to establish 
 them. Aside from the contradiction contained in his own 
 words, the young marquis forgot that all that could be done 
 was already done, that the departments were organized by 
 Steuben and his assistants, that he depended entirely on him 
 for information and advice, and that at the same time he wrote 
 to Steuben in the politest terms to assist him, as without him 
 he would not be able to perform his duties. In fact, all he did 
 was to change the officers with questionable judgment. La- 
 fayette possessed, in a high degree, the talent of coloring and 
 grouping, or, as the French say, arranging facts. When 
 Steuben left him to join Greene, he wrote to Washington : 
 " The baron is to leave me with the Virginia troops ; Phillips, 
 with his whole force joined with Arnold, is opposite to me ; 
 Cornwallis in full march from Hillsborough ; it is too much, my 
 dear general, three armies against the little force under my 
 command." All these facts w r ere true in one sense, but they 
 were not so in the sense that the marquis w r ished them to be 
 understood. " My entering this State,"}; w r rote Lafayette, on 
 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, iii., 265. 
 f Alexander Hamilton's Works, i., 263. 
 \ Revolutionary Correspondence, iii., 360. 
 
476 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the 29th of July, 1781, to Washington, "was happily marked 
 by a service to the capital ; Cornwallis had the disgrace of a 
 retreat :" the same Cornwallis who had driven Lafayette more 
 than two hundred miles before him in rapid retreat, and after- 
 ward, for quite other reasons than the ibrmidablcness of Lafay- 
 ette, retired to the lower country. 
 
 We will give one more instance of the boastful and arro- 
 gant character of the French lieutenant, suddenly sprung into 
 a general officer. As Lafayette was under the impression that 
 the theater of war would be transferred from Virginia to New 
 York, he asked a command under Washington. "The war in 
 this State," he says, " would then become a plundering one, 
 and great maneuvers would be out of the question. A prudent 
 officer would do our business here, and the baron is so to the 
 utmost ; should the enemy remain quiet in this State, Steuben 
 might do very well."* This self-sufficiency is really admira- 
 ble, and gives a better clue to Lafayette's character than all 
 his memoirs taken together. There is nothing extraordinary 
 in Lafayette having conceived the idea that his experience as 
 a subordinate officer in the French army, and as a dangler in 
 drawing-rooms and saloons, was superior to that of a man 
 who had spent his entire life in active military service, and 
 had won considerable distinction on hard fought fields under 
 the ablest and most distinguished captains of any country or 
 age. But it is extraordinary that the American people should 
 accord him any such superiority, or that they should fail to see 
 that, while politically Lafayette's accession to the American 
 cause was of vast importance, in a military point of view a 
 great many foreign officers were immeasurably superior to the 
 marquis. His subsequent career, and his visit to the United 
 States, contributed considerably to increase the popular enthu- 
 siasm and regard for him. Enveloped in a certain romantic 
 mist, he is remembered in this country as one of the greatest 
 heroes of our modern times. But history is no Fourth of July 
 * Revolutionary Correspondence, iii., 3 GO. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 477 
 
 oration ; and duty and justice to Lafayette's cotemporaries who 
 labored with him, require that his position in the American 
 and French Revolutions should be presented calmly and im- 
 partially. 
 
 In the first place, the part taken by Lafayette in the war 
 of independence must be regarded in two separate points of 
 view, namely, the political and the military. So far as the 
 first is concerned, it is impossible to form too high an estimate 
 of his importance ; indeed it may be said, that were it not for 
 him the alliance with France would not have been concluded, 
 and that in the crisis of the war, when every thing depended 
 on prompt and sufficient aid in arms and money, the United 
 States were chiefly indebted to his negotiations for their final 
 success. In consequence of his family connections and his 
 relations with the court of France, Lafayette was the most 
 prominent representative of that brilliant host of French noble- 
 men who, influenced by veterans like Von Kalb, in their ha- 
 tred of England, aud their new-fangled enthusiasm for Rous- 
 seau's imaginary ideal of a republic, aided in bringing about 
 the participation of France in the American war. Lafayette 
 owes his historical prominence and his honorable place in the 
 records of history to this noble enthusiasm and energetic ac- 
 tivity, while his deeds, both as an American general and a par- 
 ticipator in the French Revolution and the events which fol- 
 lowed it, are not only undeserving of particular mention, but 
 are rather calculated to detract from than add to his renown. 
 
 Lafayette was a young lieutenant of nineteen years of age 
 when he came to America and offered his services to Congress. 
 That he had no military experience, and could have had none, 
 is perfectly manifest. So far as military capacity was concerned, 
 the most obscure French captain was more valuable, and pref- 
 erable to him ; but he belonged to one of the first families of 
 France. From the first, Congress saw the great political value 
 to be derived indirectly from engaging Lafayette. It acted 
 like a sharp and calculating man of business when it conferred 
 
478 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 on him the highest military rank. The resolution of the 31st 
 of July, 1777, points out so clearly the motives of Congress, 
 that further comment is unnecessary. 
 
 " Whereat, The Marquis De Lafayette, out of his great 
 zeal to the cause of liberty, in which the United States are 
 engaged, has left his family and connections, and, at his own 
 erpense, come over to offer his service to the United States, 
 without pension or particular allowance, and is anxious to risk 
 his life in our cause : 
 
 ' " Resolved. That his services be accepted, and that, in con- 
 sideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connections, he 
 have the rank of major general in the army of the United 
 /States."* 
 
 Congress had calculated rightly. This resolution tended 
 mainly to win France for the American cause. " As soon as 
 Paris," says Count Segur,f "rang with reports of the first bat- 
 tles, in which Lafayette and his companions in arms had raised 
 the reputation of the French name, the court itself became 
 proud of his achievements, and he became the great object of 
 envy to our young men. Thus public opinion declaring itself 
 more exclusively in favor of war, rendered it inevitable, and 
 drew after it, as a matter of course, a government which had 
 not strength enough to resist the impulse." 
 
 Tf Lafayette had been the subject of some small German 
 prince, he would not have been worth one iota more than one 
 hundred others, or any more considered. His advantage and 
 his good fortune consisted in the fact, that by his birth he be- 
 longed to the highest nobility of the country which was one 
 of the arbiters of Europe and the rival of England. 
 
 The above resolution, however, accurately described La- 
 fayette's position, and we have seen that Washington also re- 
 garded him as an instrument to effect an alliance between the 
 two countries. The admiration and respect which the young 
 
 * Journals of Congress (Dunlap's edition), vol. iii., p. 303. 
 f Memoirs of the Count De Segur, i., 111. • 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 479 
 
 marquis felt for the American commander-in-chief was re- 
 sponded to by the latter with, a heartfelt friendship, which 
 contributed, in no small degree, to bind Lafayette more close- 
 ly to the United States. Whenever it was possible, Washing- 
 ton placed Lafayette at the head of enterprises, which if they 
 were not of any decisive importance, yet promised brilliant 
 results. The young Frenchman discharged the duties in- 
 trusted to him neither better nor worse than an average gen- 
 eral officer. His operations manifest neither great genius nor 
 a great want of judgment. His chief merit consisted in the 
 address with which he got himself out of difficulties. 
 
 If Lafayette were really what he is here considered to have 
 been, he had abundant opportunities after his return to France 
 to fulfill the promises of his youth. When the French Revo- 
 lution commenced, his consequence and reputation were ex- 
 ceedingly high. He was one of the few who took part in the 
 movement, whose name was generally known and respected. 
 Seldom has fortune been more profuse in her richest favors to 
 any man than she was to Lafayette. The empire of the world 
 was at his feet — all parties offered it to him. He had only to 
 accept, and hold the proffered scepter. He did not possess 
 that constant aversion for power, and that forcible conscientious- 
 ness with which Washington indignantly refused the offer of a 
 kingdom. He might have done so, but he did not dare it. 
 Petty views and considerations, ambition and intrigues, pre- 
 vented his ever taking a decided step, or performing any great 
 deed. He is, on a small scale, the Pompey of modern history ; 
 that same pusillanimous man, great in small things and small 
 in great things, who for a while seemed great, because Caesar 
 had not yet made his appearance. But the original Pompey, 
 at least for some time, occupied a place by the side of Caesar, 
 while Lafayette was laughed at by Napoleon. Lafayette's 
 ambition was not that of a great character, but that of nar- 
 row-minded vanity. He, therefore, did not use the open and 
 great means of courage, but the hidden tricks of intrigue. 
 
480 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 One day he moved the declaration of the rights of man, and 
 proclaimed war against despotism to be a sacred duty ; the 
 next day he intrigued with the court against the Duke of Or- 
 leans, and the day after he took the field against the Revolu- 
 tion with which he fraternized two days before. He allowed 
 himself to be bent and swayed by the impression of the mo- 
 ment, allowing circumstances to direct him instead of his di- 
 recting circumstances. He broke with every one, and finally 
 bad no party to support him. 
 
 r It is therefore an ignorance of historical truth which in- 
 duces many to mistake Lafayette's weakness for moderation, 
 and it is certainly an unmerited honor to consider him, as he 
 is here often styled, the French Washington. Apart from the 
 consideration, that in France a Washington is as impossible as 
 a Napoleon in the United States, Lafayette is one of those 
 weak aristocratic characters who are ready to make any sac- 
 rifice while it is so considered and estimated, and who are even 
 capable of great sacrifices as long as outward honor and glory 
 are to be reaped from it ; but who are immediately the ene- 
 mies of the cause for which they have volunteered their ser- 
 vices, the moment that their enthusiasm and self-devotion are 
 regarded as a matter of course. His boundless vanity allowed 
 him to see in all things nobody but himself. He sided there- 
 fore with the Revolution only as long as it seemed to promise 
 satisfaction to his heartless egotism, and became its declared 
 enemy the moment he ceased to play the first part. He copied 
 in France the simplicity of American manners and pretensions 
 without possessing it ; he copied Washington, even as to his 
 white horse, without having one particle of his character or 
 talents, lie was the Don Quixote of the American republic 
 in Europe ; the pretender to heroism, without being in any 
 respect a hero. He was nothing but a counterfeit Washing- 
 ton; and when he would play the real, sage, well-informed 
 and fir-seeing Washington before the Legislative Assembly of 
 France, he forgot that Washington addressed Congress from 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 481 
 
 the camp, while he, in the hour of supreme danger, abandoned 
 his forces, and when the Assembly disapproved his conduct, 
 stole away over the frontiers of his country. 
 
 If there is any fact that shows the character of Lafayette 
 in its true light, and the good luck that invariably followed 
 him, it is this ignominious flight in which he was taken prison- 
 er, by the Austrians, who had declared war to the knife against 
 the same principles for which Lafayette had taken up arras, 
 and been elevated to the rank of commanding general. Had 
 he, by order of a court martial, been shot for treason, he would 
 have deserved his fate. He did not deserve a martyrdom 
 cheaply obtained by an imprisonment in an Austrian jail. In 
 this case the question is not whether the Convention was right 
 or wrong: the only question was, whether the general it ap- 
 pointed had to obey its orders or not. Nobody compelled 
 Lafayette to accept the command of a republican army ; but 
 after having once accepted it, he acted shamefully in leaving 
 it for only personal reasons. Napoleon called him a simpleton 
 in politics (" niais en politique") , and proved by his acts that 
 that was his real opinion of him. He persecuted and hunted 
 down the prominent generals of the republic, while he put 
 himself out of his way to procure the release of Lafayette, and 
 as if he wanted to make him ridiculous, offered him the ap- 
 pointment of ambassador to the United States. When Napo- 
 leon had fallen, Lafayette revenged himself at a small expense 
 by giving him a few kicks. Under the Bourbons he played 
 the role of a conspirer behind the scenes, and as the tutor and 
 protector of young students and soldiers, gained again an in- 
 significant popularity. When the Bourbons were driven to 
 flight, Lafayette, " en cheveux blancs? assisted the financial 
 and industrial aristocracy, as if he was anxious to play to the 
 last act the part of Voltaire's Candide, in establishing the citi- 
 zen king, whom he called " la meilleure republi^m." 
 
 Steuben's position in the American army is the exact op- 
 posite to that of Lafayette. He owed every thing to himself, 
 
 21 
 
482 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and his nationality was more an obstacle than an advantage to 
 him. He had to work his way step by step, and to contend 
 for years against distrust, detraction, and animosities, before 
 he could establish himself firmly. Washington himself, al- 
 though he recognized at once to the fullest extent the value 
 of Steuben's reforms, put him on the same level with the mass 
 of adventurers who at that time were flocking into the coun- 
 try, and were besieging Congress to grant them place and 
 rank. His brothers in arms were hostile to him, particularly 
 at the beginning, and frequently made his efforts for discipline 
 in the troops and creating an efficient inspectorship of the 
 army, a reproach, as evidence of his thirst for power and in- 
 ordinate ambition. By degrees he succeeded in doing away 
 with these prejudices and obtaining that position to which 
 his merit entitled him. His activity in service, from the be- 
 ginning to the end, was a personal sacrifice. A sense of 
 duty, the conviction, perhaps, that his services were indispen- 
 sable, and the hope daily increasing that the American arms 
 would be successful, alone animated him to perform his task 
 cheerfully. There was no officer in the American army who 
 had to contend with so many enmities and slights, and who, 
 notwithstanding, never relaxed his zeal. Steuben's first con- 
 sideration was the common welfare.,. His own interest was 
 quite a secondary matter. 
 
 In regard to Lafayette's generosity, it must be universally 
 conceded that he acted in the most high-minded and unselfish 
 manner, and spent enormous sums for the good of the cause 
 of independence. But it must also be conceded that Steuben 
 made equally large, if not larger sacrifices, in proportion to his 
 means. If Congress had not accepted his services, he would 
 have been reduced to absolute mendicancy, since in the au- 
 tumn of his life he had given up an honorable position, and 
 a certain and adequate income for an uncertainty, and in the 
 hope of serving what he believed to be a good cause. Lafay- 
 ette, when he returned to his country, found his fortune and 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 483 
 
 his home, where he was honored and rewarded, but Steuben 
 abandoned both interest and capital, and lost his home, when 
 he entered the American army. The amount of the sacrifice 
 is not to be considered so much as the character of him who 
 made it, and the spirit in which it was made; and in this re- 
 spect, also, Steuben, if he be compared with Lafayette, will 
 stand in no inferior position. 
 
 It may be objected that these remarks about Lafayette are 
 beside the question ; but we consider it our duty to touch 
 upon the most remarkable events of his life, as they constitute 
 the only true index to his political character, and as his ex- 
 ploits have been often made the standard by which those of 
 Steuben have been measured. 
 
 The greatest honor that can be done to a man of historical 
 eminence, is to criticise him justly by the light of his time, 
 and not by writing his apotheosis. It is not our intention, by 
 the above remarks, to elevate Steuben by detracting from La- 
 fayette. We believe that, in a political sense, the services of 
 the latter were more important than those of any other for- 
 eigner in the American army. But we do design to correct 
 the impression that Lafayette's military share in the war of 
 independence is entitled to greater prominence and praise than 
 that of Steuben. Both men served the cause of the republic 
 with energy and zeal, and if Lafayette's relations with the 
 court of France and social position in that country rendered 
 his cooperation of high political value, Steuben's actual services 
 in the camp and the field, and in Washington's councils, were 
 of equal, if not of more material value. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Steuben returns wrrn the Army to the North.— He resumes his Office as In- 
 , spector General. — His new Plan for the Establishment of the Inspector- 
 ship adopted by Congress. — This Plan contains Steuben's original Ideas, 
 
 SET FORTH FROM THE BEGINNING IN 1778. — ItS TENOR. — StEUHEN'S PARADES AND 
 
 Maneuvers excite the Admiration of the French Officers. — His Hospital- 
 ity. — State of the Army. — Nothing is done for supplying its Wants. — Ex- 
 treme Misery. — Steuben himself greatly embarrassed. — His Description of 
 the State of the Soldiers.— His Opinions about an Attack of New York, 
 which, however, is not effected. — Inspection of thf. Troops. — A monthly 
 Keturn. — Washington's General Orders. — The absolute Want of Provision- 
 ing the Troops.— Poverty of the Officers.— Steuben can not get Ten Dollars 
 on Credit. — Walker's Letter about the Dissatisfaction of the Army — 
 Steuben asks what is due to him. — He goes to Philadelphia. — His Letter to 
 Congress. — Kesolution of Congress of the 30th of December, 17S2. — Letters of 
 Gates and IJ owe.— Steuben returns to Head-Quarters. 
 
 STEUBEN returned with the army to the North, contin- 
 ually employed in perfecting its discipline. lie found it, 
 however, necessary to simplify his system. As the officers 
 were all furnished with the printed ordinance, and knew their 
 duties, the only question was to watch for their execution. 
 
 "When the department of the inspection was first insti- 
 tuted," wrote he in the beginning of January, 1782, to Wash- 
 ington,* "the principal object was the introduction of a uni- 
 form discipline throughout the different armies of the United 
 States. This introduction of a system in an army where none 
 hud before existed, would at all times be difficult ; in our army 
 it was practically so, and required the utmost pains of a num- 
 ber of officers appointed to assist in that business. By their 
 zeal and attention the business has been effected. The system 
 is introduced, and the officers become so well acquainted with 
 it as to require little further instruction in the several branches 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 485 
 
 of their duty. All, therefore, that is now requisite is a gen- 
 eral inspection of the whole, to see that the discipline estab- 
 lished is kept up, and that no part of the army deviates in any 
 respect from the rules laid down. 
 
 "I would, therefore, propose that in future the officers of 
 the department be limited to an inspector general and two in- 
 spectors, one for the northern and one for the southern army ; 
 the general duty of their office to be to muster the troops 
 monthly, and to inspect every thing relative to their equip- 
 ment. They will, at the same time, see that the service is 
 carried on agreeably to the regulations in the respective armies 
 in which they serve. This is only the general plan of what I 
 would propose. Should it meet the approbation of your Ex- 
 cellency, a more particular plan might be made out, in which 
 the duties of the inspectors will be more distinctly defined." 
 
 Washington supported Steuben's plan, whereupon it was 
 approved by Congress on the 10th of January, 1782, and ex- 
 ecuted with perfect success. It contains all the original ideas 
 which Steuben had elaborated and partly reduced to practice 
 in the camp of Valley Forge, when the jealousy of the native 
 officers, to their own injury, interrupted his work. It had thus 
 required more than four years before the army understood 
 that unity in the discipline, inspection, and formation of the 
 troops, could only be reached by a simplified organization of 
 the general inspectorship. When Steuben, in 1*778, required 
 one single inspector general, subject only to the orders of 
 Congress, the board of war, and the commander-in-chief, the 
 demands which he made in the interest of the service were 
 construed as selfish ambition. In remarkable want of judg- 
 ment, his opponents went so far as to subordinate the general 
 inspectorship to the good, or rather bad will of a newly-made 
 colonel or general. Finally, after four years' experience, the 
 original plan of Steuben was adopted, who thus proved, beyond 
 cavil, that he was right in all he proposed. If this plan had 
 taken place in 1778, the inspection would have effected more 
 
486 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and done greater benefit to the array. From this time Steu- 
 ben was inspector general of the armies of the United States, 
 while Colonel Stewart acted as inspector of the northern, 
 and Lieutenant Colonel Ternant as inspector of the southern 
 army. 
 
 The following resolution repealed all former resolutions 
 relative to the inspector's department, and gave to the latter 
 the following form, powers, and privileges, viz. : 
 
 " There shall be an inspector general of the armies of the 
 United States, to be appointed by Congress from the general 
 officers, and to be allowed one secretary, in addition to the 
 aides which he has in the line of the army. The secretary shall 
 be taken from the line, and be entitled to the pay and emolu- 
 ments of an aid-de-camp. There shall be one inspector for 
 each separate army, to be taken from the field officers of the 
 line of the army, to be allowed thirty dollars per month, in 
 addition to his pay and emoluments in the line. 
 
 " The inspector general, or inspector of a separate army, 
 shall, once in every month, in such time, place, and mode, as 
 the commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of a separate 
 army, shall direct, review and muster the troops of every de- 
 nomination in service, at which review they shall inspect the 
 number and condition of the men and horses, the discipline of 
 the troops, the state of their arms, accouterments, ammuni- 
 tion, clothing, and camp equipage, and make returns thereof 
 to the commander-in-chief^ or commanding officer of a separate 
 army, noting the deficiencies, neglects, and abuses ; and, if 
 possible, the manner in which they happened, and, at the same 
 time, pointing out the alterations and amendments they may 
 think necessary in any branch of the military system, dupli- 
 cates of which returns shall be transmitted by the commander- 
 in-chief, or commanding officer of a separate army, to the Secre- 
 tary at War. 
 
 " At the end of every review, the commanding officer of 
 the corps reviewed shall exercise his corps in the manual and 
 
L I F E OF S T E IT B B X . 48*7 
 
 evolutions, before the inspector, so as to enable him to inspect 
 and report the discipline of the troops, agreeably to the fore- 
 going paragraph. And when the inspector general, or inspect- 
 or of a separate army, finds it necessary to have any particular 
 evolutions or maneuvers performed, either by one or several 
 corps, he shall furnish a plan of such evolutions to the com- 
 manding officer of the army, who will approve or amend them, 
 and order them executed, as he may think proper. 
 
 " At every review the commanding officers of companies 
 and corps shall produce to the inspector returns of their re- 
 spective companies and corps, and such other papers and 
 vouchers, relative to the enlistment of men, as he shall judge 
 necessary ; three muster rolls shall also be made out by the 
 commanding officer of each troop or company, and signed 
 by him, one of which shall be returned to him certified by the 
 inspector, one shall be certified and delivered to the regimental 
 pay-master, to be fixed to the pay roll, and the other shall be 
 retained by the inspector. 
 
 "The inspector general, or inspector of a separate army, 
 shall, as soon as possible after every muster, transmit an ab- 
 stract of the muster of the whole army in which he is serv- 
 ing, to the commanding officer, who shall transmit a divplicate 
 thereof to the Secretary at War. 
 
 " As soon as possible after every review the inspector shall 
 report to the commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of a 
 separate army, all such soldiers who, from inability or other 
 causes, it may be necessary to discharge or transfer to the in- 
 valids ; and no discharge shall in future be valid unless signed 
 by the commander-in-chief, or officer commanding the army 
 where such discharge is given. 
 
 " The inspector general, or inspector of a separate army, 
 shall be authorized to call on the quarter-master general, 
 clothier general, and field commissary of military stores, or 
 their deputies, for returns of the articles which have been 
 issued from and returned to their several departments by each 
 
488 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 corps, that the inspectors may see whether every article so 
 delivered has been regularly and satisfactorily accounted for 
 or charged to the corps, agreeably to the established regula- 
 tions. 
 
 " The inspector general, or inspector of a separate army, 
 shall be authorized and required to visit the military hospitals 
 of the United States from time to time, to examine the gen- 
 eral state of them and the treatment of the patients, which he 
 shall report to the officer commanding the army; and the di- 
 rector, deputy director, or superintending surgeon of any hos- 
 pital shall furnish them with such returns as they may find 
 necessary for the better execution of their office. 
 
 "The inspector general shall himself, previous to the open- 
 ing and at the close of every campaign, or as often as the 
 commander-in-chief shall think fit to order, visit every part of 
 the army, to see that uniformity prevails throughout the armies 
 of the United States. 
 
 "The inspector general, and inspectors of a separate army, 
 in the execution of their offices, shall be subject only to the or- 
 ders of Congress, the Secretary at War, commander-in-chief, 
 or commanding officer of a separate army. And that the in- 
 spectors may attend the better to the duties of their offices, 
 they shall be exempt from all other duties, except when the 
 commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of a separate army, 
 shall think proper to order otherwise. 
 
 "All returns in the inspector's department are to be made 
 agreeably to the forms which shall be delivered the inspector 
 general. 
 
 "Each inspector of a separate army will be allowed to take 
 an officer from the line of captains, to assist him in the duties 
 of his office, who shall be allowed ten dollars per month, in 
 addition to his pay in the line. 
 
 " liesolued, That Major General Baron Steuben be, and 
 hereby is, continued insj)ector general of the armies of these 
 United States, and vested with power to appoint all officers 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 489 
 
 necessary to carry the aforegoing plan into execution, they 
 being first approved by the commander-in-chief." 
 
 Steuben was at this time at or near the head-quarters of 
 Washington. As many French officers who were his old ac- 
 quaintances, visited his post, he had much pride in showing 
 them the discipline and military expertness which the American 
 troops had attained under his instructions. Many parades were 
 ordered, and the adroitness, and, above all, the silence, with 
 which the maneuvers were performed, were remarked with 
 astonishment by the officers of the French army. This last 
 particular excited the more surprise, as the French troops were 
 noisy in their marches and evolutions. " Noise ?" exclaimed 
 the baron to General Montmorency, who was remarking upon 
 this point ; " I do not know where the noise should come from, 
 when even my brigadiers dare not open their mouths but to 
 repeat my orders." On a subsequent occasion, when a violent 
 storm had caused a grand exhibition to be postponed, Steuben 
 was asked by one of the French generals, who had retired with 
 him to his marquee, what maneuvers he had intended to per- 
 form. On being told, the officer mentioned an addition of 
 some difficulty which he had seen practiced by the Prussians 
 in Silesia. " But we do not expect you to equal the veteran 
 army of the King of Prussia. All in good time." " The time 
 shall be next week," said Steuben, after his guests had retired ; 
 " I will save the gentlemen w T ho have not been in Silesia the 
 trouble of going any further than Verplanck's Point for in- 
 struction." The order for the review was brought, and one 
 of his aides wrote as Steuben dictated. The appointed day 
 came, and, amid a large concourse of officers, the proposed 
 evolutions were performed with great precision.* 
 
 " Alas ! when I think of that day," says North, " and look 
 to that eminence on which General Washington's marquee was 
 pitched, in front of which stood that great man, firm in the 
 
 * North, 1. c, and Bowen in Steuben's Life, pp. 46 and 41, in Sparks's 
 American Biography, vol. ix., series i. 
 
 21* 
 
490 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 consciousness of virtue, surrounded by French nobles and the 
 chiefs of his own army, my heart sinks at the view ! Who, but 
 how few of all that brilliant host is left ; those few now totter- 
 ing on the confines of the grave ! The baron's tent, that day, 
 w r as filled and more than filled with Frenchmen. 'I am glad,' 
 said he, ' to pay some part of the dinner debt we owe our 
 allies.' At the siege of York, or rather immediately afterward, 
 he sold such part of his camp equipage, brought from Europe, 
 as was of silver, that he might give a feast. 'I can stand 
 it no longer,' said he ; 'we are continually dining with those 
 people and can not give a piece of bratwurst in return ; they 
 shall have one grand dinner, if I eat my soup with a wooden 
 spoon hereafter.' " 
 
 The whole year, however, passed without an important 
 event. The American army was encamped in the neighbor- 
 hood of Newburg, on the Hudson, and in the Jerseys, in order 
 to be ready for operations against New York, which, however, 
 never took place. The public mind felt confident of the con- 
 clusion of the peace, and little or nothing was done to make 
 new sacrifices or even to fulfill old engagements. Thus the 
 army w T as kept incomplete, their wants were neglected, their 
 pay withheld, and nothing done to answer the exigencies of 
 the present. Steuben felt the bad consequences of this neg- 
 lect, as well for himself as for his department and the whole 
 army. On the 1st of March, 1782, the United States owed him 
 $6,850 in specie, and being unable to draw bills of exchange 
 at a loss of from thirty-eight to forty per cent., or to borrow 
 money any longer, he requested the commander-in-chief to sup- 
 port his demands for the payment of what was due to him. 
 
 " Without troubling your Excellency," said he, in a letter 
 of the 1st of March, 1782, to Washington,* "with a tedious 
 detail of the hardships attending my situation, I pray you to 
 consider the peculiarity of my employment compared to that of 
 other officers. The arrangements which are going to take place 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 493 
 
 for furnishing the army with provisions, forage, etc., will not be 
 of advantage to me, and I am bound to travel from one part ot 
 the country to the other, to live at double expenses in taverns, 
 in which I have to pay ready money not only for my personal 
 expenses, but also for the entertainment of my aides-de-camp 
 and horses necessary to perform our journeys. I would be 
 happy if the pay allowed by Congress were equal to such ex- 
 penses. I do not want to lay up any part of my pay, I ask no 
 addition to it, but I declare it to be totally out of my power, 
 if my appointments, as well those of January and February, 
 as those occurring in future, are not regularly paid me. With 
 regard to the arrearage, I shall be satisfied to leave in the pub- 
 lic funds $G,000, provided I am paid the remaining $850, which 
 are indispensably necessary to enable me to discharge my ex- 
 penses here and provide myself with the necessary equipage 
 for the ensuing campaign." 
 
 At the special intercession of the commander-in-chief and 
 other personal friends, Steuben obtained these $850, and $500 
 besides, on account of his pay for January and February, which 
 was all that he had received since he was in service. 
 
 In the army general discontent prevailed, and it is not to be 
 wondered at that the spirit of exasperation and distrust among 
 the officers, and that of mutiny among the soldiers, manifested 
 itself more impatiently, if we read statements like those made 
 by Steuben on the 25th of May, 1782, to the Minister of War, 
 General Lincoln. 
 
 " Yesterday," says he,* " our army was the third day 
 without provisions ; the horses of the officers will a fortnight 
 have been without forage. Every department is without 
 money and without credit ; that of the quarter-master general 
 appears to be stopped in all its branches. Our army could not 
 make a day's march, as we are without the necessary means 
 or provisions. Officers and soldiers are discontented in the 
 highest degree. The last arrangement, by which the rations 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
492 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 have been withdrawn in reality, without the least compensa- 
 tion in cash, has redoubled their clamors. You have doubt- 
 less heard of the premeditated mutiny of the Connecticut line ; 
 it was discovered a day previous to that on which it was to be 
 put in execution. The ringleader was punished with death. 
 A few days after, the sergeants of the Massachusetts line 
 presented a memorial to the commander-in-chief demanding 
 their pay. Wherever I go I hear complaints which make me 
 dread the most fatal consequences. The officers of the staff 
 of the army, from whom both servants and servants' rations 
 have been taken, will all resign. The judge advocate, as also 
 several others, have already sent in their resignations. It is 
 certain the distresses of our country have arrived at the high- 
 est possible degree. The officers can not stand it any longer ; 
 shall -we absolutely drive them to despair? 
 
 " What I have related is not properly in my department, 
 and I believe it is only a duplicate of what you will hear from 
 the commander-in-chief; but I conceive it my duty to rej:>re- 
 sent to you the calamities of the army, and to express my 
 apprehensions for their consequences." 
 
 Under these circumstances it w^as fortunate that the enemy 
 did not know the embarrassments and the want of exertions 
 in the American army, as he probably would have availed 
 himself of the general lethargy and struck an unexpected 
 blow. Thus the British confined themselves to observe Wash- 
 ington, and made no move out of the old channel in which 
 they hitherto had conducted the war. Besides, their force 
 was too inconsiderable to make any impression. On the 
 American side, however, the state of public affairs was such 
 as not to promise any decided exertions. 
 
 Washington, at the beginning of 1782, meditated an attack 
 against New York, and among others, asked Steuben for his 
 opinion about his plan. It clearly elucidates the situation of 
 both armies, and therefore maybe appropriately inserted here.* 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 493 
 
 " Before I can give an answer to the questions which your 
 Excellency has proposed to my consideration, I conceive it 
 will be necessary to take a comparative view of the troops 
 which the enemy have actually in the field on the continent, 
 and those which we may have the probability of bringing into 
 action the next campaign. In the first instance the force the 
 enemy may have at Quebec and Halifax is not comprehended, 
 and in the latter I will not pretend to estimate the number of 
 militia which may be able to collect in case of necessity. The 
 balance will then stand as follows : 
 
 BRITISH TROOPS. 
 
 Regulars at New York, . . . . .9,000 
 
 Militia, . . . . . . .3,000 
 
 Garrison at Charleston, ..... 3,000 
 
 " " Savannah, ..... 700 
 
 15,700 
 
 ALLIED ARMY. 
 
 Northern Continental Army, .... 10,000 
 
 French troops, *..... 4,000 
 
 Southern Army, ...... 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 " This balance above will be sufficient to prove that supe- 
 riority of numbers can not be the motive with us to undertake 
 a vigorous offensive campaign, much less to undertake the 
 siege of places fortified by nature as well as by art, such as 
 New York and Charleston. 
 
 "The three propositions simply tend to the enterprise 
 against New York. The first presupposes the enemy's force 
 in that garrison to be such as I have stated, that they retain 
 possession of the harbor, and have a naval superiority on the 
 coast; the second that they have the above force by land, 
 keep possession of the harbor, but lose the superiority at sea; 
 in either of which cases any attempt against the garrison ap- 
 pears to me absolutely impracticable, even though our num- 
 bers were doubled by the militia. 
 
494 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 "The position of the enemy is on three islands. When- 
 ever we attack one the other two must be kept in check. If, 
 then, the besieged should consist of twelve thousand men, and 
 the besiegers of twenty-four thousand, the latter must be di- 
 vided into three parts, each consisting of eight thousand men. 
 The points of attack are the passage at Kingsbridge, the 
 Heights of Brooklyn, and the works on Staten Island. The 
 shortest line of communication between them is from twenty 
 to twenty-four miles, with a river between each. How, then, 
 is the one to support the other in case of a superior attack, 
 which the enemy may easily make, as they possess every pos- 
 sible advantage by water? And even supposing we should 
 obtain possession of either island, what position should we take 
 to cover our flanks from the enemy's force by water? but if 
 we should be unfortunate enough to have any one division de- 
 feated, what retreat is left while the enemy keep possession of 
 the water? 
 
 " These reasons alone prove to me sufficiently the impro- 
 priety of such an undertaking so long as the enemy keep pos- 
 session of the port, and the river by which the islands are 
 surrounded. 
 
 "As soon as a superior fleet shall have blocked up the 
 harbor without, our principal object, I conceive, will be Long 
 Island, in which case the greater part of our strength will be 
 necessarily employed in carrying the works at Brooklyn, ei- 
 ther by storm or regular approaches, and to erect batteries 
 to bombard the city and the fleet in the bay. But even then 
 it will be necessary that our frigates should be in possession 
 of the Sound, and that batteries should be erected on our 
 flanks commanding the river. 
 
 "The last proposition supposes that w T e were in possession 
 of the harbor and had the superiority at sea. In this case 
 we should be highly reprehensible if we did not make the at- 
 tempt; yet oven then I would propose that we should have the 
 most pointed assurances that the fleet destined for this service 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 495 
 
 should remain long enough to effect a cooperation on the 
 occasion. It would also be necessary to make an exact esti- 
 mate of the number of troops and the means which we possess 
 to make the attempt. 
 
 " If the enemy should abandon the southern States and 
 collect their whole force at New York, it would amount to 
 sixteen thousand men ; and by recalling our troops thence 
 we should amount to nearly the same number. If they retain 
 possession of Charleston and Savannah, General Greene must 
 also remain there, and then we shall be in the same propor- 
 tion of fourteen thousand to fourteen thousand. 
 
 " It would be no less difficult than hazardous to attack the 
 enemy in their present position, with less than double this num- 
 ber, or twenty-eight thousand men. If the States of Hamp- 
 shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, 
 and Jersey, could send four thousand men as rank and file, 
 into the regular army, it would amount to fourteen thousand 
 men (Continental troops), four thousand French and ten thou- 
 sand militia ; with this, and no less than this, I conceive wo 
 might attempt the enterprise. 
 
 " But independent of the troops we should make an exact 
 estimate of the artillery, engineer, quarter master's and com- 
 missary departments, that we may not find ourselves embar- 
 rassed with the difficulties that always arise from the want 
 of means necessary for the several branches of the army. 
 
 "Thus, sir, have I given you my opinion on the subject 
 which you did me the honor to submit to my consideration, 
 though I can not help expressing to your Excellency, my fears, 
 that the suppositions on which the questions depend, will never 
 be realized. The late unfortunate defeat of the French fleet 
 in the West Indies, the improbability of collecting a force 
 sufficient to carry on the siege, and the difficulty, I had almost 
 said the impossibility, of supporting them, afford but too just 
 grounds for this suggestion. 
 
 "However, though our particular situation makes it haz- 
 
496 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 ardous to undertake nn operation which calls for more force 
 and greater resources than we at present possess ; yet I am 
 not of opinion that we should permit the campaign to waste 
 away without improving those advantages which are within 
 our reach. The army should move down and take some ad- 
 vantageous position at or near the White Plains ; and if our 
 force will admit that the two York regiments, with Hazen's, 
 should be added to the two Hampshire regiments who are 
 now stationed on the northern frontier, and march under the 
 command of Hazen, toward St. John's in Canada, by the road 
 lately laid out by the ... or which other way may appear 
 most proper: if this diversion should be attended with no 
 other advantages it would at least prevent the incursions of 
 the savages, a circumstance of the greatest importance. 
 
 " Should it, therefore, be advisable to recall the French 
 troops from Virginia, I should conceive the army would be for- 
 midable enough to move down and take an advantageous post 
 at or near White Plains ; and if by the addition of recruits or 
 militia, our situation would admit of a diversion with the two 
 York regiments under Hazen, added to those of Hampshire, 
 toward the garrison of St. John's in Canada, I am persuaded 
 it would be attended with the most salutary consequences." 
 
 But even these diversions were not made. Steuben con- 
 tinued to review and inspect the army, and to make his month- 
 ly reports to the commander-in-chief and to the Secretary at 
 War. 
 
 "We select at random a report which we find in Steuben's 
 carefully-written and revised inspection book. It contains all 
 the returns kept in the same way from April, 1782, till 1784, 
 and furnishes a striking proof of the progress of the order 
 and discipline in the army, as well as the final success of Steu- 
 ben's exertions. We give in the Appendix copies of all the 
 returns for the northern army. Furnishing as they do an 
 exact account never before published of the numbers and effi- 
 ciency of the army, they seem to us worthy of preservation. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN 
 
 497 
 
 General Strength of the different Corps, composing the Northern Army— at 
 taken from the Regimental Returns accompanying the Inspection of June, 1782. 
 
 1st Massachusetts, 
 
 2d ditto 
 
 3d ditto 
 
 4th ditto 
 
 5tlf ditto 
 
 6th ditto 
 
 7th ditto 
 
 8th ditto 
 
 9th ditto 
 
 10th ditto 
 
 Total, 
 
 Iihoda Island,. 
 
 1st Connecticut, 
 
 2d ditto 
 
 3d ditto 
 
 4th ditto 
 
 5th ditto 
 
 Total, 
 
 118 56j |10 10 10 10 10 
 
 10 10 10 
 
 305 163 101 
 
 ,7>2 
 
 13 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 1 84 17 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 5 5 
 
 lsl 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 20 
 
 1!) 
 
 22 
 
 17 
 
 11 
 
 88 
 
 73 
 
 «7S 
 857 
 
 .".(Hi 
 
 1.S32 
 
 1st New York, ! 1 
 
 2d ditto 1 
 
 Total, 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 2 2 
 
 1st New Jersey, 
 2d ditto 
 
 Total. 
 
 I 1 
 
 II 1 
 
 2 2 
 
 25 
 
 2 2 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 (Hi 
 
 :;5 
 
 1,081 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 Massachusetts, 
 New York, . . , 
 
 Artificers, . 
 Total, 
 
 110 
 1 10 
 
 9 10 9j 1 
 
 9 10 20|! 1 
 
 19 21 82 2 
 
 I I l| 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 * 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 • 
 
 8 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 .i. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ': 
 
 5 
 
 o 
 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 b 
 
 r 
 
 & 
 
 Pi rn 
 
 S I Sol « 
 
 £ III 
 
 Q 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 l 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 lis 
 II 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 p 
 
 "3 
 
 i" 
 
 J 
 
 f. 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 J- 
 
 O (B 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 17 35 
 2S21 
 
 17 
 92 50 
 
 2 25 
 
 Rank and 
 File. 
 
 IS 290 
 
 40 38 662 
 
 848 
 
 57 
 
 14: 79S 
 
 I 
 
498 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 How much Washington was satisfied with the progress of 
 the inspection, is evident from the following general order :* 
 
 "Head-Quarters, Neweurg, June 18th, 1782. 
 
 " The general informs the army he had great occasion to 
 be satisfied at the review of the second Connecticut brigade ; 
 and yesterday, esj:>ecially, with the soldier-like, veteran appear- 
 ance of the men and the exactness with which the firings were 
 performed, he felt a particular pleasure in observing the clean- 
 liness and steadiness of the second regiment under arms; the 
 activity and emulation displayed by the detachment of artil- 
 lery during the late review deserve encouragement and ap- 
 plause. 
 
 " The review of this army by brigade being now com- 
 pleted, the commander-in-chief is happy in having this oppor- 
 tunity to present his thanks to Major General Baron De Steu- 
 ben for the indefatigable assiduity and singular attention, 
 exhibited in the late inspection and review, and for his emi- 
 nent service in promoting the discipline of the army on all 
 occasions ; and at the same time to express bis approbation of 
 the present laudable disposition and pride of corps which seem 
 to be diffused throughout the army ; from the spirit of emula- 
 tion and a consideration of the amazing contrast between the 
 past and present appearance of the troops, the general antici- 
 pates the happiest consequences. But being persuaded that 
 appearance alone is not sufficient to establish the reputation 
 and insure the success of our arms, and that frequent and re- 
 peated exercise is absolutely necessary to constitute the per- 
 fection of discipline, be requests in the most pointed terms 
 that the commanding officers of division and brigade, will 
 punctually exercise the troops alternately every other day in 
 brigade and by detail. In the course of these exercises the 
 officers are permitted to vary the maneuvers as time, circum- 
 
 * MS. General Orders from the 1st of June to the 10th of August, 1783, in 
 the Steuben Papers (Utiea). 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 499 
 
 stances and inclination may prompt, provided they do not de- 
 viate from the established principles." 
 
 It was, however, not Steuben's fault that the business of 
 the inspection did not go on as well as he himself wished. 
 There were impediments in his way which he could not re- 
 move, and first of all the want of the most indispen sable means 
 prevented the perfection of that order and exactness at which 
 he aimed from the first day on which he performed the duties 
 of his office. 
 
 "The more," wrote he, on the 2d of June, 1782, to the 
 Secretary at War,* " I am convinced of the necessity that a 
 state of the army should be regularly laid before you, the 
 greater was my surprise yesterday at finding that the returns 
 for the month of March w T ere still deposited at head-quarters 
 for want of cash to defray the expenses of forwarding them to 
 Philadelphia. The blank muster rolls for the New Hampshire 
 regiments have been detained here two months at the quarter- 
 master general's office, for the same reason. It is in vain, sir, 
 it is absurd, to talk of order, of discipline and arrangements, 
 in our present situation ; musters and inspections are totally 
 useless unless a fund is established to defray the necessary ex- 
 penses of the different departments of the army. For my 
 part, I do not hope to see the troops in a situation to do honor 
 to themselves, or service to their country, while we are de- 
 prived of means of laying their wants before those who alone 
 have the force of supplying them. This, sir, is only a dupli- 
 cate of what I had the honor to mention to you in person, and 
 I now take the liberty to report it officially, that you may 
 have an occasion to procure the truth of it." 
 
 Such, indeed, was the poverty of the officers in consequence 
 of not receiving their pay, that when Congress ordered that 
 no letters were free except "public business" was written on 
 them, and that when several regimental returns not being 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
500 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 superscribed as above, arrived at Newburg, they could not 
 be taken out of the post office. The adjutant general would 
 not pay six cents postage, the other adjutants could not, and 
 thus the Minister at War received only returns of a part of the 
 army. "Several heads of departments," says William North, 
 from whom we quote these facts,* " had letters in the same 
 way, which they could not touch, so that it w r as thought prob- 
 able that Congress would amend their act." 
 
 To send Major Barber and Captain Popham to Saratoga 
 foi* the inspection of the troops, Steuben had to pay the money 
 out of his own pocket. When Colonel Stewart was about to 
 review the regiment of Colonel Hazen at Lancaster, the Min- 
 ister at War declared that it was not worth the while to take 
 a round about way. " It is my opinion," remarks Steuben, 
 very justly, "that omitting the inspection of only one regi- 
 ment for one month, can cause more expenses to the United 
 States than the inspection of the whole army for a year can 
 cost." 
 
 " If my life, if my honor had depended on it," writes Steu- 
 ben at this time, " I w T ould not have been able to raise ten 
 dollars on credit. The certificate for $6,000, which I held 
 from the United States, I offered in vain for one tenth of its 
 nominal value. There is no resource whatever left to me. I 
 have already lost six horses since I am in service, chiefly for 
 want of forage ; the two best were stolen, as, while in West 
 Point, I had to send them twenty miles from that place to find 
 pasturage for them ; besides that, for want of bolts and bars 
 for my house, my silver and linen were stolen, so that I am re- 
 duced in every thing."f 
 
 In the meantime the dissatisfaction among officers and sol- 
 diers in the army respecting the arrearages of their pay, and 
 their future prospects, had increased to an alarming degree, 
 which grew still worse when the troops took winter quar- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
 f Ibidem, vol. xiv., in Memorial to Congress. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 501 
 
 ters in the neighborhood of Newburg, and had more leisure 
 to think of and converse upon their really miserable situa- 
 tion. 
 
 " The army," wrote Walker from Newburg, on the 20th 
 of November, 1782, to Steuben,* " are not so quiet a people as 
 you imagine, and as soon as they have settled in their huts, I 
 fear they will be less so. A very dangerous spirit seemed to 
 be rising, but the prudent have turned it a better way than it 
 was going. The officers of the lines have already appointed 
 a committee to memorialize and to receive communications 
 of other lines. I fancy it will end in a memorial of the whole 
 army to Congress." 
 
 The general officers were in no better condition than the 
 privates. They received no pay, and starvation and misery 
 were staling them in the face ; but they adopted other means 
 to get their claims acknowledged and settled. As to Steuben, 
 we have seen that at the opening of the campaign he had re- 
 ceived $850 on account, and his pay for January and Feb- 
 ruary. This money was spent during the subsequent four 
 months. In June, 1782, he applied again to Congress, repre- 
 senting to the Secretaries of War and Finance the absolute ne- 
 cessity, arising from his peculiar situation in the army, to have 
 his ordinary expenses defrayed. 
 
 " While other officers," said Steuben, in his memorial of 
 June, I782,f " were stationed within their respective divisions, 
 brigades and corps, and could avail themselves of their ordi- 
 nary supplies, the nature of my duty kept me in constant mo- 
 tion from one division of the army, and even from one army 
 to another, necessarily subjecting me to all the expenses inci- 
 dent to traveling. I ever have been, and ever will be, dis- 
 posed to draw an equal lot with those truly brave men whose 
 sufferings have long since called aloud for speedy redress ; 
 with them have I frequently wanted not only the conveniences 
 but even the necessaries of life, and if my duty confined me to 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. f Ibidem. 
 
502 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 camp or quarters, would not conceive myself entitled to any 
 extraordinary privilege. Hitherto I have never made a requi- 
 sition of any kind to Congress, and I entreat your Excellency 
 to be persuaded that it is with singular pain I am compelled 
 to make one at this time ; but the duty I owe to my own feel- 
 ings, as well as the respect I entertain to that august body, 
 required that I should be thus explicit with them." 
 
 But, although receiving encouragement that proper atten- 
 tion would be paid to his situation, Steuben's expectations 
 were again disappointed, as Congress did nothing. Even the 
 eighty-four dollars per month, which were granted to him in 
 1779 as extra pay to defray his traveling expenses, were over- 
 looked in the new plan of inspectorship, and therefore not paid 
 to him. Thus Steuben stood without any provision for his 
 services as inspector general beyond his allowances as major 
 general.* He, therefore, concluded to go himself to Phila- 
 delphia, reviewing the New York and Jersey lines on his 
 route, and on the 7th of July, for the purpose of better sus- 
 taining his claims, put the following questions to Washing- 
 ton :f 
 
 " Is the department of inspector general necessary in the 
 army, or is it not ? Has this department been conducted dur- 
 ing the course of five years agreeably to your wishes, and have 
 the consequences resulting from my exertions as chief of the 
 department answered your expectations ?" 
 
 To which queries the commander-in-chief replied : 
 
 " I give it as my clear opinion that it has been of the ut- 
 most utility, and continues to be of the greatest importance, 
 for reasons too obvious to need enumeration, but more espe- 
 cially for having established one uniform system of maneuvers 
 and regulations in an army composed of the troops of thirteen 
 
 *Steubeu MS. Papers, vol. ix, letter of Timothy Pickering of Juno 25th, 
 1782. 
 
 f Washington's Writings, vol. viii., 315 and 316, and Steuben MS. Pa- 
 pers, voL viii. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 503 
 
 States (each having its local prejudices), and subject to con- 
 stant interruptions and deviations from the frequent changes 
 and dissolutions it has undergone. It is equally just to de- 
 clare that the department, under your auspices, has been con- 
 ducted with an intelligence, activity and zeal, not less benefi- 
 cial to the public than honorary to yourself, and that I have 
 had abundant reason to be satisfied with your abilities and at- 
 tention to the duties of your office during the four years you 
 have been in the service." 
 
 But Congress again did nothing, and months passed away 
 before Steuben took up the matter again. 
 
 " Your services," wrote North, on the 29th of October, 
 1782, to Steuben,* " to my ungrateful country, have been 
 treated with a neglect shocking to every man of sensibility. 
 The army whom you have formed alone feel how much Amer- 
 ica is indebted to you, and their honest cheeks glow with in- 
 dignation at the ingratitude of their countrymen. The army, 
 the United States, know what you have done, your intimate 
 friends only know what you have suffered, since you took 
 upon you the herculean task of forming the American armies. 
 It is now five years since you undertook this last work. How 
 well you have succeeded the present state of the army will 
 declare ; but unfortunately for our honor, your reward only 
 consists in the consciousness of having acted a great and good 
 part. The war, my dear general, is perhaps drawing towards 
 a close. It has happily been successful, and you doubtless 
 have acquired a lasting honor by the part you had in it. But 
 honor alone will never compensate for your sacrifices in Eu- 
 rope, nor your sacrifices in America ; a reward of another 
 kind is due. Justice to yourself and to your friends points 
 out the necessity of your endeavoring to procure it." 
 
 Steuben, however, did not want a reward. He only ex- 
 pected to get what he had a right to ask. At last he could 
 bear the procrastination no longer, and on the 4th of December, 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
504 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 1782, appealed, in the following noble letter, to E. Boudinot, 
 president of Congress :* 
 
 " Sir, it is now five years since I was first honored with 
 a major general's commission, in the service of the United 
 States. Having given up respectable commands and affluent 
 circumstances in Europe to become useful to this country, it 
 would be doubly mortifying to me to find my endeavors in- 
 effectual. 
 
 " The journals of Congress will show that this is the first 
 application I make to their honorable body concerning my 
 private affairs. They will at the same time manifest, that 
 while I attended my duty, I wholly neglected my private con- 
 cerns. I feel this satisfaction, that if I ever partook of the 
 honor, I likewise shared in the inconveniences, toils and dan- 
 gers to which the army was exposed. 
 
 " My private resources being exhausted, I entreat your Ex- 
 cellency will recommend to Congress their directing a com- 
 mittee to examine into my situation, and report to them the 
 reasonableness of my demands. I shall be happy to evince to 
 their committee, that the internal administration of the reg- 
 iments and corps, with the institution of which I was intrusted, 
 has been productive of the most beneficial savings to the pub- 
 lic, in men, arms, ammunition, accouterments and camp equip- 
 age. The testimonials of the commander-in-chief and com- 
 manders of the separate armies, as well as of the generals and 
 other officers of the army, will place this assertion beyond all 
 doubt. 
 
 " To address this letter to you, at a time when our army 
 is honored with the approbation of allied troops, remarkable 
 for their order and discipline, is to me a singular happiness. 
 Encouraged by their suffrage, I dare assure you that your 
 enemies can not oppose to you an infantry equal to your own, 
 unless it be superior in numbers. You have officers whose 
 military knowledge equals their courage, and soldiers who can 
 * Steuben MS. Pupers, vol. ix. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 505 
 
 execute every possible command. With such an army you 
 will boldly look for a peace glorious to your country and 
 promising happiness to your posterity. 
 
 " When I drew my sword in the defense of these States 
 I did it with a determination that death only should force me 
 to lay it down before Great Britain had acknowledged the 
 independence of America, and I still persist in the same reso- 
 lution. Your own feelings, sir, and those of Congress, may 
 enable you to judge of those of an old soldier who finds him- 
 self obliged to mention facts of such a nature as those I have 
 been laying before you. Congress will do me the justice to 
 believe that, in doing justice to the zeal and capacity of the 
 officers, and the docility of the soldiers of the federal army, 
 to speak of mvself is a task highly painful and disagreeable to 
 me." 
 
 Congress, on the 30th of December, 1782, resolved, that 
 to enable Steuben to take the field another campaign, and for 
 his present support, $2,400 should be paid to him, and that he 
 should be allowed $300 per month, in lieu of his extra pay, 
 and subsistence and forage for himself and family.* 
 
 " The committee, consisting of Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Clarke 
 and Mr. Carroll, to whom was referred a letter of the 5th, 
 from Major General the Baron De Steuben, having conferred 
 with him thereupon, submit to the consideration of Congress 
 the following facts, resulting from the communication made 
 to them, supported by the testimonials of the commander-in- 
 chief and many other principal officers of the army : 
 
 " First. That the Baron De Steuben was in Europe pos- 
 sessed of respectable military rank, and different posts of hon- 
 or and emolument, which he relinquished to come to America 
 and offer his services at a critical period of the war, and with- 
 out any previous stipulation. 
 
 " Secondly. That on his arrival he actually engaged in 
 
 the army, in a very disinterested maimer, and without com- 
 
 * Resolutions of Congress, viii., 51 and 52. 
 99 
 
506 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 pensations similar to those which had been made to several 
 other foreign officers. 
 
 " Thirdly. That under singular difficulties and embarrass- 
 ments in the department in which he has been employed, he 
 has rendered very important and substantial services, by in- 
 troducing into the army a regular formation and exact disci- 
 pline, and by establishing a spirit of order and economy in the 
 interior administration of the regiments ; which, besides other 
 advantages, have been productive of immense savings to the 
 United States; that in the commands in which he has been 
 employed, he has, upon all occasions, conducted himself like a 
 brave and experienced officer: the committee are therefore 
 of an opinion that the sacrifices and services of the Baron De 
 Steuben justly entitle him to the distinguished notice of Con- 
 gress, and to a generous compensation, whenever the situation 
 of public affairs will admit ; the committee further report that 
 the Baron De Steuben has considerable arrearages of pay due 
 to him from these States on a liquidated account, and that 
 having exhausted his resources in past expenses, it is now in- 
 dispensable that a sum of money should be paid him for his 
 present support, and to enable him to take the field another 
 campaign, and propose that the sum of $2,400 be paid to him 
 for that purpose, and charged to his account aforesaid ; where- 
 upon, 
 
 " Hesolved, That the foregoing proposal of the committee 
 be referred to the superintendent of finance to take order. 
 
 " The committee further observing, that from the nature of 
 the department in which the Baron De Steuben is employed, 
 he is under the necessity of making frequent journeys, by 
 which he incurs an additional expense, and is often deprived 
 of the allowance of forage to which he is entitled; thereupon, 
 
 " IZesolved, That the Baron De Steuben be allowed $300 
 per month, in lieu of his extra pay, and of subsistence and 
 forage for himself and family^ including wagon as well as sad- 
 dle horses, and that these allowances hereafter cease." 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 507 
 
 While Steuben was arranging his affairs at Philadelphia, 
 the array had taken up their winter quarters at New Wind- 
 sor. In this connection we give the letter of General Gates, 
 who had just arrived in camp, after having lost sight of the 
 progress of the army since the last three years. For this rea- 
 son his letter is the more interesting. 
 
 " Lieutenant Colonel Howard," writes Gates on the 22d of 
 November, 1782, to Steuben,* "does me the favor to be the 
 bearer of this letter. I am happy in so good an opportunity 
 to present you with my most affectionate regards. 
 
 " Saturday after you left camp, the left wing of the army 
 marched for their winter quarters, and on Sunday they were 
 followed by the right. From the time of our arrival on this 
 side of the mountains we have been constantly employed in 
 hutting, and making every preparation necessary to keep us 
 warm and healthy through the severity of the approaching 
 season. I think another week will complete the business. 
 Our men are become so adroit and perfect in the art of hut- 
 ting, that I think they will be more comfortable and better 
 lodged in the quarters they build for themselves than in those 
 any city in the continent would afford them. This mode of 
 covering an army for the winter is new in the art of war, and 
 I wish, for the good of mankind, that the princes and generals 
 of Europe may not adopt it, for then adieu to those respites 
 from carnage which hitherto the winter has so generally given 
 to European armies. 
 
 "We have just heard that the enemy are preparing for a 
 large embarkation — it may be the whole are going — to the 
 West Indies. I am fully of opinion that is what they ought to 
 do, as here they have little to gain ; there they have every 
 thing to lose. That commerce which is their great resource 
 must be ruined, should Jamaica fall. I therefore believe they 
 will abandon all here to save it. If I am right in my con- 
 jecture, the warfare between us and Britain finishes with the 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
508 LIFE OF STEUBEN., 
 
 year; but believe me, my dear baron, my great respect for 
 you will not end with the war. The astonishment with which 
 I beheld the order, regularity, and attention, which you have 
 taught the American army, and the obedience, exactness, and 
 true spirit of military discipline which you have infused into 
 them, does you the highest honor. Gratitude obliges me to 
 make you this declaration. The generosity of the governing 
 powers, both civil and military, will, I trust, be actuated by 
 the same generous principle, and by proclaiming to the world 
 your merits and their obligation, convince mankind that the 
 republics of America have at least the virtue to be grateful." 
 
 About the same time General Robert Howe wrote a letter 
 to Steuben, which confirms Gates' statements about Steuben's 
 popularity in the army, while it shows its condition in a more 
 favorable light than we have viewed it. We give it here in 
 full : 
 
 " I have waited, my dear baron," writes Howe on the 30th 
 of November, 1782,* " a long while, in hopes that some event 
 would * ave happened worthy of your notice, but there has 
 been such a barrenness of incident, and it is likely to continue, 
 that I will no longer deny myself the pleasure of writing to a 
 man I so truly and warmly esteem, were it only to ask what 
 you are doing in Philadelphia. You promised me at parting 
 that I should hear from you upon your arrival, but either the 
 pleasures or vexations you have been involved in have induced 
 you to postpone fulfilling it. I am too deeply interested in 
 your happiness not earnestly to hope that my disappointment 
 has been owing to the former cause rather than to the latter. 
 But, in either case, I charge you to let me hear from you ; if 
 the first, the information will make me happy ; if the second, 
 it will induce every sensibility in my mind, and call from me 
 every consolation which can result from affectionate sym- 
 pathy. 
 
 "Your children — for so I call our army — have been labor- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, voL ix. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 509 
 
 ing night and day to build their huts, and a wilderness is al- 
 ready changed into a city. Were I writing to a man less 
 acquainted with our troops than you are, I should perhaps ex- 
 patiate upon their endurance of fatigue, their patience under 
 the greatest sufferings, the faithful services rendered their 
 country, without reward and almost without the hope of it ; 
 their resignation to cruel and repeated disappointments with- 
 out a murmur, with ten thousand other virtues with which 
 you know them to be endowed, and therefore now not to be 
 
 told of. I can not conclude this letter without 
 
 conveying to you what I am sure your attachment to the army 
 will render pleasing to you, that is, that they universally think 
 and speak of.you with love, pleasure, gratitude, and applause ; 
 and you will, I am persuaded, hear very shortly from them." 
 Steuben, however, did not return to head-quarters until in 
 March, 1783. % 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Year 17S3 as devoid of kemarkable Events as the preceding.— Peace cer- 
 tain.— It IS ANNOUNCED TO THE ARMY.— The LATTER DISSOLVED.— CLAIMS OF 
 
 Officers and Soldiers.— Letter of Richard Peters.— Steuben's Advice asked 
 at the Dissolution of the Army.— His Proposals for the Discharge of the 
 Soldiers, about a Peace Establishment, and a Military Academy.— Lincoln's 
 Answer.— Closing Scenes of the War.— Address of the Officers of the Two 
 New York Regiments to Steuben.— Steuben's last official Mission to Canada. 
 —Washington's Instructions.— Want of Success of his Demands on General 
 Haldimand.— Steuben's Report.— He goes to Philadelphia and New York.— 
 Washington's Letter on the Day of jiis Resignation.— Steuben's Answer.— 
 Office of Secretary of War vacant.— Knox preferred to Steuben.— Reasons 
 why.— Steuuen resigns the Inspectorship.— Congress accepts it, and votes 
 him a gold-hllted sword.— its description. 
 
 # 
 
 rpHE year 1783 passed over more quietly than its predeces- 
 J- sor. The conclusion of peace was already certain at its 
 beginning. In March, the intelligence that the preliminaries 
 had been signed reached the camp, and as early as the 19th 
 of April the cessation of hostilities was proclaimed to the army. 
 From this date begins its disbandment— a difficult business, 
 considering the just claims of the soldiers, and the inability of 
 Congress to send them home satisfied. 
 
 " Our means," writes Richard Peters on the 23d of April, 
 1783, to Steuben,* "are small, though our wishes are favor- 
 able and sincere. Our circumstances afford an odd contrast 
 to those we have heretofore experienced. The difficulty which 
 heretofore oppressed us was how to raise an army ; the one 
 which now embarrasses us is how to dissolve it. Every thino- 
 that Congress can do for our deserving soldiers will be done, 
 but an empty purse is a bar to the execution of the best 
 plans." 
 
 Steuben was often consulted by the commander-in-chief as 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
L IPE O F S T E U BEN. 
 
 11 
 
 well as the Minister at War, about the business connected with 
 the disbandment of the army, and about the arrangements to 
 be made for the defense of the country after the conclusion 
 of peace. As to the former object, he wrote on the 26th of 
 April, 1783, to Washington :* 
 
 " Before the dismissal of the men engaged for the war, it 
 will be necessary that each of them should receive a printed 
 discharge, signed by the commander-in-chief. If they leave 
 the army without being regularly discharged, the consequence 
 will be that those who have been engaged for a longer time 
 will take this moment to leave the army also, and entering 
 into the class of citizens with them, it will not be known who 
 are entitled to their dismission and who are deserters. More- 
 over, a discharge signed by the commander-in-chief will give a 
 dignity nattering to soldiers who have served their country 
 with fidelity. It would have a good effect if the soldiers, by 
 their discharges, were authorized to apprehend and deliver to 
 their respective governments those who have left the army 
 without a legal discharge. The certificate of the retiring offi- 
 cers ought to be printed on parchment, if possible, signed by 
 the commander-in-chief, and sealed with his arms ; they will, 
 in the most honorable terms, express the value of their ser- 
 vices. 
 
 "The dismissal of the troops must be executed with the 
 greatest dignity possible, for which purpose I submit to your 
 Excellency whether a board should not assemble, to be com- 
 posed of a brigadier general, a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, 
 and a major of each line, at which board the inspector gen- 
 eral could preside. The certificates of the officers and the dis- 
 charge of the soldiers to be signed and filled in such a man- 
 ner that nothing would remain for the board but to insert the 
 name, rank, and date of the person discharged. The names 
 of the officers and soldiers so dismissed to be entered by the 
 board in a book, which, in memory of those brave citizens 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
512 LIFE OF ST E U B B X . 
 
 who have fought for the independence of their country, should 
 be preserved in the archives of Congress. The troops to be 
 discharged in lines, beginning with New Hampshire. The 
 board dismissing those enlisted for the Continent, might be as- 
 sembled at the Temple, the general of the line, the field and staff 
 officers of the regiment, and the officers of the company who are 
 to be discharged, will be present. The troops to be marched 
 to the temple in regiments or battalions, formed for inspection. 
 Each non-commissioned officer and soldier will be examined 
 as to his pretensions, and if any doubt should arise as to the 
 term of his engagement, the necessary inquiries maybe made, 
 as at this moment every person will be present who can be 
 supposed to give information in the matter. 
 
 " The Discharging. —When a battalion is finished, the in- 
 specting general, or inspector, will divide them into compa- 
 nies, and divide the officers who are to command them. This 
 formation will exist on the march, and until they arrive at the 
 rendezvous in their respective States, where they will be final- 
 ly discharged. Those who remain will be formed in battalions 
 and companies, for the ^present, until the new battalions are 
 composed. As soon as the troops of a line are discharged, the 
 senior officer will, with the general's order, conduct them to 
 the place assigned for their final dissolution. If the soldiers 
 could be made sensible that this plan for their dismissal was 
 adopted that they might return to their States with that honor 
 and dignity which their service merits, and that the least dis- 
 order, excess, or want of subordination, would be more dis- 
 graceful on this than on any other occasion, and would .... 
 the merits of their past service, it would, in all probability, 
 have the best consequence." 
 
 This prudent advice, though approved by the commander- 
 in-chief, could not, however, be realized, on account of the 
 hurry with which the army, for fear of disturbance, was dis- 
 solved. The troops dispersed without control or order, and 
 without any ceremony. A great many bitter remarks of 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 513 
 
 Steuben, in regard to this matter, will be found in the Ap- 
 pendix. 
 
 Washington further asked Steuben's opinion on a final 
 peace establishment, while General Lincoln, the Minister at 
 War, requested his sentiments on the establishment of a mili- 
 tary academy and manufactory. 
 
 "I had the honor," wrote Steuben on the 15th of April, 
 1783, to Washington,* "yesterday, of receiving your letter 
 requesting my sentiments on a final establishment. I am 
 sorry that my knowledge of our frontiers and of the sea coast 
 will not permit me to answer your Excellency's wishes. I am 
 firmly of opinion that whatever troops may be kept up, that 
 they should be entirely Continental, forming a division or 
 brigade, from which division or brigade the .... post may 
 be garrisoned by battalions or companies. By such a form- 
 ation the order and regularity which has been introduced into 
 our service would, in a great measure, be preserved. The 
 pay for the non-commissioned officers and privates for the 
 peace establishment ought, in my opinion, be less than the 
 pay of those grades are at present. It is but reasonable that 
 troops on a peace establishment should receive less than in 
 time of actual war, and if these emoluments should be paid 
 regularly, a small sum would suffice to answer all their real 
 wants, and some imaginary ones. I am also of opinion that 
 no rations should be furnished to troops on a peace establish- 
 ment, but the money at which they are valued .... for the 
 troops, provided they are paid weekly. In the present move- 
 ment there are other establishments which deserve to be at- 
 tended to — the establishment of military academies and man- 
 ufactories; those, as well as the other matters, are, in my 
 opinion, of sufficient consequence to require the deliberation 
 of a committee of Congress and the general officers of the 
 army." 
 
 And on the 21st of April he continues: "I have the honor 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xii. 
 
514 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 to inclose to your Excellency my thoughts on a peace es 
 tablishment for our interior defenses. How far my plan is 
 adapted to the circumstances of the United States, and 
 whether it will agree with the principles of our government, I 
 am not able to determine. This I am certain of, that we have 
 need of a regular force for the protection of our frontiers- 
 that our militia ought to be on a regular establishment ; and 
 that the establishment of military schools and manufactories 
 will be the best means for providing for our security in future ; 
 and that a system of this nature will make us more respectable 
 with the powers of Europe than if we should keep fifty thou- 
 sand men in pay."* 
 
 In his letter of the 16th of April, 1783, transmitting his 
 plan of a military academy to Lincoln, Steuben says, among 
 other things : 
 
 " Want of time prevented me from detailing the different 
 objects I had in view, which I wished the more as I wanted 
 to answer all and any objections and doubts which might be 
 raised as to my statements. The calculation, however, is very 
 just, the expense taken at the highest, and the result at a very 
 moderate rate. The appointments and salaries in all the classes 
 are such, that England, Germany and France will furnish ac- 
 ceptable teachers. The ideas which you communicated to me 
 served me as a direction in regard to the number. Several 
 objects require a more detailed explanation. I, therefore, 
 should like to be present when the plan will be taken into 
 consideration." 
 
 " I have been honored," answered Lincoln, on the 24th of 
 April, 1783,f "with your favor of the 16th inst., covering a 
 system for the military academy. 
 
 " I am exceedingly obliged by your attention to this sub- 
 ject; and for your well-digested and judicious arguments, 
 please to accept my most cordial thanks. 
 
 * Steuben's views on this subject will be found in tho Appendix. 
 \ Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 515 
 
 "I am fully convinced as to what is the interest of the 
 United States, but I can not be so certain what line of conduct 
 they will pursue. However, the committee have under con- 
 sideration your observations. If I differ from them in my 
 report, it will not be because I think them ill calculated to 
 promote the general interest, but from a full conviction that 
 so necessary and extensive a plan can not be carried in Con- 
 gress. I hope you will be heard before your plan is rejected. 
 "If the very best measure can not be obtained, we must 
 at present be content with the next best." 
 
 "I have received your plans," wrote II. Peters, to whom 
 Steuben had just given his opinion about the line of conduct 
 to be pursued towards prisoners of war, on the 6th of May, 
 1783, "and given them to the committee on peace establish- 
 ment. You know how much I value all your military opinions, 
 and therefore I need not tell you that I find much to ... . 
 in the ....;* but if I were to go into the details my 
 answer would be wordy, and possibly not well grounded. All 
 of them will not be adopted, but they will furnish a very 
 respectable part of any building we may erect." 
 
 Steuben's plan for the establishment of a military academy 
 and manufactory, which he made at the request of the Sec- 
 retary at War is one of the most interesting of all the drafts 
 he made at this time. How far it served as a basis for the 
 military school at West Point (established in 1803), we are 
 not able to judge, but it will easily be seen, by competent 
 judges, from the following particulars. Steuben's leading idea 
 in regard to the school was the creation of an institution 
 similar to the Prussian cadet houses, as, for instance, Potsdam 
 and Berlin, in which young men are educated for officers. He 
 says :f 
 
 "1. The establishment shall consist of a military acad- 
 emy and a military manufactory, the direction and government 
 
 * The blanks aro occasioned by the defects of the original MS. 
 f Stenben MS. Paper?, Utica. 
 
516 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN 
 
 of which shall be committed to a director general, the four 
 senior officers of the establishment, and two professors of the 
 academy, who shall be called the council of directors. 
 
 "2. The superior and inferior officers, the professors and 
 masters of the academy shall be appointed by Congress. 
 
 "3. Commissioners appointed by Congress shall yearly 
 examine the administration of the establishment, to whom the 
 council of directors shall expose their accounts, and give every 
 information, respecting the establishment, which may be re- 
 quired of them. 
 
 "4. One hundred and twenty young gentlemen, under the 
 denomination of volunteer cadets, shall be educated every 
 three years, eighty of whom shall be destined for the infantry, 
 twenty for the cavalry, and twenty for the engineers and ar- 
 tillery. 
 
 "5. No person shall be received as a volunteer cadet 
 under the age of fourteen years, nor without having received 
 what is called a grammar-school education. 
 
 " 6. No cadet shall be obliged to enter into the army 
 against his inclination, but shall be at liberty to choose what 
 career he pleases. 
 
 " 7. Each cadet shall pay for his board, clothing and in- 
 struction, three hundred dollars per annum. 
 
 " 8. If a cadet leaves the academy before his three years 
 expire, he shall be deprived of a certificate and the benefits 
 thereof. 
 
 u 9. Each cadet shall be instructed in the following sciences 
 and aits:— Natural and experimental philosophy, eloquence 
 and the belles Icttres, civil law and the law of nations, his- 
 tory and geography, mathematics, civil architecture, draw- 
 ing, the French language, horsemanship, fencing, dancing, and 
 music. 
 
 "Independent of the above, those cadets designed for the 
 artillery and engineers, will receive particular instructions from 
 the officers of this corps. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 517 
 
 " 10. The cadets shall live in a convenient house ; they will 
 eat at four different tables, which will be cleanly and equally 
 served, and at each of which an officer will preside in rotation. 
 They will be uniformly habited, and subject to the rules of 
 the academy. The clothing (except linen), and subsistence 
 will be furnished by the establishment. 
 
 "11. There will be five professors, for each of whom a 
 convenient house will be constructed, and land annexed suf- 
 ficient for a yard and garden. They will also receive the pay 
 and emoluments mentioned in the list of appointments. 
 
 " Professors : one of mathematics, one of history and geog- 
 raphy, one of the law of nations and civil law, one of natural 
 and experimental philosophy, one of eloquence and the belles 
 lettres. 
 
 "12. There will be seven masters of arts, who will have 
 convenient houses and gardens, with the pay and emoluments 
 noted in the list of appointments. 
 
 " Masters : one of architecture, one of drawing, one of 
 the French language, one of riding, one of dancing, one of 
 fencing, one of music. 
 
 " The rules and statutes for the academy shall be formod 
 by the first council of directors, or by persons named by Con- 
 gress, whose sanction shall be necessary to their existing as a 
 permanent ordinance. 
 
 " Congress will recommend the passing a law by which no 
 person shall be employed as an officer in the army, who has 
 not served as an ofiicer in the late war, or received his educa- 
 tion at one of the military academies, and can produce a cer- 
 tificate, signed by the director general, of his capacity. 
 
 " The rank of each cadet will be shown by the date of his 
 certificate, and if an army should be formed, the first class 
 would serve as captains, the second as lieutenants, and the 
 third as ensigns." 
 
 The manufactory connected with the above school con- 
 sisted, according to Steuben's plan, of six hundred men em- 
 
518 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ployed iii the different branches; viz., of seven master artifi- 
 cers, twenty artificers of the first class, one hundred and fifty 
 artificers of the second class, twenty-six common tradesmen, 
 three hundred and ninety-six common workingmen. The man- 
 ufactories in which they had to work, were: 1st. A manufac- 
 tory of cannon powder which was to furnish one thousand 
 barrels per annum, at $16 a barrel; 2d. A manufactory of 
 iron to cast four hundred tons of ore into cannon, mortars, how- 
 itzers, shells and shot ; 3d. A manufactory of bar iron to fur- 
 nish one hundred tons, each ton at $50 ; 4th. A manufactory 
 of carriages to furnish one hundred and twenty carriages a 
 year at $100 a piece ; 5th. A manufactory of fire-arms to fur- 
 nish three thousand four hundred muskets at $6 a piece, five 
 hundred carabines at $4, and five hundred pair of pistols at 
 $4 ; 6th. A manufactory of white arms to furnish three thou- 
 sand swords for the cavalry at $2, three thousand four hun- 
 dred bayonets at $1 a piece, five hundred lances and five hun- 
 dred hatchets ; 7th. A manufactory of leather, to famish 
 three thousand seven hundred cartridge boxes at $2 a piece, 
 three thousand scabbards for swords, three hundred bridles, 
 three hundred saddles and three hundred halters ; 8th. A brass 
 foundery to cast annually eight field-pieces, six pounders; eight 
 field-pieces, three pounders ; eight howitzers of eight inches, 
 and eight howitzers of five and a half inches ; 9th. A complete 
 laboratory for the artillery. 
 
 Steuben computed the costs and expenses of both estab- 
 lishments at $142,636 per year. Deducting from them the 
 articles manufactured, at $95,950, and the tuition fee received 
 from one hundred and twenty cadets at $300 per head, at 
 $36,000; a balance was left of $10,686, to be charged to the 
 United States. 
 
 "Among the annual salaries we quote : director general to 
 receive $2,832 ; each assistant teacher $1,488, in all, $8,784 ; 
 five professors, $6,721 ; five masters of arts and tutors, $3,264 ; 
 hospital department, $4,212 ; eighty infantry cadets, $21,384 ; 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEX. 519 
 
 twenty cavalry cadets, $5,124 ; twenty artillery and engineer 
 cadets, $5,472." 
 
 It was just at this time that the order of the Cincinnati 
 was formed, in the establishment of which Steuben took a 
 very prominent part. As we shall have to refer to it in another 
 chapter, we relate here the last incidents of the war, and Steu- 
 ben's participation in the memorable events which ended the 
 year 1783. 
 
 His position in the army just about to dissolve, is best 
 characterized by the following letter which the officers of the 
 two New York regiments, on the 9th of June, 1783, addressed 
 to Steuben, before they left their quarters. It reads as fol- 
 lows :* 
 
 "The objects for which we took upon us the profession of 
 arms being accomplished, we are now about to retire from the 
 field and return to the class of private citizens. 
 
 " But before w r e separate for ever, permit us, the officers 
 of the two New York regiments, to express our feelings to- 
 ward you on this occasion. 
 
 " The essential and distinguished services you have ren- 
 dered this country, must inspire the breast of every citizen 
 of America with sentiments of gratitude and esteem. But 
 Ave, sir, feel sentiments of another nature. Your unremitted 
 exertions on all occasions to alleviate the distress of the army, 
 and the manner in which you have shared them with us, have 
 given you more than a common title to the character of our 
 friend — as our military parent we have long considered you. 
 Ignorant as we were of the profession we had undertaken, it 
 is to your abilities and unwearied assiduity we are indebted 
 for that military reputation we finally attained. We there- 
 fore feel ourselves bound to you by the strongest ties of affec- 
 tion, and we now take leave of you with that regret which 
 such sentiments must occasion. Wishing you long to enjoy in 
 health and happiness those rewards which your services have 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Utica, 
 
520 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 merited, and which a grateful people can not fail to bestow. 
 We have the honor to remain yours," etc. 
 
 The last duty which Steuben performed in the service of 
 the United States, was a mission which he undertook by order 
 of the commander-in-chief to Canada. Washington selected 
 him as the most proper person to claim from General Haldi- 
 mand, the governor of that province, the delivery of the posts 
 on the frontier territory ceded to the United States. This 
 mission, although it afterward proved unsuccessful, was the 
 more honorable as it required at the same time a sound mil- 
 itary and political judgment. The following instructions 
 were given by Washington to Steuben, on the 12th of July, 
 1783:* 
 
 " In consequence of powers in me invested for that pur- 
 pose, I do hereby authorize and desire you to proceed with 
 such dispatch as you shall find convenient, into Canada, and 
 there concert with General Haldimand, or other British com- 
 mander-in-chief in that province, all such measures as you shall 
 find necessary for receiving possession of the posts now under 
 his command within the territory of the United States, and at 
 present occupied by the troops of his Britannic Majesty, and 
 from which his said majesty's troops are to be withdrawn, 
 agreeably to the seventh article of the provisional treaty be- 
 tween his said majesty and the United States of America. 
 
 " In accomplishing this negotiation you will obtain, if pos- 
 sible, from General Haldimand his assurances and orders for 
 the immediate possession, by the United States, of the posts 
 in question, or at least a cession of them at an early day. But 
 if this can not be done, you will endeavor to procure from him 
 positive and definitive assurances, that he will as soon as possi- 
 ble give information of the time that shall be fixed on for the 
 evacuation of those posts, and that the troops of his Britannic 
 Majesty shall not be drawn therefrom until sufficient previous 
 notice shall be given of that event, that the troops of the 
 * Washington's Writings, viii., pp. 462-464. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEX. 521 
 
 United States may be ready to occupy the fortresses as soon as 
 they shall be abandoned by those of his Britannic Majesty. 
 
 " You will propose to General Haldiraand, an exchange of 
 such artillery and stores now in the posts, as you shall think 
 proper, and which you shall judge will be of benefit to the 
 United States, agreeing with the British commander-in-chief, 
 that an equal number of cannon, and an equal quantity and 
 kind of stores, to wdiat he may consent to exchange, shall be 
 replaced to his Britannic Majesty by the United States, at such 
 time and place as shall be fixed on, by you, for the purpose. 
 
 " Having formed your arrangements with General Haldi- 
 mand, you will be pleased to proceed in such manner as you shall 
 think best, to visit the several posts and fortresses on the fron- 
 tier territory of the United States, as far as Detroit ; view their 
 different situation, strength, and circumstances ; and, forming 
 your judgment of their relative position, and probable advan- 
 tage to the United States, you will report the same to me, 
 with your opinion of such of them as you shall think it most 
 expedient for the United States to retain and occupy. In pass- 
 ing Lake Champlain you will critically observe the width of 
 the waters at the northern extremity, and the nature of the 
 ground adjoining ; with a view to determine whether there 
 is any spot south of the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, 
 and near our extreme boundary, on which it will be conven- 
 ient, should Congress judge it expedient, to erect fortifications, 
 which Would command the entrance from Canada into that 
 lake. 
 
 " At Detroit you will find a very considerable settlement, 
 consisting mostly of French people from Canada. To these 
 you will please to intimate in the fullest manner the good dis- 
 position of Congress and the inhabitants of the United States 
 for their welfare and protection, expressing at the same time 
 to them our expectations of finding the like disposition in 
 them toward us, and the post which we may establish there, 
 and any future settlement which may be formed in their neigh- 
 
522 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 borhood by the subjects of the United States. As the advanced 
 season, or other unforeseen accidents, may render it difficult to 
 get a detachment of American troops to that place before it 
 may be convenient for the British garrison to be withdrawn 
 from that post, you will do well to engage, in this case, some 
 one or more of the respectable and well-disposed inhabitants 
 of the district to provide a company of militia (if there beany) 
 or others, at the expense of the United States, to take charge 
 of the works and buildings of the fortress, assuring them such 
 reasonable pay as shall be deemed adequate to their service, 
 or as you may condition for. You will also make particular 
 inquiry whether the farmers or merchants of Detroit are able 
 or willing to supply an American garrison at that post with 
 provisions and ether necessaries, and upon what terms." 
 
 Washington himself at the same time visited the northern 
 and north-western part of the State of New York, as far as the 
 Mohawk river and the eastern banks of the Susquehanna, in 
 order eventually to assist Steuben, and to facilitate the opera- 
 tions which would be necessary for occupying as soon as evac- 
 uated by British troops, the posts ceded by the treaty of 
 peace.* 
 
 In compliance with his instructions, Steuben at once pro- 
 ceeded to Canada, and arrived at Chamblee on the 2d of Au- 
 gust, whence he sent Major North to announce his arrival to 
 General Ilaldimand. According to the latter's appointment, 
 they met at Sorel, on the 8th, where Steuben opened the busi- 
 ness on which he was sent. 
 
 " To the first proposition which I had in charge to make," 
 reports he to Washington, on the 23d of August, I783,f "Gen- 
 eral Ilaldimand replied that he had not received any orders 
 for making the least arrangement for the evacuation of a sin- 
 gle post ; that he had only received orders to cease hostilities ; 
 those he had strictly complied with, not only by restraining the 
 
 * Washington's Writings, vol. viii., 4G9. 
 
 \ Qorrospoodence of the Revolution, iy„ 41, 42. 
 
* 
 
 t 
 
 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 523 
 
 British troops, but also the savages, from committing the least 
 hostile act ; but that, until he should receive positive orders 
 for that purpose, he would not evacuate an inch of ground. I 
 informed him that I was not instructed to insist on an imme- 
 diate evacuation of the posts in question, but that I was or- 
 dered to demand a safe conduct to, and a liberty of visiting 
 the posts on our frontiers, and now occupied by the British, 
 that I might judge of the arrangements necessary to be made 
 for securing the interests of the United States. To this he 
 answered that the precaution was j)rematnre ; that the peace 
 was not yet signed ; that he was only authorized to cease hos- 
 tilities ; and that, in this point of view, he could not permit 
 that I should visit a single post occupied by the British. Nei- 
 ther would he agree that any kind of negotiation should take 
 place between the United States and the Indians, if in his 
 power to prevent it, and that the door of communication 
 should, on his part, be shut, until he received positive orders 
 from his court to open it. My last proposal was that he should 
 enter into an agreement to advise Congress of the evacuation 
 of the posts, three months previous to their abandonment. 
 This, for the reason before mentioned, he refused, declaring 
 that until the definitive treaty should be signed, he would not 
 enter into any kind of agreement or negotiation whatever. 
 
 " I esteem myself very unfortunate that I could not suc- 
 ceed in the business with which I was charged, and am only 
 consoled by the idea that your Excellency will believe that 
 every thing which was in my power to do was done to answer 
 the wishes of your Excellency and of Congress." 
 
 Not having any thing to hope from a continuance of the 
 negotiations, Steuben left St. John's on the 13th of August ; 
 arrived at Saratoga on the 21st of August, and having restored 
 his weakened health, returned to head-quarters, where he re- 
 sumed his old duties till the army was finally disbanded. Con- 
 gress, on the 18th of October, 1783, discharged all officers and 
 soldiers from service, and retained only those who had enlisted 
 
524 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 for a definite time, till the new peace establishment was organ- 
 ized. On the recommendation of Steuben, Major William North 
 was appointed inspector of the troops who were under the com- 
 mand of General Knox. Steuben at this time left head-quar- 
 ters by order of the general-in-chief, and went to Philadelphia, 
 where he dissolved the posts still outstanding, gave orders for 
 the sick and invalid soldiers, and emptied the hospitals. The 
 performance of these duties kept him until the latter part of 
 November, when he returned to head-quarters. 
 
 The British soon after evacuated New York, and on the 
 25th of November, 1783, Washington, with his staff officers, 
 entered the city. Steuben was among them, and took part 
 in all the festivities attendant on the occasion, and from that 
 time to the 4th of December, when the commander-in-chiet 
 left New York to proceed to Annapolis, Maryland, to resign 
 his command into the hands of Congress. 
 
 Washington, even an hour before retiring to private life, 
 remembered Steuben's merits and devoted service to the great 
 cause which was now triumphant. lie honored him with a tes- 
 timonial more flattering than any he ever gave to the other offi- 
 cers of the revolutionary army, thus recanting his former harsh 
 judgment which confounded Steuben with the crowd of foreign 
 adventurers who offered their services in the first years of the 
 war. This was his last letter while in the service of his coun- 
 try, and in this respect, too, is an interesting historical docu- 
 ment. It reads as follows :* 
 
 " Anxapolis, December 23, 1*783. 
 " My Dear Baron, — 
 
 " Although I have taken frequent opportunities, both in 
 public and in private, of acknowledging your great zeal, at- 
 tention and abilities, in performing the duties of your office, 
 yet I wish to make use of this last moment of my public life, 
 to signify, in the strongest terms, my entire approbation of 
 your conduct, and to express my sense of the obligations the 
 
 * Yv r ashington'd Writings, vol. viii., p. 503. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 525 
 
 public is under to yoiu for your faithful and meritorious ser- 
 vices. 
 
 u I beg you will be convinced, my dear sir, that I should 
 rejoice if it could ever be in my power to serve you more es- 
 sentially than by expressions of regard and affection ; but, 
 in the meantime, I am persuaded you will not be displeased 
 with this farewell token of my sincere friendship and esteem 
 for you. 
 
 " This is the last letter I shall write while I continue in the 
 service of my country. The hour of my resignation is fixed 
 at twelve to-day, after which I shall become a private citizen, 
 on the banks of the Potomac, where I shall be glad to em- 
 brace you, and testify the great esteem and consideration with 
 which I am, my dear baron," etc. 
 
 Steuben answered :* 
 
 " The letter of the 23d of December, which I have had 
 the honor of receiving from your Excellency, is the most hon- 
 orable testimony which my serving could have received. My 
 first wish was to approve myself to your Excellency, and in 
 having obtained your esteem my happiness is complete. The 
 confidence your Excellency was pleased to place in my integ- 
 rity and abilities gained me that of the army and of the United 
 States. Your approbation will secure it. 
 
 "A stranger to the language and customs of the country, 
 I had nothing to offer in my favor but a little experience and 
 a great good will to serve the United States. If my endeav- 
 ors have succeeded, I owe it to your Excellency's protection, 
 and it is a sufficient reward for me to know that I have been 
 useful in your Excellency's operations, which always tended 
 to the good of our country. 
 
 " After having studied the principles of the military art 
 under Frederick the Great, and put them in practice under 
 Washington, after having deposited my sword under the same 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
520 LIFE O F S T E U BEX. 
 
 trophies of victory with you, and finally after having received 
 this last public testimony of your esteem, there remains noth- 
 ing for me to desire. 
 
 "Accept my sincere thanks, my dear general, for the une- 
 quivocal proofs of your friendship, which I have received since 
 I had first the honor to be under your orders, and believe that 
 I join my prayers to those of America for the preservation of 
 your life, and for the increase of your felicity." 
 
 i On the 12th of November, 1783, the office of Secretary of 
 War had become vacant, in consequence of General Lincoln's 
 resignation, and the attention of the majority of Congress for 
 this office was now concentrated on Steuben and General 
 Knox. The only objection made against the former was that 
 he was a foreigner, and that a foreigner could not be trusted 
 with a post of such importance. This objection, absurd as it 
 was, settled the question, and while nobody disputed Steuben's 
 superior knowledge in his science, and in the administration of 
 the army, Kuox, the native candidate, got the appointment. 
 Steuben did not conceal his indignation at being compelled to 
 yield to such a stupid pretext. "The man," said he, in a let- 
 ter upon this subject, " who had abandoned all his appoint- 
 ments, and the brightest prospects in Europe, to devote his 
 services to the United States, who had served them with zeal 
 and fidelity during a war of seven years as critical as trying ; 
 the man who had got possessions in Virginia, Pennsylvania, 
 New York and New Jersey — with what effrontery could he 
 be called a foreigner ! As to the importance of this ministe- 
 rial office, the man who had organized the whole American 
 army in the midst of the war ; the man who solely had estab- 
 lished and put in execution the principles of strict military 
 rules: this man can not be intrusted with the administration 
 of a corps of four hundred men in time of peace ! What fine 
 reasoning ! But, in fact, Mr. Knox had engaged the delegates 
 of Massachusetts to secure to him this place. His own State 
 could not provide him with a post worthy of his ambition, and 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 527 
 
 therefore the Confederation had to give him a suitable appoint- 
 ment. Without disputing his knowledge in the art of artil- 
 lery, I dare to assert, that on my arrival at the army, it had 
 no idea of maneuvering with a single field-piece, and that I 
 was the first who taught them to make use of their cannons in 
 the attack and retreat."* 
 
 Steuben gave in his resignation on the 24th of March, 1784, 
 which Congress accepted on the 15th of April. To smooth 
 his exasperated feelings, Congress promised soon to settle his 
 claims against the United States, and resolved, f "That the 
 thanks of the United States, in Congress assembled, be given 
 to Baron Steuben for the great zeal and abilities he has dis- 
 covered in the discharge of the several duties of his office ; 
 that a gold-hilted sword be presented to him, as a mark of the 
 high sense Congress entertain of his character and services ; 
 and that the superintendent of finance take order for procur- 
 ing the same." 
 
 This sword was presented to Steuben three years after- 
 wards, on the 4th of January, 1787, with the following letter 
 from General Knox : 
 
 ""War Office, January 4, 1787. 
 
 " Sir, — The United States, in Congress assembled, by their 
 act of the 15th of April, 1784, expressed their high sense of 
 your military talents, services, and character, and as an honor- 
 able evidence thereof they directed that a gold-hilted sword 
 should be presented to you. It is with great satisfaction I 
 embrace the occasion of presenting you with the invaluable 
 memorial of their sentiments and your eminent merits. 
 
 " Were it possible to enhance the honor conferred by the 
 sovereign authority, it would be derived from the consider- 
 ation that their applause was reciprocated by the late illus- 
 trious commander-in-chief, and the whole army," 
 
 To which letter Steuben, on the 5th of January, returned 
 the following polite answer : 
 
 * Steuben MS- Papers, vol. xi. f Res. of Congress, vol. ix., p. 128. 
 
528 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " I have been honored with your letter, and Captain Stagg 
 has delivered me the sword which the United States were 
 pleased to order by their act of the 15th of April, 1784. 
 
 "Permit me, sir, to request that you would express to 
 Congress the high sentiments of respect and acknowledgment 
 with which I receive this distinguished mark of their regard. 
 
 " To a soldier such sentiments are ever dear, and that this 
 is accompanied with the approbation of our late commander- 
 in-chief, of yourself, and the army in general, will always be 
 my greatest glory. 
 
 "Accept, sir, my sincere thanks for the very nattering 
 manner in which you have communicated this present, and 
 believe me," etc. 
 
 Iu the New York Daily Advertiser of the 11th of January, 
 1787, from which we quote the above letters, the following 
 description of the sword is given: 
 
 "It was made in London, under the direction of Colonel 
 Smith, and executed by the first workmen in that kingdom. 
 The small medallions on each side of the top of the hilt, pre- 
 sent an eagle perched on a bunch of arrows, with a wreath 
 of laurel in her bill, and wings extended ready to rise. The 
 modest genius of America fills the front medallion on the hilt, 
 dressed in a flowing robe, ornamented with the new constella- 
 tion, holding an olive branch in her riiyht arm, and a dagger 
 in her left hand, and the fair field of liberty flourishing in the 
 background. It is answered on the opposite side with the 
 full figure of Minerva, in martial dress, robed and ornamented 
 with the same stars; the bird of wisdom is seated near; her 
 left hand being extended, presents the olive branch, while the 
 right is properly supported by the spear ; this figure is mar- 
 tial and gay — the other is mild, and modestly embraces the 
 olive branch, but holds the dagger with firmness. The bow 
 of the hilt presents drums, colors, halberts, etc., etc. The 
 sword and Blue Book* fill the two lower ones — two eagles, 
 
 * " The baron's excellent regulations for our army, commonly called the 
 Blue Book." — Editors of the Advertiser. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 529 
 
 seated on knots of colors, surrounded with stars, and holding 
 a sprig of an olive branch in the bill, with extended wings, are 
 emblems of peace and protection, under the sword and Blue 
 Book (which our country can not too strictly attend to). The 
 two opposite medallions are filled with trophies of war, and the 
 following inscription, modestly placed out of view under the 
 shield : 'The United States to Major General Baron Steuben, 
 15th April, 1784, for military merit.' " 
 
 23 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Treatment of the Revolutionary Officers ox the part of the United States. — IN- 
 GRATITUDE OF REPUBLICS. — MONARCHIES MORE GRATEFUL. — TlIE UNITED STATES FOR- 
 FEIT their Word. — They refuse to do Justice to their Officers. — Way in 
 
 WHICH THEY WERE TREATED. — RESOLUTION OF THE 26tH OF APRIL, 1778, GRANTING 
 
 Half Pay for Life, repealed by Resolution of the 15th of May, granting Half 
 Pay for only Seven Years. — Unjust Jealousy of the People against the 
 Officers. — Frivolous Complaints against them. — Washington tries to com- 
 promise in Favor of the Officers. — His Endeavors partly crowned wrrn 
 Success in October, 1780. — Ex-Parte Repeal of the old Law by new Con- 
 gress. — Mean Attempts to justify this Breach of Promise. — Memorial of the 
 Officers of December, 17S2. — The Newburg Addresses. — Washington inter- 
 feres. — Final Settlement of the Officers 1 Claims. — Steuben's Situation at 
 the End of the War. — He is more Helpless than his Brothers in Arms.— His- 
 tory of ms Negotiations with Congress for getting his Claims settled. — 
 The Conditions under which he entered the Service of Congress. — Resolu- 
 tions of the 30th of December, 1782. — Steuben in resigning wants a final 
 Settlement. — No Resolution arrived at. — Specification of his Claims. — 
 Congress goes to Trenton. — Steuben's Demands unfavorably looked upon. — 
 His Motives suspected. — The Validity of his Agreement with Congress ques- 
 tioned. — A Committee appointed for examining Steuben's Claims. — It pro- 
 poses to pay him Seven Thousand Dollars as Reward for his Services. — 
 Steuben does not want a Reward but Justice. — Hamilton's Letter to 
 Washington. — Steuben's personal Friends pronounce in Favor of his Claim. 
 — He prints a Pamphlet and distributes it among the Members of Congress. 
 — Hamilton to Washington about the Necessity of satisfying Steuben.— 
 Washington agrees with Hamilton. — A new Committee appointed. — It meets 
 
 WITH UNFORESEEN DIFFICULTIES. — It DOES NOT ARRIVE AT A CONCLUSION. — STEU- 
 
 ben's Destitution. — Armstrong's Letter. — The First Congress under the 
 new Constitution resumes the Matter. — Alexander Hamilton, then Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, reports favorably. — New Committee in Favor of 
 Steuben. — Its Proposals accepted. — Steuben gets an Annuity of Twenty 
 Five Hundred Dollars.— Speech of Mr. Page.— Importance of this Act. 
 
 REPUBLICS are accused of ingratitude toward tliose who 
 have done them good service, more often than any other 
 government ; comparisons are drawn between the absolutist 
 and free forms of political society, in order to show that kings 
 and princes are the more grateful in recompensing their faith- 
 ful servants. 
 
 Although it can not be denied that the sovereign power, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 531 
 
 when vested in an individual, has a greater personal interest to 
 prove its gratitude to those who served its ends, than a gov- 
 ernment which only temporarily represents the people, we 
 nevertheless, can not admit that this reproach is justified. 
 
 The very nature of government excludes gratitude. There 
 are too many in Office, or desirous of office, who claim its full 
 attention, and do not allow it to indulge in feelings of acknowl- 
 edgment; the dead are forgotten, and those out of office nec- 
 essarily overlooked. The people at large have a short mem- 
 ory, they are directed by the impulse of the moment, and 
 control each other in the instinct of their narrow-minded in- 
 terests. Here and there a brilliant exception — as in this coun- 
 try, for instance, the honors bestowed upon Washington — con- 
 firms the general rule, and all the hard sufferings, all the glo- 
 rious deeds of great men would soon be forgotten, were it not 
 the pious task of the historian to preserve them for the benefit 
 of future generations. 
 
 The United States, far from being grateful, have been par- 
 ticularly forgetful in regard to their great men. In no coun- 
 try of the world do they make so pompous a display of them 
 and remember so little what they have done. As an example, 
 Nathaniel Greene, after Washington, the greatest in the revo- 
 lutionary war, a man who had almost no equals in a great 
 period, and contributed so largely to the establishment of the 
 national independence, is forgotten ; the spot where his ashes 
 repose is not known. Alexander Hamilton, the great legisla- 
 tor and statesman, one of the eminent founders of the Consti- 
 tution of the United States, is hardly spoken of but by pro- 
 fessional men ; the people at large do not know him ; while in 
 other countries, which at least honor their deceased heroes, 
 public places would be adorned with his statues, school-rooms 
 decorated with his busts, and private houses ornamented with 
 his portraits. It really appears that in this country the enthu- 
 siastic veneration of Washington excludes any recollection of 
 the services of his compeers. 
 
6 32 1 ( 1 F E OF ST E UK E N . 
 
 But be this as it may, we do not require gratitude on the 
 part of a government ; all we can ask, and what we have a 
 right to ask, is justice and the strict fulfillment of its obliga- 
 tions, governments having their duties as well as their rights, 
 the due performance of the one being the best title to the 
 other ; but even in this respect the United States failed in 
 their dealings with the revolutionary officers. 
 
 A striking illustration of this fact is afforded by the eight 
 years' negotiation which Steuben had with Congress for the 
 settlement of his claims. It is our unpleasant office to give 
 the history of these proceedings, which have been often em- 
 ployed to cast a reproach on the character and disinterested- 
 ness of Steuben. In order to be just and to make them clear- 
 ly understood and considered in the spirit of their time, we 
 must, before entering into the particulars of Steuben's de- 
 mands, refer to the treatment which the revolutionary officers 
 in general experienced on the part of the United States. 
 
 The pay of the American army was originally so small that 
 it offered to those that had f-imilies dependent upon them, 
 an inadequate support. And so early as 1778, Washington, 
 perceiving the ill effects that must arise from the mistaken 
 policy of Congress toward the army, addressed the president 
 of Congress in the first of a series of most able letters, which 
 extend through the five following years. 
 
 Accordingly Congress resolved, on the 21st of April, 1778, 
 that provision should be made for the officers of the army 
 after the close of the war. Five days afterward, a proposi- 
 tion was carried that half pay be granted to them for life, 
 to commence at the end of the war; the next day it was re- 
 solved, that the United States should have the right to redeem 
 the half pay for life by giving to the officer entitled, four years' 
 half pay, and on the loth of May Congress substituted for the 
 whole scheme a provision of half pay for seven years. 
 
 It was soon found that the resolution of the 15th of May 
 was wholly inadequate, and Washington again pressed the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 533 
 
 subject upon the attention of Congress. On the 11th of Aug- 
 ust, 1779, eight States against four voted that the half pay 
 granted by the resolve of the 15th of May, be extended so as 
 to continue for life; and on the 17th it was further resolved, 
 that this extension be deemed suspended, and that it be rec- 
 ommended to the States that had not already adopted meas- 
 ures for that purpose, to make an adequate provision for the 
 officers enlisted for the war, who should remain in service till 
 the establishment of peace. Pennsylvania had already voted 
 to her officers half pay for life, but no other State followed her 
 example, or heeded the recommendations of Congress. 
 
 In the autumn of 1780, Washington again applied to Con- 
 gress, and on the 21st of October a resolution was passed that 
 half pay for life should be granted to such officers as should 
 remain in service till the end of the war. 
 
 From this time the officers remained in the service, re- 
 lying upon this resolution in the belief that the public faith 
 would be kept with them. But the resolution of Congress ot 
 1780 was supplanted by the Congress of the Confederation, 
 whose members could not be brought to see that the resolu- 
 tion of the 21st of October, 1780, was a compact with the 
 officers, obligatory upon every succeeding Congress. On the 
 contrary, it was maintained that the resolve, having passed be- 
 fore the Articles of Confederation were signed, could not bind 
 Congress under the Confederation, as that instrument required 
 the votes of nine States for an appropriation of money. 
 
 Nothing, therefore, was done, and the officers of the Con- 
 tinental army fearing it would be disbanded before their claims 
 would be settled, destitute of money and of credit, oppressed 
 with debts and with the sufferings of their families at home, 
 presented, in December, 1782, a memorial to Congress, in 
 which they offered to commute the half pay for life granted 
 to them by the resolution of October, 1780, for full pay for a 
 certain number of years, or for a reasonable sum in gross. 
 The committee, chosen from among the officers themselves, 
 
534 LIFE OF STEUBEN, 
 
 to advocate their claims, waited upon Congress until March, 
 1783, when they wrote to their constituents that nothing had 
 been done. On the 10th of March, the famous Newburg let- 
 ter made its appearance in the army. It was written with 
 great ability and skill, and called upon the officers of the 
 army at Newburg to meet together to consider the late let- 
 ter from their committee at Philadelphia. Although it was 
 anonymous, it is well known it was written by John Arm- 
 strong, a major in the army. 
 
 The crisis called forth all Washington's conciliatory tact 
 and firmness. He issued an order at once forbidding an as- 
 semblage at the call of an anonymous paper, and directing the 
 officers to assemble on the 18th of March, to hear a report of 
 their committee at Philadelphia, and to determine what course 
 should be pursued for the future. The senior officer in rank 
 was directed to preside and to report the result of the meeting 
 to the commander-in-chief 
 
 On the next day after the issuing of this order, a second 
 anonymous letter appeared from the same writer. In this pa- 
 per he affected to consider the order of Washington as a sanc- 
 tion of the whole proceeding which the writer had proposed. 
 Washington saw at once the necessity of being present at 
 the meeting ; and by his influence, aided by Putnam, Knox, 
 Brooks and Howard, resolutions were adopted in which the 
 officers, after reasserting their grievances, and rebuking all 
 attempts to seduce them from their allegiance, referred the 
 whole subject of their claims again to the consideration of 
 Congress. 
 
 The effect of these resolutions was the passage by Congress 
 of certain resolves, on the 22d of March, 1783, commuting the 
 half pay for life to five years' full pay at the close of the war, 
 to be received at the option of Congress, in money, or in such 
 securities as were given to other creditors of the United Slates. 
 In July the accounts of the army were ordered to be adjusted, 
 and after the disbanding of the army in October, 1783, tha 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 535 
 
 officers passed in the whole mass of the creditors of the Con- 
 federation.* 
 
 Steuben's position was quite different from that of his 
 brother officers when he retired to private life. Old, fatigued, 
 and without resources, in a foreign country, he stood helpless 
 and alone. He knew none of the civil occupations by which 
 others succeeded, in gaining an honorable existence ; he had 
 nothing to rely on but his past services to assure him a liveli- 
 hood during his declining years. He expected that Congress at 
 once would do justice to his claims; but when American officers 
 were treated in so mean and miserly a way, a foreigner had 
 still less reason to hope that his claims, however just, would be 
 acknowledged. 
 
 It took Steuben no less than seven years to arrive at a final 
 settlement with Congress. 
 
 As stated above, in chapter V., Steuben, in February, 
 1778, when asked by Congress on what conditions he would 
 enter the service of the United States, declared to a commit- 
 tee sent to him for this purpose, that he had come to offer his 
 services as a volunteer, and asked neither rank nor pay ; that 
 if the United States failed in their revolution, or if he did not 
 give satisfaction in his operations, he asked nothing ; but that, 
 leaving to their generosity any other reward of his services, if 
 at the end of the war they should meet the approbation of the 
 commander-in-chief, and if the great object of independence 
 should finally be accomplished, he expected not only a reim- 
 bursement of all his expenses incurred in coming to America, 
 but also an indemnification for the emoluments which he was 
 obliged to renounce in order to devote his services to the 
 United States. 
 
 Congress thanked Steuben for this generous and disinter- 
 ested tender of his talents, and directed him to join the army 
 without delay, whereupon he set out for the camp. 
 
 * George Ticknor Curtis: History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption 
 of the Constitution of the United States, i., 158. 
 
536 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 During the whole war he fulfilled, as we have seen, his en- 
 gagements like a good general and a man of honor. The in- 
 dependence of the United States was acknowledged by a peace 
 with Great Britain, as advantageous as glorious to the United 
 States, for which it now remained to fulfill, among others, their 
 engagements with Steuben. As long as the war lasted they 
 seemed to have been conscious of their obligations. In Decem- 
 ber, 1782, Steuben made an application to Congress to have his 
 accounts liquidated and to obtain some further assurances for 
 the accomplishment of the engagement on the part of the Uni- 
 ted States towards him. As stated in chapter XXIII., a com- 
 mittee was appointed for this purpose, consisting of Messrs. 
 A. Hamilton, Clark and Carroll, on the 30th of December, 
 1782.* 
 
 They made their report, in which the amount of the com- 
 pensation was left blank. But a verbal proposal was agitated 
 in Congress, to pay Steuben a gross sum often thousand guin- 
 eas, in full discharge of all claims and demands whatever. 
 The payment of the revenue which he had sacrificed, and for 
 the indemnification of which he had stipulated, he feared 
 might be regarded as a pension, and in that light be disagree- 
 able to the country. lie therefore resolved to limit his claim 
 to a gross sum, payable in Europe in such reasonable install- 
 ments as to obviate any difficulties on the part of the United 
 States in paying it. The sum which he fixed amounted to 
 £10,000. The resolution of Congress on this subject was de- 
 ferred, because it was suggested that the public finances were 
 utterly deranged, and that Congress would be embarrassed 
 by a number of foreign officers then at Philadelphia, who 
 might be induced to increase their demands, on such generous 
 treatment being given to Steuben. Always retaining the full- 
 est confidence in Congress, he acquiesced in the reasons given 
 and rejoined the army. 
 
 On the 24th day of March, 1784, when Steuben sent in his 
 * Congressional Debates, viii., 51. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 537 
 
 resignation, he repeated bis request for a final arrangement of 
 his business. Mr. E. Gerry then proposed that the sum of 
 $4:0,000 should be given, as an indemnification and satisfac- 
 tion of all his claims, but that the $9,000 for his commutation 
 should be included therein. The resolve of Congress, of April 
 15, 1784, then sitting at Annapolis, shows a promise of ample 
 justice, and ordered that till the most speedy and efficacious 
 means of satisfying his demands were procured, in the mean- 
 time the sum of $10,000 should be advanced to him on ac- 
 count. This sum was indeed paid to him, but at different pe- 
 riods and with irregularity and loss, and was deducted from 
 his pay and commutation as major general. It was, however, 
 objected by some that Steuben's demands were exorbitant ; 
 that his avarice was insatiable, and that he was not to be sat- 
 isfied with any fixed sums, however large. In closely examin- 
 ing his claims they do not at all appear indefinite. They are, 
 on the contrary, fixed to a certain specific sum, which is by 
 no means exorbitant. According to the stipulations which he 
 made in entering the service, he asked :* 
 
 1st. The reimbursement of his expenses in coming to America, at 620 louisdors : 
 
 In dollars, $2,815.80 
 
 Interest thereon for ten years at 7 per cent, . . . 1,971.08 
 
 2d. The payment of a loan, made IT 78, at Gerard & Beaumarchais' 
 agent, to defray his camp equipage, horses, etc., 1,400 
 
 louisdors, 6,358.32 
 
 Interest thereon for nine years, at 7 per cent., . . . 4,005.72 
 3d. Indemnification for a yearly revenue of 580 louisdors, . . 52,683.32 
 
 $67,834.24 
 
 * Steuben made at different times, different statements, setting forth his 
 claims. Their principal item, however, viz., the indemnification for his 
 yearly revenue of five hundred and eighty louisdors, is in all the same, and 
 other apparent inconsistencies are caused by the difference of the accumu- 
 lated interest. We have chosen the account which in 1787 he laid before Con- 
 gress. Deducting from its net amount the unsettled items, 3 and 4, it is 
 even less than the result of the Secretary of Treasury's account, of 1790. 
 This gentleman arrives at a balance of $7,396.££- in Steuben's favor, while 
 he himself asks only $998.24, 
 
 23* 
 
538 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Brought over, $67,834.24 
 
 4th. The above-named revenue of 580 louisdors since his resigna- 
 tion, in March, 1783 to September, 1787, being four and 
 a half years, without interest, 11853.72 
 
 Total > $79,687./ B 
 
 Received on account : 
 
 Traveling expenses in 1779, 150 louisdors, . . $681.24 
 
 Interest thereon, eight years, at 7 per cent, . 381.48 
 
 Commutation as major general, . . . . 9,090.00 
 
 . A gratification of 7,000.00—17,152.72 
 
 Balance due, $62,535.£f 
 
 Thus it is evident that the sum of ten thousand pounds 
 sterling, which Steuben had fixed on as full compensation for 
 every thing, was not exorbitant, but fell short of what was in 
 justice due to him. When he had decided to limit his claim 
 to the sum before mentioned, he consulted with several mem- 
 bers of Congress, who all thought the proposition reasonable, 
 and promised to support it. From Annapolis Congress soon 
 after moved to Trenton, and Steuben again presented himself 
 to them for a final decision on his demands. 
 
 It was at this period that the nature of the affair be^an to 
 change its face. Hitherto Steuben had been treated with a 
 degree of respect, but now the language was changed, and 
 some of the members of Congress not only acted in open 
 opposition to his claims, but even did not refrain from sug- 
 gestions injurious to his character as a man of honor. They 
 denied the validity of the engagements on whiuh Steuben 
 founded his claim, they depreciated his services, and suggested 
 that the sacrifice of a revenue in Europe was not proved, but 
 that, like other needy adventurers, he had come over to seek 
 employ in this country; some even insinuated that he was 
 paid by the court of France for his services in America, and 
 from these suggestions or impressions, a system of opposition 
 was formed against his demands. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 539 
 
 However mortifying these proceedings were to Steuben, 
 it was some consolation that they were supported by a very 
 small minority in Congress, sufficient, however, to defeat the 
 intentions of a respectable minority, who at all times were 
 disposed to do him justice. 
 
 In the month of January, 1785, Congress removed to New 
 York. A majority of them then pressed for a decision on 
 the affair, and another committee was appointed to examine 
 his pretensions. The opposition denied the existence of the 
 engagement at York, but agreed that Steuben merited a 
 reward. The sum of twenty thousand dollars was proposed, 
 then a less sum, and finally they passed the following reso- 
 lution: "That in full consideration of the Baron De Steuben 
 having relinquished different posts of honor and emoluments 
 in Europe, and rendered the most essential services to the 
 United States, he be allowed and paid out of the Treasury of 
 the United States the sum of seven thousand dollars, in ad- 
 dition to former grants." 
 
 It appeared evident by this act, that no contract or en- 
 gagement was recognized ; the grant is expressed to be as a 
 reward for his services and sacrifices. 
 
 "The poor baron," writes Alexander Hamilton, on the 
 23d of November, 1785, to Washington,* "is still soliciting 
 Congress, and has every prospect of indigence before him. 
 He has his imprudences, but, upon the whole, he has rendered 
 valuable services, and his merits, and the reputation of the 
 country alike demand that he should not be left to suffer want. 
 If there could be any mode by which your influence could be 
 employed in his favor, by writing to your friends in Congress, 
 or otherwise, the baron and his friends would be under great 
 obligations to you." 
 
 In consequence of this formal attempt to evade the con- 
 tract, it became Steuben-s duty to prove that it existed. At 
 the time he laid his terms before the committee, it certainly 
 * Correspondence of the American Revolution, by .T. Sparks. i\\, 122. 
 
540 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 did not enter his head to execute a written agreement before 
 a notary public ; in making stipulations with a sovereign he 
 had not conceived it necessary; lie had, therefore, nothing in 
 writing to show. The Journals of Congress were searched, 
 but nothing was to be found. All that could be done was to 
 appeal to the individuals with whom he had treated. He ac- 
 cordingly wrote to Dr. Witherspoon, chairman of the com- 
 mittee, Mr. Gerry, then member of Congress, Mr. Peters, the 
 secretary of the board of war, to Mr. Duer, member of Con- 
 gress and of the board of war. These gentlemen, without 
 hesitation, certified to the facts which passed at the time, and 
 these certificates corroborated all that Steuben had advanced 
 on the subject. In answer to the other objections and to the 
 suggestions which had been thrown out, Steuben collected a 
 number of letters and papers tending to show that he was not 
 a needy adventurer as had been insinuated, nor the pensioner 
 of France in the service of America. 
 
 Steuben, from an unwillingness to trust wholly to his own 
 judgment in a matter which so immediately interested him, 
 concluded to take the advice of some friends, on whose sense of 
 justice he could rely. With this view he submitted the state- 
 ment of facts, and the certificates accompanying it, to John Jay, 
 Chancellor Livingston, Alexander Hamilton, James Duane and 
 Mr. Duer, requesting them to favor him with their impartial 
 opinion of the merits of his pretensions. These gentlemen, 
 after deliberate consideration of the papers laid before them, 
 unanimously declared it to be their sentiment, that the trans- 
 actions vouched by the certificates produced to them, amount- 
 ed, in substance, to a contract binding in good faith on the 
 United States. 
 
 Steuben then printed a iew copies of this state of facts, 
 with the several letters and papers annexed, and gave a copy 
 to each member of Congress for their information, and pre- 
 sented a memorial to Congress insisting on the justice of his 
 pause. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 541 
 
 " I send you," writes A. Hamilton to Washington, on the 
 30th of October, 1787,* "at the request of the Baron Do 
 Steuben, a printed pamphlet containing the grounds of an ap- 
 plication lately made to Congress. 
 
 " He tells me there is some reference to you, the object of 
 which he does not himself seem clearly to understand ; but 
 imagines it may be in your power to be of service to him. 
 There are public considerations that induce me to be some- 
 what anxious for his success. He is fortified with materials 
 which, in Europe, could not fail to establish the belief of the 
 contract he alleges. The documents of service he possesses 
 are of a nature to convey an exalted idea of them. The com- 
 pensations he has received, though considerable, if compared 
 with those which have been received by American officers, 
 will, according to European ideas, be very scanty in applica- 
 tion to a stranger who is acknowledged to have rendered es- 
 sential services. Our reputation abroad is not, at present, too 
 high. To dismiss an old soldier, empty and hungry, to seek 
 the bounty of those on whom he has no claims, and to com- 
 plain of unkind returns and violated engagements, will cer- 
 tainly not tend to raise it, I confess, too, there is something 
 in my feelings which would incline me, in this case, to go fur- 
 ther than might be strictly necessary, rather than drive a man, 
 at the baron's time of life, who has been a faithful servant, to 
 extremities. And this is unavoidable if he does not succeed 
 in his present attempt. What he asks would, all calculations 
 made, terminate in this— an allowance of his five hundred and 
 fifty guineas a year. He only wishes a recognition of the con- 
 tract. He knows, that until affairs mend, no money can be 
 produced. I do not know how far it may be in your power 
 to do him any good ; but I shall be mistaken if the considera- 
 tions I have mentioned do not appear to your Excellency to 
 have some weight," 
 
 "I thank you," answers Washington, on the 10th of No- 
 
 * Correspondence of the American Revolution, by J. Sparks, iv., 1 89. 
 
542 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 vember, 1787,* "for the pamphlet contained in your letter of 
 the 30th ultimo. 
 
 " Application has been made to me by Mi*. Secretary 
 Thompson (by order of Congress), for a copy of a report of a 
 committee which was appointed to confer with Baron Steu- 
 ben on his first arrival in this country, forwarded to me by 
 Mr. President Laurens. This I have accordingly sent. It 
 throws no other light on the subject, than such as is derived 
 from the disinterested conduct of the baron. No terms are 
 made by him, nor will he accept of any thing but with gen- 
 eral approbation. I have, however, in my letter inclosing 
 the report to the Secretary, taken occasion to express an un- 
 equivocal wish that Congress would reward the baron for ser- 
 vices, sacrifices, and merits, to his entire satisfaction. It is 
 the only w r ay in which I could bring my sentiments before 
 that honorable body, as it has been an established rule with 
 me to ask nothing from it." 
 
 Another committee w T as appointed, and every effort made 
 to throw obstacles in the way. It was even suggested that 
 the certificate of Dr. Witherspoon was not genuine; the doc- 
 tor was called before the committee and the question put to 
 him, whether the committee, which had treated with Steuben 
 and of which he had been chairman, had made a contract with 
 him, when the doctor very justly answered, that they had no 
 such authority, that they were appointed only to hear Steu- 
 ben's terms and report to Congress. This answer w r as consid- 
 ered sufficient to show that no contract was made, and that 
 consequently none existed. It was further objected, that there 
 were several members of the committee, and that the certifi- 
 cate of one only w T as produced. Steuben wrote to the others, 
 and their testimony also was brought forward. They then 
 called on Steuben to prove that what he had asserted, with 
 respect to his revenue in Europe, was true. He told them that 
 he had already satisfied Congress on that subject; that the let- 
 * "Washington's Writings, by J. Sparks, ix., 275 and 270. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 543 
 
 ters be brought over from Dr. Franklin, announced the rank 
 and dignity he held in Europe ; and that for the honor of the 
 United States he would produce no further proof on this occa- 
 sion. 
 
 Before any thing decisive was done, some of the members 
 of the committee left Congress ; another committee was after- 
 ward appointed, but they also broke up without doing any 
 thing, and thus the matter was referred from committee to 
 committee, and from one Congress to another. At last a re- 
 port was brought in and entered on the journals ; a majority, 
 however, disapproved it, and it was again committed. Another 
 report was then made, more favorable to Steuben's preten- 
 sions ; no question, however, was taken on it ; it was not en- 
 tered on the journals. Finally, Steuben proposed that the 
 validity of his agreement should be submitted to any three 
 chief justices of the United States. Nothing, however, was 
 determined, but the matter left undecided, when Congress 
 broke up in November, 1788. 
 
 About the unfortunate situation in which Steuben found 
 himself involved at that time, General J. Armstrong thus 
 writes on the 30th of May, 1788, to General Gates :* "The 
 baron passed the winter at the same lodging-house with me. 
 To this he has come at last. The Louvre is dismantled and 
 deserted, and he is once more upon the justice and generosity 
 of the public. But the public lias neither, and he has only to 
 choose between starving here and begging in Europe. This 
 is calamitous to him and disgraceful to us. He is now with 
 North." 
 
 As a matter of course, the different sums which Steuben 
 had received since the peace, having been paid to him in small 
 amounts at distant periods, the payments had always been an- 
 ticipated by his wants, and had not prevented his being obliged 
 to have recourse to his friends for fresh loans to support his 
 
 * Gates MS. Papers, xix., 238. 
 
544 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 current expenses. Nevertheless, Steuben found himself drained 
 of every resource. 
 
 The matter stood thus when the first Congress, under the 
 new Constitution, assembled. On the 25th of September, 1789, 
 the House referred another memorial of Steuben, in which he 
 reiterated in substance the above-quoted facts, to the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, who, on the 6th of April, 1790, laid his report 
 before the House, and after due and careful examination of all 
 the vouchers, letters and documents, arrived at the following 
 conclusion : 
 
 " The statement made by the memorialist of what passed 
 in the conference at York, is authenticated by such strong, di- 
 rect, and collateral evidence, as ought, in the opinion of the 
 Secretary, to secure full credit to the existence of the fact. 
 Waiving the regard due to the memorialist's own assertion, it 
 is not supposable that if his representation had been ill-founded 
 it could have obtained the sanction of so many disinterested 
 persons, agents in, or witnesses to the transactions. Notwith- 
 standing this, it may be inferred, as well from the written re- 
 port of the committee as from other circumstances, that the 
 idea of a precise contract did not generally prevail. It is prob- 
 able that, as the indemnity and reward for the sacrifices and 
 services of the baron were by him made to depend on the suc- 
 cess of a national revolution, the mention of them was viewed 
 rather as a suggestion of expectations than as a stipulation of 
 terms. This might the more easily have happened, as it is 
 presumable that the situation of affairs at the time must have 
 disposed Congress to consider an officer who had had the op- 
 jjortunities of the memorialist as a valuable acquisition to the 
 service, and to regard a compliance with the expectations in- 
 timated by him, in the event of success, as too much a matter 
 of course to need a stipulation. 
 
 " This view of the affair appears to the Secretary to af- 
 ford a satisfactory solution of any difficulties which might 
 result from seemingly discordant circumstances, and to place 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 545 
 
 all the parts of the transaction in a simple and consistent 
 light. 
 
 " Upon the whole, therefore, as it can not with propriety 
 be questioned that a conversation of the kind stated by the 
 baron did take place at the conference at York ; as the ser- 
 vices rendered by him to the United States are acknowledged 
 to have been of a very signal and very meritorious nature ; 
 as the expectations alleged to have been signified by him in 
 the conference are, all of them, reasonable in themselves, be- 
 ing nothing more than that his necessary expenses, while in 
 the service of the United States, should be defrayed by them, 
 and that, in case they should establish their independence, 
 and he should be successful in his endeavors to serve them, 
 then he should receive an indemnification for the income he 
 had elinquished in coming to this country, and to such marks 
 of the generosity of the government as its justice should dic- 
 tate. The Secretary is of opinion that, whether the trans- 
 action relied upon by the baron be deemed to have the force 
 of a contract or not, it will be most consistent with the dig- 
 nity and equity of the United States to admit it as the basis 
 of a final adjustment of his claims. 
 
 " Should this opinion appear well founded, it will remain 
 to designate the rule by which the necessary expenses of the 
 memorialist are to be adjusted. Taking it for granted that 
 his actual expenses will not be deemed a proper one, there 
 occurs to the Secretary no better criterion than the current 
 allowances annexed to the stations he filled. This excludes 
 the half pay or commutation. It is presumed that the current 
 allowances to the officers of the American army in general, 
 were regulated wholly with a view to their respective situa- 
 tions, and the half pay granted as a future reward. Accord- 
 ing to this principle, the Secretary has caused an account to 
 be stated, in which the memorialist is credited with his emol- 
 uments as major general and inspector general (exclusive of 
 half pay or commutation), and with an annuity of five hundred 
 
546 
 
 LIFE OF STEU15E N 
 
 and eighty guineas, being the amount of the income stated to 
 have been relinquished by him, from the time he left Europe 
 to the last of December, 1789, with interest at six per cent, 
 per annum, and is charged with all the moneys, under what- 
 ever denomination, received by him from the United States, 
 with interest at the like rate ; upon which statement there is 
 a balance in his favor of seven thousand three hundred and 
 ninety-six dollars and seventy-four ninetieths. In addition to 
 this, he would be entitled for the remainder of life to the yearly 
 sum of five hundred and eighty guineas, as a continuation of 
 the indemnity for the income relinquished ; and to such reward 
 as the government, in its discretion, should think lit to allow, 
 for which purpose a moderate grant of land, if deemed expe- 
 dient, would suffice. 
 
 " The Secretary begs leave further to state, that there is 
 good ground to believe that the above-mentioned balance will 
 be short of a sufficient sum to discharge the debts now owing 
 by the memorialist, and contracted partly to enable him to 
 come to this country, and partly for his subsistence here ; and 
 in the last place to observe, that the memorialist, who, being 
 a foreigner, voluntarily came to offer his services to the United 
 States, in a critical and perilous moment, and who, from the 
 circumstauce of his having . been a foreigner, is less likely to 
 participate in the collateral rewards which, in numerous in- 
 stances, await those who have distinguished themselves in the 
 American Revolution (while he cm not, like many other for- 
 eign officers, look for rewards elsewmere), gives a peculiarity 
 to his case which strengthens his own pretensions. That it 
 appears unequivocally that his services have been of a nature 
 peculiarly valuable and interesting to the American cause, and 
 such as furnish weighty considerations, as well public as per- 
 sonal, for rescuing him from the indigence in which he is now 
 involved, and from the still greater extremities with which he 
 is threatened. A settlement, on the principles suggested in 
 this report, will terminate all the claims of the memorialist on 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 547 
 
 the United States, in a manner equally satisfactory to him and 
 honorable to them."* 
 
 It was on the strength of this able report of Alexander 
 Hamilton that the House, on the 19th of April, 1790, appoint- 
 ed a committee to report a bill of resolutions in conformity 
 with the views of the Secretary of the Treasury. It consisted 
 of Messrs. Gerry, Wadsworth, Vining, Lawrence, and Smith 
 of South Carolina, and as early as the 30th of April presented 
 a bill for finally adjusting Steuben's claims. They proposed 
 to allow to him " the pay and other emoluments of major gen- 
 eral and inspector general, specified in several acts of Con- 
 gress relating to him, from the 10th of March, 1778, to the 
 15th of April, 1784; an annuity for life of two thousand seven 
 hundred and six dollars, to commence on the 1st day of Octo- 
 ber, 1777 ; and . . . thousand acres of land in the west- 
 ern territory of the United States, to be located in such man- 
 ner as shall be hereafter prescribed by law, provided that the 
 foreo-oins: allowances shall not be construed to include either 
 half pay or the commutation for half pay." 
 
 On this motion, Mr. Page made the following remarks, 
 which is believed to be the only speech reported on this sub- 
 ject : 
 
 " Mr. Speaker, — I am against the motion for striking out 
 the $2,706, and inserting $1,500, because it is incompatible 
 with the preceding clauses of the bill, which state the sum 
 ($2,706) as justly due to the baron, according to the report of 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, and because it is derogatory to 
 the honor and veracity of the members of the committee of 
 Congress, on whose testimony the baron's claim is founded. 
 
 " Some gentlemen lay great stress on the want of proof 
 respecting what is called the contract with Baron Steuben ; 
 but, sir, I think we have had all the proof the nature of the 
 
 * American State Papers, vol. Claims, "Washington, 1834-, fol., No. 5, pp. 
 11-16. 
 
-* 548 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 case will admit of, and, for my part, I should want no other 
 than Mr. Lee's letter to the baron. 
 
 "Sir, this illustrious veteran offered his services on such 
 generous terms, and served us so essentially, that I shall blush 
 for Congress should the ideas of some gentlemen now prevail. 
 It is umvorthy of Congress, after having so long enjoyed the 
 benefit of those services, now to be thus scrutinizing the terms 
 on which he offered them, and speaking of them as of little 
 importance. I weigh them not with the dollars proposed — 
 they are far beyond any sum which w r e can give. 
 
 u And if the w r orthy member from North Carolina (Mr 
 Bloodworth), who moved the motion, wishes to abandon the 
 principles of the bill, and instead of paying to the baron the 
 debt there stated as due to him, means to give him a sum 
 by way of compensation for his services and his economy, I 
 would advise him to withdraw his motion ; for, if we depart 
 from the principles of the bill, they who value this great man's 
 services as I do, will vote to give him much more than the bill 
 proposes. If I should be at liberty to propose a compensation 
 for the sacrifices he made by coming to America and serving in 
 her war, and to recompense him for his great services, I am sure 
 I shall propose a much larger sum than has yet been talked of. 
 
 " Sir, had the baron stipulated to receive but two per cent, 
 on the articles under his direction, or, I may say, on what he 
 saved, he would be entitled to much more than is now pro- 
 posed to be given him. The economy he introduced into 
 the army was the occasion of an immense saving. Who can 
 say now what was saved in arms, accouterments, and ammu- 
 nition, and by the reduction of baggage and forage ? I have 
 been told that officers, who had loaded a wagon with their 
 baggage, were soon reduced to a single pack-horse. 
 
 " Some gentlemen have made light of the discipline which 
 has been attributed to the baron, and told us of the affairs of 
 Bunker's Hill,. Trenton, Princeton, and Germantown. It was 
 true, those were brilliant actions ; but the member from South 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 549 
 
 Carolina (Mr. Smith) and the member from Delaware had re- 
 plied fully to this observation. They well observed, that bril- 
 liant as those actions were, valor without discipline is often 
 vain, and may lead only to destruction ; that the commander- 
 in-chief did wonders without the baron, and (they might have 
 added) he was wonderful in resources, and 'in himself a host.' 
 But we should not now consider what the commander-in-chief 
 did before he had the baron's assistance, but what he did with 
 his assistance, and what use he made of his services, and to 
 this, as far as relates to the baron, he has repeatedly and gen- 
 erously borne ample testimony. 
 
 " Sir, the baron, as adjutant general and director general, 
 was peculiarly adapted to the purpose of the American army. 
 Having served twenty-two years in the Prussian army, which 
 Americans had been taught to believe was the best disciplined 
 in the world, his discipline w r as more readily embraced, and 
 more confidence reposed in it than would have been the case 
 had almost any man, of any other nation, undertaken that 
 great task. The praise now given to the baron is no dispar- 
 agement, therefore, to other officers. The commander-in-chief 
 stood in need of an adjutant like him, from the peculiar situa- 
 tion of our army, and has acknowledged his services ; there- 
 fore it does not become us to speak of them as unimportant. 
 
 " Sir, the importance of those services would have been 
 displayed to your view by many officers now in this House, 
 had they not, from that delicacy peculiar to American officers, 
 who, having laid by the name and dress of soldiers, and mixed 
 with their fellow-citizens in civil life, refrained from appearing 
 to be more knowing in military matters than the other mem- 
 bers of this House. I say, were it not for this delicacy, we 
 should have had a full display of the baron's services. One 
 officer, indeed (Colonel Bland), from the honest warmth of 
 his heart, has not refrained from saying a few words in sup- 
 port of the baron's claim. But, sir, I have asked officers, and 
 some of them now in this House, whether I had misunderstood 
 
550 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 or overrated the baron's claim, and I have been constantly 
 told that I did not. Though I had not the honor of being in 
 the army, I was well informed by my correspondents there of 
 many important circumstances ; and on inquiring what were 
 the effects produced by the new adjutant and director general 
 (the Baron Steuben), I was told that they were visible in many 
 economical arrangements, in dispositions of corps, in maneu- 
 vering, in marches, in encampments, and particularly in more 
 silent and rapid movements and preparations for action. I 
 was told that when the Marquis De Lafayette, with a detach- 
 ment under his command, was in danger of being cut off on 
 his return to the army, and the commander-in-chief was deter- 
 mined to support that invaluable officer, the whole army was 
 under arms and ready to march in less than fifteen minutes 
 from the time the signal was given. 
 
 " Sir, the effect of this discipline was seen in the marches 
 of our army ; they passed rivers in less time than the best 
 troops in Europe could. Those excellent French troops which 
 served with them in the campaign of 1781, were inferior to 
 them in this respect. The superiority of our troops, as to 
 rapidity of movement, was seen in the attack on the two re- 
 doubts of Yorktown, in Virginia. 
 
 " Sir, I will affirm, that if the clause be stricken out, a 
 larger sum ought to be inserted. We have been asked, what 
 will our officers say to this vote in favor of the baron ? I will 
 venture to say, sir, they will be pleased with it. They ac- 
 knowledge the obligations they were under to that great man ; 
 they view his circumstances in the same light as that gallant 
 officer does, who is now the Secretary, and who drew the re- 
 port on which the bill before you is founded, and which does 
 honor to his heart. 
 
 " Sir, if any report deserves to be received without scru- 
 tiny, it is the one on which your bill is founded. I hope, there- 
 fore, we shall not depart from that report, in so material a 
 point as is proposed by the motion now before yon." 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 551 
 
 After sundry considerations the House, in their session of 
 the 10th of May, 1790, finally struck out the land donation 
 and preserved only a yearly annuity of $2,000. The Senate, 
 in their session of the 27th, passed the bill of the House with 
 an amendment, adding $500 after the words $2,000, so that 
 the "Act for finally adjusting and satisfying the claims of 
 Frederick William De Steuben" reads as follows, viz. : 
 
 " Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. 
 That in order to make full and adequate compensation to 
 Frederick William De Steuben, for the sacrifices and eminent 
 services made and rendered to the United States during the 
 late war, there be paid to the said Frederick William De Steu- 
 ben an annuity of $2,500 during life, to commence on the 1st 
 day of January last, to be paid in quarterly payments at the 
 Treasury of the United States ; which said annuity shall be 
 considered in full discharge of all claims and demands what- 
 ever, of the said Frederick William De Steuben, against the 
 United States. 
 
 "Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, 
 
 " Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 "John Adams, 
 'Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate. 
 "Approved, June 4th, 1790. 
 
 " George Washington, 
 
 " President of the United States.'' 
 
 These are the proceedings which, being misrepresented in 
 favor of the United States, are the cause that Steuben has 
 often been regarded with a certain prejudice. It has been 
 said that he had no claims either to the gratitude or the 
 esteem of the American people, because he had devoted him- 
 self to their cause merely out of personal interest. His hon- 
 orable poverty was considered as a crime ; ho was called 
 a vagabond, and, to prove his egotism, compared with the 
 
' );) - LTFE OF STEUREN. 
 
 wealthy Marquis De Lafayette. The resolves of Congress, 
 who finally, at least, came to a sense of their duty, prove the 
 injustice of such an unfounded accusation, though very posi- 
 tively stated. Was it the fault of Steuben that Congress 
 neglected, for almost eight years, to comply with what they 
 had formally promised ; that they bartered for a penny and 
 refused to acknowledge their own agents; and that they 
 finally yielded to the repeated representations of men like 
 Washington and Hamilton? We would come nearer to the 
 truth if the accusation were applied to Congress; and it is not 
 too much to say that without the noble and energetic inter- 
 cession of Hamilton, Steuben would perhaps have died in the 
 poor house. The representatives of the United States, far 
 from being grateful towards Steuben, only reluctantly fulfilled 
 an agreement from which their country derived all the profit. 
 In this private matter we can observe the same difference 
 of feeling and party division as in the great political questions 
 of the day. Almost the same men who objected to the politi- 
 cal and economical reasons which Hamilton urged in so able 
 and statesmanlike a manner for the funding of the public 
 debt, were against the acknowledgment of Steuben's claims ; 
 they considered it as an extravagance to be just and to pay 
 what they owed. Fortunately these times have passed away. 
 The mere word of repudiation is discredited in the wmole civ- 
 ilized world, and the United States, by their late rich do- 
 nations to the descendants of the revolutionary officers and 
 soldiers, have more than satisfactorily demonstrated that they 
 disapprove of the former policy of Congress towards the men 
 who were the chief instruments in achieving the independence 
 of their country. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The Order of the Cincinnati. — Its Origin. — General Knox the alleged Author 
 op the Idea. — Reasons against this Supposition. — Share ok the Foreign 
 Officers in establishing the Orde;:. — Proceedings at the first Meeting on 
 the 18th of May, 1783.— Principles of the Order and Description of its 
 Decorations. — Attacks against the Cincinnati. — Pamphlets ok Judge Aedanus 
 Burke and Count Mirabeau. — Steuben personally assailed. — Criticism upon 
 thes Pamphlets. — Greene's Letter. — Steuben's Relations to the Order. — 
 He characterizes it in a Letter to Count Luzerne. — Interesting Letter of 
 De L'Enfant to Washington and Steuben. — Favorable Reception ok the 
 Order in France. — Knox withdraws and puts all Blame on Steubfn. — New 
 England declares itself against the Order. — North's Letter about Knox. 
 — Fairlik's Letter. — Washington tries to rehabilitate the Cincinnati in the 
 Public Opinion by sacrificing the hereditary Principle.— His Amendments 
 adopted, but not carried out. — Steuben Vice President from 17S6 to 1790. — 
 Ceremonies at the Initiation of Honorary Members.— Steuben, as President 
 ok the Cincinnati, addresses Washington — His Speech in 1790. — Sketch of 
 the History ok the Cincinnati up to the present Time. 
 
 WE have seen, in the preceding chapters, how unfairly 
 Congress dealt with the just claims of the officers before 
 the disbandment of the army; how these same officers, who 
 for eight long years had well served their country, were com- 
 pelled to resort to threats of violence in order to get payment 
 of the sums due to them ; how the people, afraid of meeting 
 their engagements and paying money, took part against the 
 officers, and how, isolated and abandoned, these poor men 
 stood at the conclusion of peace. 
 
 The long-existing ties which, in consequence of the com- 
 mon hardships and the dangers of a long and protracted war, 
 had united these old companions in arms, were now more 
 closely cemented by the treatment which the officers expe- 
 rienced from their ungrateful country. They had a very sad 
 and desperate future before them, when, helpless and totally 
 devoid of means, they retired to civil life. It is to this 
 wretched prospect, as well as to the feelings of mutual de- 
 
 24 
 
554 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 pcndcncc engendered by long association, and of regret at 
 approaching separation, and perhaps somewhat to the sus- 
 picions natural to men whose patience had been so severely 
 tried, that we may attribute the suggestion of an association 
 among the officers to continue after their disbandment, and 
 preserve a unity of feeling and interest, with the memory of 
 their mutual labors and sufferings. 
 
 It is said that the idea had been suggested by General 
 Knox, but there is no positive proof that it was so. On the 
 contrary, it appears improbable to us, as Knox, if he had first 
 proposed the idea to the army, would have stronger upheld it 
 when it was assailed by the different States and the people. 
 We think, however, we are not far from the truth in suppos- 
 ing that, corresponding with the establishment of similar insti- 
 tutions, the plan, although at first very indistinct, originated 
 simultaneously in the minds of many of the officers, and that, 
 in discussing it, by degrees it gained its definite shape and 
 characteristic form. In this way the majority of all the officers 
 represented will have probably contributed to the constitution 
 of the society. But we do not think we mistake the spirit 
 which prompted some of the foreign officers, in attributing 
 to them the authorship of all those articles in the constitution 
 which refer to the exterior apparel, to the medal and ribbon. 
 We know that Major De L'Enfant, a French officer, prepared 
 the design of the order, and that the society adopted his ideas 
 respecting it, and the manner of its being worn by the mem- 
 bers, while, on the other hand, there existed no order in this 
 country during the colonial times, so that the idea of estab- 
 lishing one could not have originated in an American mind ; 
 moreover, the foreign officers considered an order of great 
 value, and as a conspicuous proof of their participation in such 
 a glorious war. Steuben, the old court marshal, has, proba- 
 bly, more than anybody else, eminently figured in its establish- 
 ment, as the constant wearing of his order " Do La Fidelite," 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 555 
 
 proves that he was by no means indifferent to such dis- 
 tinction.* 
 
 But be this as it may, considering the prominent share 
 that Steuben took in the foundation of the society, we ex- 
 pect to be justified in giving here the following brief sketch 
 of its history, which we have borrowed from the original 
 records of that time:f 
 
 " At the cantonment of the American army on Hudson's 
 river, on the 10th of May, 1783, proposals for establishing a 
 society upon principles therein mentioned, whose members shall 
 be the officers of the American army, having been communi- 
 cated to the several regiments of the respective lines, they ap- 
 pointed an officer from each, who, in conjunction with the 
 general officers, should take the same into consideration at 
 their meeting this day, at which the Honorable Major General 
 Baron De Steuben, the senior officer present, was pleased to 
 preside. At this meeting the subject was referred to a com- 
 
 * Since the above was written, we have found an interesting essay in the 
 "Publications of tho Historical Society of Pennsylvania," Philadelphia, 1858, 
 vol. vi., p. 15, ff , written by Alexander Johnston, in which, corroborating 
 our opinion, he says, pp. Gl to 63 : 
 
 "In an article in the North American Review for October, 1853, Sargent 
 expressed the belief that the idea of the society was first suggested by Knox, 
 and that the Baron De Steuben probably had at least been consulted in tho 
 inception of the scheme. He has since been favored with the perusal of the 
 original rough draft of the society in the hand-writing of Knox, dated at 
 
 West Point, on the 15th of April, 1783 But it seems more than 
 
 probable that the first defined suggestion of the assumption of a distinct order 
 came from Steuben, or some other foreigner." 
 
 We shall hereafter, especially at the end of this chapter, quote from this 
 valuable article. 
 
 f " The Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati, Formed by the Offi- 
 cers of the American Army of tho Revolution, for the laudable purposes 
 therein mentioned, at the Cantonment on the Banks of the Hudson River, 
 May, 1783; Together with some of the Proceedings of the General Society 
 and of the New York State Society ; also, A List of the Officers and Mem- 
 bers of the New York State Society, from its organization to the year 1851. 
 Printed by order and for the use of tho members of the New "York Society. 
 J. M. Elliott, Printer, 133 Water street, New York, 1851." 
 
 We are indebted to the Honorable Hamilton Fish for this valuable 
 pamplilet. 
 
550 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 mittee, consisting of Major General Knox, Brigadier General 
 Hand, and Captain Shaw, whose report, presented to the meet- 
 ing of the 13th of May, 1783, at General Steuben's head-quar- 
 ters (Vcrplanck's house), was unanimously accepted, and com- 
 mences as follows : 
 
 " It having pleased the Supreme Governor of the universe, 
 in the disposition of human affairs, to cause the separation of 
 the colonies of North America from the dominion of Great 
 Britain, and, after a bloody conflict of eight years, to estab- 
 lish them free, independent, and sovereign States, cemented 
 by alliances, founded on reciprocal advantages, with some of 
 the greatest princes and powers of the earth : 
 
 "To perpetuate, therefore, as well the remembrance of this 
 vast event, as the mutual friendships which have been formed 
 under the pressure of common danger, and in many instances 
 cemented by the blood of the parties, the officers of the Amer- 
 ican army do hereby, in the most solemn manner, associate, 
 constitute, and combine themselves into one society of friends, 
 to endure as long as they shall endure, or any of their eldest 
 male posterity, and in failure thereof, the collateral branches, 
 who may be judged worthy of becoming its supporters and 
 members. 
 
 "The officers of the American army having generally been 
 taken from the citizens of America, possess high veneration for 
 the character of that illustrious Roman, Lucius Quintius Cin- 
 cinnatus, and being resolved to follow his example by return- 
 ing to their citizenship, they think they may, with propriety, 
 denominate themselves 'The Society of the Cincinnati.' 
 
 " The following principles shall be immutable, and form the 
 basis of the Society of the Cincinnati : 
 
 "An incessant attention to preserve inviolate those exalted 
 rights and liberties of human nature for which they have fought 
 and bled, and without which the high rank of a rational being 
 is a curse instead of a blessing. 
 
 " An unalterable determination to promote and cherish, be- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 557 
 
 tween the respective States, that union and national honor so 
 essentially necessary to their happiness and the future dignity 
 of the American empire. 
 
 "To render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among 
 the officers ; this spirit will dictate brotherly kindness in all 
 things, and particularly extend to the most substantial acts of 
 beneficence, according to the ability of the society, towards 
 those officers and their families who, unfortunately, may be 
 under the necessity of receiving it." 
 
 A series of rules are then given for the government of the 
 order, whose officers are to consist of a president, vice presi- 
 dent, secretary, treasurer, and assistant treasurer, to be chosen 
 at each of its meetings, which are to be held triennially. It is 
 divided into State societies, to be governed in a like manner, 
 and possessing power for their own regulation. Tho triennial 
 meeting of the society is to consist of its officers and of a dele- 
 gation of not more than five from each State. 
 
 All the officers of the American army, as well those who 
 have resigned with honor after three years' service in the capac- 
 ity of officers, or who have been deranged by the resolutions of 
 Congress, upon the several reforms of the army, as those who 
 shall have continued to the end of the war, have the right to 
 become parties to this institution, provided they sign the 
 general rules within six months, and subscribe one month's 
 pay to form a fund, the interest of which shall be devoted to 
 the relief of the unfortunate. As a testimony of affection to 
 the memory of such officers as have died in the service, the 
 same right is extended to their eldest male representatives, 
 and to such French officers of the rank of colonel as have 
 served in the revolutionary war. Honorary members, also, 
 are eligible, for their own lives only, in the proportion of one 
 to four. 
 
 A decoration is prescribed, which, as adopted, consists of a 
 bald eagle of gold, displayed, suspended by a deep blue rib- 
 band, edged with white, descriptive of the union of France 
 
558 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and America ; the eagle grasping in its talons golden olive 
 branches, the leaves in green enamel, which are continued 
 round the figure so as to form a wreath above its head, to 
 which the clasp is attached. On the breast of the eagle Cin- 
 cinnatus is represented as receiving a sword from three Roman 
 senators, with various appropriate figures in the background ; 
 around the whole is the legend, " Omnia reliquit servare 
 rempuhlicam." On the reverse is seen Fame crowning Cin- 
 cinnatus with a wreath, and the motto, u Esto perpetua." 
 
 Thus was formed the Cincinnati, with General Washing- 
 ton as president, General Knox as secretary, and General 
 McDougal as treasurer. Noble in its aims, illustrious in its 
 origin, and charitable in its operations, but necessarily exclus- 
 ive, it excited the hostility of those who envied the fame of its 
 members, of those who expected impossible social equality to 
 result from the Revolution, and of parties whose absence from 
 the country prevented their understanding its character. As 
 usual in such cases, the assailants were more active than the 
 defenders, and succeeded in producing a strong feeling against 
 the society, both in America and Europe. 
 
 The most important public attack against the Cincinnati, 
 published in the United States, was made by Judge Aedanus 
 Burke, in South Carolina. Even the title* of his remarks 
 shows that, as a revolutionary pamphlet, they are too insipid, 
 too tedious, while, considered as an exposition and refutation, 
 they are too superficial, and not at all exhausting. On this 
 attack is based the well-known pamphlet of Mirabeau,f which, 
 
 * "Considerations on the Society or Order of Cincinnati, lately instituted 
 by the Major Generals, Brigadier Generals, and other Officers of the American 
 Army, Proving that it creates a race of hereditary Patricians or Nobility, 
 Interspersed with Remarks on its consequences to the freedom and happiness 
 of the Republic. Addressed to the People of South Carolina and their 
 Representatives. By Cassius. (Supposed to be written by Aedanus Burke, 
 Esq., one of the chief justices of the State of South Carolina.) ' Blow ye the 
 trumpet in Zion.'— The Bible. Philadelphia, Printed and Sold by Robert Bell, 
 in Third street. Price one sixth of a dollar. MDCCLXXXIII." 
 
 f " Considerations on the Order of Cincinnati^. Translated from the 
 
F E OF S T F U B E N" , 
 
 559 
 
 probably, more on account of its author than of its contents, 
 enjoyed a large circulation and great reputation. 
 
 Mirabeau almost literally translates Burke's statements, 
 and enlarges them here and there with some ideas of his own. 
 They both agree in making Steuben " Grand Master" of the 
 order, under the more humble title of president ; nay, Burke 
 goes as far as to throw all the odium of his objections, instead 
 of on Washington and the other officers and members of the 
 society, exclusively on Steuben, as a foreigner. 
 
 "I have the honor to inform Baron Steuben," says he, 
 " that though an order of peerage may do well under the 
 petty princes of Germany, yet, in America, it is incompatible 
 with our freedom." Burke, as well as Mirabeau, arraigns the 
 society for intending to establish a hereditary nobility. 
 
 "The institution of the order of Cincinnati," they say, "is 
 the creation of an actual patriciate and of a military nobility, 
 which will, ere long, become a civil nobility, and an aristoc- 
 racy the more dangerous, because, being hereditary, it will 
 perpetually increase in the course of time, and will gather 
 strength from the very prejudices which it will engender, be- 
 cause, originating neither in the Constitution nor the law, the 
 law has provided no means to control it, and it will incessant- 
 ly overbear the Constitution, of which it forms no part, till the 
 time shall come when, by repeated attempts made, sometimes 
 clandestinely and sometimes openly, it will at length have in- 
 corporated itself into the Constitution ; or when, after having 
 for a long time sapped its foundations, it will in the end over- 
 turn and utterly destroy it." 
 
 It is true that the new institution was in obvious contra- 
 diction to the character of the time and this republic, which is 
 based on the democratic principles; and it also can not be 
 denied that the apprehension manifested by individuals and 
 States, contained a great deal of common sense and truth, but 
 
 French of the Count Do Mirabeau. London, printed for J. Johnson, St. 
 Paul's Church Yard. MDCCLXXXV." 
 
«^00 h I F E Q F S T E IT B E X . 
 
 it is thoroughly erroneous that the new institution could ever 
 have been able to create a hereditary nobility. 
 
 If we venture to criticise these denunciations in a few 
 words, it is but just, before all, not to forget that they were 
 uttered previous to the great French Revolution ; at a time, 
 therefore, where there existed only one form of nobility, and 
 no idea of the possibility of its existence in any other form ; 
 where this ruling aristocracy, although degenerated and looked 
 upon with contempt on the part of the intelligent, middle 
 classes, nevertheless was the representative of the force and 
 intelligence of the people to the rest of the world. 
 
 In the first instance, the parallel is false which Mirabeau 
 and Burke have drawn between the condition of things in Eu- 
 rope and that in America, and by which both presumed to 
 prove from the origin of the patrician institution and the feu- 
 dal prerogatives in the old country, that by the order of the 
 Cincinnati an analogous class of privileged nobles could en- 
 danger the social equality of American citizens. 
 
 Hereditary nobility was unknown to the European conti- 
 nent before the decline and fall of the Carolingian dynasty, 
 and in England before the Xorman conquest; it originated 
 with the entailment of the family estates. Thus the heredi- 
 tary estates are the true basis of nobility ; they alone endow 
 it with vitality and influence. The so-called court nobility, 
 and nobility granted by royal diploma, both of a later date, 
 are only exuberances of the true or feudal nobility ; and it is 
 self-evident that they can only flourish where there is a court 
 or sovereign power which can create and support them. In the 
 United States, however, where there are neither entailed es- 
 tates nor courts, all the citizens have the same constitutional 
 rights, and there is a total absence of every fundamental con- 
 dition upon which such a state of things could be founded. 
 The origin of fiefs or entailed estates were wars and conquests 
 against other warlike people, and in consequence thereof the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 561 
 
 necessity to have at any time a well armed force ready to re- 
 sist the attacks of a dangerous or unsubdued enemy. 
 
 Innocent times these, when it was naively presumed that 
 it depended only on the honest or dishonest character of some 
 individuals, to found an aristocracy after the European pat- 
 tern ! 
 
 An established nobility can be as little extinguished by the 
 mere abolition of titles, as a new nobility can be created by 
 the mere grant of such distinctive appellations. A real nobil- 
 ity must be absolutely founded upon a basis of real and per 
 manent power and influence, which are mostly derived from 
 the possession of landed estate, as for instance in England. 
 Titles and honorary offices, without this basis are nothing more 
 than empty distinctions ; they may be the outward signs, but 
 they can never form the essential strength of a nobility. Do 
 the half million of generals, commodores, colonels or captains, 
 who are to be found in every corner of the United States, 
 give any idea of the military or naval strength of the country, 
 or are they perhaps to be feared as titled aristocrats ? 
 
 There is another error to be refuted : that nobility must 
 necessarily be hereditary and repose upon the law of primo- 
 geniture, in order to become influential. It is true, that by 
 that means at certain times it has extended and defended its 
 power ; but also without such accidental prerogatives it can 
 be a great power. The South of the United States, whence 
 the resistance against the Cincinnati mainly came, has seen 
 springing up among them, in the course of scarcely two gen- 
 erations, and without any exterior distinction or hereditary 
 privileges, the cotton planters, who, despite of their recent 
 origin, vie with the oldest and proudest aristocracy of birth 
 in Europe in exclusiveness, egotism and pride of race. New 
 England, which raised the loudest protests against the Cincin- 
 nati, possesses the aristocracy of her manufacturing and mer- 
 chant princes, who acknowledge no earthly thing besides their 
 interest and success in life. 
 
 24* 
 
5G2 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 If the officers who founded the Cincinnati order had re 
 mained in active service, if the United States army, instead 
 of being almost altogether disbanded, had been increased, 
 there would have been some possibility of the order becoming 
 dangerous, because in that case a central point for their pur- 
 poses would have been in existence ; but poor and penniless 
 as they were for the most part, dispersed through the whole 
 country, and without any other influence than such as their 
 personal worthiness and merits could exercise ; these officers 
 had no basis, no connection for any action or united exertion, 
 even if they had had the most aristocratic designs. 
 
 This outcry against the dangerous character of such an 
 association, divested of cant and verbiage, was nothing more 
 than the bad conscience of that selfish fraction of the people 
 which had treated its defenders so basely and ungratefully, 
 and was now afraid of their revenging the deceptions which 
 had been practiced upon them. 
 
 " The uproar that is raised against the Cincinnati," writes 
 Nathaniel Greene on the 22d of April, 1784, to Washington,* 
 " makes rne more anxious to be at the meeting than I ever ex- 
 pected to feel. It was uninteresting to me before. Assuming 
 honors hurts my delicacy, but persecution banishes the influ- 
 ence. The subject is important, and it may be equally danger- 
 ous to recede or push forward ; but I am decided in my opin- 
 ion not to abolish the order from the prevailing clamors against 
 it. If this is done away, the whole tide of abuse will run 
 against the commutation. The public in New England seem 
 to want something to quarrel with the officers about. Remove 
 one thing and they will soon find another. It is in the temper 
 of the people, not in the matters complained of. ... I am con- 
 fident the tranquillity of the public can only be preserved by 
 the continuance of the order." 
 
 Washington, however, was of a contrary opinion. By rec- 
 ommending the Cincinnati to abandon the hereditary princi- 
 * Washington's Writings, i.v., 49G. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 i63 
 
 pie in their constitution, he silenced the menacing storm, and 
 saved perhaps the United States from a dangerous crisis. 
 
 The Steuben papers contain a great many documents and 
 letters which are connected with or refer to the Cincinnati. 
 Almost all the invitations to join the order were written by 
 Steuben, as for instance those addressed to the Chevalier 
 De La Luzerne, Generals Greene, Gates, Sullivan, Weedon, 
 Wayne, and others. We, however, quote only those letters 
 which claim a more general importance as throwing light upon 
 the character and history of the society. 
 
 Major Generals Heath, Steuben and Knox had been ap- 
 pointed, on the 13th of May, 1783, by the meeting of the 
 officers, to present the commander-in-chief with a copy of the 
 institution of the society, and to request him that he should 
 honor them by placing his name at the head of the file. 
 
 On the 18th of May Steuben requested Heath to appoint 
 the time for putting this resolution into execution, whereupon 
 Heath, on the same day, answered that the plan should be 
 presented to his Excellency, the commander-in-chief, on Tues- 
 day next at one o'clock. Thus Washington became a member 
 and the first president of the society on the 20th of May, 
 1783.* 
 
 Steuben himself, in an invitation, on the 24th of May, 
 1783, to the Chevalier De La Luzerne, thus characterizes it :f 
 " The design of this institution, which is founded on the 
 principles of patriotism and gratitude, is to perpetuate the 
 memory of an epoch so glorious to America as the present, 
 and the effectual assistance this country has received from her 
 generous ally. The American officers will consider themselves 
 honored by being permitted to erect, with their own, the 
 names of those celebrated characters who have shown their 
 attachment to the rights of the human species in general, and 
 of the American in particular." 
 
 At the same time that the society was vehemently assailed 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x t Ibidem. 
 
564 LIFE OF S T E U B E N . 
 
 here, it found a very favorable reception at the French court. 
 Major De l'Enfant, whom Washington, in a letter to Roch- 
 ambeau, dated the 29th of October, 1783, had charged to 
 execute the order of the society in France, informs Steuben, 
 writing from Paris on the 25th of December, 1783, in the fol- 
 lowing words, of the results of his mission:* 
 
 " It is with the greatest satisfaction that I acquaint you of 
 the success of the Cincinnati in France. The difficulties have 
 been removed which could have been opposed to the admis- 
 sion of the order into France, where they are accustomed to 
 tolerate no foreign order. His majesty, desirous of giving to 
 the Americans a proof of the friendship which he wishes to 
 maintain with them, in his council has permitted his officers to 
 wear this badge with the other orders of his kingdom. I 
 have written to General Washington, and inclose a copy of 
 my letter to him. I should like to get it translated and pub- 
 lished in the newspapers; I think it would produce a good 
 effect. 
 
 "Here in France they are more ambitious to obtain the 
 order of the Cincinnati than to be decorated with the cross of 
 St. Louis, and daily I receive applications for it. The eagles 
 are in good train; try to push the subscriptions in Phila- 
 delphia. I have made my arrangements, but for carrying 
 them into execution we require funds." 
 
 To these lines there was added an extract from a letter to 
 Washington, which may be translated as follows : 
 
 "As it was necessary for attaining the object of my voy- 
 age, I proceeded to Paris with all possible dispatch, and 
 handed at once your letters to Counts Rochambeau, D'Estaing, 
 De Grasse, and to the Marquis General De Lafayette. At 
 the same time I paid my visits to all those officers who, re- 
 siding in Paris, by their service and their place in the French 
 army, could be considered as Cincinnati. It is with the 
 greatest satisfaction that at this moment I am the primitive 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 565 
 
 organ of their gratitude, and it is not less flattering to me to 
 be able to inform your Excellency of the success of my mis- 
 sion, and of the high appreciation which the French nation 
 entertains towards the American army for thus honoring an 
 illustrious part of their own army with such flattering dis- 
 tinction. One single conversation with the French oflicers 
 w r ould at once convince you how thoroughly they appreciate, 
 at the bottom of their hearts, those brotherly sentiments 
 which make them take so powerful an interest in the happi- 
 ness of America. This institution, which they consider as a 
 monument erected to republican virtues, as the fundamental 
 basis of a cordial union between the different States, as a new 
 tie which assures the duration of that reciprocal friendship 
 which France has devoted to America, can not be looked 
 upon in too advantageous a light. 
 
 " The permission which this illustrious monarch, the most 
 Christian king, has already given to his subjects to wear in 
 his dominions the order of the Society of the Cincinnati, is 
 not only a strong mark of his deference, but also an unmis- 
 takable proof of the sentiments of his majesty towards Amer- 
 ica." 
 
 But w r hile the French officers w r ere ambitious of the honor 
 to be admitted as members of the society; while, for instance, 
 the Chevalier Du Bouchet, at Auxerre, who had been present 
 at the surrender of Burgoyne and of Cornwallis, in a letter of 
 the 17th of February, 1784, considers it as one of the greatest 
 distinctions of his life to be received as a member of the Cin- 
 cinnati ; while the French army intendant, Tarle, argues that 
 he is entitled to the honors of the order, at the same time 
 here, in the United States, the reaction against the society 
 had reached its culminating point. Some of the most promi- 
 nent members, to give no offense, even withdrew from it ; 
 others laid aside its insignia, and others proposed its modifi- 
 cation. We find in the Steuben papers a letter, very inter- 
 esting in this respect, written by General Knox, at Boston, to 
 
5GG LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 Steuben, on the 21st of February, 1784, which we quote in 
 full : 
 
 " We had a meeting of the society in this town on the 10th 
 instant, at which General Lincoln presided. A committee was 
 chosen to attend the meeting of the society in May next, at 
 Philadelphia, which appears the place most proper for the oc- 
 casion. II. Putnam, Colonel Hall, Major Sargent and myself, 
 are of the committee ; probably only two will attend. Your 
 society, Mr. Baron, has occasioned a great deal of jealousy 
 among the good people of New England, who say it is al- 
 together an outlandish creation formed by foreign influence. 
 It is still heightened by a letter from one of our ministers 
 abroad, who intimates that it was formed in Europe to over- 
 throw our happy institutions. Burke's pamphlet has also had 
 its full operation. You see how much you have to answer for 
 by the introduction of your European institutions. I contend, 
 to the utmost of my power, that you only had your share in 
 the matter, and no more ; but it will have no effect. Burke's 
 allusion has fixed it, and you must support the credit of hav- 
 ing created a race of hereditary nobility. Our friend Heath 
 says : ' I forewarned you of all that will happen !' He did 
 not attend the meeting. The Legislature of this State are, 
 however, decided that the scheme shall not be carried into 
 execution in this commonwealth, and in order to frustrate the 
 measure, the Assembly have chosen a joint committee of both 
 Houses to 'inquire into any associations or combinations to 
 introduce undue distinction into the community, which may 
 have a tendency to create a race of hereditary nobility, con- 
 trary to the Confederation of the United States, and to the 
 spirit of the constitution of this commonwealth.' The com- 
 mittee have not yet reported the result of their inquiries ; when 
 they do, I will inform you. You must have observed, my dear 
 friend, how possible it is for the best intentions to be miscon- 
 strued and misrepresented. Let me know how it is relished 
 in Pennsylvania and to the southward." 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 507 
 
 " Knox and Jackson," writes William North, a little later, to 
 Steuben, " avoid the badge of the Cincinnati as they would 
 the devil. They smile and smile, and still are . . . ."* 
 
 In order to preserve the society and to allay the popular 
 prejudice, Washington proposed, at its first meeting in 1784, 
 to abolish the hereditary features of its constitution. " On 
 Tuesday, the 4th instant," writes James Fairlie, who, with 
 William S. Smith, Nicholas Fish, and Philip Courtland, ap- 
 peared as delegate from New York, at the beginning of May, 
 1784, from Philadelphia, to Benjamin Walker,f "the deputies 
 in town from the different State societies met at the City 
 Tavern, eleven States being represented. There are now 
 twelve States represented, Rhode Island being the only one 
 which is not. The commander-in-chief, on the first meeting, 
 resigned his office as president general, his term having ex- 
 pired agreeably to the constitution. He was, nevertheless, 
 elected president of the meeting, which he will hold till we 
 break up, which will not be these ten days, having much to 
 do. There are a vast many petitions from France to become 
 members, all of which, I fancy, will be referred to the coun- 
 try from which they come, as it seems to be the disposition 
 of many members that there shall be a charter sent to that 
 part of the society in France, giving them power similar to 
 those the different State societies now enjoy. 
 
 " One of the first pieces of business we went on was to ap- 
 point a committee, consisting of a member from each State, to 
 revise, correct, and amend the constitution. The general objec- 
 tions seem to be hereditary succession, funds, honorary mem- 
 bers, attention to the general union of the States, and holding 
 general meetings. I hope, in amending it, we may not make 
 ourselves look ridiculous, or totally destroy the society. It is 
 the opinion of some that every thing but the charitable part 
 and the badge, should be abolished. 
 
 "A rage for popularity will influence many to reduce the 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. \ Ibidem, Uftca. 
 
568 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 society to be little or nothing ; and that kind of people tell us 
 frightful stories about the flame that is likely to break out in 
 the country concerning the Cincinnati. Some that were but a 
 little time ago the greatest sticklers for it, indeed with whom 
 the idea of forming such a society first originated, have expe- 
 rienced a revolution in sentiment. Trimmers, trimmers, trim- 
 mers ! 
 
 "The amendments debated yesterday," continues Fairlie, 
 a little later,* " passed the meeting. The alterations are, no 
 hereditary succession, no more honorary members ; the funds 
 to be put into the hands of government ; no treasurer gen- 
 eral. In fact, whatever General Washington dictated, was 
 done ; every one esteemed him as a sine qua non of the so- 
 ciety. I imagine Gates will be vice president and Sullivan sec- 
 retary." " It seems, therefore," continues Benjamin Walker, 
 to whom this letter was addressed, " that our allies alone have 
 saved the society; they say at once, that we have made many 
 sacrifices to the people, and now make the last we have, by 
 dissolving the society entirely." 
 
 Before, however, Washington's recommendation was acted 
 upon by the State chapters, a more reasonable turn of public 
 opinion made the change unnecessary, so that a general meet- 
 ing, on the 7th of May, 1800, unanimously adopted the report 
 of the committee appointed to examine the records of the so- 
 ciety, which read as follows : 
 
 " That the institution of the society of the Cincinnati re- 
 main as it was originally proposed and adopted by the officers 
 of the American army, at their cantonments on the banks of 
 the Hudson river, in 1783." 
 
 Steuben was vice president of the New York State Society 
 of the Cincinnati, from 1785 to 1786, and its president from 
 1786 till 1790. 
 
 The New York Society was not so easily frightened as the 
 New England Society ; nay, exasperated by the unjust oppo- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 5G9 
 
 sition with which it met, it availed itself of every opportunity to 
 parade with great ostentation, and to show that it was not in- 
 timidated. Steuben especially liked to give vent to his hatred 
 against those anonymous writers of the day, who, concealing 
 their own insignificance behind the toga of a " Brutus," " Cas- 
 sius," " Vox Populi," " Publicola," u Scipio," and others, lived 
 during the war snug at home, while the men whom they now 
 assailed were fighting the battles of their country. 
 
 We found in the above-quoted essay of Johnston the fol- 
 lowing interesting account of a ceremony which took place at 
 the initiation of newly elected members : 
 
 " On this occasion they determined to initiate the honorary 
 members who had been newly elected, by the ceremony of a 
 formal investiture. The assembly room at the City Tavern 
 was the scene of the solemnity. The outside of the house 
 was decorated with festoons and crowns of laurel ; opposite 
 the door of entrance, on a dais tapestried with blue cloth, was 
 elevated a great chair of state, covered with light blue satin 
 fringed with white ; at the back of this was a staff supported 
 by two hands united, holding up the cap of Liberty, which was 
 again grasped by the eagle of the order, bearing on a white 
 fillet the motto, ' We will defend it.' At each extremity of 
 the room amphitheaters were erected for the spectators. 
 
 " A deputation, consisting of four members, dressed in 
 their uniforms and wearing their eagles, first waited on the 
 governor of the State and the president of Congress, with the 
 congratulations of the society for the American independence. 
 After their return w r ith the report, that had been received 
 w r ith all the attention due to the dignity of their order, the 
 ceremony commenced. 
 
 " The foreign members, and such as belonged to the other 
 societies, had already taken their seats on the left of the chair. 
 The kettle drums and trumpets, an important part of the per- 
 formance, were stationed in the gallery over the door, and the 
 amphitheaters were filled with spectators, when the standard- 
 
570 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 bearer, Captain Gnyon, in full Continental uniform, wearing 
 his order, and escorted by four members, also in full dress, 
 entered the hall and took his position in front of the dais. 
 He held in his hand the standard of the society. It was 
 wrought in silk, displaying the eagle upon thirteen alternate 
 stripes of white and blue. The escort returned, and, led by 
 the masters of ceremony, the procession then entered the hall. 
 First came the members, two-and-two, followed by the secre- 
 tary, Captain Pemberton, carrying the original institution of 
 the society ; then came the treasurer, General Van Court- 
 landt, and his deputy, Major Piatt, bearing two satin cush* 
 ions, on the first of which were displayed the eagles, and on 
 the second the diplomas for the elected members. These w T ere 
 followed by the vice president, General Schuyler, and the 
 president, Major General Baron De Steuben, who brought up 
 the rear. At his entrance the standard saluted, and the kettle 
 drums and trumpets gave a flourish, which continued until pass- 
 ing through the avenue now formed by the members opening 
 to the right and left, he mounted the steps and took his seat 
 upon the chair of state. 
 
 a When this was done, Colonel Hamilton, soldier, orator 
 and statesman, pronounced the inaugural address ; after which 
 the ceremony of investiture commenced. 
 
 " The recipient was conducted by one of the masters of cer- 
 emony to the first step before the chair of the president, and 
 the standard-bearer approached, After expressing a desire to 
 be received into the society, and promising a strict observance 
 of its rules and statutes, he grasped the standard with his left 
 hand, while with his right he signed his name to the institu- 
 tion. The president then took one of the eagles from the 
 cushion held by the treasurer, and invested the recipient in 
 the following words: 'Receive this mark as a recompense 
 for your merit, and in remembrance of our glorious independ- 
 ence.' Next handing him a diploma, he said: ^This will 
 show your title as a member of our society. Imitate the il- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 571 
 
 lustrious hero, Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus, whom we have cho- 
 sen for our patron : like him. be the defender of your country 
 and a good citizen.' Another flourish of drums and trumpets 
 completed the ceremony, and the new member was introduced 
 to the Cincinnati at large, who arose in a body to salute him. 
 This was succeeded by a brilliant festival, which, amidst salvos 
 of artillery, terminated the day." 
 
 On the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence 
 which succeeded the organization of the federal government, 
 1789, a committee of the society of the Cincinnati waited 
 on Washington, in the morning, and its chairman, Steuben, 
 addressed him, saying :* 
 
 "The Society of the Cincinnati of the State of JSTe\v York 
 have instructed this delegation to present to you, sir, the 
 sentiments of the profoundest respect. In common with all 
 good citizens of the United States of America, they join their 
 ardent wishes for the preservation of your life, health and 
 prosperity. In particular they feel the highest satisfaction in 
 contemplating the illustrious chief of our armies, by the unan- 
 imous vote of an independent people, elected to the highest 
 station that a dignified and enlightened country can bestow. 
 Under your conduct, sir, this band of soldiers was led to glory 
 and to conquest, and we feel confident that under your admin- 
 istration our country will speedily arrive at an enviable state 
 of prosperity and happiness." 
 
 The chief answered : "I beg you, gentlemen, to return 
 my most affectionate regards to the Society of the Cincinnati 
 of the State of New York, and to assure them that I receive 
 their congratulations, on this auspicious day, with a mind con- 
 stantly anxious for the honor and welfare of our country, and 
 can only say that the force of my abilities, aided by an integ- 
 rity of heart, shall be studiously pointed to the support of its 
 dignity and the promotion of its prosperity and happiness." 
 
 The society afterwards inarched in procession, attended 
 
 * R. "W. Griswold. The Republican Court, New York. 1855, p. 155. 
 
..)/2 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 by Colonel Baumann's artillery and a band of music, to Saint 
 Paul's Church, where, in the presence of the members of 
 Congress and a great concourse of distinguished citizens and 
 strangers, Alexander Hamilton delivered an oration on the 
 life and character of General Nathaniel Greene. 
 
 The society afterwards dined at the old City Tavern in 
 Broad street. 
 
 Steuben filled the office of president of the New York 
 Cincinnati for four consecutive years till 1790, when he re- 
 signed. " I had the honor, gentlemen," said he, on this occa- 
 sion,* "of presiding in that assembly which laid the founda- 
 tion of our institution ; and the moment I put my hand to that 
 respectable act which was to connect us for purposes most 
 honorable and benevolent, shall always be considered by me 
 as the most precious of rny life. 
 
 "The clouds which jealousy and ill-founded prejudice have 
 gathered over our society have not intimidated me. Con- 
 scious of the purity of our intentions I have steadily pursued 
 the line of my duty in the station to which you were pleased, 
 four years since, to appoint me. Accept my sincere thanks, 
 gentlemen, for the repeated marks of attention and regard with 
 which I have been distinguished, and do me the justice to be- 
 lieve that if my efforts for the good of the society have not 
 had all the success I wished, that at least I have had the conso- 
 lation, during my presidency, of seeing the tie which binds us 
 retain its strength, and the luster of our eagle remain unsul- 
 lied. 
 
 "The motives which induced me to call this general meet- 
 ing will be communicated to you. As they regard the re- 
 spectability of the society they are worthy of your attention ; 
 before I explain them, permit me to inform you that my par- 
 ticular situation will prevent my filling this chair the ensuing 
 year, should your partiality honor me by an election to it. 
 
 " I have endeavored to place the affairs of the society in 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. xiii. 
 
LIFE OF STEIIBEX. 573 
 
 the best order possible. For this purpose the different pieces 
 relative to our institution, from its commencement to the pres- 
 ent time, have been collected and regularly entered in a book 
 by your secretary, who is entitled to our thanks for his care 
 and assiduity ; a second book contains the names of all the 
 members belonging to the society of this State, to which I pro- 
 pose to add a third, to contain the names of those only w T ho 
 have received their diploma. 
 
 "Gentlemen, the objects which are at present submitted 
 to your consideration, are : 1st. A law to ascertain the num- 
 ber of members which shall be competent to the administra- 
 tion of the affairs of the society ; 2d. The settlement of the 
 accounts relative to the funds of the society in the hands of 
 our treasurer ; 3d. To make the arrangements for the next 
 general meeting ; 4th. To inquire into the situation of the 
 widows and orphans of the deceased members, and afford 
 them such support as may be in our power ; 5th. To prevent 
 the intrusion of improper persons into the society, and to ex- 
 pel those, if there should be any such, who have been permitted 
 to join us without a sufficient title. And lastly, I must again 
 recommend to you to take into consideration and determine 
 on the well founded claims of the late officers of the marine 
 of this State." 
 
 Since the subsidence of the prejudices above alluded to, 
 the society has attracted little of the public attention. De- 
 voting itself, among its members, to the cultivation of the 
 social affections, to the relief of the indigent, and the com- 
 memoration of its illustrious dead and of their deeds, it has 
 little in common with the spirit of business that surrounds it, 
 and is too often forgotten by those who are entitled to its 
 privileges. Of its thirteen original chapters, six appear to be 
 in operation — those of New York, Massachusetts, South Caro- 
 lina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Of these, 
 that of New York, considered the most prosperous, has scarce- 
 ly more than one fourth of the number of its original mem- 
 
5*4 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 bers. The two hundred and sixty-eight officers of Pennsylvania 
 who signed the constitution of the society, are at present rep- 
 resented by only sixty of their descendants ; the two hundred 
 and thirty officers of New York by seventy-three descendants, 
 and the three hundred and thirty-three officers of Massachu- 
 setts by not many more than one hundred. The last veteran, 
 Major Robert Burnett, died on the 29th of November, 1854, 
 at Newburg, on the Hudson. He had lived long enough to 
 see that the predictions of the eccentric Burke, foreseeing a 
 general ruin of the liberties of America, were fallacies, and that 
 John Adams' apprehensions that "the formation of the society 
 was the first step taken to deface the beauty of our temple of 
 liberty" were utterly groundless. The rapid decrease of the 
 Cincinnati has of late attracted the notice of the society, and 
 suggested a modification of the rules of admission, so as to 
 make all persons eligible who are descended from any one who 
 might have been, as well as from one who was, a member.* 
 This ordinance, relative to the succession was adopted by the 
 general meeting on the 7th of May, 1851. 
 
 The present president of the New York State Society 
 since 1848, is Hamilton Fish, son of Steuben's sub-inspector, 
 Nicholas Fish, and former Governor and United States Senator 
 of the State of New York. He is at the same time president 
 of the general society, which held its last triennial meeting 
 at Boston, on the 27th of May, 1857. Delegates were pres- 
 ent from all the State Societies, except that of South Carolina, 
 and the following officers chosen : President, Hamilton Fish ; 
 Vice President, Charles S. Davies of Portland, Maine ; Treas- 
 urer, Joseph W. Scott of New Jersey ; Secretary, Thomas Mc- 
 Ewen. At the banquet, which took place on the evening of 
 that day, ex-President Pierce, and other distinguished guests, 
 responded to sentiments offered. 
 
 The next general meeting of the Cincinnati will be held 
 at Charleston, South Carolina, in I860. 
 
 * New York Courier and Inquirer, March, 1854. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 575 
 
 The public at large know little or nothing about the Cin- 
 cinnati : they have always been considered as an exotic crea- 
 tion which found no sympathy with the masses. Moreover, 
 the material interests and more important struggles of the 
 day have scarcely time enough to appreciate the high-toned 
 aspirations of a bygone time, which has almost nothing in 
 common with the present. 
 
 But if in the course of years even every trace of the ex- 
 istence of the Cincinnati should be extinguished, this society 
 is immortalized in the name of a city which, giant-like, sprung 
 out of the wilderness with a rapidity since become proverbial, 
 and which is now one of the richest commercial emporiums of 
 the United States. When General St. Clair and Colonel Sar- 
 gent, in 1789, gave the name of their society to the three log- 
 houses at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio, then called 
 Losanteville,* they did not imagine that they were enthron- 
 ing a queen of the West, and erecting a monument in honor 
 of the Cincinnati, which will probably last longer than the 
 memory of all its members. The daughter does honor to her 
 parents. On the ground which they have cultivated and made 
 independent it flourishes proudly and mightily, the young and 
 vine-crowned Cincinnati. 
 
 * Alexander Johnston, 1. c 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Steuben in- private Life from 1T84 till 1790.— The States of Pennsylvania, 
 Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, present him with Land.— He settles 
 in the City of New York.— His different Residences.— Tmt Louvre.— He 
 writes Treatises about military Affairs, especially the Militia and a Con- 
 tinental Legion.— Washington's Opinion thereon.— Steuben's social Stand- 
 ing in New York.— The Doctor's Mob.— Other Anecdotes.— The German 
 Society of the City of New York.— Steuben its President for Nine Years.— 
 E. Livingston's Oration.— Steuben's political Views.— The Prerogatives of 
 the President of the United States.— Prince Henry of Prussia.— Election 
 of Governor in New York.— Steuben present at Washington's Inauguration. 
 —Steuben chosen Regent of the New York University.— His Plan for an 
 American Settlement on the Mississtppi in Louisiana.— The Spanish Ambas- 
 sador does not Answer. — Steuben's Proposals not accepted. 
 
 rjlO resume our narrative, we have to revert to the time when 
 -*- the disbanded army returned to the peaceful occupations 
 of civil life. While others, who were young enough to devote 
 themselves to other pursuits, soon made up the loss they had 
 experienced in joining the army, Steuben was too old and too 
 little acquainted with business to gain a livelihood in a civil 
 capacity. He was fifty-four years old, the greater part of 
 which he had spent in the field. Feeling that after the conclu- 
 sion of peace, he was of no more use in America, he proposed 
 to return to Europe, and live there in agreeable retirement, if 
 Congress would pay him a part of his claims, but, as stated in 
 chapter XXVI., the matter was put off from day to day, from 
 year to year ; and when in 1790, they finally arrived at a de- 
 cision, Steuben, on account of his debts, was unable to leave 
 the United States. He, therefore, concluded to cultivate his 
 lands in Oneida county, for which purpose his means were suf- 
 ficient. 
 
 Although he had, for full six years, to battle with Congress, 
 Steuben never lost sight of the public welfare by attending to 
 
LIFE OF STEUliEN. 577 
 
 his own affairs, and even the time after he had laid aside pub- 
 lic station, furnishes ample proof of his disinterested participa- 
 tion in the prosperity and security of the United States. These 
 ten years, from 1784 till his death, naturally divide themselves 
 into two distinct periods, the one ending with the year 1790, 
 when Steuben's just claims were settled and his life secured 
 from penury, the other with his death, during which latter 
 time he lived in easy circumstances, and enjoyed the society 
 of his friends and the regards of the American people. 
 
 We propose to describe, in this chapter, the period from 
 1784 till 1790, As an offset against the tardy way in which 
 the general government did satisfy Steuben's claims, we are 
 bound to mention the liberal rewards of his services by some 
 of the States. 
 
 Thus the State of Pennsylvania, even before the conclusion 
 of the peace in March, 1783, had made him a citizen of the com- 
 monwealth, and given him, in Westmoreland county, a grant 
 of two thousand acres. Virginia had presented him with fif- 
 teen thousand acres, " as a high sense they had of the merit 
 and services of Steuben," to be located between the Muskin- 
 gum and the Great Miami (in the present State of Ohio). New 
 Jersey, " deeply impressed with a sense of the many and sig- 
 nal services by him rendered to the United States of America 
 during the continuance of the late war, and desirous to testify 
 to the world the grateful sense they entertain of the said ser- 
 vices," had given him the life lease of a forfeited estate of 
 John Zabriskie, lying in the county of Bergen, township of 
 New Barbadoes, at the New Bridge, and in the immediate 
 neighborhood of New York ; but Steuben, when informed 
 that Zabriskie, in consequence of that confiscation, was left 
 without means, did not accept the gift, and interposed in be- 
 half of-Zabriskie. 
 
 The cities of Albany and New York, the first on the 23d 
 of July, 1783, the latter on the 11th of October, 1784, 
 honored him with their freedom, and on the 5th of May, 
 
 25 
 
5/8 LIFE O F S T B U ]) E N . 
 
 1786,* the St:ite of New York granted him one quarter of a 
 township, equal to sixteen thousand acres, out of the territory 
 recently purchased from the Oneida Indians. The site select- 
 ed was some twelve miles north of old Fort Schuyler, the pres- 
 ent city of Utica, and adjoining the present town of Remsen. 
 It was erected into a separate township, and called after him 
 when Steuben settled there. 
 
 Immediately after having resigned his commission, he re- 
 turned to New York, where he first rented a country house in 
 the middle part of the island. It belonged to Mr. Provost, 
 better known at the time as the " ready-money Provost" (now 
 in the possession of Mrs. Schermerhorn), and was situated in 
 the present Fifty seventh street, in Jones's Wood. For some 
 reason unknown, it was called the "Louvre" by its proprietor, 
 and Steuben lived there with his old companions in arms. 
 Here he spent the little money left him, with North, Walk- 
 er, William S. Smith, Fairlie, and others. They, however, 
 very soon went away to establish themselves, and left him in 
 a very solitary situation. Steuben corresponded with his old 
 friends, took part in the politics of the day, and wrote pam- 
 phlets about the military affairs and militia of the United 
 
 * il An Act for the speedy sale of unappropriated lands within this State, and 
 for other purposes therein mentioned. Passed on the 5th of May, 1786. 
 "XXXII. And whereas, Baron Frederick William Steuben, late a major gen- 
 eral in the army of the United States, has rendered very essential service to 
 this State, as one of the United States, by introducing a regular discipline into 
 the army, and a spirit of economy into the interior administration of the regi- 
 ments, and this Legislature, being willing to afford a public testimony of the 
 just sense they entertain of his services: therefore 
 
 "XXXIII. Be it enacted by the autJioriiy aforesaid, That the said comrnis 
 sioners shall, and they are hereby authorized, to direct letters patent to be 
 prepared fur, and granted to the said Baron Frederick William Steuben, in fee 
 simple, one quarter of a township, equal to sixteen thousand acres of land, 
 part of any township which he may choose, out; of the townships to be laid 
 out in any of the tracts of land directed to be laid out in pursuance of this 
 act, except in the bound of the said lands purchased of the Oneida Indians, 
 without fee or reward, or paying any consideration for the land granted to 
 him; and having approved of such letters patent, his Excellency, the Gov- 
 ernor, shall affix the great seed of the State thereto." 
 
LIFE OF STEU15EX. 5? 9 
 
 States. One of the first works he undertook after his resig- 
 nation, was the elaboration of a plan for their land defense. 
 We have no room for this important essay in full ; it will, there- 
 fore, suffice to state here, that he proposed that in times of 
 peace the whole American army should consist of one legion 
 of three thousand men, permanent and Continental ; a corps ot 
 artillerists, sappers, miners, artificers, etc., of one thousand, 
 permanent and Continental, also ; and seven legions of estab- 
 lished militia, consisting of three thousand men each ; so that 
 the whole would amount to twenty-five thousand effectives. 
 
 Steuben communicated this plan first to Washington, who, 
 on the 15th of March, 1784,* from Mount Vernon, answered 
 it as follows : 
 
 " T have perused, with attention, the plan which you have 
 formed for establishing a Continental legion, and for training 
 a certain part of the arms-bearing men of the Union, as a mi- 
 litia in times of peace ; and with the small alterations which 
 have been suggested and made, I very much approve of it. It 
 was no impleading and flattering circumstance to me to find 
 such a coincidence of ideas as appears to run through your 
 plan and the one I had the honor to lay before a committee of 
 Congress in May last. Mine, however, was a hasty produc- 
 tion, the consequence of a sudden call and little time for ar- 
 rangement ; yours, of maturer thought and better digestion. 
 At the same time that I limited the propriety of a Continental 
 militia, I glided almost insensibly into what I thought would, 
 rather than what I conceived ought to be, a proper peace es- 
 tablishment for this country. 
 
 " A peace establishment ought always to have two objects 
 in view : the one present security of posts and of stores, and 
 the public tranquillity ; the other, to be prepared, if the latter 
 is impracticable, to resist with efficacy the sudden attempts 
 of a foreign or domestic enemy. If we have no occasion for 
 troops for the first purposes, and were certain of not wanting 
 * Washington's Writings, ix., 25. 
 
580 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 any for the second, then all expenses, of every nature and 
 kind whatsoever on this score, would be equally nugatory and 
 unjustifiable; but while men have a disposition to wrangle, 
 and to disturb the peace of society, either from ambitious, 
 political or interested motives, common prudence and fore- 
 sight require such an establishment as is likely to insure to 
 us the blessings of peace, although the undertaking should be 
 attended with difficulty and expense ; and I can think of no 
 plan more likely to answer the purpose, than the one you have 
 suggested, which, the principles being established, may be en- 
 larged or diminished at pleasure, according to circumstances. 
 It therefore meets my approbation-, and has my best wishes for 
 its success." 
 
 Poverty soon compelled Steuben to give up his dismantled 
 and deserted residence, and to surrender the "Louvre." His 
 old friend and aid-de-camp, B. Walker, who had married in 
 the meantime, and taken a house in Maiden Lane, in New 
 York, nearly opposite its junction with Liberty street, invited 
 him to stay with him. When Walker afterwards removed to 
 Courtland street, Steuben engaged rooms in the present Fulton 
 street, at a Dr. Vache's, and took his dinners at the celebrated 
 boarding-house of the Misses Dabeny, in Wall street, nearly 
 opposite Hanover. Having lived there a year or two, he 
 went to the house of a Dr. Tillory, at the south-east corner 
 of Broadway and Wall street, till he finally, in 1791, took a 
 house opposite Saint Paul's Church, the present 21G Broad- 
 way, which he occupied down to his removal to Steuben, in 
 1794. 
 
 Steuben was a great favorite in social circles, and especially 
 among the ladies. He engaged in their amusements, and by 
 his wit and pleasantry the delights of any party where he w T as 
 were increased. We find his name on the invitation list of 
 Mrs. Jay, during the years 1787 and 1788; he was intimate 
 with Duer, Duane, Livingston, Jay, Varick, Hamilton, Fish and 
 others. He cultivated social intercourse with all the prominent 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 581 
 
 and fashionable families of the city, while at the same time he 
 was very popular among all classes of the people. II. D. Yon 
 Bulow, who was in New York in 1792, and paid a visit to 
 Steuben, says that he was known by everybody as "the baron," 
 and that when " the baron" was spoken of, everybody knew 
 that Steuben was the man. When, at the famous doctors' mob, 
 produced, in 1786 or 1787, by the careless exposure of a sub- 
 ject from the dissecting room of the hospital, he was acci- 
 dentally w r ounded, the mob made room to let him pass, and 
 cheered him, while they went on in their work of destruction. 
 President Duer relates an amusing anecdote of Steuben, con- 
 nected with this affair: 
 
 "It became necessary," says he,* "to call out the militia 
 to put down the rioters, and many of the principal citizens re- 
 paired to the assistance of the civil authority. Some of them 
 were severely wounded. Mr. Jay received a serious wound 
 in the head, and the Baron De Steuben was struck by a stone, 
 which knocked him down, inflicted a flesh wound upon his 
 forehead, and wrought a sudden change in the compassionate 
 feelings he had previously entertained towards the rabble. 
 At the moment of receiving it he was earnestly remonstrat- 
 ing with Governor Clinton against ordering the militia to fire 
 on the people; but as soon as he w r as hit, his benevolence de- 
 serted him, and, as he fell, he lustily cried out, ' Fire, gov- 
 ernor, fire !' He was carried into Mr. Duer's house, and there 
 being no surgeon at hand, Lady Kitty Duer stanched his wound 
 and bound up his head. After his departure, Governor Clin- 
 ton provoked the laughter of the company by recalling these 
 circumstances." 
 
 Though never perfectly master of the English language, 
 he understood and spoke it with tolerable correctness. He 
 would sometimes, and as a matter of jest, miscall names, and 
 blend or adopt words similar in sound, dissimilar in meaning. 
 
 * Rufus W. Griswold. The Republican Court, New York, 1854, quarto, 
 p. 102. 
 
582 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Once when dining with General Washington,* Mrs. Washing- 
 ton asked him what amusements he had. " I read, and I piny 
 chess, my lady," said the baron ; " and yesterday I was invit- 
 ed to go a fishing. It was understood to be a very fine amuse- 
 ment. I sat in the boat two hours, though it was very warm, 
 and caught two fish." " Of what kind, baron ?" asked the 
 lady. "Indeed, I do not recollect perfectly, but one of them 
 was a whale." "A whale, baron, in the North river!" "Yes, 
 on my word, a very fine whale, as that gentleman informed 
 me. Did you not tell me it was a whale, major?" "An eel, 
 baron !" " I beg your pardon, my lady, but the gentleman 
 certainly called it a whale. But it is of little consequence. I 
 shall abandon the trade, notwithstanding the fine amusement 
 it affords." 
 
 Among the Germans of the city of New York Steuben oc- 
 cupied a most prominent position. They looked on him with 
 pride, and held him in high veneration. He took part in their 
 associations and benevolent institutions. When, on the 23d of 
 August, 1784, the German Society, for the benevolent purpose 
 of assisting poor Germans and their descendants, was founded, 
 Steuben was not in town ; but immediately after his return he 
 joined it, and at once became its most influential member. On 
 the 7th of February, 1785, Dr. Kuntze moved that the society 
 express their thanks to Steuben for the honor he conferred on 
 them in becoming a member, and on the 3d of October, 1785, 
 he was unanimously elected president, which place he occupied 
 until his death. This society, which still flourishes and numbers 
 about one thousand members, was in its beginning represent- 
 ed and sustained by revolutionary officers, as, for instance, 
 Colonels Henry Emanuel Lutterlob, its first president, and 
 Frederick Yon Weisscnfels. Frederick A. Muhlenberg and 
 General Peter Muhlenberg, on the motion of Steuben, were 
 made honorary members; and many distinguished Americans, 
 as Mayor Duane, Gouverneur Morris, Edward Livingston, Ste- 
 
 * Thacher & Bowon, p. 83. 
 
L I F E OF 6 T B U B-JB N . 583 
 
 phen Van Renssalaer, Peter Schuyler, Horatio Gates, and other 
 distinguished men, afterwards became members. The emi- 
 gration, which then was in its infancy, did not require much 
 attention of the society. Here and there a ship arrived with 
 Germans, " bound to labor," on whose behalf they interfered, 
 as, for instance, in 1792, when the board of directors met at 
 Steuben's house, to protect the Germans, who, under the most 
 disadvantageous terms, had been engaged by the Genesee land 
 association. It appears from the minutes of the board, that 
 the arrival of two ships with emigrants at almost the same 
 time was a very extraordinary event. Thus the society had 
 more ample occasion for charitable purposes at home, and for 
 cherishing kind feelings of benevolence and friendship among 
 its members. On the anniversary of the society, which, on 
 motion of Edward Livingston, was celebrated on the 11th of 
 August, being the day of German independence, in conse- 
 quence of Herman's victory over Varus, a German and En- 
 glish oration was delivered, and a dinner taken. Edward Liv- 
 ingston was the English speaker in 1789, and, in his apprecia- 
 tion of the German character, said at the end of his speech : 
 
 " The next is one whom here I fear to name, and scarce 
 dare venture to describe, lest I offend that virtue which, not 
 obtrusive, shares the voice of fame. JBut vain the purpose 
 to conceal it! When German worth is the theme, can we 
 omit the name of Steuben f or when we speak of services like 
 his, will admiration bind itself to forms? No! regardless 
 of the feelings it may excite, the voice of truth proclaims 
 him the creator of our force, who, from a chaos of disorder, 
 raised our military fame. Unhappily the voice of gratitude 
 has not been heard ; our country yet, my friends, is not un- 
 just. It was but lost amid the din of acclamation ; and that 
 voice, though small and still, shall soon be heard, and teach 
 our country to reward his merit." 
 
 After Steuben's death the society, in his honor, held a 
 funeral service in the German Reformed Church, in Nassau 
 
584 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN 
 
 street, and wore crape for six weeks. At the same time it 
 published a eulogy on him, which was signed by D. Grimm, 
 vice president, and William Wilmerding, secretary. 
 
 In his political views Steuben was a decided Federalist, and 
 as such took part in the political events of the day. We found 
 among his papers a treatise about the national debt of the 
 United States, several articles about the prerogatives of the 
 President, and a historical review of the duties of the supreme 
 executive officer in ancient and modern republics. All these 
 essays belong— to characterize them in one word— to the po- 
 litical school of Alexander Hamilton, and show, in a great 
 measure, Steuben's learning and sound judgment in political 
 matters. 
 
 When, before the adoption of the present Constitution, in 
 a circle of his friends, the question of the form of government 
 was discussed, and it was not yet decided whether the Presi- 
 dent was to be vested only with the authority of the highest 
 civil officer, or with the more princely privileges of the Dutch 
 Stadtholder, one of the party, addressing himself to Steuben, 
 asked whether Prince Henry, of Prussia, would be willing to 
 accept an invitation, and whether he would make a good Pres- 
 ident ? Steuben answered, "As far as I know the prince he 
 would never think of crossing the ocean to be your master. I 
 wrote to him a good while ago what kind of fellows you are; 
 he would not have the patience to stay three days among 
 you." 
 
 When Mr. Jay, then Chief Justice of the United States, 
 in 1792, was nominated for governor of the State of New 
 York, by the Federal Republicans in opposition to Governor 
 George Clinton, Steuben attended the public meeting called 
 to recommend Mr. Jay to the suffrages of the people. He 
 was complimented by placing his name first on the list of 
 those who signed the address on that occasion, which was 
 published the next day. Chancellor Livingston had pre- 
 viously joined the anti-Federalists, and of course was ready to 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 535 
 
 employ his splendid talents and the great influence of his 
 family in support of Governor Clinton. He published an 
 answer to the address, alluding to the signers as mere inter- 
 ested partisans, and to Steuben as a " pensioner" of the 
 general government, in a manner not very agreeable nor 
 suitable to his position and character. Steuben sent imme- 
 diately to General Armstrong, with whom he was connected 
 by the ties of mutual esteem and friendship, with a view to 
 ascertain who the general thought was the author. The 
 latter said at once there could be no doubt of his being the 
 chancellor. " Then, my friend, I rely on you for an answer." 
 Armstrong readily assented. The next day " Timothy Tick- 
 ler's" first letter was published, assuming the chancellor to be 
 the author, and addressed, to him by his official title. The 
 chancellor then, under his signature of " Aristides," published 
 a letter addressed to Mr. Jay, as Chief Justice, etc., assuming 
 him to be the author of Tickler's letter. Mr. Jay forthwith, 
 in the calm, judicious and dignified manner by which all the 
 acts, public and private, of that able, wise, and virtuous 
 patriot were distinguished, conclusively disclaimed the impu- 
 tation.* 
 
 At the inauguration of Washington, on the 30th of April, 
 1789, Steuben was conspicuous in the group on the platform 
 when Washington took the oath of his office. A few days 
 after he attended a ball which was given at the City Assembly 
 Rooms in honor of this event, and on the 4th of July Steuben 
 waited on the President to pay him his respects in the name 
 of the Society of the Cincinnati, and delivered a complimentary 
 address.f 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1787, the Legislature of the State 
 of New York appointed Steuben one of the regents of the 
 State University. The regents, numbering twenty-two, "are 
 authorized and required to visit and inspect all the colleges 
 
 * Communicated by John "W. Mulligan, Esq. 
 •j- Rufus W. Griswold, the Republican Court, pp. 140, 154, 111. 
 25* 
 
58G LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 and academies in the State, examine into the condition ana 
 system of education and discipline therein, and make an 
 annual report of the state of the same to the Legislature."* 
 
 During the whole year 1788, when his prospect of getting 
 his claims settled was very bad, and when, during a political 
 interregnum, his future w T as entirely uncertain, Steuben was 
 occupied with a plan which, if carried out, would have exerted 
 a decisive influence on the political formation of this continent, 
 and, by its consequences, greatly accelerated the westward 
 movement and expansion of the United States. He proposed 
 to plant a colony within the dominions of the King of Spain, 
 on the Mississippi, partly agricultural, partly military, in order 
 to secure the King of Spain against any invasion of his neigh- 
 bors, and to grant to the American settlers on the western 
 Alleghanies a free outlet for their produce. 
 
 The plan of this interesting project reads as follows: 
 
 " 1st. Baron Steuben engages to plant a colony of farm- 
 ers and artificers, not exceeding in number four thousand 
 two hundred persons, within the Spanish province of Louis- 
 iana. 
 
 " 2d. For this purpose a concession of two hundred thou- 
 sand acres of land, in such place as, in military view and 
 relation to the principles of the project, may be hereafter 
 agreed upon, is made to the said Baron Steuben and his asso- 
 ciates. 
 
 " 3d. As a further encouragement the Spanish government 
 allows to each person, a farmer or artificer, brought to locate 
 himself in good faith within the said tract, the sum of one 
 hundred Spanish dollars as a bounty. 
 
 " 4th. Baron Steuben and his associates will, to every such 
 settler, make conveyance in fee of two hundred and thirty 
 acres of good and arable land within the concession aforesaid, 
 free of all expense save such as may arise upon the writing of 
 the deed. 
 
 * Laws of New York, Jones and Varick's edition, ii., 143. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 587 
 
 u 5th. The settlers within the said tract will be drawn from 
 the United States, or other foreign countries, and no person 
 now a Spanish subject will be taken from his present settle- 
 ment to make a part of this. 
 
 " 6th. On the part of government it will be agreed that 
 the inhabitants of this tract be allowed to possess and exer- 
 cise such mode of religious worship as they may think proper, 
 and that no penalty, forfeiture, disqualification, etc., be incurred 
 by any differences in faith or practice from those established 
 within his Catholic Majesty's dominions. 
 
 " 7th. The laws of the United States relative to the tenure, 
 transfer or descent of property will be granted to the inhabit- 
 ants of the said tract, and they will be allowed to institute 
 such process, office and courts touching these subjects as may 
 be proper and necessary ; provided only, that this will be done 
 at their own expense and without charge to government ; and 
 provided further, that in all cases when the parties in suit on 
 these subjects signify their consent and desire to have decision 
 according to the Spanish laws, it be granted to them. 
 
 " 8th. In all other respects the said inhabitants will be en- 
 tirely, and without qualification, subject to the Spanish laws 
 and usages. 
 
 "This part of the colony will be formed into a militia and 
 liable to military service within the province when any exi- 
 gency of government may require it. 
 
 " 9th. In addition to this colony the baron will engage to 
 raise a corps of eight hundred men to be formed into four bat- 
 talions, three of musketry, and one of riflemen. This corps 
 will in all respects be subject to the discipline and service of 
 his Catholic Majesty's troops, save only that in questions of 
 property and religion, the privileges granted to the other part 
 of the colony be extended to this also. 
 
 " 10th. The power of nominating all officers of the regular 
 corps will be exclusively with the general thereof, and when 
 
588 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 approved by the king, commissions will be issued to them ac- 
 cordingly, and vacancies supplied in the same manner. 
 
 " 11th. The same bounty will be given to soldiers as to the 
 farmers and artificers. 
 
 "12th. Such colonists and recruits as may be engaged in 
 Germany, will be paid and provided at the king's expense, 
 from the day of their enlistments or engagements respectively, 
 and for the purpose of safe and easy transportation, it will be 
 agreed between the courts of Madrid and Versailles, that they 
 be allowed a free and unmolested passage from St. Esprit in 
 France to Carthagena in Spain, where they are to be embarked 
 in royal vessels for New Orleans in Louisiana." 
 
 Steuben presented this plan to Don Diego Guardaqui, then 
 Spanish minister in Philadelphia, who dispatched it to Madrid ; 
 but it does not appear that the court entered into any nego- 
 tiation about it. Its rejection is too natural when we consider 
 the absolute form of government in Spain. It could not suit 
 them, that one of its colonies should be more free than the 
 rest, and if not the thorough appreciation of the case, at least 
 the instinct of self-preservation taught the Spanish ministry, 
 that admitting American laws even on a small scale, would 
 by and by have opened and subjected the entire colony to the 
 American pioneers, as has been subsequently shown in the in- 
 stance of Texas. 
 
 It is, nevertheless, interesting to examine the motives of 
 Steuben's plan. They show us the statesman and soldier who 
 anticipates the future and tries to found a building on mate- 
 rials loose in themselves, but grand in the hands of a political 
 talent, the executiou of which was only delayed and reserved 
 to the succeeding generation. It is at the same time gratify- 
 ing to observe that Steuben understood perfectly well the 
 secret of the growth of this rising American empire in the self- 
 government of the commonwealth ; a principle more antagon- 
 istic to the prerogatives of the Spanish autocrat could not be 
 found. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 589 
 
 As in the following year Steuben's prospects cleared up 
 and the favorable settlement of his claims became certain, he 
 gave up the idea of removing to the far West, and devoted his 
 whole attention to the cultivation of his own lands in Oneida 
 county. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 Steuben from 1790 to 1794.— His Kesidence ox ins Fabm.— Its Sititation.-Stf.it- 
 ben's Occupations in the Country.— His Secbktaby, John W. Mulligan.— 
 Steuben has no Intercouksk with his Family.— His Nephews Von Canitz.— 
 He makes a Survey of the Neighborhood of New York, when War avith 
 England is apprehended.— Steuben's Plan reproduced in 1807.— Mulligan's 
 Letter to Walker.— Steuben appointed Commissary for the Fortification 
 of the Western and Northern Frontier.— A War agatnst England appears 
 inevitable.— The German Society, under Steuben, works for a Day on the 
 Forts on Governor's Island.— Steuben goes to the West.— His official Du- 
 ties detain him till the End of August.— His Life on the Farm.— His Plans 
 and Improvements.— Social Intercourse with his Neighbors.— The French 
 Revolution the all-absorbing Subject of Conversation— Retreat of the 
 Prussians from Champagne.— Abolition of Titles of Nobility.— Mappa.— 
 Dutch Land Company.— Simeon Woodruff.— Old Soldiers visit Stephen. 
 —His Opinion about the Military Capacity of the Yankees.— Mulligan 
 heads to Steuben and plays Chess with him.— Steuben suddenly paralyzed 
 on the 25th of November, 1794.— He dies Three Days afterwards.— His Burial 
 in the Forest.— Contrast between Steuben and his old Prussian Brothers 
 in Arms.— Who is the happiest of them ?— Visit to Steuben's Grave.— Its 
 Inscription.— Its Scenery.— North erects a Monument in New York in Honor of 
 Steuben.— Its present Condition.— Agitation among the Germans of the United 
 States for erecting a Steuben Monument.— The Plan does not seem to buoc k k d. 
 
 /CONGRESS having passed, on the 4th of June, 1790, the 
 \J annuity of Steuben, we find him, as early as the 10th, on 
 the way to his farm. The trip which is now made in about 
 twelve hours from New York, then required as many days. 
 Steuben stopped at North's in Duanesburg, dined with Philip 
 Schuyler or Stephen Van Rensselaer in Albany, and did not 
 pass an old comrade's door. John Post, an old German from 
 Schenectady^ was at that time the only merchant in what is 
 now called Utica. Steuben knew him from the war, and made 
 his house his last resting place when he journeyed from New 
 York for his home. 
 
 Before 1790 he had only been once or twice on his farm ; 
 now he regularly spent some summer months there. The 
 
LIFE O F ST E IT B E N . 591 
 
 township* in which it was situated, is in an elevated position, 
 and its soil better adapted to grazing than the raising of grain. 
 A high ridge of land runs east and west through it. Steuben 
 hill and Star hill are the most elevated points in this ridge, the 
 highest land in the county. Their altitude is so great that 
 Indian corn entirely foils to mature there. The visitor is at 
 once impressed with the vastness of the landscape. N"o land 
 within many miles is as high as where he stands. Westerly 
 and north-westerly the view is almost unbounded. A large 
 section of the Oneida lake is to be seen, and a person well 
 acquainted in central New York, in viewing the location of 
 different highlands, soon becomes satisfied that portions of 
 seven different counties are distinctly seen. In general the 
 surface of the township may be termed stony. Boulders of 
 every size and shape, some of which are of immense propor- 
 tions, thickly dot the fields. 
 
 Steuben kept a regular journal during his sojourns on his 
 farm, in which all his entries are made with the same regu- 
 larity as his official reports while in active service. Thus we 
 find in his diary that, on the 4th of July, 1790, he gave a 
 dinner and festivity to all the men on his land and in the 
 neighborhood. Thus we follow him through his apprentice- 
 ship as a farmer ; Ave see his arrangements, his hopes and dis- 
 appointments, his contracts for the cultivation of the land, his 
 discontent with his superintendent, Samuel Sizer, his sales to 
 settlers, and his dispositions for the next year. Whenever he 
 found a worthy revolutionary soldier he made him a present 
 of a lot, forty to a hundred acres in extent. In the autumn, 
 he regularly returned to New York, to spend the winter there 
 among his old acquaintances. Although he had no family, he 
 lived happy and satisfied with some of his old companions in 
 arms, his rural neighbors, and such friends as might tend to 
 enliven his retired home. 
 
 In 1791 Steuben made the acquaintance of John W. Mulli- 
 * P. Jones. Annals of Oneida county, Rome, 1851. 
 
592 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 gan, a young and promising man, whose father had been an 
 active Whig in New York daring the Revolution. Mr. Mulli- 
 gan, after having finished his studies in Columbia College, be- 
 came Steuben's secretary, and served him with a fidelity and 
 love which won him the friendship and confidence of his pro- 
 tector. Steuben concentrated all the tenderness of his heart 
 on his friends, as he had no family relations, and there are few 
 examples to be found in which the feeling of kindness and good 
 fellowship were so sincerely reciprocated as between Steuben 
 and his friends. 
 
 He did not like his relatives in Europe. In November, 
 1786, his two nephews, sons of his only sister, the Barons De 
 Canitz, visited him, but their conduct was so bad, their morals 
 were so low, that he sent them back in disgust after a year. 
 They had no education at all ; one of them had been a lieu- 
 tenant in a Prussian infantry regiment, and the other ensign ; 
 but the oldest soon resigned on account of a low marriage, and 
 the other deserted. We do not find any trace of a single let- 
 ter to his relatives in Europe ; but we find a great many 
 applications, on their part, for money and assistance. These 
 repeated tribulations annoyed Steuben so much, that he gave 
 up all intercourse with his family, and left them no part of his 
 fortune in his will. 
 
 In a letter written on the 27th of July, 1790, in regard to 
 his oldest nephew, he says on this subject:* "I am a self- 
 made man : my personal position is the work of my own 
 hands ; but I never forgot to help and afford relief to my 
 poorer relatives whenever I could. They, however, took me 
 for a richer man than I am. The reputation of my having ac- 
 quired immense possessions and a large fortune spread to the 
 extreme ends of Germany, therefore I could not satisfy all 
 demands on the part of my family. The little I could do Avas 
 partially compared with what I could not do for them, and 
 rather put to my debit than to my credit. They consid- 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Sprague. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 593 
 
 ered themselves entitled to get all and every thing from me, 
 while I expected nothing from them." 
 
 In the fall of 1793, after the return from his farm, Stenben, 
 apprehending that the ill feeling between the United States 
 and England would lead to a war, made a survey of the neigh- 
 borhood of New York, and, accompanied by his old sub- 
 inspector, Nicholas Fish, examined the ground between Hell- 
 Gate and the Narrows, looking out for the best places to erect 
 forts. He handed the plan, with a memoir, to the corporation 
 of New York, as an acknowledgment of his gratitude to the 
 city. In 1807 this plan was reproduced and used for the pur- 
 poses for which it was intended. 
 
 Mulligan, on the 1st of August, 1807, wrote from New 
 York the following interesting letter in regard to it to 
 Walker :* 
 
 "In the present state of our political affairs, the subject of 
 fortifications to defend this city naturally excites considerable 
 attention and anxiety. Various plans are devised and pro- 
 posed, but that which includes the defense of the Narrows 
 seems to have most advocates. One has been published which 
 I believe to be an entire plagiarism from one framed by our 
 excellent friend, my benefactor, Baron Steuben. In the year 
 1793, as I believe you are informed, he devoted one or two 
 days to an actual survey at the Narrows, and formed a plan 
 which, with a memoir, he presented to the corporation. After 
 particular search it is not to be found. I hope that he may 
 have left a copy among his plans and papers in your possession. 
 The object of my present application is that you will have the 
 goodness to search, and if you find either the plan or memoir, 
 to send them on, as far as your search may be successful, as 
 soon as you possibly can, to me, by some safe hand. Being a 
 member of the board, I wish to procure it, as we are at present 
 on the look out for apian for the purpose of meeting the wishes 
 of the citizens, to erect fortifications, without delay, at the 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, Utica. 
 
594 LIFE OF STEUJ1EN. 
 
 Narrows, relying on government for future reimbursements, 
 as their commissioners have not thought it proper, or, rather, 
 within the scopo of their instructions, to expend at present any 
 money to fortify that point. Many inducements make me 
 anxious to have this plan, and, notwithstanding the importance 
 of the object it was intended to effect, I confess one of my 
 leading motives is to prevent any person from bearing the 
 credit of what is due to our friend." 
 
 But to return to Steuben. By his plan he had touched a 
 subject which very soon assumed practical importance, since, 
 in consequence of sundry violations of the treaty of peace of 
 1788, the outbreak of a war between the United States and 
 England was thought to be inevitable. 
 
 The Legislature of New York, by a law of the 26th of 
 March, 1794, ordered that fortifications should be repaired or 
 erected, at or near the city and port" of New York, sufficient 
 to put the said city and port in a proper state of defense. It 
 appointed at the same time, and by the same law, seven gentle- 
 men, viz., Frederick William De Steuben, Peter Gansevoort, 
 jr., William North, Stephen Van Rensselaer, John Taylor, 
 John Verner, and Daniel Hale, as commissioners for the pur- 
 pose of erecting such fortifications, building and equipping 
 one or more floating batteries, or other vessels of force as to 
 them should appear necessary to the security of the western 
 and northern frontiers of this State. 
 
 As the treaty which John Jay concluded with England 
 prevented a war, this law became a dead letter. There pre- 
 vailed, however, a general excitement in the spring of 1794, 
 and so enthusiastic was the public spirit in the anticipation of 
 war with England, that the citizens of New York, almost as a 
 body, volunteered to assist in the erection of fortifications in 
 the neighborhood of their city. The German Society, for in- 
 stance, over which Steuben presided, passed, on the 21st of 
 May, 1794, a resolution that all its members, and all the Ger- 
 man inhabitants of New York in general, if it were desired, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 505 
 
 should work for a day at the forts which had just been com- 
 menced on Governor's Island. They assembled, accordingly, 
 early on the morning of the 5th of June, 1794, at the Luther- 
 an school-house in Nassau street, and, led by their president, 
 proceeded, with flying colors and music, through Broadway, 
 down Whitehall, to Governor's Island, where the mayor of 
 the city alloted to them their places, and where they worked 
 until sunset. 
 
 A few days after Steuben left the city for his estate in 
 Oneida county, and remained at Albany to attend the first 
 meeting of the commissioners. He was appointed president, 
 and John W. Mulligan was chosen secretary. Soon after his 
 arrival at Steuben he proceeded on his tour to explore the 
 western territory as far as Fort Oswego, including Fort Stan- 
 wix, and spent the greater part of the summer in fulfilling his 
 duty. 
 
 Steuben, North, and Stephen Van Rensselaer passed down 
 Wood creek from old Fort Stanwix, crossed the Oneida lake 
 up Seneca river, thence into Onondaga lake to Salt Point. 
 There were several hundred Indians assembled in council, 
 some friendly, and others manifested a hostile spirit toward 
 the United States. The commissioners stationed a strong 
 guard around the house in which they held their consultations, 
 and after they had concluded them they obtained information 
 that the hostile Canadian Indians had assembled in great num- 
 bers at the mouth oi Oswego river for the purpose of making 
 Steuben a prisoner and carrying him to Fort Oswego, then 
 held by the British. Steuben, aware of this ambuscade, went 
 by land to Fort Stanwix. When the boat containing L. Hough, 
 the servant, and the baggage, entered Onondaga lake, some two 
 or three bateaux, loaded with Indians, armed and equipped, 
 inquired of him where Steuben had gone. They seemed to 
 be much surprised at Hough's answer, and surrounded his 
 boat. Hough and his party expected to have to fight, and 
 that they would be seized and carried to the fort. It ap- 
 
59G LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 peared, however, that Steuben was the only object of their 
 search, and they Buffered them to pass. 
 
 It was the last service he rendered to his adopted country. 
 
 He did not reach his farm until the end of August. The 
 idea of cultivating his lands, of which about sixty acres were 
 then cleared, and of erecting a line mansion on it, had been a 
 favorite plan of Steuben since he began to enjoy his annuity, 
 and to feel easier in his money affairs. At that time some six- 
 teen families resided on his patent, who had durable leases at 
 from $10 to $20 for every one hundred acres of land. He was 
 fond of talking about his farming prospects, about the artifi- 
 cial lake, which he proposed to make by using the water of 
 two fine brooks that flowed through his land ; about the fine 
 quality and situation of his land and its settlement. On his 
 little mare Molly he rode through the fields, watched the im- 
 provements, and gave directions. In the evening he saw his 
 friends and neighbors, played chess with his companions, read 
 newspapers or spoke of the politics of the day, which just at 
 this time, when the French Revolution had reached its culmi- 
 nating point, and when the revolutionary armies fought victo- 
 riously against Prussia and Austria, were particularly inter- 
 esting. Steuben subscribed to the Leyden (Holland) Gazette, 
 a weekly newspaper which, at that period, held the rank of 
 the present Galignani's Messenger, and gave the best and 
 quickest information about the events of the day. He fol- 
 lowed with special attention the movements of the contend- 
 ing armies and the military operations in general ; but it often 
 occurred to him that, taking the standard of his American mi- 
 litia, he underrated the popular strength and overrated the 
 power of the allies, whom he knew only from the Seven Years' 
 War, when their armies were led by great commanders and 
 animated with energy and enthusiasm. Thus, in 1792, he 
 could not understand, and was shocked at the retreat of the 
 Prussians through Champagne. "It is impossible," said he, 
 when he first heard the news : " I never saw the Prussian cables 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 597 
 
 give way ; it is a lie on the part of the French ;" and when 
 afterward the intelligence was confirmed, he persisted in his 
 belief that a diplomatic intrigue was at the bottom of the Prus- 
 sian backward movement. "I must ask Prince Henry," said 
 he, " about the secret reasons of this strange conduct.' , 
 
 During the fine season he had many visitors, travelers from 
 Europe and others, to whom he tendered the hospitalities of 
 his house. 
 
 The French Revolution was of course the most prominent 
 subject of their conversation. Once when the abolition of 
 all titles of nobility in France was mentioned by one of the 
 company, and when Steuben was asked to give up his title, 
 and call himself citizen Steuben, he replied, jokingly, that 
 even were he to do so, the title would never die, as all the 
 children who had been or would be christened, " Baron Steu- 
 ben," would perpetuate it. Old companions in arms used to 
 call on him, and his neighbors came frequently to spend the 
 evenings with him, or be went to see them. "Ah!" said an 
 old man, who had been a captain, and afterwards kept a public 
 house near Utica, "how glad I am to see you, baron, in my 
 house ; but I used to be dreadfully afraid of you !" " How so, 
 captain?" "You hallooed and swore, and looked so dread- 
 fully at me once, baron, that I shall never forget it. When I 
 saw you so strict to the officers on my right, I felt very queer; 
 and when you came up to me, baron, I hardly knew what to 
 do, and I quaked in my shoes." "O fi dond, captain !" "It 
 was bad, to be sure," said he; "but you did halloo most tre- 
 mendously !" Notwithstanding the bodily fear the captain 
 had been put in, his look and actions showed that there was 
 not a man on earth whom he would have been more rejoiced 
 to see at his table. 
 
 In the conversations he had with his friends about military 
 matters, Steuben once criticised the genius of the people of 
 the different States for warfare, saying, " Of all the Amer- 
 icans the Yankees are, in my opinion, the best soldiers ; they 
 
598 LIFE OF STEUItEN. 
 
 are the most intelligent, and in some respects, the best troops 
 in the world. But they always want to know the reasons for 
 the orders given them by their superiors, and are too fond of 
 improving upon the plans of the latter." 
 
 Of his neighbors, Mappa was one of his favorite guests. 
 He was s Dutchman, and president of the Holland Genesee 
 Land Company. He had left Holland in consequence of the 
 late movements against the Stadtholder, and being a repub- 
 lican in feeling and sentiments, after the defeat of the republi- 
 can party, sought a refuge in the United States, to which he 
 did great service by introducing a great many industrious and 
 sober Dutch and German emigrants upon the lands of the 
 Holland Company. Steuben liked him very much, and they 
 met as often as their business would permit. 
 
 An old seaman, of the name of Simeon Woodruff, who had 
 circumnavigated the world with Captain Cook, had bought a 
 piece of land from Steuben. On a certain occasion, while on one 
 of his annual winter visits to the city of New York, some of his 
 friends rather jeered him for attempting to settle the mount- 
 ains up at the head of the Mohawk. Steuben was a little net- 
 tled, and at once retorted, " that it was the best land in the 
 world, and he could prove it." The proof was challenged, 
 and it was at once given as follows : " Why, there is Captain 
 Simeon Woodruff, who has sailed around the globe with Cap- 
 tain Cook; and he has bought a farm on my patent and set- 
 tled on it, and sure, if in all his voyages a better location had 
 been found, he would not have done so." The argument was 
 deemed conclusive.* 
 
 Thus the summer and fall passed in agreeable and social 
 intercourse. When the evenings became longer, Steuben em- 
 ployed them in conversing w T ith his young friend Mulligan, in 
 playing chess, or in having Gibbon's Roman History, or Vol- 
 taire, or some of his French historical or literary works read 
 aloud. But as winter set in very early that year — as early as 
 * P. Jones' Annals of Oneida county, p. 445. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 599 
 
 November, a deep snow fell — Steuben made all the necessary 
 preparations to return to New York. 
 
 He was in the enjoyment of perfect health and the best 
 humor when, on the 25th of November, after passing his even- 
 ing as usual, he retired at about eleven o'clock. Except Mul- 
 ligan and his two servants, he was alone. Colonel North had 
 left the farm, a few weeks previous, for Duanesburg. Mulligan 
 slept in the adjoining house. This was built on the top of the 
 hill, north of the sixty acres, which Steuben had selected for the 
 site of the building which he intended to erect as his country 
 mansion. It consisted of two apartments, a kitchen and an 
 adjoining bed-room ; and above was a garret occupied by the 
 servants. During the summer of 1794, however, at the east 
 end of the log house he had built a small frame house, consist- 
 ing of a sitting-room and bed-room adjoining ; there was no 
 access from the other but by going out of doors. Steuben slept 
 in the new house, while his companion had his bed-room in the 
 adjoining log house. Early in the morning of November 26th, 
 at about four o'clock, William, Steuben's German servant, woke 
 Mulligan, and told him that the baron was paralyzed and dy- 
 ing. Mulligan at once ran through the snow to his room, and 
 found him in agony. Steuben appeared to have suffered much, 
 and could only articulate a few words, " Do n't be alarmed, 
 my son," which were his last. Mulligan sent for Steuben's 
 overseer, who lived half a mile off. When he came, Mulligan 
 sent him immediately for a physician. The nearest doctor 
 was at Whitestown, eighteen miles distant from Steuben's 
 farm. Mulligan directed the overseer at the same time to 
 call on his way at Mr. Mappa's, at Boonesville, who would have 
 been of great service in this emergency, as he was a very ex- 
 perienced man ; but unfortunately Mappa was not at home. 
 Thence the overseer had to go to Duanesburg, in order to 
 inform Colonel North of what had happened. Steuben re- 
 mained apparently sensible during the greater part of the day, 
 although he was often in convulsions. That night he was very 
 
600 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 quiet, though the fits sometimes returned. Every possible re- 
 lief which his situation afforded, was procured to give him ease, 
 until the arrival of the doctor, on Thursday, the 27th of No- 
 vember, at two o'clock, p. m. He administered medicines 
 which gave some relief, but it was only temporary. The 
 stroke was too violent ; the case was hopeless. Steuben did 
 not show any signs of consciousness, and died on Friday, the 
 28th of November, at half past twelve o'clock, p. m. } without 
 any struggle or visible pain. 
 
 Colonel North came too late to see his old friend alive. 
 On account of the long distance and the bad condition of the 
 roads, he only reached the firm the day after Steuben's death. 
 He approved of the preparations which Mulligan had made for 
 the funeral. Steuben himself had often expressed, in the cir- 
 cle of his friends, that he wished no parade over his remains, 
 and would designate the retired spot where, wrapped id his 
 military cloak, he wished to be buried. The only remark, 
 however, that could be recollected, that had any bearing on 
 the subject, was that he was once heard to say that under a 
 certain hemlock, north of his residence, would be a good place 
 to be buried, without, however, expressing any wish as to his 
 own remains. In the absence of any other expressed wish, 
 that place was selected by North and Mulligan, and his re- 
 mains there interred. It was about an eighth of a mile north 
 of the house, on a hill in the midst of a wood. They had con- 
 siderable difficulty in getting the grave dug, as the melting snow 
 penetrated the soil and the last resting place of the old soldier. 
 Agreeably to his directions, Steuben was buried about noon, 
 on the 30th of November, 1794. His neighbors, about thirty 
 in number, hastened to the farm to pay their last respects 
 to their beloved old townsman. It was a simple and modest 
 cortege which, on a shivering, winter day, accompanied his 
 remains to the grave. No mourning parade or music was 
 there ; no crape-covered eagles or colors were to be seen ; 
 no cannon iired a military salute ; no word was spoken ; no 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 601 
 
 funeral oration delivered. Some handfuls of earth, and the 
 tears of a few manly and sincere friends, were the last tribute 
 paid to the citizen soldier, who, having contributed in no small 
 degree to the attainment of American independence, now found 
 lasting repose in the unbroken stillness of her primeval for- 
 ests. 
 
 What a contrast between him and his brethren in arms, 
 who had commenced their military life at the same time, and 
 fought together on the battle fields of Prague and Kuners- 
 dorf, and, like Gaudy and others, had risen, after the Seven 
 Years' War, to the highest rank in the Prussian army ! Each 
 of them commanded as many troops as all the armies of the 
 United States combined. The command of each was absolute 
 as regards his inferiors, and at their funeral royalty displayed 
 all its splendor and brilliancy, nominally to do honor to the 
 departed general, but in fact to make a boastful manifestation 
 of its strength and power. With the last salute, however, that 
 roared over their grave, they are forgotten ; the glory and 
 enjoyment of their deeds belong to the crown under which 
 they served ; their name is merely mentioned in the works of 
 some local historians. Sic transit gloria mitndi ! 
 
 From the foregoing comparison between Steuben in the 
 new, and those of the same school of war in the old world, it 
 will be obvious that Steuben was more fortunate than they. 
 In spite of all the hardships he had endured, of all the diffi- 
 culties he had encountered, of all the ingratitude he had met 
 with, he had, nevertheless, chosen the better part. By draw- 
 ing his sword for the liberty of a continent, he connected him- 
 self with one of the greatest events of modern history. His 
 name will never die so long as the memory of the American 
 Revolution lives. It will be handed down to the remotest 
 ages, and how insignificant are all troubles and sorrows, how 
 trifling all privations and disappointments in comparison with 
 the undying fame he won in the annals of the new world ! 
 
 The place where Steuben was first buried was, in the 
 26 
 
002 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 beginning of the century, included in the limits of a public 
 highway. Neither the State or the nation moved in the 
 matter when the remains of her adopted son were thus dis- 
 honored. The ashes of the man w r ho, after a stirring and 
 eventful life, had well deserved the rest of the grave, had to 
 give way to the w r ants of a few farmers. There even was no 
 sacrifice required, no money to be spent, if the road had been 
 made a little to the right or left of its present direction, for 
 the land is of no great value in that neighborhood. But the 
 citizens of the county which Steuben had honored as his 
 residence, scarcely knew him ; they did not pay the slightest 
 regard to common decency, and thus the petty interests of 
 the living farmers prevailed over the claims of the deceased 
 hero to a quiet resting place. The road cut off about one- 
 third of the grave, but no one thought of removing the re- 
 mains. As if Indians had dug up the place, for a while the 
 coffin was exposed to storm and rain, and a very credible eye- 
 witness relates that it had once been opened by the neighbors, 
 who could not resist the temptation of getting a piece of 
 Steuben's old military cloak. When Benjamin Walker heard 
 of this sacrilegious violation of the sacred remains of .his old 
 friend, he caused them to be removed to a more suitable rest- 
 ing place. He gave one of the Welsh Baptist societies in the 
 vicinity a lease of fifty acres of land, of which the five acres of 
 wood-land were a part, the only rent and consideration to be 
 paid for which is the keeping said five acres substantially fenced 
 for ever, uncleared, and no cattle or other animals suffered to go 
 within its bounds, and the title to be void whenever the lessees 
 shall fail in the performance of these stipulations. Up to the 
 present time the society has sacredly kept its trust, the forest 
 having the most primeval appearance, and the little tiny sap- 
 lings, as well as the largest beech and maple trees, show that 
 the woodman's ax has not penetrated this quiet spot.* 
 
 * Annals and Recollections of Oneida county, by P. Jones, 1851, p. 
 •115 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 603 
 
 When, in 1824, Lafayette visited the United States, the 
 inhabitants of Oneida county collected money for erecting a 
 monument over Steuben's grave. They invited Lafayette to 
 inaugurate the monument, but he refused to accede to their 
 request, excusing himself under some shallow pretext. The 
 good citizens of that county knew very well that Steuben and 
 Lafayette had been brothers in arms in the revolutionary 
 war, but they did not know that they had not been on good 
 terms, and therefore could not imagine that Lafayette, even 
 thirty years after Steuben's death, had not yet forgotten the 
 differences which ought to have been buried with Steuben. 
 The simple grave-stone was therefore laid without Lafayette's 
 presence. 
 
 On the 12th of June, 1857, we made a pilgrimage to the 
 old soldier's grave. In Remsen we visited Steuben's last sur- 
 viving servant, Lemuel Hough, who very minutely described 
 the way to the place. The country through which we passed 
 is mountainous. Our road led over hills, through valleys and 
 fine timber land, fresh with the verdure of spring. The 
 scenery was generally monotonous and entirely removed from 
 the bustle and tumult of the world. The last rough house 
 which we passed was a school-house. Stout and healthy boys 
 came out to meet us, evidently surprised at seeing strange- 
 looking faces in this wilderness. The pretty young girl, how- 
 ever, that kept the school, knew nothing of Steuben's grave. 
 An old man finally directed us. " In that thick wood," said 
 he, "you will find the grave," pointing eastward with his 
 hand. We fastened our horses, and climbing over fences, 
 jumping over ditches, and wading through underbrush, we 
 finally reached the spot. There, on the slope of a little hill, 
 at the foot of which a small, limpid brook runs, the remains 
 of Steuben quietly repose. A column of stones, two or three 
 feet in height, at each corner of the grave, upon which form- 
 erly rested a table of limestone, compose his simple monu- 
 ment. It is now becoming more and more dilapidated, and 
 
604 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the foundation having given way, nothing remains but the 
 tablet and a pile of stones, which originally supported it. 
 The tablet is about eight feet by four, and nearly a foot in 
 thickness, and if kept in its place will withstand the ravages 
 of centuries, but if not speedily repaired will fall to pieces 
 from the influence of the weather. It bears the inscription: 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS 
 BARON DE STEUBEN. 
 
 It was a good and poetical idea of Walker, to have se- 
 lected this quiet spot for the resting place of his friend. The 
 tall beech trees, under whose shade he loved to sit in the even- 
 ing of his life, extend their wide-spread arms over the grave 
 and keep watch over the old hero. Fragrant flowers, with 
 double vigor rising from the moldering vegetation, form a 
 lovely wreath around the tomb. All dispute and trouble, all 
 hatred and envy of daily life, are shut out from this hallowed 
 spot, which, in its simplicity and seclusion, presents a strong 
 contrast with the stirring and prominent career of him whose 
 ashes it contains. 
 
 Colonel William North caused a neat mural monument to 
 be erected to Steuben's memory upon the walls of the Ger- 
 man Reformed Church, then under the charge of John D. 
 Gross, and situated in Nassau street, between John street and 
 Maiden Lane, in New York city. When a Baptist society sub- 
 sequently got possession of that church, they courteously al- 
 lowed the monument to be taken down, and carried to the new 
 church of the Germans in Forsyth street. There we found 
 it, on the right of the pulpit, well preserved and fastened 
 into the wall. Lossing says that when visiting that church, 
 he saw the monument in separate pieces lying amongst rub- 
 bish, in a small lumber room of the church, disfigured and 
 mutilated. On inquiring wo were informed that the monu- 
 ment was kept in this condition on account of a lawsuit which 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 005 
 
 then was pending with regard to the property of the congre- 
 gation in their church. But after that suit had been decided 
 in favor of the German Reformed Church, the first care of its 
 minister, Mr. Abraham Berky, was to put North's monument 
 in its proper place, and it is due to the exertions of this gentle- 
 man that the city of New York can boast of this valuable his- 
 torical monument. The slab, of obelisk form, and the square 
 frame, are of blueish, clouded marble. The lower urn has upon 
 it a representation of the Order of Fidelity. The following is 
 the inscription, from the pen of Colonel North : 
 
 SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BARON STEUBEN, 
 
 A GERMAN; KNIGHT OP THE ORDER OF FIDELITY ; 
 
 AID-DE-CAMP TO FREDERICK THE GREAT, KING OF PRUSSIA; 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL AND INSPECTOR GENERAL 
 
 IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
 
 Esteemed, respected and supported by "Washington, 
 
 He gave military skill and discipline 
 
 To the citizen soldiers, who, 
 
 Fulfilling the decrees of Heaven, 
 
 Achieved the independence of the United States. 
 
 The highly polished manners of the baron were graced 
 
 By the most noble feelings of the heart. 
 
 His hand, open as day to melting charity, 
 
 Closed only in the grasp of death. 
 
 ****** 
 
 This memorial is inscribed by an American who had the honor to be his 
 aid-de-camp, the happiness to be his friend. 
 
 Obiit, 1795. 
 
 In December, 1856, the St. Charles Democrat, of Missouri, 
 a German country paper, published an appeal from Mr. The- 
 odore Bruere to the Germans in the United States, for the 
 erection of a monument in honor of Steuben. This appeal 
 went the round of the Americo-German press, and caused a 
 general manifestation of the appreciation in which the Ger- 
 mans in the United States hold Steuben's memory. In conse- 
 
606 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 quence of that address committees were appointed at several 
 places to raise funds for a monument. Concerts and theatri- 
 cal representations were given for the same purpose, and the 
 German "Turner" and militia companies especially seemed 
 to take a great interest in the realization of the plan. But 
 whether it was that the wealthier Germans did not participate 
 in the enthusiasm of their fellow-countrymen, or that the man- 
 agement was not confided to proper hands, the whole matter 
 was gradually dropped, and although there are some five or 
 six thousand dollars collected, there is no present appearance 
 that the project will ever be carried out. This pious duty, 
 however, which the Germans feel that they are bound to 
 perform, is not confined to them alone. It is an obligation 
 devolving as well on Americans as on Germans. Steuben's 
 tomb ought at all events to be renovated and kept in order. 
 A few hundred dollars would suffice to reconstruct the mason • 
 work, and put an iron fence around the grave. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Steuben and his Aides-de-Camp and Sub-Inspectors.— Their friendly Inter- 
 course. — Their Names. — Biographical Sketches and Letters of Peter S. Dupon- 
 ceau, William "Walker, John Ternant, Louis Fleury, "William North, James 
 Fairlie, Nicholas Fish, and "William S. Smith. 
 
 IT would be injustice to the meritorious and brave officers 
 who composed Steuben's suite, not to dedicate a chapter 
 to them, and describe, as fully as possible, considering the 
 scarcity of direct information, their noble deeds, and the share 
 they took in the happy results which crowned their general's 
 efforts. The records of the revolutionary war are remarkably 
 poor in details about the men who occupied secondary posi- 
 tions during that eventful period. It appears that its histo- 
 rians considered it as a more grateful task to write the lives 
 of the most prominent actors, and that, therefore, the names 
 of the " del minorum gentium" are either forgotten or only 
 cursorily mentioned. Yet, nevertheless, we can not duly ap- 
 preciate the character of the time and of its leaders, unless we 
 have a knowledge of the strata of the people and of the agents 
 without whose active participation no great movement can 
 successfully be carried through. The time, however, we trust, 
 is not very distant when these considerations will more gener- 
 ally prevail, and when the present deficiency will be supplied. 
 We may safely say, that there scarcely existed a more in- 
 timate and friendly relation among officers than that between 
 Steuben and his aides-de-camp and sub-inspectors. It not only 
 comprised their duties in the field and camp, but extended 
 to all their intercourse. Steuben was their friend, adviser, 
 and father, in one person. He devoted his leisure hours to 
 
G08 LIFE OF STEUB 8 N . 
 
 them, and provided for all their wants, while they did not 
 take a step in their private affairs without consulting him. 
 From Philadelphia he sent to his favorite aid-de-camp, B. 
 Walker, linen and cloth to enable him to visit Washington's 
 head-quarters. To the sick North, when he was compelled to 
 leave him behind in Virginia, he presented his watch and his 
 last gold piece, and regretted that he could do nothing else 
 for him. For Duponceau he bought a new uniform and a few 
 pounds of tobacco, as a small token of kindly consideration. 
 He had friendly nicknames for all of them, as, for instance, 
 " Le Petit Walker, et sa grande femme," " Le paresseux 
 North," and the "Parson Adams" (Duponceau), which he 
 used when he wanted them to be particularly active. When 
 absent, Walker or North was bound to report to him every 
 thing that had happened in their small family, and Steuben 
 himself minutely described, in half-broken English and half 
 French, the adventures which he had met with during his ab- 
 sence. In case of dispute or controversy among them, Steuben 
 was the arbiter, and his sentence was strictly obeyed. There 
 were, perhaps, few men who understood so well as Steuben 
 how to criticise and blame politely his inferiors, and whose 
 orders, as far as his officers were concerned, were so promptly 
 and cheerfully executed. Had we lost all information relating 
 to Steuben's military merit, and were all his deeds forgotten, 
 the mere existence of letters from men like Walker, North, 
 Davies, Fleury, Ternant, De L'Enflmt, Fish, and Fairlie, would 
 demonstrate the invaluable worth of a general who was able to 
 raise such talented and gifted disciples. 
 
 We propose to sketch in this chapter the most conspicu- 
 ous of his assistants. Steuben, in one of his papers, gives the 
 number of them as twenty-one. They were — Majors De Ro- 
 manai, De L'Enfant, and Des Epiniers ; Captains Duponceau 
 and De Pontiere ; Colonels Walker and Fleury ; Lieutenant 
 Colonel Ternant ; Captains Duval and Fairlie ; Major North ; 
 Colonel William S. Smith ; Lieutenant Colonel N. Fish ; 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 609 
 
 Colonel Meade ; Messrs. Peyton Randolph, and Moore ; Ma- 
 jors Galvan, Villefranche, Barber, and Popham ; and, finally, 
 Lieutenant Colonel De La Lanyante. Some of these officers 
 were only for a short time in Steuben's suite, as for instance, 
 Romanai, who accompanied him to America, and soon after 
 his arrival was employed in another department ; De Pontiere, 
 who, after having joined the army, entered Pulaski's legion as 
 captain of horse ; Des Epiniers, a nephew of Beaumarchais 
 and son of the famous watchmaker, Lepine, who had changed 
 his name to Des Epiniers, to give it an appearance of nobility, 
 and, as soon as December, 1778, asking leave of absence, never 
 reassumed his duties on Steuben's staff; or Messrs. Peyton Ran- 
 dolph and Moore, who, for a short time, during the Virginia cam- 
 paign, acted as voluntary aids of Steuben ; and, finally, Galvan, 
 Villefranche, and De La Lauyaute, who served as engineers 
 under Steuben in the trenches of Yorktown. There are only 
 about a dozen left who are deserving a peculiar mention in 
 connection with Steuben, and we shall speak of them accord- 
 ing to the date on which they joined his personal staff. 
 
 First of all, we shall allude to his first secretary, Peter S. 
 Duponceau. He was born on the 3d of June, 1760, at the 
 town of St. Martin, in the island of Re, France. At six years 
 his fondness for languages began to develop itself. As there 
 were some English families in the town, he learned English 
 rapidly. At the college of the Benedictine monks at St. John 
 D'Angely he pursued his English studies, and was nicknamed 
 Z? Anglais. After the death of his father, Duponceau became 
 abbe ; but, in December, 1775, he left his place, and, with the 
 " Paradise Lost" in one pocket and a clean shirt in another, he 
 took his way on foot to Paris, where he arrived with the firm 
 resolution to depend, from that moment, on his own exertions 
 for his subsistence. In the circles of the French aristocracy 
 the Anglomania then prevailed. Duponceau wrote an En- 
 glish and French vocabulary relating to the chase and racing, 
 with dialogues, for the use of the Duke of Orleans (Egalite) ; 
 26* 
 
610 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 but when he modestly hinted to Mr. De Genlis something 
 about reward, he got the cool but characteristic reply, " Les 
 princes ne donnent rienP He, accordingly, had enough of 
 ministers and courtiers, and turned to men of letters, where 
 his knowledge of the English language was of great use to 
 him. Among the houses which he frequented at Paris was 
 that of Mr. De Beaumarchais. Here, in 17 77, he became ac- 
 quainted with Steuben, who wanted a secretary conversant 
 with the English language. Duponceau exactly answered his 
 purpose, and consequently accompanied him to America. 
 
 In his letters which he wrote in 1836 to Robert Walsh and 
 to his grand-daughter, he has left a great many interesting anec- 
 dotes about himself, and the manners, habits, and customs of 
 the time. We insert a few of them, trusting that the whole 
 valuable manuscript will soon be printed. 
 
 Duponceau was at that time a specimen of the jovial and 
 amiable young Frenchman who loved to frolic and laugh at 
 other men and his own follies. Just before they landed at 
 Portsmouth, on the 1st of December, 1777, he made a bet that 
 he would kiss the first girl they met on shore. His fellow- 
 passengers laughed at him, but Duponceau really did what he 
 had promised. He told a young, bright girl, whom he saw 
 first, that they had come over to fight for American liberty, 
 and that like an old cavalier he had made a vow to ask a kiss 
 from the lady he first met on American soil, as a blessing for 
 their undertaking. The girl so addressed did not refuse the 
 kiss, and Duponceau won his bet. 
 
 At Boston Steuben's party lodged at the house of a Mrs. 
 Doane, the widow of a British officer, a respectable lady with 
 two beautiful and amiable daughters of nineteen and sixteen 
 years of age, with the youngest of whom, Sally, Duponceau 
 fell in love. We have seen his diary of that time ; it is a small 
 insignificant book, but on each page written during that pe- 
 riod we meet the name of Sally, either written in Gothic, or in 
 Latin, or in Greek, or even in Russian letters. u I can remem- 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 611 
 
 ber but few epochs of my life," says Duponceau, " in which I 
 enjoyed so much happiness as I did during the month that I 
 remained in Boston. I was charmed with the simplicity of 
 manners which at that time reigned in this country. I was 
 seventeen years of age and my mind was open to all pleasura- 
 ble impressions. Shall I say that the beauty of the fair sex 
 did not a little contribute to it ? I interpreted, it is true, as 
 in duty bound, between the baron and the old lady, and trans- 
 mitted a few compliments from him to the young ladies, but 
 I left my brother beaux to shift for themselves. There they 
 stood and sat like Indians, and could talk only by signs." 
 
 As stated in chapter V., Duponceau followed Steuben 
 to Valley Forge and was with him during the whole of the 
 year 1778 ; but it does not seem that he was very efficient in a 
 military point of view. His short-sightedness prevented him 
 from playing a more active and prominent part in the field. 
 " When our army was encamped at Valley Forge," says he, 
 "the commander-in-chief ordered a sham fight to be exe- 
 cuted by two divisions of our troops, one of which was under 
 the command of Baron Steuben. In the capacity of his aid- 
 de-camp I was sent to reconnoiter, with orders to return imme- 
 diately at full gallop, as soon as the enemy should be in sight. 
 I rode on to the distance of about a quarter of a mile, when I 
 was struck with the sight of what 1 was afterwards informed to 
 be some red petticoats hanging on a fence to dry, which I took 
 for a body of British soldiers. I had forgotten, it seems, that 
 the contending parties were all Americans, and none of them 
 clothed in scarlet regimentals. Full of my hallucination I re- 
 turned in haste to the camp, with the news that the enemy 
 was marching upon us. Our division took the road I had 
 indicated, and the sight of the red petticoats was all the re- 
 sult of their movement. It excited, of course, a great deal of 
 merriment to my utter confusion and dismay. The adventure 
 was related the same day, at head-quarters, to General Wash- 
 ington, in my presence, but such was the conduct of that ex- 
 
612 
 
 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 cellcnt man that I retired comforted, and my mind relieved 
 from the heavy weight that pressed upon it." 
 
 Duponceau, however, did very valuable service as trans- 
 lator and secretary to Steuben. In this capacity he assisted 
 him, when in winter 1778-79 Steuben prepared his system of 
 discipline for the army, and so well did he perform his part in 
 the task assigned to him, that Congress rewarded him with a 
 sum of $400 in addition to his pay. In spring 1779, he went 
 with Steuben to West Point, where he had to make extracts 
 from the various returns about the number of men, quantity 
 of provisions, clothing, arms, ammunition, etc., and to frame 
 from them the general returns to be laid before the com- 
 mander-in-chief. When, in winter 1779-80, Steuben was sent 
 to Philadelphia again to urge Congress to adopt more ener- 
 getic measures for the army, Duponceau accompanied him as 
 secretary, and kept that position till he fell sick and was com- 
 pelled to go into the country for his recovery. But when in 
 fall 1780, Steuben passing through Philadelphia, went to the 
 southern army, Duponceau asked his permission to join his 
 staff. " Very well," said he, at last, " you shall follow me, and 
 I hope you will either recover your health or die an honorable 
 death." Duponceau shared, for more than six months, all the 
 privations and emergencies of his general; but in June 1781, 
 he became again dangerously ill, and not being able to bear the 
 fatigues of the campaign, returned to Philadelphia. Steuben 
 had provided him with a strong letter of introduction to Con- 
 gress, in which he requested that body to employ him in some 
 civil capacity, as his health did not permit him to continue in 
 the military service. That letter procured him, besides many 
 friends in and out of Congress, a place as under secretary in 
 the office of Foreign Affairs, under Robert R. Livingston. 
 From that time Duponceau never reentered the army, but he 
 always remained on very intimate terms with Steuben, and 
 acted as his agent and reporter from the seat of government. 
 They corresponded occasionally, and their friendship continued 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 613 
 
 till the general's death. His last letter, which we were able 
 to find among the Steuben papers,* is dated from Philadelphia, 
 on the 2d of October, 1782 : 
 
 "There was never," says he, "such a scarcity of political 
 or other matters, as at present, which must account for my 
 having been lately so bad a correspondent. When any thing 
 particular occurs that may be worth your knowledge, you may 
 be sure that I shall not fail to inform you at once. I am very 
 sorry that your things can not be sent up to you immediately. 
 I would have taken this affair upon me, but not having re- 
 ceived any money from Congress these four months, I am left 
 altogether penniless. Depontiere tells me that I have got at 
 least money enough to buy him a cue-ribbon, but I can assure 
 him with great truth that I have not got enough to buy one 
 for myself, though I want one excessively. 
 
 "There is such a scarcity of news that even the newspa- 
 pers contain nothing. The printers have been obliged to write 
 against each other to fill up their gazettes, which, you know, is 
 the last finesse to which they usually have recourse. If this will 
 not do, they will be obliged to print old sermons, or to drop 
 the trade entirely. No money and no credit are trifles with 
 the people of America ; but the want of news is the greatest 
 calamity that can befall them." 
 
 From the date of this letter there does not occur in the 
 records of his intercourse with Steuben any thing worthy of 
 particular mention. Soon after the war of the Revolution had 
 terminated, Duponceau retired from office, and became a prom- 
 inent lawyer at Philadelphia. He died there on the 1st of 
 April, 1844, not quite eighty-four years old, highly respected 
 and venerated for his learning, integrity, and warm attach- 
 ment to his adopted country. He was much distinguished as 
 a linguist and philologist, and wrote a very valuable disquisi- 
 tion upon the Chinese language. He was for a long time pres- 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
614 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ident of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, 
 and was interred with public honors.* 
 
 Benjamin Walker, then captain in the second New York 
 regiment, was the first aid-de-camp whom Steuben, while at 
 Valley Forge, on the 25th of April, 1778, took into his fam- 
 ily. He was an Englishman by birth, and had been brought 
 up for the counting-house. " He had not received," says Du- 
 ponceau, " a brilliant, but a solid education ; he was master 
 of the French language, and gifted by nature with a clear 
 head and sound judgment. He was brave, intelligent, honest 
 and true. I enjoyed his friendship to the time of his death. 
 He was beloved and respected by all who knew him, and the 
 baron, particularly, was much attached to him. While I am 
 speaking about this gentleman, I must relate an anecdote, 
 which happened while he was in the family of General Wash- 
 ington. He had long been engaged to a young Quaker lady, 
 who resided in the State of New York, and whom he after- 
 wards married. He once asked the general to give him leave 
 of absence for a few days to go and see her. The general told 
 him that he could not at that time dispense with his services. 
 Walker insisted, begged, and entreated, but all in vain. 'If 
 I do n't go,' said he, ( she will die.' ' O no,' said Washington, 
 1 women do not die for such trifles.' 'But, general, what shall 
 I do ?' ' What will you do ? why, write to her to add another 
 leaf to the book of sufferings.' 
 
 "This was related to me by Walker himself. General 
 Washington had a great deal of that dry humor which he 
 knew how to make use of on proper occasions." 
 
 We noticed in chapter VI. the occasion on which Walker 
 became attached to Steuben's staff. He was afterward one of 
 his most intimate friends and most effective cooperators, with- 
 out whose assistance Steuben would scarcely have accomplished 
 so much. He superintended all his correspondence and writ- 
 ing from 1778 to 1782. Steuben dictated to him in French, 
 
 * Contributions to American History, Philadelphia, pp. 352 and 353. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 615 
 
 and Walker wrote it out in English. Thus almost all the drafts 
 of Steuben's reforms and plans are written in Walker's neat 
 hand-writing. He accompanied his general to all the inspec- 
 tions and reviews, acted as translator in case of need, and often 
 extricated him from difficulties. There is an old anecdote, first 
 narrated by A. Garden, which, however exaggerated it may- 
 be, characterizes Steuben's dependence on Walker during the 
 first year of his service in America. After having exhausted 
 his rich store of German and French oaths, he is said to have 
 called Walker to his assistance, vociferating, " Yiens, Walker, 
 mon ami, viens, raon bon ami, sacre, God dam de gaucheries oi 
 dese badauts je ne puis plus, I can curse dem no more !" But 
 be this as it may, we know that even in the most difficult mat- 
 ters Steuben relied chiefly on Walker's sound judgment, and 
 that the success of Steuben's reforms is in a great measure due 
 to his indefatigable and able aid-de-camp. In the year 1781-82, 
 Walker joined General Washington's suite, and acted as his 
 aid-de-camp to the close of the war, which fact furnishes the 
 best proof of his merits and value. After the conclusion of 
 peace he was first secretary to the Governor of New York, 
 but soon after established himself as broker in the city of New 
 York. In 1797, when he was appointed agent of the Earl of 
 Bath's great estate in western New York, he removed to old 
 Fort Schuyler, the present city of Utica, where he resided the 
 remainder of his life. As a man of intelligence and refinement 
 he was identified with the early growth and progress of Utica. 
 He died there on the 13th of January, 1818, aged sixty-five 
 years, leaving a natural daughter, who married a French col- 
 onel.* 
 
 The private correspondence between Steuben and Walker 
 gives an adequate idea of the relations which existed between 
 them. It begins in the winter of 1779-80, when Steuben was 
 in Philadelphia, soliciting Congress to adopt more energetic 
 measures in regard to the army, and when Walker discharged, 
 
 * Annals and Recollections of Oneida county, by P. Jones, p. 515. 
 
016 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ad interim, the duties of inspector general. His official letters 
 were always accompanied by a few confidential lines, which 
 show their mutual friendship and intimacy. 
 
 " Fish delivered me the linen," writes Walker, on the 3d 
 of February, 1780, from camp,* " you were so kind as to send, 
 for which accept my thanks. You are determined to keep me 
 your debtor in every respect. However, I shall not attempt 
 to say much on this subject, as all I can say or do will fall 
 short of the repeated instances of friendship with which you 
 have honored me. Of this, however, I can with confidence 
 assure you, that I could remain easy under so many obliga- 
 tions from you alone, and that I shall never be more happy 
 than in an opportunity of convincing you of my sincere friend- 
 ship and high veneration for you."f 
 
 "I inclose a letter for you from General Schuyler," says 
 he on another occasion.^ "His daughter is now in Morris- 
 town. [General Schuyler had given her this letter to Steuben, 
 in which he addressed him as one of the most gallant men in 
 camp, Harrison being considered by him as the other.] I have 
 not yet seen her, though she acknowledges she came recom- 
 mended to your protection. As all that is left of you in camp, 
 I should not have neglected so fair an opportunity of supplying 
 your absence; but alas! my old hat and coat forbid my asso- 
 ciating but with my brethren in affliction. " 
 
 "I am jjarticularly in want of you, my dear Walker," 
 writes Steuben on the 23d of February, 1780, from Phila- 
 delphia^ "Duponceau is sick, and you know that my ideas, 
 although sometimes good, do not appear good when they are 
 translated word for word. I am in need of a translator of my 
 ideas; in one word, I want a friend like you. I shall probably 
 come to camp, with the Chevalier De La Luzerne, within a 
 fortnight; the exact time, however, is not yet fixed. But as 
 I think I shall be able to persuade you to accompany mo back 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ii. f Ibidem. 
 
 % Ibidem. § Ibidem. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 617 
 
 to Philadelphia, and as I flatter myself that you will not re- 
 fuse my request, I wish you to be ready. You will probably 
 not abandon me, but will go hand in hand with me. I shall 
 send you your hat by the first opportunity ; please inform me 
 of your other wants. As soon as I can buy the cloth I shall 
 send you a uniform ; treat me in this respect, too, as your 
 friend and agent." 
 
 "I want to see you here," continues Steuben, a few days 
 later, " in the course of next week. I board at Mrs. Clark's, 
 in Front street. You will find there a young widow, and a 
 lady from New York with a beautiful waist, a reason the 
 more for you to hasten your departure. I expect you with 
 the impatience of a lover for his mistress, or to speak without 
 figures, with all the sentiments of true friendship." 
 
 " Accept, my dear general, my thanks for your kind offer," 
 answers Walker to the first of these letters, on the 10th of 
 March, 1*780,* "of procuring me a few necessaries. With 
 respect to the uniform, I shall only want a coat, blue turned 
 up and faced with buff, white lining and plain white buttons, 
 a cockade with a black silk cord and tassels, two or three 
 yards of hair ribbon, a pair of gloves and a sword belt. 
 These, my dear general, are all the articles I stand in need of, 
 and with which I should really be ashamed to trouble you had 
 you not indulged me in the pleasing thought of regarding you 
 hi the double capacity of my general and my friend." 
 
 Even after having been appointed aid-de-camp to the com- 
 mander-in-chief, Walker carried on his correspondence and 
 intercourse with Steuben. 
 
 "My correspondence with the French ministers," writes 
 the latter from Schuylkill, near Philadelphia, on the 27th of 
 December, 1782, f "has cost me a great deal of trouble. You 
 know that I am without assistance even for my English cor- 
 respondence. What shall I do, my friend, if I must make a 
 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ii. 
 
 \ Steuben MS. Papers, Sprague, Albany. 
 
618 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 new campaign ? I do not think that Popham is anxious to 
 join me again ; at least I have not had a line from him. 
 Where may I find a Walker ? But I do not want to make 
 you too vain, and in earnest, where may I find a man who is 
 able to conduct my correspondence ? Try to get me a good 
 assistant. You know what I want. I still expect my North ; 
 you know, however, that his power does not consist in his 
 pen, and that he is as lazy as he is amiable. For four weeks 
 I have not got a line from him ; please write to him and scold 
 him. Try at the same time to persuade him that he joins me 
 at least towards the end of March. Gibbs told me that the 
 officers of the army were about to write me a letter of grati- 
 tude. I should be infinitely flattered by it; tell me the 
 reason which has prevented the execution of the plan ; I wish 
 you a happy new year. Do not forget to present my respects 
 to General and Mrs. Washington. Adieu, my friend ; never 
 doubt my sincere attachment for you." 
 
 We can not give here all the letters which, besides the 
 friendly chat between Steuben and Walker, are of a more 
 general interest; they would occupy too much space. We 
 therefore confine ourselves to the following extracts :'* 
 
 " I have many thanks to give you, my dear general, for 
 the pleasure I received from your letter of the 27th of De- 
 cember. I had been exceedingly anxious to hear from you, 
 and the several rumors I had heard only served to increase 
 that anxiety. One told me that you lived in the country, 
 another that you had moved to the Indian Queen, one that 
 your affairs were likely to turn out well, another doubted it. 
 I was exceedingly glad, too, to hear that North was again 
 with you. Your situation was too solitary, and wanted his 
 gayety to make it tolerable ; but tell him that he has another 
 friend besides his general. When he passed on to you he has 
 forgotten it. 
 
 " We are here in the'center of dullness. Head-quarters, 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 019 
 
 you know, was always the last place in the world for mirth, 
 and unhappily, there being only two of us, I can not go out to 
 take my share of the little that is circulating abroad. At 
 home the occupations of each day are so much alike from one 
 end of the month to the other that the life is really disgusting. 
 I had two disciples at chess, Mrs. Washington and my col- 
 league, but unhappily one is thinking too much of her home, 
 and the other is making verses during the game. Their prog- 
 gress, therefore, is so little that both are tired of it, and so I 
 have been obliged to learn backgammon, of which I am 
 equally tired. In fact I have only one resource left to pre- 
 vent my dying of ennui, to seek some neighbors' daughters, 
 pour passer le temps. You know, my dear general, how much 
 this is against my conscience, and will judge how hard I must 
 be driven before I could bring myself to seek this expedient 
 to amuse myself. I believe in the army they are not much 
 more gay than we are. It has always been regretted that so 
 little sociability took place between the officers of the different 
 States. An effort is made to bring them more together, and 
 a large room is building where they may assemble every day. 
 The general has said he would attend himself and give out 
 the orders. Gibbs has been a violent opposer of this, and his 
 regiment to this day has not assisted in building it ; it will be 
 finished in about three weeks. The army are better hutted 
 than they ever were ; some of the officers' rooms are really 
 very decent." 
 
 After the conclusion of the peace Walker sought for civil 
 employment, and tried to get the place as secretary to the 
 Governor of the State of New York. His prospects, how- 
 ever, were at first not brilliant. u I have no hopes," writes 
 he to Steuben, on the 14th of February, 1784,* "of getting 
 any thing from the State for myself. The office I sought will 
 be given to Lamb. His influence with the common people 
 and in the Assembly are better claims than I have. Fish is 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
G20 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 also a candidate for the same place. I had the vanity to sup- 
 pose that, backed by the strong recommendations of my gen- 
 eral, I would be preferred ; but these are foolish ideas. I can 
 not serve the views of any party, either with the people or in 
 the Assembly, and therefore it would be absurd to serve me. 
 I have not, however, withdrawn my claim — let it stand ! The 
 place Smith was candidate for, is given to Benson. Had he 
 not been in the way, young Lewis Morris was thought to have 
 the best chance, and why? Because his father is chief jus- 
 tice and young Lewis lived with the chancellor." 
 
 Walker, however, finally succeeded and got the place which 
 he desired. "You will have heard," says he, on the 25th of 
 April, 1784,* in a letter to Steuben, "that I am moving in the 
 humble sphere of private secretary. For this I am obliged to 
 the friendship of the governor, and without it I should have 
 been aground. It is hard, my dear baron, to have spent the best 
 eight years of one's life in the service of a people who have not 
 gratitude enough to pay even what is justly due. If I had 
 the sum in cost owing me by the public, I could place myself 
 in an independent place of business — but why do I complain ? 
 hundreds are w r orse off. 
 
 " When shall I have the pleasure to embrace you ? You 
 express a wish to have my picture. If it was a miniature you 
 meant, we have a miniature painter here in New York, as su- 
 perior to Peale as light to darkness." 
 
 When Walker, soon afterwards, retired and did business 
 in New York as a broker, Steuben lived for a long while with 
 him. They continued on the most friendly footing until Steu- 
 ben's death. Walker visited him almost every year on his 
 farm and managed his business. Steuben bequeathed him in 
 his will one half of his property. 
 
 Jean De Ternant, a French officer, was in April, 1778, 
 appointed as one of Steuben's sub-inspectors, and acted under 
 his orders in the main army, till the 25th of September, 1778, 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 621 
 
 when he was made lieutenant colonel and inspector of the 
 troops in South Carolina and Georgia. Taken prisoner at the 
 capture of Charleston in 1780, he was afterwards exchanged, 
 and having temporarily filled the place of Colonel Armand, 
 resumed his duties in the South. After, the conclusion of 
 peace he returned to France. Toward the end of 1789, he 
 came back to America as ambassador of revolutionary France, 
 and left again in 1793, when the Convention sent "citizen" 
 Genet as his successor. Ternant was an officer of decided 
 ability, of remarkable accomplishments, and as faithful and 
 energetic in the promotion of American liberty as any native 
 officer. His noble and amiable character gained him the affec- 
 tion of his superiors and inferiors ; he was on the most inti- 
 mate terms with Steuben. We illustrate this by one of his 
 letters, as space will not permit us to copy here their entire 
 correspondence. 
 
 When, in consequence of the jealousies of his brother offi- 
 cers, Steuben, in July 1778, had gone to Philadelphia to get 
 the duties of his office defined, Ternant wrote to him on the 
 11th of August, 1778, from Whiteplains :* 
 
 "I visit sometimes the camp of Mars which has been open 
 since the 1st of this month. Davies and Brooks have been 
 nominated by general orders to preside over the exercises, and 
 it is under their auspices that your former apprentices in tac- 
 tics cover themselves twice a day at least with — dust. I need 
 not tell you that everybody acts just as he thinks proper, that 
 the uniformity is more neglected there than ever before, and 
 that for want of method the soldiers and officers are the more 
 unmercifully fatigued, as no real benefit results from their drill. 
 I hope that you will soon with your wonted success resume 
 the direction of this department, to which you have already 
 given the organization which it wanted so much. I should 
 also wish that you would render to the army the important 
 service of putting the department of marechal general de logis 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
622 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 on a good footing. Bad order and confusion are more pre- 
 vailing there than in any other department. I continue to 
 make observations, complaints and proposals ; but hitherto I 
 have been unsuccessful and they even do not think of palliat- 
 ing the evil. I am ^always disposed to do good ; to live, 'how- 
 ever, longer in this anarchy, and work much but to accom- 
 plish little, while there is so much to do if order succeeded to 
 the confusion, I can not longer atTord, and, therefore, I am 
 decided to ask General Greene, after his return from Rhode 
 Island, either to put my department on a better footing, or to 
 look after another person to till my place. 
 
 "The council of war in the case of General Lee have finally 
 finished their work. I have read a part of his defense ; it is the 
 most stupid piece of literature and dialectics that has ever been 
 written. His statements of facts, as well as the observations 
 and reasoning which he develops from them, do not show an 
 eloquent man nor a good judgment, and still less a consum- 
 mate officer. As to his refutation of witnesses, it only con- 
 sists in bad, would-be witty remarks, unintelligible quibbles and 
 mean sarcasms which he tries to make stronger by declama- 
 tion, so that nobody is spared. 
 
 "Good bye, my dear general. Be careful in regard to 
 your health. Continue to enlighten Congress about their mil- 
 itary constitution and the establishment of the inspectorship, 
 and do not forget your promise to retain myself, the oldest of 
 your inspectors, for whom it would be very cruel to see an- 
 other man reap what he has sown." 
 
 There are a number of Ternant's letters which give some 
 very interesting and new details about the condition of the 
 southern army, for which we refer the reader to the Appen- 
 dix, where they are given in full. 
 
 Louis De Fleury, another French sub-inspector of Steu- 
 ben's, had served in the army since the beginning of the cam- 
 paign of 1777. He first obtained a captain's commission from 
 Congress, and entered as a volunteer in a corps of riflemen, 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. t>23 
 
 in which, by his activity and bravery, he brought himself into 
 notice. He next served as brigade major, first in the infantry 
 and afterwards in the cavalry, in which stations he acquired 
 reputation in the army. Towards the conclusion of the cam- 
 paign of 1777, he was sent to the important post of Fort Mif- 
 flin in the quality of engineer, in which he rendered essential 
 services, and became equally distinguished for his intelligence 
 and valor. In consequence of his good conduct on this and 
 on former occasions he was promoted to the rank of lieuten- 
 ant colonel in the army, and received from Congress the gift 
 of a horse, as a testimonial of their sense of his merit at the 
 battle of Brandywine, where a horse was shot under him.* 
 In the winter of 1778 Fleury was employed in the camp at 
 Valley Forge, and having filled the office of aid major in 
 France, Steuben proposed to have him employed as sub-in- 
 spector, in which the commander-in-chief readily acquiesced. f 
 We have seen in chapter VI. that Fleury took charge of the 
 Maryland and Delaware divisions at Wilmington. Steuben 
 could scarcely have found a more energetic and effective as- 
 sistant for teaching the principles and practical duties of his 
 system than Fleury. He continued in his position until the 
 summer of 1778, when, in consequence of the jealousies of 
 the general officers, the inspectorship was practically annihi- 
 lated. In July, 1778, he w T as employed as second in com- 
 mand in a corps of light infantry, in the expedition against 
 Rhode Island, and afterwards as commandant of one of Steu- 
 ben's new battalions of light infantry, in the army under 
 Washington's command. In the assault of Stony Point he 
 commanded the van of the right wing ; was the first that en- 
 tered the main w r orks, and struck the British flag with his 
 own hands. When Rochambeau arrived in 1780, Fleury left 
 the American service and became an officer in the army of 
 the French commander. " In each of these capacities he had 
 
 * "Washington's Writings, v., 155, and vi., 307-309. 
 f Ibidem, vol. v., 348 . 
 
624 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 uniformly," says Washington,* " acquitted himself as an offi- 
 cer of distinguished merit for talents, zeal, activity, prudence 
 and bravery, and acquired more and more the character of a 
 judicious, well-informed, indefatigable and brave officer." 
 
 We know from the correspondence of Steuben with the 
 French minister, Gerard, how highly he thought of Fleury's 
 merits and talents, and how warmly he interested himself for 
 his success and reputation. There are in the Steuben papers 
 a few letters of Fleury to Steuben, written in the French 
 camp at Newport, in the summer and fall of 1780. We give 
 here those portions of them which are of general interest : 
 
 " This is the third letter, my dear general," says Fleury, 
 on the 3d of August, 1780,f "that one of your old friends 
 has had the honor to write to you ; who does not know 
 whether you are still living, or have resolved not to know 
 him any longer. We expect the enemy with confidence. We 
 see in the horizon the English fleet. If they do not come 
 with more than eight thousand men, their arrival this evening 
 will be more desirable than dangerous. 
 
 " You are going, I am told, to come nearer to New York. 
 Frighten them, we then shall be more tranquil ; but do not 
 place yourself too near to King's Bridge. I should be afraid 
 they would disembark behind you, if a battle must be fought 
 in a position of their choice." 
 
 "I thank you, my dear general," continues Fleury, on the 
 1 7th of August, 1780, " for your kind letter. I shall always rely 
 on the friendship which you promise me. You have passed the 
 North river and are going to establish yourselves at Dobbs" 
 Ferry. I do not know this position, but it appears to me a 
 little exposed, especially for your upper posts in the east and 
 at Stony Point. You, however, know it much better than I 
 who speak of it from hearsay. If without indiscretion you 
 can give me some knowledge of your army, and of the situa- 
 tion of the enemy, I should be very much obliged to you. If 
 * Washington's Writings, vi., 307. f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. i. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 625 
 
 Duponceau should be with you, I request him to trouble him- 
 self with this task. We are very quiet here. The fleet of 
 the enemy is still in view, and is blockading us. Mr. De La- 
 fayette has arrived to join us. I wish him much glory ; but 
 I have resigned all claims to distinction since I have left you. 
 I am too insignificant. Adieu, my dear general. Be as happy 
 as you deserve to be, and believe me always full of respect 
 and gratitude to you." 
 
 " I have little time," writes Fleury, on the 6th of Octo- 
 ber, 1780, from "Newport, "to write to you, but I can not let 
 Mr. De La Luzerne depart without a letter for you. There 
 are no news here. Rodney is in New York. He has been 
 announced to us, but he does not come. Everybody wished 
 it, and as to me, who am perhaps a little too timid, I only 
 waited for him. Our situation, however, is formidable. The 
 fleet lies at anchor from Breton Point to Rose island, on which 
 points batteries are erected. Goat island, which lies within 
 the line formed by the fleet, is also entrenched. We have 
 left Canonieut, of which the nearest point is two thousand and 
 sixty yards from the line of our vessels. At this distance 
 the bombs are not to be dreaded, although they can well 
 reach it. On landAve occupy the English lines. Our right 
 is at Easton's Beach, and the left at Tominy hill. If the En- 
 glish come, they will regret it, we are told. I do not dare to 
 have a contrary opinion, and I really believe that an attack 
 from the sea will not be very dangerous ; but the cooperation 
 of twenty-one vessels and ten thousand men embarrasses us. 
 
 " Your infamous Arnold has abandoned himself to an eter- 
 nal infamy ! What demon impelled him to take this detest- 
 able step ? Is his wife the cause or only the occasion of the 
 
 crime ? Is mixed with this horrible affair ? Is Smith 
 
 hanged? Can not Andre be hanged ? I am very curious to 
 hear all the details of this atrocity ; be kind enough to give 
 them to me. Arnold is not the only man whom I blame ; he 
 who once has made the country suspicious of his virtue is not 
 
 27 
 
G'20 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 the most culpable, when the blind and criminal confidence that 
 is put in him makes him a traitor. That's between you and me." 
 
 William North, Steuben's other favorite aid-de-camp, was 
 born in 1752, and died in New York on the 3d of January, 
 J 836, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. "He has 
 filled," says the memoir of the Cincinnati, " a distinguished 
 place in the history of his country, not only in the war of in- 
 dependence, but in our subsequent annals. He was a gentle- 
 man by birth, education, and early association, and when he 
 took up arms in defense of his country, became the gallant 
 and aspiring officer. He was, in 1777, appointed a captain in 
 Colonel Jackson's regiment of infantry, and fought in the bat- 
 tle of Monmouth. In 1779 he was appointed aid-de-camp to 
 Steuben, and soon became his favorite ; aided and assisted 
 the baron in introducing his system of discipline into the Con- 
 tinental army. Major North was with the army in Virginia, 
 and was, with Baron Steuben, present at the surrender of the 
 British army, commanded by Lord Cornwallis, in October, 
 1781. After the war of the Revolution was ended, and the 
 independence of the United States acknowledged, North re- 
 tired to private life ; but afterwards, induced so accept public 
 employment in support of the institutions which his valor had 
 contributed to found, was several times elected to the Legisla- 
 ture of the State of New York, was Speaker of the Assembly, 
 and, for a short period, one of the Senators of New York in 
 the Congress of the United States. During our troubles with 
 France, in the presidency of the elder Adams, Major North 
 was appointed adjutant general of the army which was raised 
 on that occasion, with the rank of brigadier general." 
 
 Steuben loved North like a son for his unreserved devo- 
 tion, for his jovial and amiable disposition of mind, and for the 
 energy and zeal which he displayed in the performance of his 
 duties. During the war their correspondence was, of course, 
 very small, as they were almost never separated ; but we find 
 iu the Steuben papers a great many letters, written after 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 627 
 
 the close of the war by North, which prove the most cordial 
 and intimate relations between the general and his aid. North, 
 after the death of Steuben, erected in his honor not only a 
 stone monument, but a written one, in the eloquent biograph- 
 ical sketch from which we derived so much valuable and in- 
 teresting information about the character of our hero. 
 
 " On the eve of returning to the north from Virginia" — 
 states North in this pamphlet, who is himself the aid-de-camp 
 alluded to — " ' I must go,' said Steuben to a sick aid-de-camp, 
 4 1 must leave you, my son, but I leave you among a people 
 where we have found the door of every house wide open ; 
 where the heart of every female is full of tenderness and virtue. 
 Quit this deleterious spot the instant you are able ; there is my 
 sulky, and here is half of what I have — God bless you ! — I can 
 do no more.' Nor could he. A journey of three hundred 
 miles was before him, a single piece of gold in his purse ! Are 
 other instances necessary to unfold the texture of his heart ? 
 How many have I written on my own !" 
 
 After the conclusion of peace, Steuben and North lived 
 some time together in the " Louvre." The firm of which this 
 house formed a part belonged to a Mr, David Provost, who, 
 on account of his constant command of cash, had been styled 
 when living, " Ready Money Provost," to whose memory, on 
 the summit of a hill, a monument was erected. A gentleman 
 observing that, in the event of death, Steuben would be at no 
 loss for a snug place of interment, North replied,* "Then, sir, 
 his disposition must alter with his state, for in life he w r ill 
 never tolerate the idea of laying by ready money." 
 
 Steuben's and North's friendship lasted until the death of 
 the former, who made him the heir of one half of his property. 
 For its better illustration, we give here a few extracts of let- 
 ters written by North between the years 1782 and 1789 : 
 
 " It is now over three years," writes North on the 29th of 
 October and 6th of November, 1782, from Fishkill Landing,f 
 
 * Percy's Anecdotes, ii., 122. f Steuben MS. Papers, vol. ix. 
 
628 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 " since I had first the honor of being attached to you. The 
 numberless acts of friendship I have received would have been 
 ill bestowed, did not my heart feel the obligations, and make 
 your happiness its greatest wish. Permit me, my dear baron, 
 to address you with the freedom of a friend, and, at the same 
 time, with that respect that shall always mark my character 
 towards you. Your services to my ungrateful country have 
 been treated with a neglect shocking to every man of sensibil- 
 ity. Congress, whose eyes ought to be open to see all and 
 whose hand ought to be open to reward all who have well de- 
 served of the country, are unknowing and unknown, except a 
 few men of liberal ideas. It is hard, at the last, to be obliged 
 to ask for one's right, and the hardship is augmented by a re- 
 fusal. Congress at large know little of what is due to you for 
 your exertions, so that applying to them as a body, in the first 
 
 instance, would be to no purpose You have a 
 
 friend in Mr. Peters. His advice with respect to your affairs, 
 I am sure, will be for your interest, therefore I hope you will 
 follow it. I think he and all your other friends must advise 
 that you continue in statu quo for the present, that is, inspect- 
 or and major general. If you give up one of these titles you 
 give up a great deal. The probability that the end of the war 
 is near is great. You have borne the burden in the heat of 
 the day; it has been heavy, very heavy; but you must not 
 faint. * Finis coronat opus? Your star will then be bright- 
 ened for this perseverance. The department of which you are 
 the head is so essential to the well-being of the army, that I 
 hope you will not be permitted to resign it. It is so conspic- 
 uous a post, that I never wish to see it filled by another, while 
 there is an American army to profit by your instructions." 
 
 " I hope the pleasure that you will receive from your situ- 
 ation this winter will make up for the fatigues of last cam- 
 paign. I suppose your home will be mostly at Mr. Peters'. 
 This winter will give your friends an opportunity of exerting 
 themselves effectually for you." 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 629 
 
 " What, with a villainous wind," says North, in a letter of 
 the 19th of October, 1784,* "and the foolish parade which 
 has been made with the Don Quixote Lafayette, I have not 
 had a moment's peace. He arrived here on Friday, amidst 
 the acclamations of foolish disbanded officers and the town rab- 
 ble ; seated on a little horse (for the sake of Christ I am sorry 
 it was not an ass) he made his public entry. Yesterday they 
 gave him a dinner, and at night Madame Hayley, and old 
 
 , gave him some of the most infamous fire- works I ever 
 
 saw ; but he, like a true Frenchman, told her they were su- 
 perb. He has done me the honor to notice me. While we 
 were looking at the exhibition, he observed, putting his arm 
 around my neck and whispering, how pleased he was that this 
 attention was paid him by an English woman. But damn the 
 subject ! I have kept too long on it already. Monsieur le 
 marquis goes to Rhode Island to receive the honor due him 
 from that State." 
 
 " I received your letter, my dear baron, of the 12th of De- 
 cember," writes North from Duanesburg, on the 8th of Jan- 
 uary, 1789,t "this morning, and have attempted three times 
 to answer it ; but I could not please myself, and therefore tore 
 the sheet in pieces. To what it was owing I know not ; but I 
 have had the blue devils all this morning. We have just dined 
 on soup and beef-steaks, and I have drawn two glasses of your 
 sherry. Would to God you were here to drink with me ! 
 Whether this wish will banish my ill humor, my letter will 
 show, provided I do not tear it in pieces also. I am up by 
 daylight, and set my man and boy to work this morning ; they 
 were sent at a distance from hence, and I was obliged to drudge 
 a mile and a half, with a load on my shoulders, through their 
 carelessness. It is not very pleasant to walk through the snow 
 with a load ; I did sweat most confoundedly ; this made me a 
 little angry. But this was not all. Your letter told me every- 
 body was going to be a great man. I hate everybody who is 
 * Steuben MS. Papers, vol. x. \ Ibidem, vol. xiii. 
 
630 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 greater than myself, except you. I see no chance I have of 
 getting any thing in this scramble. This, perhaps, made me 
 mad. Knox will remain Secretary of War or have an equiv- 
 alent. His smiles and bows have secured him a place of con- 
 sequence in the new government. If you come in, you must 
 resolve to see him your equal. Except a very few, I despise 
 and detest the whole human species : would to God I had 
 been an Indian ! I should either have been a warrior or a 
 sachem. My wife is the best woman possible ; my boy is 
 good, but I am not happy. My father-in-law tells me I am 
 independent. So I am ; and so is every fellow with a woolen 
 shirt, who owns a hundred acres of land. I go to Albany 
 with Polly and the boy to-morrow, for the first time since w T e 
 have lived here. It is business more than pleasure that takes 
 me there. I shall get no office under the new government, 
 because I shall ask for none. I am proud and honest. I know 
 what I am worth, and if other people do not know it without 
 my telling them, they may remain ignorant. Hamilton, Jay, 
 and several others who will have the chief management in this 
 business, know me ; but they have their friends and depend- 
 ents. I shall go to New York, kiss you and Ben ; go to Bos- 
 ton, comfort my old mother, and return here to drudge on in 
 getting my living. 
 
 " Knox is too firmly footed to be ousted ; it would not do. 
 If he is not Secretary of War he will be something higher ; 
 however, he has not interest enough to get Jackson the com- 
 mand of the troops, or Doughty the command of the artillery, 
 though this would be easier than the other. Pray who is talked 
 of as Postmaster General ? My father-in-law (Duane) has been 
 here and is gone to Albany a month since. I will tell you 
 what we conversed about when we meet." 
 
 James Fairlie was born in the city of New York, in 1757 
 or 1758. His father was the captain of a bark in the Havana 
 trade. At the time the Asia, man-of-war, fired upon New 
 York, he was first on the ground with his company at the 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 631 
 
 Bowling Green, to oppose the enemy. He entered the revo- 
 lutionary army in the latter part of the year 1775 or early in 
 17 70. He was first commissioned as an ensign in the first 
 New York regiment, then commanded by Colonel (afterward 
 Major General) Macdougal, and, upon the reform of the army, 
 was appointed to the same rank in the regiment then com- 
 manded by Colonel (afterward General) Philip Yan Court- 
 landt. He accompanied his regiment to the North, and was 
 present and distinguished himself at the capture of the British 
 army in the year 1777. In 1778 Fairlie was appointed aid- 
 de-camp to Steuben, and acted in that capacity at the battle 
 of Monmouth. Afterward he went with Steuben to Yirginia, 
 where he was taken prisoner. After his exchange, he joined 
 the army again at Newburg, and continued in it until the close 
 of the revolutionary war. 
 
 After its close he first lived a few years with Steuben, 
 Walker, and North without special employment. He next 
 became claim-agent for the State of New York and then held 
 several offices. He was clerk of the Supreme Court of New 
 York, during his life, several years a member of the Assembly, 
 and one of the delegates that formed the new constitution of 
 1823. Jefferson gave him the honorary office of commissioner 
 of bankruptcy. During the w r ar of 1812 he was offered the 
 post of adjutant general of the United States, by Madison, 
 which he, how T ever, declined. 
 
 Fairlie discharged the duties of the several offices he held 
 with great zeal and ability. He died, seventy-three years old, 
 on the 11th of October, 1830, in the city of New York, and 
 was buried w r ith military honors. 
 
 Fairlie married the daughter of Chief Justice Robert 
 Yates in Albany. The eclat that surrounded those of the 
 officers who had distinguished themselves in the Revolution, 
 often enabled them to marry among the first families in the 
 State. This happened with William North, who married a 
 daughter of Mayor Duane, and Colonel Fish, who married 
 
032 LITE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 among the descendants of Governor Stuyvesant. Fairlie was 
 so liberal in his disposition, and so addicted to fashionable dis- 
 play, that his friends thought it would be advantageous for 
 him to marry, and promoted his connection with the family of 
 the chief justice. 
 
 Mention has already been made of Fairlie as aid of Steu- 
 ben in Virginia, and as one of the most ardent promoters of 
 the Cincinnati society, the secretary of which he was in 1784. 
 We shall here only refer to his private character. His great 
 ambition was to enliven society by his wit. Steuben liked 
 him very much for his humor, his fidelity, his sincere friend- 
 ship, and his readiness to assist others. Those of his letters 
 that have been preserved relate almost exclusively to business 
 matters, but Fairlie's amiable disposition and ingenious wit are 
 very highly spoken of by his contemporaries. Washington Ir- 
 ving calls him of facetious memory, and states that when Wash- 
 ington, at the return of peace, was sailing in a boat on the Hud- 
 son, he w r as so overcome by the drollery of a story told by Major 
 Fairlie that he fell back in the boat in a paroxysm of laughter.* 
 
 We do not remember to have read any thing more pleas- 
 ant and witty than one of his letters to Benjamin Walker, in 
 which, by a series of false conclusions, he proves that a lot 
 in Broadway at Albany, was worth double the price of one in 
 Courtland street at New York, as Albany, instead of New 
 York, was soon to become the great commercial metropolis 
 of the United States. He therefore proposed to Walker to 
 change the Albany lot for Walker's lot in Courtland street, 
 adding that he was thereby conferring a great favor on his 
 friend by giving him a chance of a very good speculation. As 
 the wit of the circle that assembled around Steuben, he was 
 popular among all who knew him, and he could say and do a 
 great many things which w r ould have offended, if said or done 
 by others. 
 
 When Steuben first settled on his farm in Oneida county, 
 * Washington's Life, iv., 475. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 033 
 
 the first difference arose between him and Fairlie. Steuben 
 made a present to his former aids of a few hundred acres of 
 land. On one occasion North and Fairlie were together, when 
 the latter being highly pleased with a set of Sevres china in 
 the possession of the former, agreed to exchange the land 
 which Steuben had presented him, for the china. When this 
 came to Steuben's ears, he became not only indignant, but 
 felt his pride much hurt, and in order to punish Fairlie gave 
 double the quantity of land to his aids, and the share which 
 would have fallen to Fairlie, he gave to North in addition. 
 Although the land at that time was of but little value, Fair- 
 lie's conduct appeared in Steuben's eyes very disrespectful, 
 and he never forgave him for it to the hour of his death. 
 Fairlie sometimes spoke of this occurrence with regret in his 
 latter days. It appears that on account of this bargain, Steu- 
 ben did not notice him in his will. 
 
 Nicholas Fish, born in 1758, and deceased on the 20th of 
 June, 1833, was major of the second New York regiment 
 when Steuben introduced his system of discipline into the 
 army, and was appointed by Washington as one of the first 
 brigade inspectors under Steuben. The latter said of him, that 
 he would have made an excellent officer in the best European 
 army, and liked him very much for his gallantry, and his ener- 
 gy and efficiency in drilling and disciplining the troops. At 
 the forming of the light infantry he was one of the first ma- 
 jors who received a battalion of this new corps, and, while 
 still acting as inspector of brigade, he assisted Steuben in the 
 selection and formation of these troops. From this time we 
 found a letter of Fish to Steuben, written at West Point on 
 the 2d of July, 1780, which, as an evidence of their friendly 
 intercourse, we insert here. 
 
 " We have spent," says Fish, " a most active and itinerant 
 life, one day beholding the beauties of Jersey, the next partak- 
 ing the sweets of Pennsylvania ; and then enjoying the agree- 
 able society of our New York friends, have been led to imag- 
 
 27* 
 
C34 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 ine, from a comparison of our situation with that of those at 
 West Point, Fort Schuyler, etc., that we were peculiarly for- 
 tunate, they as singularly unhappy. 
 
 " I know not whence our aversion to this post took birth ; 
 so is the fact, however, that myself with others had formed the 
 most despicable idea of it, and to my agreeable disappoint- 
 ment I find it not only tolerable, but, upon the whole, some- 
 what pleasant. Our amusements, indeed, are few and rather 
 cireumscribed ; but we enjoy the constant luxury of beholding 
 one of Nature's most magnificent, tremendous and variegated 
 landscapes. There is so solemn a pomp and grandeur in the 
 most prodigious piles that environ us, that I am constantly 
 impressed with ideas of a serious and contemplative mind. 
 
 " I would not, however, sir, wish you to imagine that I am 
 so absorbed in contemplation, as to relax in the duties of grati- 
 tude and friendship. I would embrace every occasion of evinc- 
 ing this, and should have done myself the pleasure of waiting 
 on the baron when he was at this post, had I known it in sea- 
 son. 
 
 " Our troops, sir, you will readily suppose, have had a se- 
 vere tour since we left Morristown. One regiment has visited 
 Fort Schuyler, one Fort Edward, the other two were posted 
 on the Mohawk river, near Fort Plank. We have received 
 no supply of clothing except shoes. You will, therefore, sir, 
 easily figure out our situation. 
 
 "I have appointed Wednesday next for the inspection of 
 the brigade. I should be exceedingly happy to have any in- 
 structions the baron may wish to give. I would thank Cap- 
 tain Walker and Mr. Fairlie to send by the bearer a form that 
 I may copy after in my returns. If they will send a return 
 of one of the Pennsylvania regiments I will very carefully 
 preserve the original." 
 
 In 1793 it was Fish, as stated in the preceding chapter, 
 who surveyed with Steuben the neighborhood of New York 
 for suitable fortifications. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 635 
 
 William S. Smith was one of Steuben's most steadfast 
 friends, but was only for a short time attached to his military 
 staff. We found no particular mention made of the date when 
 he joined Steuben ; but it must have been before July, 1781, 
 at which time he was appointed aid-de-camp to the com- 
 mander-in-chief. Smith, after the war, first lived with Steu- 
 ben, and in the beginning of 1785 went as secretary of lega- 
 tion to England, under John Adams, whose daughter he after- 
 wards married. His correspondence from England and the 
 continent, with Steuben, fills the greater part of volume X. 
 of the Steuben papers ; but his letters, besides his friendly 
 talk and the ordinary description of the places and countries 
 he saw, do not contain much of general interest. After his 
 return to America Smith filled high offices in the Cincinnati 
 Society, having been secretary from 1790 till 1793, and vice 
 president in 1794. He became president in 1804, and died as 
 such on the 10th of June, 1816. We give here only two ex- 
 tracts of his letters, one of which shows Smith's feelings to- 
 ward Steuben, and the other refers to his introduction at the 
 English court, where he met the traitor Arnold. 
 
 " It gives me great pain, my dear general and friend," writes 
 he from London, on the 15th of June, 1785, " to find you de- 
 scribing your solitary situation. If my finances would justify 
 my fixing, and I could continue to flatter myself that my so- 
 ciety would be pleasing, you should never want a companion 
 in amusement or a sincere friend to accompany you in retire- 
 ment ; but this can not be, unless I should write a sensible 
 love letter and receive a favorable answer." 
 
 And on the 5th of July, 1785, he continued : 
 
 "... I was honored by an introduction to her Majes- 
 ty the queen. Thus, sir, you see your young friend removed 
 from the elegant simplicity of the Louvre into the gay attract- 
 ing circles of a court ; but do not be uneasy, he will not be 
 captivated by it 
 
 " On the 22d of June I attended a levee at the palace, and 
 
630 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 among the rest appeared the traitor Arnold in full British uni- 
 form as a general officer. He conversed with but one gentle- 
 man, and seemed to exert himself, by putting on a pleasant 
 countenance, to hide the lines of a traitor under the smiles of 
 a courtier. He did not remain long — that is, a great space of 
 time — but it was quite long enough to disgrace the assembly, 
 and, in my view, to place majesty in a despicable point of 
 light." .... 
 
 Here we must stop, not having been able to collect more 
 materials about Steuben's aides-de-camp and sub-inspectors. 
 
 We are particularly sorry that the sources of information 
 about William Davies of Virginia, the most efficient of Steu- 
 ben's sub-inspectors and assistants, are so scanty. In spite of 
 all our endeavors we could not trace the particulars of his 
 life either before or after the revolutionary war. He has de- 
 served a monument for himself, for he did more than is com- 
 monly known, with that unostentatious self-sacrifice which is 
 an attribute of only noble characters. 
 
 We hope, however, that the biographical sketches con- 
 tained in this chapter will be considered sufficient to convey 
 an adequate idea of the value of the individuals mentioned, as 
 well as of their general. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Steuben's Person and Character. — His Sense of Justice and Benevolence.— 
 Anecdotes. — Lieutenant Gibbons. — Lieutenant Colonel Cochrane. — Miss 
 Sheaf. — Robert Morris and the empty Treasury. — Steuben never Married. 
 — The Impression he made on his Contemporaries. — His Faults.— His Improvi- 
 dence in Money Matters. — Bad Consequences resulting therefrom. — Steuben's 
 Military Position and Importance in the Revolutionary War. — Prussia the 
 best School of War during the Eighteenth Century. — The temporizing 
 Character of the last Years of the Seven Years' War much like the 
 American War. — Steuben's Exertions in the Interest of the Service. — His 
 Modesty. — His Position in the Country of his Adoption. — He is more than a 
 mere Drill Sergeant.— He is the ablest Officer on Washington's Staff.— 
 Washington the Head of the Revolutionary War. — Steuben one of its 
 strong Arms. 
 
 GTEUBEX'S countenance displayed a combination of energy 
 ^ and benevolence. His head was round, his forehead large, 
 his nose fine, almost aquiline, and a piercing hazel eye gave 
 animation to his face, the upper part of which was remarkably 
 expressive of the strong traits of his character ; but his mouth 
 and lips did not correspond with the general manly expression 
 of his countenance. In dressing his hair, he conformed to the 
 singularly slender cue of Frederick the Great, which, with a 
 slight bend of the shoulders, indicated the universal attention 
 by which courtiers and officers compliment their monarch in 
 imitating the minor circumstances of dress and carriage. 
 
 His stature was about five feet seven inches ; his carriage 
 was very graceful and elevated, without being affected in the 
 slightest degree ; his walk was slow and measured. In the 
 latter years of his life he became rather portly. 
 
 He was an excellent horseman. Bishop Ashbel Greene, 
 who saw him at the affair of Connecticut Farms, in June, 
 1780, says of him : " Never before, or since, have I had such 
 an impression of the ancient fabled god of war as when I 
 
G38 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 looked on the baron ; he seemed to me a perfect personifica- 
 tion of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous hol- 
 sters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial 
 aspect, all seemed to favor the idea."* 
 
 Steuben was rather haughty in his bearing, which did not 
 in the least diminish his frankness and cordiality in social in- 
 tercourse, and he was of easy access, benevolent, and full of a 
 high sense of justice. At a review near Morristown, a Lieuten- 
 ant Gibbons, a brave and good officer, was arrested on the 
 spot, and ordered to the rear, for a fault which, it afterward 
 appeared, another had committed. At a proper moment the 
 commander of the regiment came fonvard and informed the 
 baron of Mr. Gibbons' innocence, of his worth, and of his acute 
 feelings under his unmerited disgrace. " Desire Lieutenant 
 Gibbons to come to the front, colonel. Sir," said the baron, 
 addressing the young gentleman, " the fault which was com- 
 mitted by throwing the line into confusion might, in the pres- 
 ence of an enemy, have been fatal ; I arrested you as its sup- 
 posed author, but -I have reason to believe that I was mistaken, 
 and that, in this instance, you were blameless. I ask your 
 pardon ; return to your command ; I would not deal unjustly 
 toward any one, much less toward one whose character as an 
 officer is so respectable." All this passed with the baron's hat 
 off, the rain pouring on his venerable head ! Do you think 
 there was an officer or soldier who saw it, unmoved by affec- 
 tion and respect ? Not one.* 
 
 At the disbandment of the revolutionary army, when in- 
 mates of the same tent or hut for seven long years were sep- 
 arating, " I saw," says North, " the baron's strong endeavors 
 to throw some ray of sunshine on the gloom, to mix some 
 drops of cordial with the painful draught. To go, they knew 
 not whither ; all recollection of the art of thriving by civil oc- 
 
 * The Life of Aslibel Greene, by Joseph H. Jones, New York. Robert 
 Carter & Brothers, 1844. p. 109. 
 
 f James Thacher's Military Journal, Boston, 182?, p. 416. 
 
LIFE OP STEUBEN. 639 
 
 cupations, was lost, or to the youthful never known. To go 
 in silence and alone, and poor and helpless — it was too hard ! 
 To a stern old officer, a Lieutenant Colonel Cochrane, from the 
 Green mountains, who had met danger and difficulty in almost 
 every step from his youth, and upon whose furrowed visage a 
 tear till that moment had never fallen, the good baron said — 
 what could be said to lessen deep distress. ' For myself,' 
 said Cochrane, * I care not ; I can stand it ; but my wife and 
 daughters are in the garret of that wretched tavern. I know 
 not where to remove, nor have I the means for their removal.' 
 c Come, my friend,' said the baron, c let us go ; I will pay my 
 respects to Mrs. Cochrane and your daughters, if you please.' 
 I followed to the loft, the lower rooms being all filled with 
 soldiers, with drunkenness, despair, and blasphemy. And 
 when the baron left the poor unhappy cast-aways, he left hope 
 with them, and all he had to give. 
 
 "A black man, with wounds unhealed, wept on the wharf, 
 for it was at Newburg where this tragedy was acting. There 
 was a vessel in the stream, bound to the place where he once 
 had friends. He had not a dollar to pay his passage, and he 
 could not walk. Unused to tears, I saw them trickle down 
 this good man's cheeks as he put into the hands of the black 
 man the last dollar he possessed. The negro hailed the sloop, 
 and cried, ' God Almighty bless you, master baron !' "* 
 
 In his habits Steuben was popular and plain ; maneuvers 
 were his recreations ; he liked agricultural labor, horses, and 
 sporting ; books, and the pleasures of social company, and es- 
 pecially in the domestic circle of his friends, were his favorite 
 'amusements. All these qualities, in a man of his station, were 
 apt to exert a great influence on those around him ; they 
 worked by themselves, they captivated everywhere, and, in- 
 deed, it seemed that their effect on all those connected with 
 him was very powerful. He never lost his temper, except 
 when greatly provoked by grossness or culpable negligence of 
 * Thacher, p. 418. 
 
040 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 public duty ; in general he had a remarkable control over him- 
 self. He was temperate in his habits, but very social, and 
 wherever he was he made every company lively. A great 
 favorite among the ladies, he wu in every respect the polite, 
 obliging, and witty gentleman of the old school. Once, at the 
 house of the mother of Chancellor Livingston, he was intro- 
 duced to a Miss Sheaf, an amiable, handsome, and interesting 
 young lady. "I am very happy," said he, "in the honor of 
 being presented to you, mademoiselle, though I see it is at 
 an infinite risk ; I have from my youth been cautioned to guard 
 myself against mischief (Miss Sheaf), but I had no idea that 
 her attractions were so powerful." 
 
 There is, perhaps, no revolutionary general about whom 
 so many anecdotes are told as Steuben. Although the follow- 
 ing story may be an invention, as Steuben, so far as we know, 
 was never able to employ a cook, it fairly illustrates what his 
 contemporaries thought of his wit and humor, and may there- 
 fore find a place here. 
 
 At a dinner shortly after the resignation of Mr. Robert 
 Morris, as financier of the United States, the cause of which 
 appeared inexplicable to the company present ; " to me," said 
 Baron Steuben, u there appears no mystery. I will illustrate 
 my sentiments by a simple narrative. When I was about to 
 quit Paris to embark for the United States, the better to in- 
 sure comfort when in camp, I judged it of importance to en- 
 gage in my service a cook of celebrity. The American army 
 was posted at Valley Forge when I joined it. Arrived at my 
 quarters, a wagoner presented himself, saying that he was 
 directed to attach himself to my train, and obey my orders.' 
 Commissaries arriving furnished a supply of beef and bread, 
 and retired. My cook looked round him for utensils — indis- 
 pensable, in his opinion, for preparing a meal — and, finding 
 none, in an agony of despair applied to the wagoner for advice. 
 4 We cook our meat,' replied he, ' by hanging it up by a string, 
 and turning it before a good fire till sufficiently roasted.' The 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN, 641 
 
 next day, and still another passed, without material change. 
 The commissary made his deposit. My cook showed the 
 strongest indications of uneasiness by shrugs and heavy sigh- 
 ing, but, with the exception of a few oaths, spoke not a word 
 of complaint. His patience, however, was completely ex- 
 hausted ; he requested an audience, and demanded his dismis- 
 sal. 'Under happier circumstances, raon general,' said he, c it 
 would be my ambition to serve you, but here I have no chance 
 of showing my talents, and I think myself obliged, in honor, 
 to save your expense, since your wagoner is just as able to 
 turn the string as I am.' Believe me, gentlemen," continued 
 the baron, " the Treasury of America is, at present, just as 
 empty as my kitchen was at Valley Forge, and Mr. Morris 
 wisely retires, thinking it of very little consequence who turns 
 the string."* 
 
 Steuben was never married. It seems, however, that he 
 met with a disappointment in early life. While preparing to 
 remove to his farm, the accidental fall of a portrait of a most 
 beautiful young woman, from his cabinet, which was picked 
 up by his companion and shown to him, with the request to be 
 told from whom it was taken, produced a most obvious emo- 
 tion of strong tenderness, and the pathetic exclamation, " O, 
 she was a matchless woman !" He never afterwards alluded 
 to the subject. 
 
 Even the faults of his character, which seemed to throw a 
 shadow over his virtues, were not such as to lower him in the 
 consideration of his contemporaries, but they often caused him 
 many difficulties. He never appreciated the value of money. 
 When he had plenty of it, he gave it away with open hands, 
 regardless of the consequences to himself. "What sums," 
 says North, " however large, could have been sufficient for 
 one who was always looking around for worthy objects, whose 
 wants might be relieved ? Never did a review or an inspec- 
 tion pass without rewards in money to soldiers whose arms 
 * Garden's Anecdotes, p. 344. 
 
642 LIFE OF STEFREN. 
 
 were in the highest order. Never was his table unfilled with 
 guests, if furnished with provisions. Officers of rank, men 
 most prominent for knowledge and attention to their duty, 
 were marked for invitation, but the gentlemen of his suite 
 were desired to complete the list with others of inferior grade. 
 'Poor fellows,' said he, 'they have field officers' stomachs 
 without their rations.' "* 
 
 " General Washington, who was well acquainted with his 
 liberality, said, on this occasion, to a friend, who repeated it to 
 me,f 1 1 rejoice that Congress has given to so excellent a patriot 
 an independency by an annuity, for had they bestowed a spe- 
 cific sum, were it ten times the amount, the generous heart 
 of Steuben would keep him poor, and he would, in all proba- 
 bility, die a beggar.' " 
 
 All the difficulties which for eight long years he had with 
 Congress — all the humiliations he had to suffer from narrow- 
 minded men — must be attributed to his cavalier contempt for 
 money. Had he been a shrewd business man, an officer who 
 speculated in war like merchants in any staple article, he 
 would have made a close bargain, and secured himself a firm 
 standing, and thrown all the odium of his money negotiations 
 upon Congress, w 7 hich was, in reality, his debtor to an amount 
 infinitely larger than he ever owed ; but, by neglecting this 
 ordinary precaution, he left it in the power of that same Con- 
 gress to represent him to the popular prejudice as an unprin- 
 cipled, greedy adventurer, who had devoted himself to the 
 cause of American independence merely out of personal and 
 selfish interest. 
 
 A last glance at Steuben's military importance and we have 
 done. 
 
 As to his services, he is inferior to none of the revolution- 
 ary generals. He had received his military training under 
 Frederick the Great, and had distinguished himself by bril- 
 liant exploits as well as by his talent for organization and drill. 
 * North, 1. c. f Garden's Anondotes, 345. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 643 
 
 He had taken an active part in the Seven Years' War, he had 
 filled a great variety of offices and stations, and collected in- 
 valuable experience. He had fought in the bloodiest battles, 
 in which usually more men were killed or wounded than 
 Washington had in most cases under his command. Thus the 
 American struggle must have been light work for him. But 
 it was very important to have a man as commander to whom 
 the battles here were nothing but skirmishes when compared 
 with the Seven Years' War; who knew by experience at Col- 
 berg, Schweidnitz, Breslau, Dresden, Torgau and Prague, 
 what strategy could do ; who had seen the fortified camp at 
 Burkersdorf and the defeats at Hochkirch and Landshut, and 
 who had been obliged to master in his mind and carry into 
 practice the conceptions of Frederick the Great, Prince Henry 
 of Prussia, and the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. 
 
 For the successful prosecution of the art of w r ar as it is 
 conducted in the hostile collisions of great and powerful 
 States, a rich experience in the most active struggles is abso- 
 lutely indispensable. The most important crisis is the pitched 
 battle, the most difficult and troublesome is the organization 
 of the army, to make them behave bravely and resist for a 
 certain time the murderous fire of the batteries, and the fear- 
 ful impressions of the battle. 
 
 At Monmouth Steuben brought the retiring troops, in the 
 midst of a heavy cannonade, to a stand, and it is acknowledged 
 as a special proof of their progress in discipline that they 
 obeyed him as w T ell in the fire as on the parade ground, and 
 fought like veterans. Stony Point was taken by the light 
 infantry which Steuben had formed, and which his sub-inspect- 
 or Fleury led to the attack. When West Point was seriously 
 threatened, the commander-in-chief sent Steuben there to as- 
 sist the commandant of that important place with his advice. 
 Greene took the command of the southern army under the 
 express condition that Steuben should organize the Virginia 
 troops and prepare them for battle. Washington wrote on 
 
G44 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 this occasion to Steuben, that in the general chaos of the 
 South he would be of more service in Virginia than in the 
 North, much as his presence there was needed. In the years 
 1782 and 1783, according to the testimony of competent 
 judges, the American infantry was equal to the best troops 
 of the time; even the, French officers were struck with admi- 
 ration at the maneuvers executed in their presence by Steu- 
 ben's soldiers. 
 
 , All these, and other illustrious deeds, abundantly show 
 how effectual Steuben's exertions proved in this respect. 
 From the time of his engagement to the end of the war, there 
 prevailed an electrifying confidence in final success, which in 
 no small degree was due to the effect produced by Steuben's 
 services in the camp and in the field. This preeminently im- 
 portant part of his activity has usually been too much over- 
 looked in this country, while on the other hand it has always 
 been acknowledged that he has performed conspicuous ser- 
 vices as a disciplinarian, organizer and inspector. At the time 
 when, and in an army in which every tiling was threatening 
 to dissolve into absolute chaos, he succeeded in bringing order 
 out of the general confusion, in accustoming the soldiers to 
 yield punctilious obedience to orders, in awakening in them 
 the consciousness of their superiority when disciplined and 
 organized. In former wars the American soldiers had fought, 
 single handed, in unorganized bands ; but now they had, for 
 the first time, to carry on the war against an army organized 
 after the European fashion. 
 
 It was, therefore, a most fortunate circumstance that they 
 were formed and drilled mainly according to the Prussian 
 system. In the eighteenth century the officers of the Prussian 
 army were celebrated as experienced tacticians, as excellent 
 masters in the art of military evolutions, as good instructors 
 and generals in maneuvering; they were therefore invited 
 everywhere as instructors of the European armies. For in- 
 stance Von Alvenseeben went in that capacity to Spain, Count 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 645 
 
 De La Lippe to Portugal ; Yon Salis to Naples ; Schomburg 
 and Bruce, who had been instructed in Prussia, to England, 
 and a countless number to Russia ever since the time of Peter 
 the Great. In this way the rules of training and drilling, 
 adopted by Frederick William I., may be called the basis of 
 all the military regulations in the world. 
 
 The science of war, after the abolition of the "Lnnds- 
 knechts" and " Condottieri" systems in the sixteenth and sev- 
 enteenth centuries, was at first cultivated by the Dutch, under 
 the a3gis of William, Prince of Orange, in regard to regular 
 service, the elementary principles of tactic and of discipline — 
 the three most important features in standing armies. Then 
 the Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, became the masters 
 of the world, and remained so till the reign of Charles XII. 
 Then it was Brandenburg and Prussia which excelled in the 
 strategical art of the Prince of Orange and the Swedes, and 
 improved it in the most commendable way, becoming the first 
 masters in the art of drillino; the soldiers and exercising them 
 in regular evolutions. Frederick William I. had inspired the 
 whole body of his officers with that spirit by which it is pos- 
 sible to complete the difficult organization of an army in a 
 very short time. The special reviews which existed at the 
 time that Steuben was an officer in the Prussian army (1747- 
 1763) were so severe and critical, that even the youngest offi- 
 cer necessarily acquired the clearest insight into the condition 
 of the troops, and a thorough knowledge of the best way of 
 improving the discipline. 
 
 The Americans therefore were very fortunate in remodel- 
 ing their army after the best authority, by placing Steuben, 
 a graduate of such a school, at the head of their military or- 
 ganization. Steuben was well aware that the recruiting sys- 
 tem hitherto practiced was in no way adapted to the object 
 of the war. He accordingly exerted himself to give to the 
 army a different organization, far superior in its character, and 
 founded on the principles of the militia system. The great value 
 
646 LIFE OP STEUBEN. 
 
 of Steuben's exertions being directed to this practical branch 
 of the organization — the very groundwork of a good army — 
 will appear more evident, when we consider that the French 
 were little qualified for this kind of service ; that General 
 Conway was an intriguer, and personal enemy of Washington, 
 and that the latter, as commander-in-chief, had too many other 
 duties to be able to devote his attention to the discipline of the 
 army. Steuben further successfully managed to raise the ability 
 of his militia soldiers to a high degree of perfection. He liked, 
 therefore, afterwards to compare himself with the generals, 
 who, in the commencement of the French Revolution, were 
 the chiefs of insurgent armies.* At the same time, like Paoli, 
 Laroche Jacquelin, Schill and Cabrera, he exhibited his em- 
 inent talent, even in a foreign country, not only to concen- 
 trate his forces by means of a superior organization, but also 
 to direct their attacks against the enemy, in order to secure 
 the best advantage to himself. 
 
 The plans of attacks and sieges in the war of indepen- 
 dence leave no doubt that the strong positions on the coast, 
 mostly on little peninsulas, their sieges and defenses, and also 
 the long line of defense along the rivers and swamps, formed 
 the most important meshes of the strategical net, which, be- 
 sides its extensive dimensions, chiefly prevented the English 
 from permanently subduing any considerable portion. The 
 chief requisite has evidently been to occupy said lines with suffi- 
 cient forces, and always to have strong corps in readiness for 
 blockading the English forts on 'the shore, in order to render 
 the English incapable of carrying on the war any longer, ns 
 Franklin expressed himself very significantly. Now it can not 
 be denied that Steuben, who had studied under Frederick the 
 Great the system of temporizing, from 1759 to 1762, was the 
 very man for that emergency. 
 
 *D. Yon Biilow. Der Freistaat vou Nord-Amerika in seinem neuesten 
 Zustande, Berlin, 1797, vol. ii. 84. 
 
LIFE OF STEUBEN. 647 
 
 It is, moreover, a fact that Steuben, brought up, and hon- 
 orably distinguished as he was among the most prominent offi- 
 cers of the time, was serviceable as an excellent model of a 
 perfect soldier. Free from intrigue or reserve, he did his duty 
 spontaneously from motives of honorable personal ambition. 
 He needed no other incentive to exert himself with all his 
 energy day and night in the interest of the service. At the 
 same time that he was a frank, open-hearted soldier, he was 
 always ready to uphold his authority, sword in hand. His 
 censure was severe ; he was unrelenting toward the negligent ; 
 but, on the other hand, he was always ready to acknowledge 
 and reward true merit. Such men will disappoint the lazy 
 and inert, but their efficiency is great whenever large bodies 
 of men, accidentally united, are to be drilled to act together 
 in good order. 
 
 If there is any trait that shows his noble character in its 
 true light, it is the readiness with which Steuben acknowl- 
 edges the merits of others and puts them above his own ; the 
 pleasure he feels at every brave deed, and the simplicity and 
 self-abnegation with which he w T orks, steadfastly and unosten- 
 tatiously, in his difficult department. 
 
 " Steuben's merits," says Judge Richard Peters, in a letter 
 to Alexander Garden,* " have never been duly appreciated. 
 Our army was but a meritorious, irregular band, before his 
 creation of discipline. His deportment and personal conduct 
 were particularly under my observation. One fact to prove his 
 usefulness will go further than a thousand w T ords. In the es- 
 timates of the War Office we always allowed five thousand 
 muskets beyond the actual numbers of our muster of the 
 whole army. It was, in early times, never sufficient to guard 
 against the waste and misapplication that occurred. In the 
 last inspection returns of the main army, before I left the War 
 Department, Baron Steuben being then inspector general, only 
 three muskets were deficient, and those accounted for." 
 * Garden's Anecdotes, p. 341. 
 
648 LIFE OF STEUBEN. 
 
 Steuben occupied an exalted position in the country of his 
 adoption, when compared with Lee, Gates, Conway and other 
 intriguers ; though foreign born, he remained always attached 
 to this country. He was a most zealous and faithful patriot, 
 although Congress treated him with little consideration. Even 
 after the conclusion of the peace, he did not cease to devote 
 his time to the welfare of the republic. He drew a plan for 
 the establishment of a national military school ; he published 
 a pamphlet setting forth his ideas of the creation of a militia ; 
 he wrote about the pending system of State debts, and even 
 in the last months of his life, undertook personally to explore 
 the wilderness of the West for convenient places of fortifica- 
 tion against any invasion of a foreign enemy. These various 
 branches of his usefulness in public affairs, refute better than 
 any long argument the absurd idea that Steuben was nothing 
 but a drill sergeant, who did not understand the higher branches 
 of the military art. In short, he was in every respect the best 
 and most efficient general after Washington and Greene, and 
 worthy of the friendship and high esteem they both felt toward 
 him. 
 
 If Washington must be called the head and soul of the 
 war of the Revolution, Steuben may be considered as one of 
 its strongest arms, as the efficient instrument which served to 
 carry out into practice the projects which Washington con- 
 ceived. He is, therefore, fully entitled to an honorable and 
 enduring place in the history of the American people. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The author did not think himself entitled to make any alterations or 
 corrections either in the French or in the English documents contained 
 in this Appendix. The letters marked * are translated from the Ger- 
 man and French. 
 
PEDIGREE OF BARON STEUBEN. 
 
 Justina 
 
 Louisa 
 
 von 
 
 Hertefeld 
 
 auf 
 
 Kolck. 
 
 Anna Maria 
 von Lii deritz. 
 
 
 
 
 Eleonora 
 ivon dem Knesebeck. 
 
 
 Ludolph 
 
 von 
 Luderitz 
 
 auf 
 Luderitz 
 
 
 1 
 Christian Ursula 
 Franz von | von 
 
 dem 1 Veltheim 
 Knesebeck auf 
 auf Bochin. 1 Aderstedt. 
 1 
 ' 1 
 
 Franz Conrad 
 von dem 
 
 Knesebeck. 
 
 Maria Justina Dorothea j 
 von Jagow. 
 
 
 a 
 09 
 
 Magdalena 
 
 von dem 
 
 Knesebeck. 
 
 j Arnold August 
 von Jagow. 
 
 1 
 
 CO j, 
 
 
 
 c-a 
 o a 
 
 "3 
 
 i§i 
 
 Siegfried 
 
 vou Jagow 
 
 auf 
 
 Grossen Gartz 
 
 und Gerkoft. 
 
 Elisabeth 
 
 von 
 Nassau 
 Siegen, 
 Countess 
 
 of the 
 Empire. 
 
 Louisa, 
 
 Countess de 
 
 Waldeck. 
 
 Charlotte Dorothea, 
 Countess de Effern. 
 
 Johann 
 von 
 Waldeck, 
 Count 
 of the 
 Empire. 
 
 Baroness 
 von 
 Gohr. 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 Wilhelm Augustin 
 
 von Steuben, 
 
 Major and Knight of the 
 
 Prussian Ordre pour 
 
 le Merite. 
 
 Baron von 
 
 Effern 
 
 auf 
 
 Bellesheim 
 
 Kaltenbruch. 
 
 
 1*8 
 
 o.S 
 
 Louisa 
 Catharina 
 von Hell. 
 
 Augustin 
 
 von Steuben and 
 
 Schnaditz. 
 
 lit 
 
 mi 
 
 o a 
 
 Ludwig 
 von Steuben, 
 Knight of the 
 Order of Malta. 
 
 
 
 Ernst 
 
 Nikolas 
 
 von 
 
 Steuben 
 
 nnd 
 
 Schiuulitz. 
 
 
 
 
 KB 
 
 SO 
 
C52 APPENDIX 
 
 II. 
 
 BENJAMIN TRANKLIN TO GENERAL WASHINGTON. 
 
 Passy, Sep t emb e r 4th, 1777. 
 Sir, — The gentleman who will have the honor of waiting upon you 
 with this letter is the Baron De Steuben, lieutenant general in the 
 King of Prussia's service, whom he attended in all his campaigns, being 
 his aid-de-camp, quarter-master general, etc. He goes to America with 
 a true zeal for our cause, and a view of engaging in it and rendering it 
 all the service in his power. He is recommended to us by two of the 
 best judges of military merit in this country, Messrs. les Comtes De Ver- 
 gennes et De St. Germain, who have long been personally acquainted 
 with him, and interest themselves in promoting his voyage from the fall 
 persuasion that the knowledge and experience he has acquired by 
 twenty years' study and practice in the Prussian school may be of great 
 use in our armies. I, therefore, can't but recommend him warmly to 
 your Excellency, washing that our service may be made agreeable to 
 him. 
 
 I have the honor to be, etc., Franklin. 
 
 III. 
 
 RODERIQUE nORTALEZ (bEAUMAROHAIS) TO ROBERT MORRIS, FOR CONGRESS. 
 
 Paris, September, 1777. 
 
 Messieurs, — Le temo'ignage que j'ai l'honneur de vous rendre du 
 merite et des grands talents militaires de Mr. le baron de Steuben, 
 marechal de la cour de S. A. S. le prince regnant de Hohenzollern et ci- 
 devant aide-de-camp du roi de Prusse, aide major general de ses armees, 
 ajouterait peu de chose au compte qui vous en est rendu par MM. Deane 
 et Franklin, si le desir de les en instruire moi-meme ne m'eut mis a 
 portee de discuter le merite de cet officier avec les plus grands gdnd- 
 raux que nous ayons et si l'hommage neanmoins, que Ton doit a ses 
 connaissances dans l'art de la guerre n'avait pas engage tous les grands 
 personages qui vous aiment dans ce pays-ci, de se joindre a moi pour le 
 determiner a revenir d'Allemagne, ou il etait retourne apres avoir in- 
 fructueusement entretenu vos deputes. 
 
 L'art de faire la guerre avec succes etant le fruit du courage combine 
 avec la prudence, les lumieres et l'experience, un compagnon d'armes du 
 grand Frederic et qu'il ne l'a pas quitte pendant 22 ans nous parait a 
 tous un des hommes les plus propres a seconder Mr. de Washington 
 
APPENDIX. 05: 
 
 pour lequel Mr. le baron de Steuben a la plus haute consideration et 
 sous les drapeaux du quel il s'honore de servir la cause de la liberte. 
 
 IV. 
 
 STEUBEN TO BARON DE FRANK, AT HECHINGEN. 
 
 Camp off New Windsoe, ox the North Eiveu, July 4, 1779. 
 
 This is, my dear friend, the fifth letter which I address to you from 
 this part of the world. As I have not received a single answer to the 
 present day, I am afraid that my letters have not come to your hand. 
 Two vessels, in which I sent packages for Europe, have been taken by 
 the Eng'ish ; two others, carrying letters to you and another friend of 
 mine, I have not heard from, and I fear, from your silence, that they 
 too have been lost. This letter will be forwarded by Mr. Gerard, the 
 minister of France, and as I have no doubt it will reach you, I will re- 
 peat, as nearly as I can, all that I said to you in detail in my former 
 letters. 
 
 My first letter to you was written at Boston, about five weeks after 
 my arrival on this continent. It contained the narrative of my voyage, 
 and of all the incidents from which I had to suffer. A better descrip- 
 tion of a storm will be found in any book than I could give. I will only 
 say that we had two of them, very violent — one in the Mediterranean, 
 off the African coast, the other off the coast of New Caledonia. Each 
 lasted three days; both, and especially the first, damaged so much our 
 frigate that our naval officers became very much disheartened. Add to 
 these trifles, that the forecastle of the ship was three times on fire, that 
 we had seventeen hundredweight of gunpowder on board, and that a 
 mutiny of the crew made it necessary for us to fight, fourteen against 
 eighty-four, in order to secure the chiefs of the rebels ; and, also, that it 
 took sixty-six days, in the most dangerous season, to make the passage 
 — and you will imagine that this voyage was one of the hardest ever 
 known. 
 
 The more disastrous, however, the passage, the more flattering was 
 my arrival in America. We arrived on the 1st of December, 1777, at 
 Portsmouth, the capital of New Hampshire. Before entering the port, 
 I ordered my secretary to go ashore in a boat, and to inform the com- 
 mander of the place of my arrival. General Langdon, the commander, 
 came on board himself, to take me and my officers ashore in his boat. 
 While we were landing, we were saluted by the guns from the fortress, 
 and from all the ships in the port. Several thousand of the inhabitants 
 welcomed me in the most flattering manner. Mr. Langdon took us to 
 his house to dine ; in the meantime, all the inhabitants of the place 
 
S54 APPENDIX. 
 
 crowded together u to see the elephant," (as the German poet, Gellert, 
 in his fables, says.) 
 
 Although exhausted by the hardships of the voyage, I went the next 
 day to examine the fortifications ; on the following day I reviewed the 
 troops of the garrison, and on the fourth day I set out for Boston, by 
 land. 
 
 The reception at Boston was as flattering to me as that at Ports- 
 mouth. I met there the celebrated Mr. Hancock, formerly president of 
 Congress. He communicated to me an order of Congress that every 
 preparation should be made to make me and my suite comfortable on 
 the journey to Yorktown, Avhere the Congress was then in session. Mr. 
 Hancock himself, with great care, made all the necessary arrangements. 
 Carriages, sleighs, and saddle-horses were procured ; five negroes were 
 assigned to us as grooms and drivers, also an agent to prepare quarters 
 and procure provisions. As I had left Paris with only one servant and 
 a cook, I engaged two English servants as field equipage for me and my 
 officers. While at Boston I wrote you my first letter, and enclosed in 
 it a letter to the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. 
 
 The arrangements of my equipage detained me more than five weeks 
 in Boston, so that I could not set out for Yorktown before the 14th of 
 January. I was received there with the most distinguished attentions. 
 A house was reserved for my use, and a guard of honor placed before 
 the door. The day after my arrival, Congress inquired, through a com- 
 mittee of three members, the terms on which I proposed to enter the 
 service. My answer was, that I had no wish to make any arrange- 
 ments or terms ; that I wished to make the campaign as a volunteer, 
 desiring neither rank nor pay for myself, and only commissions for the 
 officers of my suite. This was agreed to by Congress, as I had expect- 
 ed. A resolution of thanks, in the most obliging terms, was returned, 
 with an offer of defraying all my expenses. My officers received their 
 commissions, and even my secretary was gratified with the rank and 
 the pay of a captain. 
 
 I will here observe, that in the military organization of the States, 
 the highest rank is that of major general. General Washington is the 
 oldest major general, being at the same time invested, in his quality of 
 commander-in-chief, with all the privileges of a general field marshal 
 in Europe. His authority is as unlimited as that of a Stadtholder in 
 Holland can be. The other major generals, whose number does not at 
 present surpass nine, are the commanders of corps, armies, wings and 
 divisions. Major General Gates is commander of the northern army, 
 General Lincoln of the southern army, and General Sullivan of the 
 forces against the Indians. All are under the orders of the commander- 
 in-chief. The second rank is that of a general of brigade. They are 
 the commanders of brigades, like the major generals in European armies. 
 
APPENDIX. 655 
 
 Upon my arrival in the camp, I was again the object of more hon- 
 ors than I was entitled to. General Washington came several miles to 
 meet me on the road, and accompanied me to my quarters, where I 
 found an officer with twenty-five men as a guard of honor. When I 
 declined this, saying that I wished to be considered merely as a volun- 
 teer, the general answered me in the politest words, that u The whole 
 army would be gratified to stand sentinel for such volunteers." He in- 
 troduced me to Major General Stirling and several other generals. Lieu- 
 tenant Colonels Ternant and Major Walker were both appointed by 
 Congress as my adjutant generals. On the same day my name was 
 given as watchword. The following day the army was mustered, and 
 General Washington accompanied me to review it. To be brief, if 
 Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, or the greatest field marshal of Eu- 
 rope, had been in my place, he could not have been received with 
 greater marks of honor than I was. 
 
 My service as volunteer did not last longer than five weeks, in the 
 course of which I disciplined and drilled the army and introduced sev- 
 eral regulations, which were so highly approved that on the 27th of 
 April I was appointed major general, and received the commission as 
 inspector general of all the armies. My pay was fixed to 16,400 francs 
 (about $3,300) ; besides that, all the expenses of my service and table 
 are to be provided for by a special agent. Congress has ordered for 
 my personal service twenty-two horses, and for my guard one captain 
 of horse, two lieutenants and forty dragoons. Besides these, my adju- 
 tants and officers receive, according to their rank, provisions for men 
 and horses. Two adjutant generals, two adjutant inspectors, receiving 
 their pay from Congress, are placed under my orders ; and moreover, 
 Major Des Epiniers, a nephew of the celebrated Beaumarchais, and the 
 Marquis De Brittine, major in this army, are my adjutants. 
 
 The more flattering such distinctions must appear, the more sa- 
 cred are my obligations to make myself worthy of them. As far as 
 my bodily and mental powers avail, I will exert myself incessantly to 
 promote the accomplishment of the desire of a nation which has hon- 
 ored me with such unlimited confidence. No difficulty, no pain, no 
 danger can or shall check my energy or zeal. The sphere of my activ- 
 ity is immense ; about the eighth part of the world will be benefit- 
 ed by the success of our cause. Thanks be to God, there is every 
 reason to be confident of it. I should be happy to die for a nation that 
 has placed such confidence in me. Thus far will my exertions have 
 been successful, and I may well say that the confidence of the army in 
 me is increasing every day. At the battle of Monmouth, last year, I 
 commanded on the left wing of the first line, and I was fortunate 
 enough to decide the day to our advantage. And in all the skirmishes 
 of the last and the present campaign, I am happy to say that every 
 
656 APPENDIX. 
 
 soldier was full of bravery when fighting under my command. Last 
 winter I drew up the ordinance regulating the infantry and cavalry, 
 which was immediately adopted and published. 
 
 Congress expressed their satisfaction in a highly complimentary 
 letter, published in all the papers, and made me a present of two fine 
 English horses and a sum of $4,000. Every one of my adjutants, and 
 even of my secretaries, received a gratification. I passed the winter 
 in Philadelphia. On the 4th of January Congress appointed me a mem- 
 ber of the War Department. On the 26th of March I set out to join 
 the army. During my stay at Philadelphia, I became very intimate 
 with Mr. Gerard, the French minister, whose departure for Europe I 
 very much regretted. He honored me with a visit in the camp, where 
 he came expressly for that purpose. He was received with all the hon- 
 ors of an ambassador. On the day after his arrival, I ordered a ma- 
 neuver with eight regiments of infantry and sixteen guns. After this 
 military display, he, in company with the commander-in-chief, and all 
 the other generals and colonels, more than sixty persons, partook of a 
 dinner in my quarters. 
 
 I am now making a tour to inspect all the regiments and to intro- 
 duce the regulations adopted in my ordinance. Every thing passes on 
 very Avell. I am now the fifth general in rank ; the prospect is indeed 
 bright enough to gratify any ambition, unless, perhaps, a fever or half 
 an ounce of lead interrupt my course. After two or three years' toil 
 and exertion, dear friend, we shall meet, perhaps, in Paris, and settle 
 the point whether we shall live together in Europe or in America. 0, 
 dearest friend, why have we thus idled away our time ? Two years' 
 labor, in disregard of danger and hardship, may open a fair prospect to 
 a man of energy ! Experience has proved it, and I can't forgive my- 
 self my former indolence. 
 
 What a beautiful, what a happy country this is ! Without kings, 
 without prelates, without blood-sucking farmers of the revenue, and 
 without a lazy nobility ! Here every one feels happy. Poverty is an 
 unknown evil. It would be too circumstantial to give you a descrip- 
 tion of the happiness of this people ! 
 
 Please hand the inclosed packet to the most excellent of princes, 
 and tell him that I could not feel perfectly happy before having given 
 him convincing proofs of my gratitude. My manifold duties, and the 
 insecurity of the sea, have prevented me from doing it until now. Be- 
 fore starting from Philadelphia, however, I have given orders to a cer- 
 tain Mr. Robert Morris, to make a complete collection of all the trees in 
 North America — there are about three hundred and twenty sorts of 
 them — and to send three or four of each sort to the address of Mr. 
 Gerard, at Paris, next fall, who has promised to forward the collections 
 to Strassburg, and to inform his Highness of the matter. A like collec- 
 
APPENDIX. 657 
 
 tion was forwarded this spring to the King of France, by the same Mr. 
 Bobert Morris. 
 
 I told you that I could employ Mr. Schleitheim, although it is dif- 
 ficult, without a knowledge of the English language, to succeed in the 
 service. I have become pretty well acquainted with it myself. To 
 confess the truth, however, I must tell you that six foreign officers here 
 give me more trouble than two hundred American ones. Most of the 
 foreigners have already lost all credit, and it becomes from day to day 
 more difficult to engage any foreign officer. A considerable number of 
 German barons and French marquises have left the country, and I al- 
 ways feel uneasy when a baron or a marquis is introduced. We are 
 living in a republic, dear friend — here the baron is not a farthing more 
 valued than Master Jacob or Mister John is, and such a state of 
 things is very unpalatable to the taste of a German or French baron. 
 Our general of artillery was formerly a book-binder at Boston, a worthy 
 man, who understands his business perfectly well, and fulfills his duties 
 very commendably. 
 
 The Baron De Kalb and myself are now the only German generals 
 in the American army, and Kalb, who has a yearly income of 30,000 
 francs, in France, will resign at the end of the present campaign. 
 
 To conclude with my plans, I will tell you what I think of the 
 future. Either I shall see the end of the war in the service, or perish 
 by it. I do not think England will be able to play the game for two 
 years longer. After it has been fought out my duty will be to organize 
 the army and militia on the same footing in all the States. After that 
 I shall settle my accounts with Congress. All this can be accomplished 
 by three years' exertion, provided life and health do not fail — perseve- 
 rance, energy and courage will never fail. And should all this be ac- 
 complished, I will meet you in Europe, dear friend, and we shall de- 
 cide whether we shall in future dine in Paris or in Philadelphia. 
 
 V. 
 
 JOHN TERNANT TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Camp sue les boeds t>u Ogoiieeciiee, November 28, 1778. 
 
 Malgre tous mes efforts et ma diligence, je n'ai pu me rendre a 
 Charleston que le 18 de ce mois. J'avais a peine commence a me fa- 
 miliariser avec les importants du pays et a songer serieusement aux 
 travaux de ma mission lorsqu'on re9ut la nouvelle de l'invasion de la 
 Georgie pour une partie des troupes de la Floride sous les ordres des 
 Colonels Prescot et Fuser. Nous parti mes la meme nuit avec le Gen- 
 eral Howe pour nous rendre a grandes journees a l'endroit ou le danger 
 'paraissait le plus imminent et nous arrivames hier matin au camp 
 
 28* 
 
658 APPENDIX. 
 
 Americain forme et retranche a. la tete d'une defilee oii on se proposait 
 d'arreter les raouvements de l'ennemi. Nous apprimes le meme jour 
 que les Anglais se retiraieut et cette nouvelle se confirmait ce matin. Je 
 profite d'un moment de loisir pour vous donner une idee de notre situ- 
 ation, et de la politique civile et militairo des G-eorgiens, etc. C'est 
 toujours celle des Americains et vous connaissez deja leur maniere 
 de guerroyer dans le nord; mais dans ces contrees meridionales on 
 l'emporte de beaucoup en negligence, lenteur et confusion. Depuis le 
 commencement de la guerre les Floridiens n'ont cesse de faire des in- 
 vasions dans cet etat et de retrecir annuellement ses limites. lis 
 s'etaient enfin empares de tout ce qui est au sudouest de la riviere 
 Altamaha, y avaient etabli des postes et menacaient de la le reste de la 
 Georgie d'une invasion certaine, lorsque l'ete dernier le General Howe 
 avec les troupes continentales et le gouverneur de cet etat avec ses 
 milices sans aucune preparation se porterent sur l'ennemi, lui en impo- 
 serent je ne sais comment et le forcerent, ou pour mieux dire, le decide- 
 rent a se replier de poste en poste jusqu'a la frontiere primitive. L'in- 
 clemence et l'insalubrite de ces climats dans les chaleurs caniculaires, les 
 disputes aussi vehementes que minutieuses sur le commandement 
 supreme entre le jurisconsulte Houston, gouverneur de la Georgie, et le 
 General Howe, la negligence, la lenteur et l'esprit d'indecision qui 
 caracterise les Americains, furent plus fatales a. ces deux armees inimico- 
 
 alliees que ne l'»ut ete le feu ou le fer de l'ennemi Apres s'etre 
 
 avance jusqu'a la riviere St. Mary, avoir eprouve toutes les miseres et les 
 horreurs domestiques de la guerre et avoir perdu la moitie de leur 
 monde sans tirer un coup de canon, ils furent obliges de se retirer et 
 d' abandon ner de relief a l'ennemi tout ce qu'il possedait deja de l'autre 
 cote de la riviere Altamaha. Apres cette expedition sans fruit et sans 
 objet certain, tout semblait indiquer la necessity d'etablir des postes et 
 des lignes sur cette riviere, d'en occuper l'embouchure pour se mettre a 
 l'abris de nouvelles entreprises de l'ennemi ; on y etait de plus interesse 
 que les provinces les plus fertiles de cet etat se trouvaient entre 1' Alta- 
 maha et la riviere Ogoheechee Mais les puissants du pays, 
 
 portant perruques et uniformes en deciderent contre nous. Sous pretext 
 de se defendre contre les sauvages on degarnit la frontiere de 1' Altamaha 
 et on laissa le pays absolument ouvert aux depredations du moindre 
 aventurier ; et pour ne laisser aux Floridiens aucun objet de crainte on 
 cantonna le peu de troupes reglees qui restaient a l'etat dans la ville de 
 Savannah et a Augusta. L'ennemi profita de ce moment favorable et 
 enfin s'avanea en 5 jours jusqu'a la riviere Ogoheechee qui n'est qu'a 15 
 milles de la capitale. Apres un succes aussi grand on est assez embar- 
 rasse d'imaginer quel peut etre le sujet de leur retraite et encore plus 
 quel pourrait e"tre l'objet de leur expedition; s'ils n'avaient en vue que 
 de fourrager ils s'en sont, on ne peut pas mieux, acquitted. Quoiqu'il en 
 
APPENDIX. 659 
 
 soit, nous n'avons a leur opposer actuellement dans ce camp que 150 
 hommes tout-au-plus, sans l'espoir de recevoir le moindre renfort avant 
 7 ou 8 jours. Nos renforts viennent d' Augusta et de la Caroline, qui n'a 
 pas elle-meme plus de 12-1400 hommes pour le defense de ses cotes, 
 de sorte que toutes nos ressources epuisees, nous ne pouvons rassembler 
 dans notre camp que 500-600 hommes .... or jugez de 1' impor- 
 tance de mon inspection et de la securite precaire de l'etat de la G-eorgie 
 au cas que l'ennemi songe serieusement a s'en emparer. Le general 
 parait avoir beaucoup de confiance en moi et je m'eftbrcerai plus que 
 jamais d'etre utile. Aussitot que nos troupes se trouveront un peu 
 rassemblees je leur donnerai une organisation militaire d'apres nos prin- 
 cipes. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Camp de Paeisuueg, Ga., January 20, 1779. 
 
 Je vois cependant (de votre lettre du 10 Octobre) avec chagrin que 
 l'envie et la mechancete continuent toujours a vous traverser et a rendre 
 inutiles a la republique votre experience, vos talents et votre bonne 
 volonte. Le seul remede a ce mal est votre presence a Philadelphia. 
 Vous connaissez assez le coeur humain pour en sentir la necessite et je 
 vois avec plaisir que vous etes decides a aller passer une partie de votre 
 quartier d'hiver dans cette capitale. Je me bornerai dans mes lettres a 
 ce qui est relatif a la place que j'occupe. 
 
 J'ai attendu pendant longtemps et toujours en vain votre collection 
 de reglements sur la discipline et la tactique elementaire. J'avais com- 
 mence d'abord a introduire le pas, mais frappe des defauts essentiels 
 que je remarquais tous les jours dans les parties les plus importantes du 
 service, et presse d'un autre cote par les officiers et le general-en-chef, il 
 a fallu me decider a rediger les instructions sur les objets principalis en 
 me conformant en tout a vos principes et a vos lecons. Voici la 
 marche que j'ai suivie. 
 
 J'ai explique d'abord la formation des troupes en general et la 
 maniere d'organiser un bataillon, comme devant servir de base a tous 
 les mouvements de la tactique ; j'ai passe de la au service des gardes que 
 j'ai detaille dans tous ses points ; l'ordre de marche et de campement 
 ont ensuite attire mon attention et j'ai fait en sorte de ne rien laisser a 
 desirer sur ces deux objets ; l'exercise et les manoeuvres se sont pre- 
 senters apres ; j'ai introduit les changemens que vous avez faits dans 
 le maniement des armes, etc. J'ai explique la nature, la cluree et 
 l'etendue du pas ordinaire et du pas redouble, j'en ai fait voir l'usage 
 et les modifications dans les differentes marches et conversions ele- 
 mentaires, les changemens de front, les formations des colonnes, leurs 
 marches, conversions et deployement, et j'ai termine par l'ordre de feux. 
 
GGO APPENDIX. 
 
 Ccs instructions entitlement redigees d'apres vos principes ont ete 
 presentees au General Howe qui vient de nous quitter et ensuite au 
 General Lincoln, aupres duquel j'ai fait ce que j'ai pu pour en hater 
 l'execution ; il en a lu ct approuve une partie et il me promets que dans peu 
 de jours il achevra de lire le reste et prendre des mesures en consequence. 
 II croit apercevoir des difficultes dans la formation des troupes re- 
 lativement aux regiments et ii leurs offieiers. Quant a moi je n'en vois 
 nulle, surtout si cette formation n'a lieu que pour l'ordre de campement, 
 de marche et de bataille, car alors si absolument on ne peut faire autre- 
 ment, I'etat major et les offieiers de chaque regiment se peuvent 
 charger chacun du soin de leurs homines sans egard a. cette formation, 
 mais on sera toujours force de convenir que sans elle tout ce qui a rap- 
 port a. la discipline interieure ou a l'economie domestique du militaire 
 devient complique, confus et incertain 
 
 Je ferai a cet egard tout ce que je pourrai pour plaire a tout le monde 
 et concilier mon devoir a cette complaisance. C'est tres faussement, 
 qu'on vous a represente les troupes du sud comme etant dans un meil- 
 leur ordre que celles du Nord. Je puis vous assurer que le mcme 
 desordre et la nieme confusion y regnent, et que j'aurai toujours a lutter 
 contre les inemes difficultes qui nous ont arretes a Valley Forge, jusqu'a 
 ce qu'un plan quelconque relatif a ce departement soit adopte et que les 
 devoirs, obligations et les pouvoirs attaches a la place d'inspecteur soient 
 
 clairement determines A 400 homines pres toute notre armee 
 
 n'est composee que de recrues et de milices. Je n'ai pas encore pu 
 parvenir a me faire nommer des inspecteurs de brigade. lis vont etre 
 appointes incessamment et pour lors je mettrai et conserverai reguliere- 
 ment toute la machine en mouvement. Les deux invasions de la 
 Georgie dans un si court espace de temps et les affaires tant heureuses 
 que malhcureuses et deroutantes auxquelles elles ont donne lieu, nous 
 ont toujours tenu en mouvement par monts et par eaux, ou pour mieux 
 dire, par deserts et marais (car on ne voit que cela dans ce pays), et ce 
 n'est que depuis dix jours que nous avons commence a nous rassembler 
 a Parisburg. Dans toutes nos operations j'ai tache de soutenir le decorum 
 de votre inspecteur du mieux qu'il m'a ete possible. Je laisse au Gen- 
 dral Howe de vous parler de ma conduite en Georgie, lorsque vous le 
 verrez a Philadelphia. 
 
 Je vous dirai seulement un mot de mon debut avec le General Lin- 
 coln. En arrivant a Parisburg j'ai trouve les troupes nouvellement 
 arrivees de la Caroline, campees d'une maniere si irreguliere, quoique 
 d'apres les instructions de 1'ingenieur-en-chef, que je ne pus m'empecher, 
 apres avoir reconnu les lieux, de faire mon rapport en consequence au 
 general-en-chef, et de proposer un changement dans le camp et dans la 
 maniore de camper. II fut done ordonne au D. Qr. Mr. General de 
 
APPENDIX. 661 
 
 prendre ses instructions de l'inspecteur, et de fixer et former le camp 
 conformement a son plan ; j'ai preside moi-meme a toute la besogne. 
 J'offris ensuite au general-en-chef pour le mettre a l'abri de toute incer- 
 titude dans un temps oh il importait de connaitre au juste ses ressources, 
 de passer ses troupes en revue, ce qu'il accepta, et il fut ordonne le len- 
 demain aux differents regiments de se tenir prets pour la revue de l'in- 
 specteur. En general je suis assez content de la maniere dont il me traite 
 et j'en augure beaucoup de bien pour l'avenir. II me tarde bien de 
 recevoir vos instructions et encore plus de commencer a discipliner cette 
 troupe informe qui compose a present notre armee — Thiver est le seul 
 temps dans ce pays pour les operations et les travaux de la guerre* mais 
 ma sante s'accommode si peu de ce climat que l'hiver ne me mets pas m£me 
 a l'abri des fievre. Je suis force d'avaler soir et matin force quinquina 
 pour m'en garantir, or jugez de ce qu'il m'est reserve pendant l'ete. 
 
 YII. 
 
 Charleston, January 26, 1T79. 
 
 Mr. Senf (capitaine porteur de cette lettre) fera vous voir les 
 
 plans de nos camps et de notre affaire it Savannah. Quoique ingenieur de 
 profession, c'est un garcon d'un merite infini et qui serait d'une grande 
 utilite si Ton savait tirer parti de ses talents; mais malheureusement 
 dans nos armees Americaines nous n'avons point l'activite necessaire 
 pour profiter des ressources abondantes de la fortification de campagne, 
 dont cependant nous avons le plus grand besoin. Tout est encore ici 
 dans le plus grand engourdissement ; nous rassemblons nos forces de 
 tous cotes ; 2,000 hommes de recrues et de milice de la Caroline du 
 Nord viennent de quitter Charleston pour se rendre a notre camp. 
 Assez de besogne pour votre inspecteur. II est assez difficile de divi- 
 ner quelles sont les vues de l'ennemi — je suis tente de croire, qu'ils n'en 
 ont pas de bien decidees et qu'ils font la guerre a peu pres cornme les 
 enfants voyent au jour la joumee ; ils auraient sans doute beaucoup il 
 faire, jamais guerriers n'eurent un plus vaste champ ouvert a leurs 
 speculations ni plus de moyens de les accomplir ; mais je crois que leur 
 ignorance dans les affaires militaires egale leur orgueil et leur hauteur, 
 et je ne m'attends a peu de bien merveilleux de leur part — au reste le 
 temps devoilera tout. 
 
 Francy me marque que vous etes arrive a Philadelphia plus me- 
 content que jamais, quelle peut done en etre la raison ? L' agent du 
 Congres m'a dit ce matin que le General Washington etait aussi a 
 Philadelphia, que le marquis de Lafayette etait alle en France par conge, 
 que notre ami Laurens s'etait battu avec le General Lee, etc. Je 
 
GC2 APPENDIX. 
 
 compte que votre presence fera un bien inflni a, tout ce qui est relatif 
 a, l'inspection. II est grand temps d'en venir a une determination finale, 
 et je vous conjure par vous, par vos amis et par l'interet que vous 
 prenez a la constitution militaire des Etatfi Unis de ne point quitter Phila- 
 delphia que le Congres n'ait mis la derniere main a cet ouvrage. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Camp de Parisburg, 6 de Mars, 1779. 
 Malgre mon gout decide pour la guerre, l'inspection des troupes con- 
 federates du departement du sud m'ennuye singulierement. Je suis a 
 900 milles de vous, votre derniere lettre m'est parvenue le 10 Octobre. 
 Toutes les instructions relatives a la tactique et a la discipline, dont j'ai 
 eu l'honneur de vous rendre compte dans une derniere lettre, ont enfin 
 ete donnees il y a environs un mois, sous la sanction du general, copiees 
 et entendues tant bien que mal par les officiers et executees a peu pres 
 de meme. J'ai un homme employe a en faire une copie exacte et aus- 
 sitot qu'elle sera finie j'aurai soin de vous l'envoyer et de vous instruire 
 plus particulierement de tout ce qui regarde votre aride departement 
 du sud. J'avais d'abord demande des inspecteurs de brigade, mais 
 m'apercevant que l'objet etait sur le point d'eprouver des difficultes, va 
 que je ne voulais point consentir qu'on donne cette place a des cap- 
 taines, j'ai pris un biais qui m'a reussi et que j'espere que vous approuve- 
 rez. J'ai cesse de parler d'inspecteurs de brigade et apres avoir repre- 
 sents au general que les majors de l'armee etaient dans tout le temps 
 charges et responsables de la discipline des corps, je les ai tous convo- 
 ques dans mon quartier pour leur donner et leur expliquer les instruc- 
 tions. Je leur ai ordonne ensuite de rassembler dans leurs tentes les 
 officiers des differents regiments a fin de leur communiquer ; de la j'ai 
 exerce tout le corps des officiers avant de rien entreprendre avec le 
 gros de l'armee et dans tout le reste de la bcsogne j'ai fait faire journelle- 
 ment a chacun des majors par rotation le service d'inspecteur de bri- 
 gade tant a l'exercice qu'a la parade Les malheurs du 
 
 temps et les mernes inconvenients qui nous arreterent souvent a Valley 
 Forge m'ont empeche* d'avancer dans cette entreprise aussi rapidement 
 que je le desirais et qu'il semblait etre necessaire. Je compte cepen- 
 dant dans peu de jours faire executor a notre petite armee quelques dis- 
 positions de marche, d'attaque et de retraite, oil je ferai voir en gros 
 l'usage et l'application des differentes manoeuvres que nous avons jus- 
 qu'a present practiquees separement. Apres cela jecroirai avoir rempli 
 l'objet que j'ai entrepris, si non pleinement au moins autant qu'il etait 
 en mon pouvoir; et comme il parait que le Congres ne se propose 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 663 
 
 point de donner a ce departement l'organisation que son importance 
 exige, que les climats meridionaux ne s'accordent point du tout avec ma 
 sante je demanderai serieusement la permission de me retirer. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Camp Dk Stono Swamps, 4 Juin, 1779. 
 
 J'ai appris avec un plaisir infini que vous etes occupe serieusement 
 de la redaction et de l'impression d'une ordonnance de discipline et de 
 tactique pour l'infanterie. Mais je n'ai pu voir avec la meme satisfac- 
 tion les resolves informes que vous avez bien voulu m'envoyer sur le 
 departement de l'inspecteur — vous aurez sans doute senti encore mieux 
 que moi leurs defauts et leur insuffisance, et ce serait perdre du temps 
 que de vous en parler. J'ai attendu jusqu'a present votre ordonnance, 
 dans la vue de la mettre en pratique et d'en etablir l'execution sur des 
 fondemens aussi solides que notre armee le comportait ; mais le mau- 
 vais e"tat de ma sante va enfm me forcer de quitter ce departement 
 en depit de l'ardent desir que j'ai d'introduire moi-meme cette ordon- 
 nance. Le General Lincoln vient de recevoir la permission de se re- 
 tirer, et il m'invite a entreprendre la route de Philadelphia avec lui. 
 Le General Moultrie lui succede dans le commandement et aussitot q.u'il 
 se sera rendu de Charleston au camp nous partirons. 
 
 Notre armee m'a donne des peines infinies et bien peu de satisfac- 
 tion ; des corps de milice des deux Carolines, de la Georgie et de la Vir- 
 ginie en forment les trois quarts. Ces milices se renouvellent et se 
 modifient sans cesse ; a peine pouvons nous conserver les memes indivi- 
 dus un mois sous nos drapeaux, et trop heureux encore lorsqu'ils se 
 succedent sans interruption. Leurs lois militiennes semblent d'ailleurs 
 n'avoir ete* faites que pour les soustraire a, toute discipline, les peines y 
 sont toutes pecuniaires, les cours martiales qui les infligent doivent etre 
 composees de 3 soldats et de 2 officiers et ce n'est qu'apres un aver- 
 tissement de dix jours que l'on peut y traduire un cnminel etc., etc. 
 Vous devinerez aisement d'apres cela quels peuvent avoir ete mes suc- 
 ces avec cette troupe informe a laquelle on prostitua le nom de soldats 
 et de citoyens. Quant a nos troupes confederates qui forment a peu 
 pres le quart de l'armee, elles ne cessent de recevoir des recrues qui ne 
 font guerCs que de remplir les vides de la desertion — cequi beaucoup re- 
 tarde le progres de la discipline et de la tactique dans les corps, mais je 
 ne doute nullement, que la nouvelle ordonnance imprimee et repandue 
 parmi ces troupes n'aie le plus grand succes. 
 
664 APPENDIX. 
 
 Philadelphia, August 282A, 1779. 
 
 Colonel Scammel's appointment gives me infinite pleasure, and will 
 no doubt greatly benefit the department. I must beg leave to refer you 
 to my former letters, particularly of March 6tb, April 7th, and June 15th, 
 with regard to the state of the troops in the southern department to 
 that period. I was then, and indeed have been ever since, expecting 
 daily to receive the printed regulations you had promised to send me by 
 your honor of the 2d of April ; but they had not yet reached either me 
 or General Lincoln, on the 24th of July, when I left Charleston. I have 
 even reasons to believe that a single copy has not yet been forwarded. 
 
 The militia of Virginia and North Carolina had quitted the army 
 and were to be relieved by other bodies of militia, which had not yet 
 been drafted when I passed through those States. Above one half of 
 General Gates' troops were still at Petersburg, on the 20th instant. 
 The continental troops I left in South Carolina were but few, although 
 the regiments many ; but the Assembly who were to meet in the latter 
 end of July, will, it is hoped, either fill up their confederal battalions by 
 drafts of their militia, or raise new battalions of negroes, according to 
 Lieutenant Laurens' plan, in which case the old regiments will be re- 
 duced and organized agreeably to the rules prescribed by the regu- 
 lations and resolves of Congress, and by that means furnish supernu- 
 merary officers for the black levies — in short, whatever may be the 
 measures pursued, as it will take some time to collect the troops, I hope 
 I shall have time enough to return to my station before I am urgently 
 wanted. 
 
 I have not made lately any review of the troops, because I could 
 not do it officially without an express order or permission of General 
 Lincoln, which he did not think necessary at that time to give. 
 
 XL 
 
 Philadelphia, September 30, 1779. 
 Mon Cher General (Private), — Je viens de lire avec la plus grande 
 satisfaction la lettre que vous avez bien voulu m'ecnre de New Wind- 
 sor. L'amitie et l'attachement que vous m'y temoignez, me penetrent 
 des sentimens de la reconnaissance et de la reciprocity la plus sincere. J'ai 
 songe, plusieures fois, il est vrai, a me retircr du service des Etats Unis, 
 et mes lettres precedentes ont du vous instruire amplement des raisons 
 qui m'y engageaient. Ma mauvaise sante etait une des principales, et une 
 autre non moins forte que celle-la etaient les sacrifices pecuniaires que je 
 me trouvais oblige de faire trop disproportionnes a la modicite de ma for- 
 tune — tnaia {'augmentation de paye que le Congres vient d'accorder aux 
 
APPENDIX. 665 
 
 officiers ayant remedie en quelque sorte a ce dernier inconvenient je me 
 suis enfin decide a pallier les autres de mon mieux par la patience dont 
 vous m'avez donne l'exemple et par toutes les precautions qui seront 
 en mon pouvoir. Je n'aurais d'ailleurs pris une determination finale 
 qu'apres vous avoir consulte et n'etre procure votre consentement. Vous 
 avez eu trop de part a mon entree dans la carriere militaire pour 
 qu'une retraite puisse m'etre agreable sans votre approbation. Je vous 
 repeterari raeme a ce sujet ce que vous eutes de la peine a croire dans le 
 terns qu'il ne fallait rien moins que les seduisantes qualites du cceur et 
 de l'esprit qui m'attacherent a vous des nos premieres entrevues, et 
 l'envie d'etre utile aux republiques alors naissantes de l'Amerique pour 
 me decider a entreprendre une chose dont je prevoyais l'inconvenient 
 et embrasser un etat auquel je m'etais bien promis de ne plus songer. 
 La partie civile que j'avais en vue en quittant l'Europe m'eut sans 
 doute mene plus loin. Mais si j'ai perdu quelque chose de ce cote-la, 
 j'aurai au moins la satisfaction d'avoir rempli avec quelque succes les 
 devoirs de la place que j'ai occupee et surtout d'avoir su meriter votre 
 estime et votre amitie. 
 
 II ne me reste plus qu'une chose a desirer pour me rendre l'in- 
 spection aussi agreable qu'elle peut l'etre : c'est la reunion des fonc- 
 tions de Muster-Master a celle d'Inspecteur. Vous vous rappellerez 
 sans doute que j'ai toujours regarde cette reunion comme la pierre an- 
 gulaire et la seule base solide sur la quelle on puisse elever l'edifice de 
 l'inspection et plus j'y songe plus j'en sens la necessity. Sans cela l'in- 
 spection se reduit a un etablissement purement ephemere dont l'objet 
 ne sera jamais bien decide et perpetuellement envisage avec un ceil de 
 jalousie. Redoublez done vos efforts mon cher General pour que cette 
 reunion ait bientot lieu et que nous soyons enfin decidement quelque 
 chose. Le Congres y a songe serieusement depuis quelque temps et 
 je n'ai rien neglige pour prouver a ceux que je connais combien d'avan- 
 tages il en resulterait pour l'armee et pour le tresor public. Tout le 
 monde m'a paru desirer ce changement et 1'afFaire pourrait peut-etre se 
 terminer sans les depeches ministerielles qui prennent maintenant tous 
 les soins et l'attention du senat. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Cuarlkston, January 7, 1780. 
 
 I reached this town in the latter end of last month, and immediately 
 communicated to General Lincoln every instruction I had received 
 relative to the inspection. I also expressed my earnest desire of enter- 
 ing as soon as possible upon the duties of my office ; but the necessity 
 of an incorporation and arrangement of part of this army, agreeable to 
 the establishment of May, 1778, have forced us to unavoidable delays. 
 
666 APPENDIX. 
 
 The general is daily employed about the arrangement of the South 
 Carolina line, and notwithstanding the difficulties attending such an 
 operation, I hope he will be able to complete it in a few days, to the 
 satisfaction of everybody. Brigade majors will be appointed imme- 
 diately after, a review of inspection made, the regulations distributed 
 and explained, and in short my whole time bestowed upon improving 
 the troops in their tactics, discipline and domestic economy. The ne- 
 cessity of securing this capital against foreign and domestic enemies, of 
 preventing depredations abroad, and of supporting the reestablishment 
 of civil authority and government in Georgia, have obliged the general 
 to divide and station his troops in several places at a great distance from 
 one another, which will be greatly disadvantageous to my operations. 
 The main posts are Fort Moultrie, Charleston, Sheldon, opposite to Port 
 Royal island, seventy miles from Charleston, and Augusta, one hundred 
 and forty miles from both. I shall review, myself, and instruct succes- 
 sively the troops in those places ; and not to lose any time, as soon 
 as the brigade majors are appointed I will immediately give them the 
 necessary instructions for disciplining the troops by the time I can re- 
 view them myself; the returns of every post shall be punctually for- 
 warded to the northward after every inspection. 
 
 I must beg also to be acquainted how far my duty and jurisdiction 
 extend with regard to the militia serving in this army, and whether 
 they are to be reviewed as the confederate troops, and returns of them 
 sent. We have not yet received any of our reinforcements — the nighest 
 is still one hundred and fifty miles from us ; but luckily the enemy seem 
 to be more inclined to a total evacuation of Savannah than to any 
 offensive undertaking. When we are able to penetrate again into 
 Georgia, I hope I shall have it once more in my power, by the troops 
 being collected in one body, to render myself more generally useful to 
 the army. 
 
 B. Lincoln, in a letter dated Charleston. January 8th, 1780, says 
 about Ternant: " We parted from Lieutenant Colonel Ternant with re- 
 luctance, and are made happy in his return to this department, for his 
 attention and zeal rendered him highly agreeable to us while here, and 
 from our knowledge of his abilities we now promise ourselves from him 
 the most essential services. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Charleston, January 80, 1780. 
 Les Anglais viennent enfin de paraitre sur les c6tes de la Georgie 
 et de la Caroline, mais on ignore encore leur nombre et leur intentions. 
 
APPENDIX. 667 
 
 .... Mais quelle que soit leur destination, la tempete au rapport des 
 matelots les a tellement battus et disperses que plusieurs auront ete 
 force de relacher aux Antilles et qu'il faudra aux autres un temps con- 
 siderable pour se rassembler et faire une descente. Cela me fait esperer 
 que nous aurons le temps de reparer nos fautes. Nos sommes encore 
 dans le meme etat ou nous etions lors de ma derniere lettre. Nos forti- 
 fications sont toujours imparfaites et notre armee tres faible et tres 
 divisee. Nous avons cependant recu un renfort de 1500 miliciens de 
 la Caroline du Nord, auxquels on a eu recours pour retablir nos abattis. 
 On leur a mis des haches et des beches a la main au lieu de mousquets 
 dans un pays, ou Ton se flatte tours les jours d'avoir 150,000 negres, et 
 vous pouvez juger par la, des progres qu'ils peuvent faire dans la disci- 
 pline, etc.^ Les ressources que nous offre le pays sont abondantes, et si 
 nous savons en faire usage ellent suffiront sans doute pour garantir la 
 ville de tout danger jusqu'a larrivee des troupes du Nord. On ignore 
 absolument ou sont ces troupes et quand on peut esperer de les recevoir. 
 Je suis bien fache de n'avoir rien de satisfaisant a vous apprendre 
 sur l'inspection. L' arrangement de la ligne n'est point encore fini et 
 tout ce que j'ai pu faire jusqu'a present a ete de tout preparer pour une 
 revue au commencement de Fevrier. Le general promet tous les jours 
 de mettre la derniere main a la reforme et de nommer des majors de 
 brigade — vous savez que je n'ai d'autre pouvoir que celui de re"p- 
 resenter, aussi en fais je un usage journalier. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 STEUBEN TO WALKER. 
 
 Philadelpiiie, 23 Fivrie)\ 1780. 
 
 Mox Cher Walker ! 
 
 Je suis bien persuade, que ce n'est pas de votre faute, que les re- 
 tours, que j'ai demandes, ne sont pas entrees plus promptement. Si 
 j'avais encore le feu Prussien, un tel delai aurait epuise ma patience, 
 mais maintenant je suis si fait a ces negligences, que tres souvent je 
 me sens dispose, de devenir negligent moi-meme. J'ai recu vos deux 
 lettres du 13 et du 18. Le General Washington m'ecrit du 18, que les 
 retours demandes seront envoyes en quelques jours. Je les attends 
 done avec patience. L'objet des retours dans tous les genres etait dans 
 mon opinion la fonction la plus importante des inspecteurs de divisions 
 et de brigades : mais si ces Messieurs changent leur places tous les huit 
 jours, il n'est pas etonant, que cette fonction est tellement negligee. 
 
 Vous avez certainement bien saisi mon intention a l'egard du retour 
 pour les armes et accoutrements, quoique peut-etre je ne l'avais pas 
 
668 APPENDIX. 
 
 assez expliquee. II ne s'agit non seulement des amies, bajonets, 
 gibernes &, mais le bureau de Guerre doit scavoir ce que chacque regi- 
 ment possede actuellement en armes et effets militaires; sous lequel 
 titre sont compris drapeau, esponton, tambours, fiffes, fusils, bajon- 
 nettes, gibernes, cartouches, pierres de fusil, &. Ayant ces retours de 
 chacque regiment et les retours sur les memes articles de3 magasins 
 militaires, qui sont avec l'armee, le bureau de Guerre, sachant a quel 
 nombre chacque regiment doit etre monte pour la campagne prochaine, 
 peut aisement calculer, combien il faut de chacun de ces articles pour 
 pourvoir l'armee. 
 
 Dans votre lettre du 2, vous me dites, qua la fin le Dcpartement 
 de " Mustre-Mastre" est annexe a celui de 1'inspection. Comme je n'ai 
 rec,u aucune insinuation sur cet objet, ni du Congres, ni du bureau de 
 Guerre, et que le general-en-chef n'en fait pas non plus mention dans 
 ses lettres & moi, je vous prie, de me dire, si quelque chose sur cet 
 objet est donnee aux ordres generates, et de m'en envoyer un extrait. 
 Si alors les inspecteurs des divisions et brigades ont quelque demande 
 ou pretention il faire, j'espere qu'ils s'adresseront a moi par ecrit, et si 
 leurs demandes sont justes et moderes — surtout dans ce moment, ou le 
 mauvais etat de nos finances doit affecter tous les bons Citoyens, ils 
 peuvent etre persuades, que c'est avec empressement, que je m'em- 
 ployerai pour obtenir quelques agrements pour des omciers aussi dignes 
 qu'estimables. 
 
 Mais vous me dites dans cette meme lettre, qu'il n'y a que deux 
 ou trois majors, qu'ils remplissent actuellement les places des inspecteurs 
 de brigade, et que parmi eux il y en a, qui penscnt a quitter cet em- 
 ploie. Je serai au desespoir, ci cela arrive ; j'ai cependant trop bonne 
 opinion du zele de ces Messrs., qui connaissent l'importance de leur 
 office, pour croire qu'ils voudront abandonner cette besogne, qui quoi- 
 qu'elle est penible, est si essentielle pour le bien de l'arm6e. 
 
 Vous m'obligerez, mon cher Walker, de m'envoyer dans votre pre- 
 miere lettre les noms des inspecteurs des brigades, et quel rang chacun 
 tient dans la ligne ? 
 
 Vous me rnanquez bien essentiellement, mon cher Walker. Du- 
 ponceau est malade ; d'ailleurs vous scavez, que mes idees quelquefois 
 bonnes, ne sont pas toujours bonnes, quand on les traduit mot par mot. 
 II me faut un traducteur pour mes idees ! en un mot il me faut un ami 
 comme vous. 
 
 Je pense dft venir au camp avec le Chevalier de la Luzerne peut-etre 
 dans quinze jours. Le temps n'est pas encore fixe. Comme il se peut, 
 que je vous persuade, de m'accompagner alors a mon retour a Phila- 
 delphie, et que je me flatte, que vous ne me refuserez pas, je vous prie, 
 de vous preparer en consequence. 
 
 Voila, mon cher ami, une lettre sur ma table pour l'honorable Con- 
 
APPENDIX. CG9 
 
 gres, qui est cachete"e depuis huit jours. Elle contient la demission de la 
 place, dont l'Amerique m'a honore. 
 
 Le mauvais etat de mes propres finances m'oblige, de finir un jeu, 
 que je ne peux plus soutenir. On m'a persuade, de retenir cette lettre 
 encore quelques jours, avec assurance, que le Congres s'occupe des 
 moyens, pour y remedier. Je ne scais ce qui arrivera; j'attendrai 
 encore quelques jours, mais ma lettre une fois partie, j'engage ma 
 parole d'honneur, que je ne la reprends plus. 
 
 Une lettre de Londres dans les gazettes cle Paris me fait plus 
 d'honneur, que je ne merite. On y parle de l'ordre et de la discipline 
 parfaite, que j'ai etablis dans notre armee. Plut au ciel, qu'au lieu de 
 parfait je pourrais me flatter que c'etoit passable. Votre nom est dans 
 le meme lettre ajoutant, que vous etiez un natif de Londres, qui m'as- 
 sistoit comme aide-de-camp. II faut, que l'auteur est mieux informe 
 de nos personnes, que de nos succes. 
 
 Mais revenons a mes affaires. Si on me met encore a la charrue 
 pour cette campagne, m'abandonnerez vous, mon ami ? Je me flatte, 
 que vous changerez votre opinion selon mon desir, en marchant avec 
 moi main-en-main. 
 
 Je n'attends, qu'une occasion pour vous envoyer votre chapeau. Je 
 vous prie, de me dire avec franchise ce que vous avez besoin. Aussitot 
 que je puis avoir le drap, je vous en enverrai pour une uniforme. Mar- 
 quez moi, quel parement et doublure vous voulez. Traitez moi comme 
 votre ami et votre commissionnaire. 
 
 J'ai recu la lettre la plus bete de Mr. des Epiniers, il n'est pas parti 
 pour la France. II me demande mon avis, s'il doit revenir aupres de 
 moi comme mon aide-de-camp, ou s'il doit faire le commerce pour son 
 oncle. Vous pensez bien, que je lui ai conseille le dernier. 
 
 Mes complimens a nos braves gens de la maison. Si Mde. Rober- 
 son a des commissions, je le ferai avec plaisir. Voyez aussi souvent, 
 que vous pouvez, le General Washington et communiquez moi ce qu'il 
 vous dit. Je vous embrasse de tout mon cceur. 
 
 Steuben. 
 
 P. S. — Le gouvernement me demande, de procurer les ordonnances 
 pour tous les officiers de l'armee. Major Scoll est alle en France avec la 
 confederation. Les Messrs. du bureau de Guerre pretendent, que toutes 
 les regulations sont envoyees a l'armee. Je vous prie, de m'envoyer 
 une note exacte, combien nous avons recu et distribue, et de vous in- 
 former apres ceux, que Colonel Scammel a laisses a, Windsor et ce 
 qu'ils sont devenus. 
 
 Le bureau de Guerre n'a que 42 copies de reste. Dites moi, si cela 
 est vrai, que notre armee a tant de desertion et la raison, d'ou cela 
 provient ? 
 
670 APPENDIX 
 
 XV. 
 
 STEUBEN TO WALKER. 
 
 Philadelphia le 17 Mars, 1780. 
 
 Depuis votre lettre du 24 Fevrier, je n'ai pas toqu de vos nouvelles. 
 Rien n'etant decide ici sur nos arrangements pour la campagne, et tout 
 paraissant etre arrete par le mauvais etat de nos finances, je n'ai rien a 
 vous dire, qui pouvait vous interesser. 
 
 Maintenant on assure, que le Congres a trouve la pierre philoso- 
 phale — pour faire de l'or et de l'argent tant que nous pouvons manger — 
 tant mieux, s'il etait vrai ! 
 
 J'espere, qu'a la fin mes vives representations ont tant opere, que 
 dans deux ou trois jours on determinera a la fin le systeme de la forma- 
 tion de l'armee pour la campagne prochaine. 
 
 Mainte projets ont ete proposes, pour incorporer, reformer et re- 
 fondre toute l'armee. Avant-hier on m'a demande mon opinion sur 
 cet objet. Je l'ai donne en protestant solemnellement contre une incor- 
 poration quelconque. Je propose le moyen le plus simple, qui est de 
 laisser le nombre des regiments et des corps ; de les egaliser, les aug- 
 menter autant que les circonstances le permettent ; de mettre chaque 
 regiment d'inf'anterie au nombre de 317 hommes, sans y comprendre 
 les officiers commissionnes. ni les tambours et "fifers ;" de conserver 
 la division d'un regiment en neuf compagnies ; chaque compagnie de 35 
 soldats. 
 
 De mettre chaque regiment de Cavallerie au nombre de 204 Cava- 
 liers montes ; y compris les sous-officiers et trompettes, de conserver la 
 formation en 3 Esq. et six Comps. chaque Regt. 
 
 Mon projet pour les Regts. additionels et les autres corps indepen- 
 dants, est a peu pres sur la meme base. Je m'oppose directement a 
 toute alteration pour la campagne prochaine et j'explique les raisons, 
 qui m'engagent a m'y opposer. Je n'ai pas le temps, de vous les de- 
 tainer ici. Mais je suis sure, que vous serez de mon avis, quand vous 
 les scaurez. 
 
 Mais, mon ami ! de tout ce que je me suis propose de faire ici a 
 Philadelphie, il n'y a pas la dixieme partie achevee. 
 
 Le retard de la decision du Congres a retarde mes operations et 
 quand meme cette decision aurait etc donnee plus t6t, je gens, que je 
 ne pourrai rien achever sans votre assistance. Vous scavez, que meme 
 dans mes propres affaires j'ai besoin de l'assistance de mon ami Walker. 
 Je me flatte que vous ne persistez pas dans ce projet, qui m'a fait tant 
 de peine et que nous ferons encore cette campagne ensemble. Pour la 
 faire un peu plus agreablement, que la precedents, il faut un peu ar- 
 ranger notre menage. Vous scavez combien je suis ignorant sur cet ob- 
 
APPENDIX. 671 
 
 jet. J'ose done vous prier, mon ami, de venir a mon secours aussi 
 promptement, que vous pourrez. Faites vous avancer par Mr. Smith 
 ou par qui vous voulez 500 dollars pour votre voyage. Je les rem- 
 bourserai ici ; et venez me joindre aussitot que possible. Duponceau est 
 toujours malade; son etat m'inquiete infiniment. Le pauvre garcon 
 m'assiste tant qu'il peut, mais e'est avec peine, que je lui donne de 
 l'ouvrage. 
 
 Les mauvais chemins differeront encore quelque temps le depart du 
 Chevalier de la Luzerne ; peut-etre restera-t-il jusqu'a ce que je vais au 
 camp moi-meme — il se rejouit, de vous voir ici. 
 
 Annoncez votre depart au general-en-chef, mais en cas qu'il veut 
 vous charger de lettres, faites, qu'on vous expedie promptement. 
 
 Je vous attends ici dans le cours de la semaine prochaine. Je loge 
 chez Me. Clark — Front street. Vous y trouverez une jeune veuve et 
 une demoiselle charmante de New York. — Motif de plus, pour vous 
 engager de venir le plus promptement. 
 
 Tachez, mon ami, de m'apporter une estimation aussi juste que pos- 
 sible du nornbre des " Regulations" que le bureau de G-uerre a fourni 
 pour la grande armee. Le pauvre Major Scoll etant alle au paradis ne 
 peut plus nous en rendre compte. 
 
 Je vous attends avec 1' impatience de l'amant pour sa maitresse, ou 
 pour parler sans figure, avec tous les sentiments de vraie ami tie, avec 
 lesquels je suis toujours, 
 
 Mon cher ami, 
 
 Votre tres humble et tres 
 
 Obeissant serviteur, 
 
 Steuben. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 STEUBEN TO . 
 
 "Willi amsbou eg, le 9 Septbr., 1781. 
 
 Mon Ami, — J'ai recu votre lettre du 13 Augt. de Philadelphie. Je 
 vous suis bien oblige pour les preuvres de votre attachement et pour les 
 nouvelles, que vous me donnez. Je vous prie de continuer l'un et 1' autre 
 et soyez bien sur de ma reconnoissance. 
 
 Je suis fache, que vous n'avez pas trouve Mr. Peters a Philadelphie 
 — peut etre l'avez vous rencontre au quartier general. Je voudrais 
 scavoir, s'il a recu ma lettre, dans laquelle je lui ai envoye ce morceau 
 du journal, que vous scavez. Tout etoit prepare pour mon depart pour 
 le Sud, lorsqu'une attaque de la goutte m'obligea differer mon depart 
 pour quelque jours. Le 3. je recevois une lettre du marquis, ou il me 
 mandoit, que la flotte franooise avec un corps de 4000 etoit dans la 
 Baye, et qu'il seroit «harme de me voir chez lui. Ma goutte fut guerie 
 
G72 appendix. 
 
 u l'instant ; j'ecrivis au General et le lendemain je partois avec Colonel 
 Walker pour l'armee, qui avancoit vers Williamsbourg. 
 
 Hier j'arrivois a cette place, oil j'ai trouve l'armee francoise campee 
 avec la notre a une mille du college. Nos lignes sont avancees a 4 
 milles de York, ou l'ennemi se tient tres serre, faisant des retranche- 
 ments a York et Gloucester. Tous les Canons et Matelots sont a terre 
 et les vaisseaux prets a etre brules en cas de necessite. Je ne doute 
 pas, que Cornwallis ne se prepare pour une vigoureuse defense, mais les 
 avantages sont a cette heure de notre cote. II faut un miracle, pour- 
 qu'il s'echappe. S'il se sauve de ce pas, Cornwallis sera immortel dans 
 sa patrie. S'il succombe, il sera criminel et peut-etre juge severement. 
 Voila, mon ami, le sort d'un General. La meme action, le meme ma- 
 noeuvre peut conduire un general a la gloire ou sur l'echafaud ! C'est du 
 succes, que depend le jugement ! On dit, que la flotte francoise ou du 
 moins une partie d'elle est en poursuite de l'ennemi ; depuis plusieurs 
 jours nous n'avons pas de nouvelles du Comte de Grasse. Six vais- 
 seaux de ligne sont restes au Cap — les autres ont disparu. Les fre- 
 gattes sont a l'autre cote de Jamestown. Vous scavez sans doute, que 
 Lord Eawdon, pris dans son passage pour l'Angleterre, est en nos 
 mains ? 
 
 Je n'ai pas encore vu le marquis ; il est malade et ne peut voir per- 
 sonne. Une fievre violente l'a saisi tout d'un coup. J'espere de le voir 
 aujourd'hui. 
 
 Mon ami North fut attaque de la meme maniere en chemin. A 
 peine ai-je pu l'amener ici dans une chaise. II a la fievre tres forte. 
 
 Vous sentez bien, que tout est ici " in high spirits" quoique la milice 
 ne se rassemble qu'avec sa negligence ordinaire. 
 
 Je bataille tous les jours contre la reception des aide-de-camp. 
 Duval et quelques autres j'ai repousse. Mais je ne pouvois pas me de- 
 faire de Peyton Randolf et de Moore, beau-frere du Colonel Walker. lis 
 sont mes aides volontiers pour cette expedition. Oh mon ami ! pour- 
 quoi n'etes vou pas avec moi — mais comme nous attendons des troupes 
 du Nord, peut-etre vous en etes ! Quelle joie aurai-je de vous revoir. 
 
 Ne sachant ou vous addresser cette lettre, elle restera dans mon 
 portefeuille et sera continuee avec les nouvelles, que nous aurons. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 WILLIAM DAVIES TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Kichmond, September 9th, 1781. 
 I know not how to express to you my gratitude for the very oblig- 
 ing terms of favor and friendship you have used towards me. Your 
 approbation I shall always be anxious to acquire, and however disap- 
 
APPENDIX. 673 
 
 pointed your disinterested exertions may have been, for raising the line of 
 this State into respect and consequence, I console myself with your as- 
 surance that the comfort and satisfaction of the troops of Virginia shall 
 always be an object of your attention and regard. . . . With the warm- 
 est emotions of affectionate respect I bid you farewell, and beg you, 
 my dear general, to accept of my most ardent wishes for your health 
 and happiness, and a glorious reward for the very disinterested attach- 
 ment you have shown my country, in an unremitted series of faithful 
 services. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 WILLIAM DAVIES TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Richmond, October 6th, 1781. 
 I am happy to hear you are still in Virginia, and sincerely congrat- 
 ulate you on the pleasing prospect before us. You had long expressed 
 your opinion of the necessity of more attention and assistance towards 
 us from the northward, and I doubt not that your representations in 
 our favor had an influence in procuring the aid we have received. I 
 hope to be able to arrange my business in such a manner as to admit 
 of my visiting camp before the scene is closed, when I shall be happy 
 in paying my respects to you. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 WILLIAM DAVIES TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Wak Office, December 2Tth, 1781. 
 
 I am happy to hear of your safe arrival at Philadelphia, and prom- 
 ise myself the satisfaction of being recollected by you in your moments 
 of leisure. 
 
 I am anxious to hear what impression the capture of Cornwallis 
 will make upon the Europen powers, and particularly the Parliament of 
 Britain. It is a calamity the British never expected, and must doubt- 
 less be felt with double poignancy after the high hopes they had enter- 
 tained from the incursions and conquests, as they called them, of Lord 
 Cornwallis. 
 
 I have understood the Congress propose to make another arrange- 
 ment of the army. I should be very glad to know upon what princi- 
 ples it is to be made. I honestly confess the difficulties which officers, 
 particularly of Virginia, are constantly entangled with, have very much 
 moderated my zeal for a service I was once greatly attached to. 
 
 The troops at Cumberland old Court-house, both officers and sol- 
 
 29 
 
674 APPENDIX. 
 
 diers, have refused to march till they get their pay. The situation of a 
 brigadier officer or soldier is worse than that of a slave, and unless it is 
 speedly altered there will be an end of the line altogether. 
 
 I must beg you to favor me with a line whenever your more im- 
 portant business will admit. It will afford me much satisfaction to find 
 I am not forgotten, as I am, with unalterable attachment, etc. 
 
 XX. 
 
 STEUBEN TO COLONEL BARBER. 
 
 Pompton, April 5th, 1782. 
 
 Nothing gives me more pain than to be obliged to censure where I 
 wish to commend. I am obliged to complain to you of the manner in 
 which the inspection and other rolls have been made out. My com- 
 plaint is not official. I think I know the officers in the American army 
 so well as to believe that it is sufficient for them to know that they have 
 committed a fault ; their wish will be to repair and avoid it in future. 
 
 The inspection returns of both regiments are wrong. In the first 
 no mention is made of the colors. The return goes only on three hun- 
 dred and ninety-seven to be armed, whereas it ought to be four hun- 
 dred and three, including the sergeants and quarter-master sergeants ; 
 which make the number of arms, ammunition, etc., wanting, entirely 
 wrong. In the camp, of equipage neither lanterns nor knapsacks are 
 returned ; neither are there any deficiencies noted. In the inspection 
 returns of the second regiment the ... is said to be eight captains, no 
 surgeon's mate, sergeants, major, drum or fife major; no major to the 
 regiment, thirty-six sergeants, seventeen drums, three hundred and sev- 
 enty-eight rank and file. Colors for the regiment are not mentioned. 
 There are several other mistakes in both rolls. 
 
 The muster rolls are in general very badly made out; very few 
 but arc wanting in some part or another. Some of them are so erro- 
 neous as not to be passed, among which are Captain Helmsreckle. In 
 the column for musters, in one return Michael Daily is inserted, in the 
 other two he is not. Abraham Roser is mustered in two rolls, but in the 
 third he is called Shaver. James Wigans is not mustered, but no rea- 
 son is given why he is not. In the rolls of Captain Peale's company 
 the drums and fifes are not distinguished. Aaron Bayly is mustered in 
 two, but not in the third roll. 
 
APPENDIX. 675 
 
 XXI. 
 
 STEUBEN TO GENERAL WAYNE. 
 
 Fishkill Landing, May 24th, 1782. 
 The very polite and delicate manner in which you have considered 
 my attentions to the honor of those truly brave men whom I had the 
 honor to command in the trenches on the day alluded to, is so very 
 flattering that I find myself at a loss of words to express my feelings 
 on this occasion. I had too often borne witness of the gallant exertions 
 of the troops under the command of General Wayne to perceive that 
 a superiority of numbers was necessary to secure success, and so long 
 as the armies of America continue to be commanded by officers of such 
 distinguished merits her military glory will remain untarnished. I am 
 very sorry, my dear general, to be under the necessity of giving disa- 
 greeable answers to your pertinent and important queries. From every 
 appearance the enemy seem disposed to conduct the war in the old 
 channel, except that their force is too inconsiderable to make any im- 
 pression, and the situation of our public affairs is such as not to prom- 
 ise any decided exertions on our part. I hope the best, though I fear 
 the worst. Yesterday the news of our independence by the States of 
 Holland was announced at head-quarters, as contained in a paragraph 
 of a British newspaper. This event, which happened on the 29th of 
 March, has afforded us general satisfaction, which, together with the 
 birth of a dauphin of France, will be a subject of an elegant entertain- 
 ment in the army, and a feu de pie. General Carleton, who has lately 
 arrived with a withered olive branch in his hand, proposed to send his 
 aid to Congress on business of consequence, which was received with 
 a disdain suited to the absurdity of the proposition. I have inclosed a 
 paper containing an address to the people, in consequenoe of the re- 
 ports holding up an idea of peace. I wish it may have the desired ef- 
 fect, though I have little reason for it from present appearances. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel J. TernanHs Report of the Muster and Inspection 
 made of the Southern Army during the month of April, 1782. 
 
 What relates to the muster is so fully explained in the inclosed 
 abstract as to make it unnecessary to say any thing further on the sub- 
 ject I have to lament that the inspection could not be made with 
 that accurate strictness the good of the service and the nature of the 
 operation required. 
 
 But I am in hopes that the total deficiency of materials and vouchers 
 
G76 APPENDIX. 
 
 necessary to a proper investigation, the Avant of printed forms, and the 
 peculiar circumstances of the army will sufficiently account for every 
 imperfection. The inclosed returns, irregular as they are, will at least 
 show the pressing wants of the troops in many respects, and the neces- 
 sity of preparing the way to a future and more complete inspection. 
 With that view I shall lay before you such a set of regulations, to be 
 issued in general orders if approved of, as appear to me most con- 
 ducive to the last object ; in the meantime I shall beg leave to com- 
 municate a few remarks on the present state of the army. 
 
 Formation. — It is the best that could be adopted in the confused 
 state of the several lines which were to compose this army ; and we 
 can only wish the present arrangement of the infantry to be permanent, 
 and such recruits as may in future be sent by the several States, to be 
 equally distributed to all the corps and companies as they actually 
 stand, so as to complete them to their establishment. 
 
 Without a permanency of that sort, both in the appointments of 
 the officers and the distribution of the men, the economical details of 
 the service must be totally neglected, and a principal object of this de- 
 partment unavoidably missed. If the company of Virginia infantry 
 under Lieutenant Smith is ultimately attached to the Second Partizan 
 Legion, they ought to do duty as such in every respect, and not 
 separately ; if not, their incorporation into Lieutenant Colonel Posey's 
 battalion might prove advantageous to the service. 
 
 Discipline. — With regard to tactics, discipline is as perfect as can be 
 expected under the actual circumstances of the army. Lieutenant 
 Colonel Posey's battalion, on the day of the review, went through 
 several evolutions and maneuvers very much to the credit of the corps. 
 There seems to be a total want of system in the legionary corps, each 
 of them having a particular formation, and a different method of exe- 
 cuting the several evolutions peculiar to their service. With regard to 
 the interior and economical discipline, it is defective in a very material 
 point ; no regimental or company books are kept in any corps of the 
 army. The necessity of attending immediately to that object is too 
 obvious to need any further mention. I shall therefore lay before you 
 the forms of the several books as they are kept in the northern army, 
 that they may be introduced in the manner you may think proper to 
 order. * 
 
 Arms. — The muskets and bayonets in general are in good order and 
 properly attended to in the infantry. But it was with great concern I 
 found such a deficiency of them as to leave upwards of three hundred 
 men unarmed on a field day — part of those are to be found in every 
 company under the denominations of camp color men, pioneers and bar- 
 bers, claiming, from custom, an exemption of bearing arms, highly inju- 
 rious to the service, and no ways warranted by the regulations ; others 
 
APPENDIX. G77 
 
 as waiters enjoy the same privilege, contrary to the late adopted rules 
 and general orders of the commander-in-chief. The artificers and ma- 
 trosses of the artillery are also without arms, and although custom and 
 the opinion of a distinguished character have sanctified the practice, I 
 can not help thinking- that the service would be benefited by those men 
 having firelocks of one kind or other, besides the advantage of both at- 
 tending to their police, the defense and safety of their stores, etc., etc. 
 Upon all occasions the artificers would answer the purpose of a guard for 
 the baggage of the army, and so lessen the number of drafts from the line. 
 
 The swords of the cavalry are but in a very indifferent order, one 
 third being without scabbards, many broken or very much abused, and 
 all far from being clean. The few pistols they have are so little at- 
 tended to that many are unfit for any kind of use, and the rest want 
 ammunition. I must except a troop of the Fourth regiment, under 
 Captain Sill, whose arms, clothing and accouterments bespoke a steady 
 attention to discipline. I found nowhere the traveling forge, armorers, 
 tools, chests of spare arms and ammunition that every brigade or two 
 battalions ought to have, conformable to the regulations, the want of 
 which must occasion a variety of inconveniences too obvious to need 
 any mention. 
 
 Accouterments. — The inspection returns will show a great deficiency 
 of cartridge-boxes in the infantry, and almost a total one in the cavalry. 
 That part of the equipment is so important and necessary to the pres- 
 ervation of ammunition, that an immediate supply must be looked 
 upon as indispensable ; those of the cavalry could even be spared to the 
 infantry, if necessary, as the upper part of the holster-pipe can be so 
 contrived as to contain three rounds, which is the most a horseman 
 will want. Gun-worms, screw-drivers and turn-screws are wanting 
 everywhere. The accouterments of the horse are still in a worse con- 
 dition than their arms ; all the saddles are incomplete and want repair, 
 no collars or halters, and very few valises. The want of saddlers and 
 farriers in the cavalry is much to be lamented, as most of the saddles 
 and bridles, etc., are worn out and destroyed long before their usual 
 duration ; the granting those men an additional pay might be a just 
 encouragement to those already in service, and a great inducement to 
 others for enlisting. 
 
 Ammunition. — The deficiency of it in the infantry calls aloud for an 
 immediate supply; the Pennsylvania and Maryland brigades are the 
 best furnished, every man being complete to thirty rounds — but no 
 regimental or brigade spare stock. The North Carolina brigade, the 
 whole of the light infantry, and the infantry in Georgia, have not above 
 twelve- rounds per man, including the issued and spare ammunition; 
 the cartridges through the whole army are mostly too small in the size 
 of the bullet and the quantity of the powder, and some too large to fit 
 
G78 APPENDIX. 
 
 any bore. That strongly indicates the necessity of ascertaining, by the 
 usual methods and experiments, the several bores, and the quantity of 
 powder best calculated for each, so that measures and models may be 
 made to direct the cartridge makers. The regulations with regard to 
 the drawing the charges after field duty, collecting and returning the 
 bad cartridges, are exceedingly neglected throughout the army. There 
 is a deficiency of spare flints to one fifth of the muskets. 
 
 Clothing and Camp Equipage. — It is totally deficient with one half 
 of the army, and far gone with the other half. If the troops were 
 furnished with the proportion of needles and thread they have a right 
 to, it might be the means of lengthening the duration of the several 
 articles of clothing. 
 
 Horses.— Size rolls of them are totally deficient in the cavalry, but 
 so necessary that no time ought to be lost in ordering them to be made 
 out. Several horses returned as sick, absent with their riders, are too 
 scattered to admit of any examination; a place convenient for that 
 purpose ought to be fixed upon, where all the horses from the several 
 corps could be collected, with a suitable number of farriers, and an 
 officer to superintend the infirmary. 
 
 Hospitals. — The sick in general are as well attended to as the cir- 
 cumstances will permit. There is a total deficiency of the sacks al- 
 lowed by the regulations, to the regimental and general hospitals. 
 
 Two soldiers of the Second Maryland regiment, in Captain McPher- 
 son's and Lieutenant Adam's companies, were suffered to go to the 
 hospital with their arms and accouterments, contrary to the regulations. 
 
 Martley Leppet, Henry Cook, of First Maryland, and James Bar- 
 row, of Second Delaware, appear to be proper subjects to be transferred 
 to the invalids corps. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 OTHO H. WILLIAMS TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Camp Newkuhg, November 2St7i, 17S2. 
 If I had known of your being in quarters in the vicinity of Phila- 
 delphia, I would certainly have done myself the honor of paying my 
 respects to you, on my route to the northern army. The striking con- 
 trast I observe in what our troops now are and what they were when 
 you first undertook the office of inspector general, evinces in a very 
 conspicuous degree the great advantages of systematic discipline, and 
 how much may be effected by the perseverance, attention and activity 
 of an individual who is perfectly acquainted with the principles of his 
 profession. How much our troops are indebted to you, sir, for that 
 
APPENDIX. 679 
 
 military ability and appearance in which they now both so advanta- 
 geously compare with the best disciplined troops in Europe, Congress, 
 his Excellency General Washington, and other eminent characters, bear 
 honorable testimony. The personal knowledge I have, as an officer of 
 the American army, acquired from your general instructions, influences 
 my gratitude to add my private thanks to the more important acknowl- 
 edgments you have already and repeatedly received. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 STEUBEN TO WALKER. 
 
 Schuylkill, December 27th, 1782. 
 
 Mon Cher Walker, — Ce n'est que depuis quatre jours que Briga- 
 dier Williams m'a remis votre lettre du 3 Decembre. Vous scavez com- 
 bien je suis sensible a l'amitie ; jugez done si les lettres qui me viennent 
 de vous me doivent etre cheres. Si je vous avois s§u aussi pres de moi, 
 je vous aurais prevenu en venant vous voir. J'aurais satisfait un double 
 desir, celui de presenter mes hommages a Mrs. Washington et de voir 
 un ami que j'aime. Mais lorsque j'ai recu votre avant derniere lettre, 
 je croyais qu'il seroit trop tard pour arrive? a Robertson's ferry. L'ar- 
 rivee du Comte Rochambeau et des autres officiers francais fait que je 
 suis maintenant plus dissipe que je ne l'etais du commencement. Ces 
 Messieurs viennent me voir et je suis souvent avec eux. An reste de- 
 puis quinze jours mes affaires particulieres m'ont presque toujours appele 
 en ville. 
 
 J'ai donne un memoire au Congrcs, dans lequel j'ai evacue tout ce 
 que j'avois sur l'estomac depuis 1777 ; jugez si je dois me trouver sou- 
 lage. lis ont nomme une committee delaquelle Hamilton est president. 
 J'ui expose ma situation " in plain English." Le rapport n'est pas encore 
 fait. Pour de la paye je suis deja assure de recevoir autant que mes 
 pauvres compagnons, e'est a dire peu ou rien. Pour les autres deman- 
 des, on employera a ce que je prevois des palliatifs pour me faire vivre 
 une campagne de plus. Au reste, je dois avouer que je n'etais jamais 
 traite avec plus de bonte depuis que je suis en Amerique. Le Congres 
 parait vouloir me faire sa cour en parlant a toute occasion de notre ar- 
 mee avec une veneration sans egal. On ne lamente le mauvais etat de 
 nos finances que pour ne pouvoir satisfaire les justes demandes de nos 
 genereux officiers. Si les compliments pouvoient nous faire vivre, mon 
 cher, il n'y aurait pas une arinee aussi riche que la notre. 
 
 C'est du moins quelque chose ; personne ne s'avise plus de dire 
 " Let them go, we shall have another 1" 
 
 Taisez vous au nom de Dieu sur mon bonnet de nuit et sur G-ibral- 
 
G80 APPENDIX. 
 
 tar ! Ah ! les B . . . ties Anglais ! S'ils avoient des generaux et des 
 ininistres comme ils ont des officiers de marine, ils feraient la conquete 
 du monde. Que je respecte ce Howe ; voila ce qui s'appelle un grand 
 manoeuvre ! Elliot eertainement a montre plus de vigueur que le fa- 
 meux Lord Cornwallis — mais quand on connait le roc qu'il a defendu, 
 la chose n'est pas tant extraordinaire. On peut dire que les Dons ont 
 bien danse la folie d'Espagne. 
 
 Je vous aurais envoy e copie de mon memoire au Congres, mais le 
 volume etait trop grand. II est de ma propre composition : mais mon 
 ami le Chancellier Livingston a eu la complaisance de la corriger et 
 d'effacer les traits, ou ma plume avait un peu trop appuve. Je viens de 
 caclieter un gros paquet pour Messieurs les ministres a Versailles, aux- 
 quels je parle aussi clair en francais que j'ai parle Anglois au Congres. 
 Mr. de la Luzerne et Mr. de Chattellux ont approuve mon language, ils 
 m'en promettent du succes. II est dure de se battre avec l'Amerique 
 et la France, apres qu'on a presque fait la paix avec les Anglois. 
 
 Cette chienne de correspondance ministerielle ma'a coute infiniment 
 de peines. Vous scavez que je suis sans assistance, meme pour ma 
 correspondance Angloise. . Que ferai-je mon ami, si je dois faire encore 
 une campagne ? Je ne crois pas que Popham a envie de me rejoindre ; 
 du moins je n'ai pas une ligne de lui. Ou trouverai-je un Walker? mais 
 je ne dois v-ous rendre trop vain. Mais serieusement, ou trouverai-je 
 un homme qui peut conduire ma correspondance ? Voyez un peu, si 
 vous pouvez me proposer un bon sujet. Vous scavez ce qu'il me faut. 
 Je compte toujours sur mon North, vous scavez cependant, que sa force 
 ne consiste pas dans sa plume. Vous scavez aussi, qu'il est aussi pares- 
 seux qu'il est aimable. Depuis quatre semaines je n'ai pas eu de ses 
 nouvelles, ecrivez lui et grondez le. Taches en meme temps de le per- 
 suader de me joindre au plus tard a la fin de Mars. 
 
 G-ibbs m'a dit que les officiers de l'armee etaient au point de m'ecrire 
 une lettre de reconnaissance. J'en aurais ete infiniment flatte ; dites 
 moi la raison qui a empeche ce projet. Je vous souhaite une heureuse 
 nouvelle annee. N'oubliez pas mes respects au general et a Mrs. Wash- 
 ington. Adieu mon ami ! 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 STEUBEN TO CHEVALIER DE LA LUZERNE. 
 
 End of 1782. 
 
 Depuis votre ministere en Amerique Monsieur, vous m'avez temo- 
 igne tant de bontees qu'il ne me faut aucun autre encouragement pour 
 reclamer votre protection dans un moment de detresse. 
 
APPENDIX. G81 
 
 Je n'entrerai pas ici dans un narratif detaille des services, que j'ai 
 rendus dans ce pais, de tout les obstacles, que j'ai du surmonter, du peu 
 de moyens que j'avais — tout ces difficulties ne vous sont que trop con- 
 nues — je ne m'etenderai non plus sur les changements de notre etat 
 militaire depuis que la discipline etait confiee a mes soins ; la comparai- 
 son de ce qu'il etoit avec ce qu'il est aujourdhui doit justifier mes ope- 
 rations. L' approbation des officiers de votre annee et celle dont vous 
 m'avez honore vous meme, m'a persuade que mes peines n'ont pas ete 
 mal employees. 
 
 Mais Monsieur c'est avec une peine inexprimable que je dois vous 
 dire, qu'il est absolument hors de mon pouvoir de soutenir plus long- 
 temps la misere, a la quelle je me vois reellement expose. 
 
 Je me vois sans resource, sans credit, sans appui, et l'idee qui me 
 chocque le plus, est celle que je me vois etranger dans un pais, ofi en 
 justice je ne devrois plus l'etre, et quelquefois dans mes chagrins, j'at- 
 tribue a ce seul titre d'etranger le peu d'egards qu'on a pour ma condi- 
 tion et mes services. 
 
 Depuis cinq ans je ne suis pas plus paye que les officiers de notre 
 armee en general, depuis cinq ans il ne se trouve pas une seule demande 
 de moi dans les journeax du Congres, depuis cinq ans je n'ai re9U au- 
 cune favour ni grace. 
 
 Si j'ai souffert pendant ce temps c'etoit toujours dans l'esperance 
 qu'un heureux changement de nos affaires adouciroit mon sort. Mais 
 c'est precisement depuis le changement le plus heureux que je me vois 
 le plus neglige. 
 
 Le Secretaire de la Guerre commenca son ministere par rogner les 
 emolumens qui m'etoient accordes en entrant dans le service ; il m'ota 
 un aide de camp, diminua le nombre des officiers dans mon department, 
 etc. 
 
 Ce ministre, auquel je faisois tous les mois mes rapports de I'd tat de 
 l'armee n'a pas daignd de me repondre une seule fois et quoique j'at- 
 
 tribue son silence cela me decourage, a continuer une be- 
 
 sogne ou je devrois etre soutenu par le Ministre de la Guerre. 
 
 C'est depuis ce temps que je dois me plaindre non seulement des neg- 
 ligences mais des mauvais procedes de nos ministres et finalement je me 
 vois a present reduit a manquer de tout. 
 
 La crainte de m'exposer a des refus malhonnetes me retient de faire 
 une demande quelconque. 
 
 Ma fortune epuisee, la cherete et plus que tout l'indifference avec 
 laquelle je me vois traite — ^m'engage a finir une carriere desagreable et 
 ruineuse. Mais avant de faire une demarche, permettez moi, Monsieur, 
 de reclamer votre avis, la confiance dans vos bontes me fera suivre votre 
 direction sans m'en ecarter d'aucune maniere. 
 
 29* 
 
682 APPENDIX. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO CHEVALIER DE LA LUZERNE. 
 
 Five years have passed away, while with courage and perseverance 
 I have pursued the object to make our army perfect, without requiring 
 support of those from whom I had the right to hope for it. Now, how- 
 ever, is the time when I must know what is to be my lot. I must set- 
 tle my affairs with Congress, and need not tell you what advantage 
 would result to me from a recommendation of the Count De Vergennes, 
 in which he would authorize you to make known to Congress and 
 to the commander-in-chief that it was with the acquiescence of the 
 court of France that I came over to this country. I entreat you, chev- 
 alier, to forward the inclosed letter on this subject to Count De Ver- 
 gennes. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 *STEUBEN TO COUNT DE VERGENNES. 
 
 After nearly six years of labor and pains, will you allow me to ask 
 for your protection ? You know too well the state of affairs in the 
 American army to make it necessary to describe in particular pay own. 
 A witness of the favors which the munificence of the king, your mas- 
 ter, has generously bestowed upon the French officers who were in our 
 army, I could not but regret that I had not been in the service of that 
 generous prince ; nevertheless, I served in the same cause, and, I may 
 say, with the same zeal. But the United States could not grant me any 
 gratuitous recompense. Yet it is time for Congress to decide my lot 
 for the future, and I must now solicit your protection. A letter from 
 you, authorizing Mr. De La Luzerne to interest himself for me, would 
 obtain for me advantages which, as a stranger, I could not hope for. 
 The report which will be made to you of the army by Messrs. De Chat- 
 telux, De Laval, De Segur, Prince De Broglio, Count De Deuxponts and 
 others, will prove to you that I have taken great pains to deserve your 
 support. Encouraged by the approbation of your officers, I venture to 
 natter myself that I shall receive the favor I ask for 
 
 xxvur. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO VERGENNES. 
 
 End of 1782. 
 
 I have for a long time wished to unite with the assurance of my re- 
 spect for you a circumstantial report of my operations since my arrival 
 
APPENDIX. 683 
 
 here. If it is important for the general good that you were well in- 
 formed of our military condition, it is especially more so for me that the 
 details be given you by an enlightened and impartial military man. 
 
 The departure of Mr. Le Chevalier De Chattelux affords me the op- 
 portunity so much desired. I have nothing to add to the report he will 
 make to you, but the wish, that my task has been so conducted as to 
 be honored by your approbation. With this, sir, I shall not regret the 
 toils and obstacles I had to surmount in pursuit of my object. 
 
 The title of foreigner is nowhere so agreeable as in your country, 
 and nowhere so disagreeable as among the English. Though Americans 
 we were always a little English in this respect. I leave you to judge 
 if it was easy to introduce a Prussian system of subordination into an 
 army where a few days previously a captain had chosen his colonel, and 
 a sergeant nominated his captain. To succeed in such an undertaking 
 requires either vast authority or effective patronage or a great deal of 
 money. Entirely destitute of these, I confess that success appeared 
 very doubtful to me. In this lonely state much firmness was required 
 to withstand the checks I was exposed to. But the more difficult the 
 task the more we are animated to engage in it ; the least success en- 
 courages us to persevere and finish the work once begun. This is my 
 position at present. It depends on you, Mr. le comte, to make me 
 confident of success. With a little support from you I am sure the 
 task will be accomplished. It is for the general good that I claim your 
 favor and protection. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO VERGENNES. 
 
 When I had the honor of presenting my respects to you at Ver- 
 sailles, I hoped to find more frequent opportunities of informing you of 
 the success of my enterprise. It was, however, very importaut for me 
 that the report of my operations should be sent you by a military man 
 equally impartial and well informed. This opportunity is now afforded 
 by the departure of Mr. Le Chevalier De Chattelux for France. He has 
 seen the maneuvers of the American army, and although not the only 
 French officer who has honored the execution of the system which I 
 have established with his approbation, he is more particularly informed 
 of the difficulties and obstacles which I have surmounted by the perse- 
 verance and firmness which I have employed. A stranger without 
 recommendations, and often without resources,, the execution of my 
 plan was one of the greatest difficulties. 
 
 It gives me great satisfaction to address this letter to you, Mr. le 
 
684 APPENDIX. 
 
 comte, at a time when, by the judgment of connoisseurs in French 
 tactics, I am authorized to assure you that the Americans have at 
 present an infantry very superior, in order and discipline, to that which 
 England can oppose to it. After six years of hard work will you per- 
 mit me to recall to your memory the conversation in your office ? It 
 is noted in the annexed memorial, at the end of which I have ventured 
 to lay open to you my desires and my wishes. Believing that I have 
 deserved your protection, from your way of thinking I anticipate suc- 
 oess. The time seems to approach when your labors will be crowned 
 by a peace glorious to France, and by the independence of America. 
 You can not forget the instruments whose services you have made use 
 of to attain this important object, 
 
 XXX. 
 
 STEUBEN TO VERGENNES. 
 
 From a Memorial addressed to the French Ministry in 1*782. 
 Mr. De Steuben, satisfied that the French ministry is fully aware of 
 the condition of the American army at the time of his arrival, flatters 
 himself that after the report which the Count De Rochambeau and the 
 Chevalier De Chattcllux are going to make, a comparative view will 
 secure him the approbation of the French court. The zeal and perse- 
 verance with which, for a period of nearly six years, he has surmounted 
 every obstacle, the difficulty of conducting, his operations without any 
 support, and almost without means, and lastly the system which he 
 has established, and the success which has followed it, are the titles on 
 which he presumes to rest his claims to the favor and munificence of 
 His most Christian Majesty. 
 
 He binds himself to bring the work he has commenced to a termi- 
 nation. It is only when the war shall have ceased, and the indepen- 
 dence of America shall have been recognized by England, that he 
 wishes to finish his days in the dominions of His Majesty. He hopes 
 to obtain from the United States of America an indemnity for the 
 sacrifices he has made to enable him to enter into their service. This 
 sum would nearly reinstate him in the same situation he was in pre- 
 vious to his leaving Europe. Who can he look to for the reward of 
 such a hazardous enterprise, if it is not to the generosity of that prince 
 who has rewarded the smallest services rendered in this revolution? 
 
 Encouraged by these examples of generosity, he presumes to take 
 the liberty of asking for the favors mentioned in the following : That 
 His Majesty will condescend, after this war, to grant him the same 
 rank in his armies which he may then hold in the American service. 
 As his age will hardly allow him to be actively employed, the rank 
 
APPENDIX. 685 
 
 which he asks will not cause any jealousy in the army. That will be 
 a title wished for by an old soldier which would confer great honor 
 upon him, the sole object of his ambition. 
 
 That His Majesty will add to the pension which Mr. De Steuben 
 hopes to obtain from Congress, such a sum as will yield him a life- 
 interest of 20,000 livres per annum, to enable him to end his days at 
 ease in the States of the king. 
 
 Mr. De Steuben is emboldened to beseech the Count De Vergennes 
 to grant him his influence for obtaining the favor which he asks. It is 
 worthy of the munificence of the king. It will be the reward of an old 
 soldier who has sacrificed all to attain so interesting an object as the 
 independence of America. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO TnE PRINCE DE MONTBAREY. 
 
 1733. 
 
 Permit me to recall to your recollection an old soldier always 
 mindful of the many kindnesses you have shown him in former days. 
 
 Five years have elapsed since you approved an enterprise, the suc- 
 cess of which at that time, and indeed for a long time after, seemed to 
 be very problematical. Although the work is not yet entirely finished, 
 it is too advanced to doubt its completion any longer. Since I last had 
 the honor of seeing you at Versailles I have not been idle. The five 
 campaigns in America have afforded me greater experience than thirty- 
 four years' service in Europe. How fortunate you are, generals in 
 Europe ! You get an army and means and have nothing to do but act. 
 It is not so with us ; Congress tells us : Look for your army, find the 
 means, and manage as well as you can. 
 
 Le Chevalier De Chattellux will give you more perfect information 
 on the matter than I can. I have requested him at the same time to 
 give you the details of my proceedings. I should consider myself very 
 fortunate should you deign to honor them with your approval. But prince, 
 when Mr. De Chattellux tells you what I have done to merit your appro- 
 bation, he will tell you also how much the non-receipt of any mark of 
 it has pained me. M. Gerard, M. De La Luzerne, M. De Chattellux 
 arrived one after the other, without the ministers at Versailles making 
 any mention to them of an honest German who had the honor of being 
 known to the Prince De Montbarey and other respectable persons. It 
 has cost me much to be deprived of the comfort such an avowal would 
 have afforded me. It is not as agreeable to be a foreigner in America 
 as it is in France, particularly when so strange a doctrine is preached in 
 a republic as obedience and subordination. But I do not want to pick 
 
686 APPENDIX. 
 
 a quarrel with you ; I flatter myself that having steered the ship without 
 assistance, will entitle me somewhat to your esteem. Your military 
 men have seen the maneuvers of the American army ; my labors have 
 been honored by their approval. What more can I require to make me 
 vain ? 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 VERGENNES TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Versailles, le 21 Juillet, 1783. 
 J'ai recu, Monsieur, la lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de 
 m'ecrire le 30 Septembre. J'ai toujours pris la plus grande part a vos 
 succes, vous avez rendu des services essentiels aux Etats Unis, et je ne 
 doute pas que vous n'en recueilliez tout le fruit que vous avez droit 
 d'en attendre. 
 
 J'ai l'honneur d'etre tres sincerement, Monsieur, votre tres humble 
 et tres obeissant serviteur, 
 
 De Vergennes. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 COUNT E. S. DE IIERTZBERG, PRUSSIAN SECRETARY OF STATE, TO MR. DUMAS, 
 MINISTER-RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AT THE HAGUE. 
 
 Berlin, le 25 FecHer, 1783. 
 
 Monsieur, — J'ai l'honneur de vous dire en reponse a votre lettre, 
 qu'il faudrait beaucoup d'ecritures pour vous envoyer un etat detaille de 
 la paie et de la subsistance de l'armee Prussienne, et que je serais 
 oblige de vous demandre encore des eclaircissements sur ce qui fait le 
 veritable but et objet de cette recherche. S'il est pour l'information des 
 Etats Unis d'Amerique ils pouvoient y parvenir plus aisement puisqu'ils 
 ont a leur service Mr. le General de Steuben, qui a ete autrefois au ser- 
 vice Prussien, que le connait au fond et qui est un officier fort intelli- 
 gent, 
 
 Je suis, Monsieur, votre tres, etc. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO NORTH. (?) 
 
 /Summer of 17S3. 
 
 It is so difficult to correspond with one so lazy as you are, that I 
 
 often throw down my pen when I have the most cheerful things to tell 
 
 you. This disbandment of the army, for instance, was so thoroughly 
 
 comic that you would laughed yourself sick had you seen it. I drew 
 
AP PENDIX . 687 
 
 the most amusing picture of it for your special entertainment, but all of 
 a sudden I thought, u The lazy fellow does not deserve it," and I tore 
 up the work. The good man whose portfolio was always for the army, 
 Pandora's box, no sooner communicated his dispatches, than the senti- 
 ments concerning them were of the most diverse character. The most 
 stupid were in ecstacies of admiration at his great policy ; the most vi- 
 olent swore, and the most feeble shed tears. I leave you to judge to 
 what class your old friend belonged. Well, yes, since you guess it, 
 what is the use of denying it ? I swore like an English sailor who has 
 not been paid his wages. I could not conceal my surprise to the com- 
 mander-in-chief, that the minister of war could become the bearer and 
 the executor of such strange arrangements. One of the poor man's 
 friends undertook to defend him, by assuring me that it was altogether 
 against his inclination, but the finance minister compelled him to do all 
 these things, and that he treated the good man in the most comtemptu- 
 ous manner. Enraged as I was, I could not refrain from laughing at this 
 exculpation. The wicked, big Morris, to treat a good fellovV in such a 
 shameful manner ! The next day I dined with the good man, at the 
 house of our friend Pickering. The company was far from gay. I was 
 as angry as the devil. The good man might have been very jolly, but 
 these gloomy countenances afflicted him to that degree that he ate 
 nothing but some pudding and cheese. After dinner he took me aside, 
 and asked me if I could not lend him a little money. I told him po- 
 litely that my finances were a miniature copy of those of the new em- 
 pire. He sighed, and in order not to leave me in any doubt of his kind- 
 heartedness, he said that he wanted a little money, in order to give 
 three or four dollars to some officers of his acquaintance (probably from 
 his country), to enable them to get home. What an excellent heart had 
 this minister of war, and how wicked was Morris to send this excel- 
 lent fellow without giving him a little money to show the generosity of 
 his soul. He executed his commission, however ; sent the vagabonds 
 home, without giving them time to breathe. There was nothing said 
 about settling accounts. " G-o in peace," was the pass-word ; and in 
 three days they were so dispersed that they never will be found to- 
 gether again until the day of judgment. Is not this the day that all the 
 preachers say that all accounts will be settled ? Well, I shall hold my- 
 self in readiness for that day. But let us return to our glorious work. 
 Numbers of these warriors are gone to New York ; several are gone to 
 the islands, and others to Ireland. As to these we are rid of them with- 
 out paying a cent, and that is so much gained for our dear country. 
 
 Will you not be wicked enough to call me a sad dog, wdien you 
 read of this disbandment ? I know you. You are just the man to do 
 so, and to accuse your best friend. It is not the first time that you 
 
G88 APPENDIX. 
 
 called me a sour-tempered fellow. Say whatever you please, I know 
 that I am only too good-natured. The proof is that I am fond of you, 
 notwithstanding your laziness and all your other faults. Say what you 
 will, only let me get vent for my spleen. As you are in the habit of 
 burning my letters, I willingly offer you this one lor the same purpose. 
 Let us then return to the stage. Every man played his part in the mel- 
 ancholy scene according to his character. As I could not trust my 
 temper, I shut myself up in my rooms and pleaded illness. Each corps 
 was disbanded by separate orders to the commander of each regiment, 
 with the exception of the general order announcing the resolution of 
 Congress. Each corps dispersed without leave-taking on either side. 
 As Congress said nothing to either officers or soldiers, the commander- 
 in-chief did not see fit to say any thing, although every one considered 
 this an absolute dismissal. I was the only person who had to bear the 
 sad farewells of the officers and soldiers. They came to visit me in my 
 retreat, and nearly all of them, in heart-broken accents, began the con- 
 versation by asking me what I thought of the way in which they had 
 been dismissed. Not venturing to say what I thought, I had nothing 
 left to do but assure them of my friendship, and console them as well 
 as I could. The New York regiments, which were a model of disci- 
 pline and order for the entire army, were disbanded the same day. The 
 officers did me the honor to present me an address, of which I inclose 
 you a copy. As they only addressed their governor and myself, how 
 do you think the proceeding will be regarded ? However that may 
 be, I feel infinitely flattered, and their kindly sentiments towards me 
 will be the consolation of my old days. But, my friend, if Congress 
 requires me to produce other certificates than those of the officers and 
 soldiers — those same officers and soldiers from whom I have exacted a 
 rigid performance of duty — if Congress requires certificates from my 
 superiors to settle my recompense, they may save our dear country a 
 very large expense. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO RICHARD PETERS. 
 
 End of 1788. 
 I have just received your letter of the 23d. This glorious peace has 
 caused a great change in my way of thinking. You know, my dear 
 friend, that I have often lamented, like Heraclitus, the follies of the hu- 
 man race. But I now laugh, like Democritus, particularly at our ex- 
 travagance. A money, without gold or silver ; military schools where 
 they teach the Presbyterian catechism ; arsenals filled with the Word 
 of God ; and even the hereditary sin of Congress, an empty purse, are 
 
APPENDIX. G89 
 
 things to make the gloomiest pedagogue laugh. But what will the 
 world say if this great independent empire, which has supported a war 
 for eight years against Great Britain, can not support itself during one 
 year of peace ? ! Fathers of the Areopagus, spare the poor Ameri- 
 cans this ridicule. Do not make money without metal, nor arsenals 
 without arms. u Has not this old German baron plenty of reason to 
 laugh at his own folly ?" you will say, as a member of Congress. " Must 
 he always amuse himself at the expense of his sovereigns ?" Stop, mem- 
 ber of Congress ! I am a Baron of the Holy Eoman Empire, conse- 
 quently a sovereign myself. Quite as poor, but quite as proud as any 
 American senator, I retain the privilege of laughing at your folly as I 
 laugh at those of the sovereign pontiff or of kings. Will they believe 
 in Europe, that after seven years of war this country is quite as thickly 
 populated, if not more so, as it was when the war began; that at this 
 moment the country is quite as widely cultivated, has as much mer- 
 chandise and far more coin than it had before the war ; that its com- 
 merce is more extended than ever, and its ports the markets of the 
 world ; that everybody has more of every thing than he needs ; that 
 among three millions of men, thirteen (certainly the most enlightened) 
 have been chosen to govern this vast empire ; and that this same vast 
 empire has no more credit than the smallest village in the Canton of 
 Grisons ? ! Fathers of the Areopagus, suffer not the Grisons and the 
 Grisettes to laugh at us ! Go on, gentlemen; when Providence gives 
 you wisdom, I shall lose the greatest object of my mirth. 
 
 " But, gentlemen laughers, what would you do if you were Con- 
 gress, without money, without credit, without authority, and the people 
 unwilling to pay taxes ?" The case is certainly a difficult one. As a 
 Prussian officer I shall reply — . But that won't do. I should resort 
 to common sense. I should beg common sense to speak to the people 
 in its own language (the most unintelligible to the people) ; to explain 
 first the advantages that result from the independence obtained by 
 peace ; then the debt they have contracted to obtain these advantages ; 
 the necessity to pay these debts to maintain the national credit ; the 
 decline of a nation and of each individual inhabitant, when the national 
 credit declines ; the advantages of a solid confederation to secure the 
 property of every citizen ; and finally, 1 would beg common sense to 
 show the people a bill, as simple as that of a butcher, of the general 
 debt, the annual interest, the division of this interest among the inhab- 
 itants, and the sum required to pay it off and provide for the wants and 
 the security of the empire, also divided among the people. The people, 
 seeing that this sum will be very small (which it ought to be), will not 
 hesitate to adopt the proposed measures. 
 
 I think that a pamphlet written by Common Sense on this subject 
 
690 APPENDIX. 
 
 would produce a better effect than all the recommendations of Congress 
 in prose and verse. " But if the people will not listen to Common 
 Sense ?" In that case, I should say to such a people, " Go to the devil 
 with your independence." 
 Adieu, my dear friend. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO KNOX. 
 
 Belisarius Hall on the Schuylkill, 
 
 February 4th, 17S4, in a long evening. 
 
 My Dear Knox, — I hope that North has told you how deeply I re- 
 gretted quitting the army without bidding you adieu at West Point. The 
 presence of the Secretary of War delayed me three days longer than I 
 expected. I intended to devote those three days to seeing you, my 
 friend ; to present my most respectful compliments to your lady ; to 
 take your orders for Philadelphia — perhaps for Europe. I wanted to 
 ask you for letters and advice ; but this minister — this man who de- 
 ranges every thing without knowing how to arrange any thing — spoiled 
 my favorite project of seeing my friend, the Governor of Eldorado, or 
 of West Point — which is almost the same thing, except that the sheep 
 are not rose color, and the young Incas play with pebbles which are not 
 exactly diamonds. 
 
 Here I am, my friend, in a country-house three miles distant from 
 — Athens ? — Eome ? — no, 'tis Philadelphia. I regard with veneration 
 the seat of our Areopagus, at a certain distance. As a connoisseur looks 
 at and examines the pictures of Eubens or Van Dyck, he admires the 
 boldness and magnificence of these chefs d'ceuvre at a proper distance 
 from them ; and were he to approach one step nearer, he would see 
 nothing but a mass of colors jumbled together, and stains, which, how- 
 ever, are.necessary to produce the general effect; — so do I admire at a 
 distance of three miles. But away with these comparisons. I am 
 going to write myself out of the best of all republics. The fact is, that 
 I am in the country because I have not the wherewithal to live in 
 town ; because I will not dine with anybody for the reason that I can 
 not give anybody a dinner ; because I do not pay visits to people who 
 do not visit honest men ; and because I do not wish to speak in so- 
 ciety where I can not damn certain persons in high office and particu- 
 larly " the great disturbers." 
 
 Here are reasons enough, I think, for living in my barrel, like Dio- 
 genes, and for cursing the human race. In my execrations, I always 
 except the general and the army, as an Italian sailor always excepts 
 San Antonio of Padua, before he sends all the other saints to the 
 
APPENDIX. C91 
 
 devil. How fortunate you are to belong to the army ; otherwise you 
 would be damned along with the rest of the crowd. God forgive me ! 
 Here is an entire page of large foolscap covered with nonsense. Why 
 is it, I wonder, that I can never speak rationally with you ? My per- 
 sonal position is serious enough. I am ruined, in the fullest sense of 
 the word. The Prussian service cost me half my fortune ; but it won 
 me esteem and consideration in the Old World. The American service 
 costs me the rest of my worldly possessions, and the ministers treat 
 me worse than a vagrant in this New World. No, I can not and will 
 not suffer any longer. I can not any longer depend on persons who 
 are incapable of recognizing a man's merit and social condition. Let 
 Congress deal with its ministers or cease to have any thing to do with 
 me. This is my final determination. I am satisfied with having shown 
 to those who understand the art of war, an American army worthy of 
 their approbation ; an infantry such as England has never brought into 
 the field ; officers who understand their profession, and who would do 
 honor to any army in Europe ; and soldiers who are well drilled and 
 obedient. I am satisfied with having saved the country, since the es- 
 tablishment of the inspector-generalship, at least $600,000 in arms and 
 accouterments alone. (You can decide if I am guilty of exaggeration 
 in this regard.) I am satisfied with having won the esteem and confi- 
 dence of the officers and soldiers ; and I am satisfied with having done 
 my duty honorably on all occasions that I was called upon to act. I 
 regret, however, that political considerations deprived me of other op- 
 portunities of distinction ; and I shall always regret that circumstances, 
 perhaps, induced me to undertake the defense of a country where 
 Caesar and Hannibal would have lost their reputation, and where every 
 farmer is a general, but where nobody wishes to be a soldier. I am 
 sorry that I was obliged to solicit the command of a division at the siege 
 of York, but I am glad that I obtained it, and proved that it was not 
 the first siege at which I had served as an officer. In short, my friend, 
 I am glad that I kept my word to form a regular and well-drilled army, 
 in spite of the numberless obstacles that I met with. I had a hard 
 task to overcome the prejudices — well or ill founded — against all for- 
 eigners. Without support, without credit, not knowing a word of the 
 language, and what is more, without flattering anybody, I am some- 
 times astonished that I was able to succeed at all in my task. Never- 
 theless the work is accomplished. It only wants care and diligence to 
 'make it perfect. This is not so easily done as some people fancy. A 
 year, a campaign of neglect, and you may bid farewell to order and dis- 
 cipline. The campaign of '81 demonstrated this thoroughly. I should 
 be willing to place our battalions alongside of the French (I do not of 
 course speak of their dress) ; but undress them, and any one who un- 
 
692 appendix:. 
 
 derstands it will declare that they are troops which would do honor to 
 any European army. Do not accuse me of gasconading. I refer to 
 the judgment of French officers who, and not our minister of war, will 
 make the report of our army in Europe. 
 
 "But what is the good of all this," a philosopher would say, " when 
 you have nothing to eat ? And this is exactly your case, Mr. Inspector 
 General. If an honest Tory had not lent you yesterday fifty louis, you 
 would be dinnerless to-day. If a good quakeress had not given you 
 a bed, you would be lying on straw. You were five years in the coun- 
 try, and notwithstanding your brilliant services you have not received 
 the honor of citizenship. You are called, in plain English, ' a stranger/ 
 even sometimes • an adventurer,' and you are treated accordingly." 
 This same philosopher told me that he lately heard a member of Con- 
 gress from allude to my dissatisfaction in about the following 
 
 terms: "What can he complain of? Has he not received his rations, 
 and for the service which he may have done, he will receive his wage3 
 like our officers, and then let him go," etc., etc., etc. 
 
 Oh, Mr. Philosopher, you are a Tory. It is not possible that a mem- 
 ber of Congress would use such language. You tell me this only to 
 put me in a passion — to make me abandon the good cause. But I won't 
 do so. I am a man of honor, and I will fulfill my engagements, not- 
 withstanding the little slights of the ministers or the silly talk of a 
 single member of Congress. We are in a republic, where, thank God ! 
 honors are not hereditary, as the title of baron is in Germany. This 
 member will, perhaps, be sent about his business, as a disgrace to a re- 
 spectable body, and the minister will perhaps be soon sent back to his 
 old trade, and then every thing will go on well in our young republic. 
 
 This is the way I reason, and the devil himself can not persuade 
 me to abandon the good cause. I watch from a distance the turn 
 things are taking ; but let what will happen, unless the great disturb- 
 ers disturb me, I will not disturb myself. Hunger alone will oblige me 
 to get leave and go to Europe, where at least " our great and good ally" 
 will give me " the common rations," and then — and then — and then — 
 nothing is certain except that after all one's follies, one can not avoid 
 the last — that of dying. My friends in America, however, have an op- 
 portunity to commit another, namely, to erect a monument to my 
 memory. The inscription will be found all ready on the tomb of the 
 celebrated poet who died of hunger in England. 
 
 Enough of this raving, my dear Knox ; but there is a good deal of • 
 truth in it. Have no news, except that my wagoner has just told me 
 that a new president was elected yesterday — M. Boudinot of Jersey. 
 He is a fine man, whom I love and esteem. God be praised that the 
 world is not as bad as my cynic philosopher represents it. 
 
APPENDIX. 693 
 
 Give my respects to Mrs. Knox. Always your sincere friend and 
 servant. Steuben. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF ALBANY, PRESENTED TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Albany, July 23tf, 1788. 
 
 Sir, — Engaged in a war, the event of which must inevitably in- 
 volve the happiness or misery of millions and their posterity, America 
 was much indebted to such of her virtuous sons who gallantly stepped 
 forth to vindicate their country's injured rights, but more grateful sen- 
 sations were excited toward those who, interested in our contest from 
 a regard to the liberties of mankind, and impelled by a love of honor 
 and ardent wish to contribute to the establishment of our independence, 
 sacrificed their domestic ease and happiness to aid in repelling a cruel, 
 hostile and tyrannic foe. 
 
 Among those, sir, whom America's just cause induced to rank among 
 her defenders, she will always cherish with gratitude the remembrance 
 of the man, who with unabating perseverance has labored to form her 
 armies, and who has so materially contributed to render them respect- 
 able for discipline and regularity. 
 
 Impressed with these ideas, permit us as members of the Corpora- 
 tion of this city to congratulate you, sir, upon your arrival in it, and 
 as a mark of the respect we entertain for you, sir, and the sense of the 
 services you have rendered our country, to beg your acceptance of the 
 freedom of our city, and to express our wish that the presence of our 
 Mayor could have enabled us to address you as a Corporation ; but as 
 our charter authorizes any three of the aldermen to grant the freedom 
 of the city, we indulge in the idea with pleasure of having the honor 
 of considering you, sir, as one of our fellow-citizens. 
 
 Know all men by those presents, that we, Peter W. Yates, Corne- 
 lius Cuyler, John Jas. Beeckman, Philip Van Rensselaer, Thomas Hun 
 and Abraham Schuyler, Esqrs., aldermen of the city of Albany, being 
 well assured of the great and distinguished services rendered to this 
 country by the Honorable Major General Baron de Steuben, Inspector 
 General of the American army, do admit him a freeman of the said 
 city, hereby giving and granting unto him all the rights, liberties and 
 privileges which an inhabitant and freeman of the said city has or is 
 entitled to enjoy. In testimony whereof we have to these presents 
 subscribed our names and caused the public seal of the said city to be 
 
694 APPENDIX. 
 
 affixed, the 23d day of July in the 8th year of our independence and 
 of the State of New York, and in the year of our Lord 1783. 
 
 Peter W. Yates. John Jas. Beeckman. 
 
 Thomas Hun. Abraham Schuyler. 
 
 Philip Van Rensselaer. Cornelius Cuyler. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Steuben's answer to the city of Albany. 
 
 The measure in which you have been pleased to notice me de- 
 mands my most respectful acknowledgment. I feel myself exceedingly 
 nattered by the honor I receive in being ranked among the citizens 
 of this ancient and respectable city, and will ever hold it in grateful 
 remembrance. 
 
 Love of honor and a regard to the liberties of mankind led me to 
 America ; but the virtues of her brave sons have urged my stay, and 
 induced me to the exertion of every talent I was possessed of in her 
 service. I have been happy enough to see the completion of my 
 wishes: America superior to all her enemies! 
 
 I should have been happy in paying my respects to the worshipful 
 Mayor, but his absence unfortunately deprives me of that honor. 
 
 I beg the Recorder, Aldermen and Assistants of this respectable 
 city will do justice to my sensibility on this occasion, and accept my 
 sincere wishes for its prosperity and happiness. With the most pro- 
 found respect, etc. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, PRESENTED TO STEUBEN. 
 
 City of New York, ss. **" Y ° RK ' ° ctober ** 1T84 ' 
 
 By James Duane, Esqr., Mayor, and the Recorder, Aldermen and 
 Assistants of the City of New York in Common Council convened, To 
 all people to whom these presents shall come or concern, Greeting • 
 Whereas the Honorable Frederick William Baron de Steuben, Major 
 General and Inspector General of the armies of the United States of 
 America, among other individuals who have distinguished themselves 
 in our happy Revolution, hath rendered important services, and this 
 country is more especially indebted to his well-directed efforts for the 
 introduction of that system into our military establishment on which 
 the reputation and success of our arms so much depended ; the bat- 
 tle of Monmouth soon after the commencement of his labors and every 
 
APPENDIX. 695 
 
 subsequent event of the late war being memorable proofs of the utility 
 of that system in the field ; and the records of Congress bearing tes- 
 timony in how great a degree it contributed to promote the interests 
 of national economy ; Now therefore know ye, that we, being mindful 
 of the distinguished merit of the said Baron de Steuben, have received 
 and admitted, and by those presents do receive and admit the said 
 Baron de Steuben to be a freeman of the said city, within the limits 
 of which he hath chosen his residence, to hold, exercise and enjoy all 
 the privileges, advantages and immunities to the freedom of the said 
 city incident and appertaining, as a public mark of the sense we enter- 
 tain of his services, of our esteem for him personally, and of the in- 
 terest we take in his happiness. — In testimony whereof we have caused 
 the public seal of the said city to be hereunto affixed, and these pres- 
 ents to be inclosed in a golden box. Witness James Duane, Esquire, 
 Mayor of the said city, this eleventh day of October, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and of the. inde- 
 pendence of the State of New York the ninth. James Duane. 
 By order of the Common Council. 
 
 Robert Benson, Clerk. 
 
 (L. S.) 
 
 XL. 
 
 STEUBEN TO PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA. 
 
 1785. 
 
 Monseigneur, — Apres une guerre de sept ans j'ai pour la seconde 
 fois, et en apparence pour la derniere fois — depose cette epee, dont je 
 fis le premier usage sous les ordres de Yotre Altesse Royale. Je me 
 flatte, Monseigneur, que mes travaux militaires dans cette hemisphere 
 ne m'ont pas rendu indigne de me vanter de la gloire d'avoir fait mon 
 apprentissage sous un prince, qui ne fait pas moins l'admiration de 
 l'Amerique que des autres parties clu globe. Le succes de cette revo- 
 lution m'a procure plusieurs marques de distinction qui flattent l'am- 
 bition d'un soldat, mais l'assurance qu'on m'a donnee, que Votre Altesse 
 Royale daigne encore se souvenir de moi, fait le comble de ma gloire. 
 Aussi ne fallait-il pas moins pour m'encourager d'adresser a Votre Al- 
 tesse Royale ce temoignage de mes profonds respects. 
 
 Le sieur Littelpage, Americain et Capitaine au service d'Espagne, 
 aura l'honneur de presenter celle-ci a Votre Altesse Royale. Ce jeune 
 officier s'est distingue dans la derniere guerre a Mahon et Gibraltar sous 
 les ordres du Due de Crillon et du Prince de Nassau. Son inclination 
 pour ce metier excite en lui cette ambition louable de se faire connaitre 
 des grands capitaines d'Europe. Dispose a lui rendre les plus grands 
 
696 APPENDIX. 
 
 services, j'ose supplier Votre Altesse Royale do l'honneur de sa haute 
 protection. II m'a donne sa parole de s'en rendre digne. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO TIIE DUKE DE MONTMORENCY. 
 
 1785. 
 
 Monsieur Le Due, — 
 
 The bearer of this letter, Mr. Littelpage, captain in the Spanish 
 service, wishes me to give him letters to military men in France. To 
 whom, sooner than to yourself, could I direct him ? The distinction 
 which he won at the capture of Minorca, under the Duke De Crillon, 
 and at Gibraltar under the Prince of Nassau, entitle him to your kind- 
 ness and protection. But while I claim your good offices for a young 
 soldier, allow me, at the same time, to ask your kind consideration for 
 the old soldier who has the honor to present him to you. The proofs 
 that you gave me in America of your friendship, are too precious not 
 to wish for their continuance. I have no longer any correspondents in 
 your country. France has forgotten me. But you are too generous 
 not to be an exception. I send you, inclosed, a little pamphlet con- 
 taining a plan for the organization of a militia, which I am heartily 
 anxious to see executed. Do me the favor to look over it and to let 
 me know your opinion of it. 
 
 Your ministry at Versailles is in a great hurry to play the pacifi- 
 cator for all Europe ; and why should they be prevented from cutting 
 their throats when they desire to do so, as John Roastbeef says in " The 
 Scotchman." But this convention of the Holy Roman Empire, the 
 choice of a king of the Romans, and of a ninth elector, the juggling of 
 the Elector Palatine, and other subjects of discussion will give your 
 pacificators plenty to do ; and before all this is settled I hope to receive 
 an invitation from the Duke De Laval to take coffee with him in the 
 
 trenches before Fribourg, if you please. But do not mention this 
 
 to the queen. Have you been at the review at Breslau? The old 
 Frederick had a brilliant cortege. I await your reply with impatience. 
 Your first letter will encourage me to keep up a correspondence, which 
 I shall esteem a great honor. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF LAFAYETTE TO GENERAL KNOX. 
 
 Paris, February 11, 1786. 
 I have been very much pleased with my journey. I went to Cas- 
 sel, Brunswick, Berlin, Prince Henry's country-seat, Potsdam, Silesia, 
 Moravia, Vienna, Bohemia, Saxony, Potsdam again and Prince Henry's, 
 Berlin, Magdeburg. I saw kings, emperors, generals, troops of every 
 kind, and fields of battle. The Prussian troops are indeed most admi- 
 
APPENDIX. 697 
 
 rable ; their infantry is handsome, well exercised, and maneuvers in a 
 line better than I had any idea of. I have seen twenty thousand men in 
 one line at Breslau. There were also seventy-five squadrons of a hun- 
 dred men each, of the best cavalry in the world ; their horses are very 
 indifferent, but habit and discipline give them a boldness and a rapidity 
 which is surprising. Iu Silesia, at Potsdam and Magdeburg I have 
 seen sham battles where I admired the instruction and the military 
 routine by which in that army a fool can manage his corps in the line as 
 well almost as if he was sensible ; but the mode of recruiting is de- 
 spotic. There is hardly any provision for old soldiers, and although I 
 found much to admire, I had rather be the last farmer in America than 
 the first general in Berlin. The imperial army is more substantial, more 
 numerous, than that of Prussia ; but not so well exercised by far, and 
 is adopting the same principles for her recruits. Baron De Steuben was 
 often mentioned to me, and while I had the opportunity to do justice to 
 his services among us, I was happy to know he is esteemed in his own 
 country as he deserves. His family made inquiries about him to me, 
 and I felt a sincere pleasure in letting them know that he was well, and 
 much respected in America. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 * EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Berlin, March 3, 1786. 
 I recollect with great pleasure the time when you were with us, 
 and was extremely happy to hear from you. I take great share in the 
 military successes you have had among the Americans, and shall always 
 be much pleased to hear that nothing disturbs the happy repose you are 
 now enjoying and which you have so justly merited. 
 
 I seize with eagerness this opportunity to renew to you my assur- 
 ances of the lively interest I take in whatever concerns you, and of the 
 distinguished sentiments with which I ever shall be 
 
 Your most affectionate friend, Henry. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO BARON VON DER GOLTZ. 
 
 1785. 
 
 My Dear Baron, — 
 
 Encouraged by the assurance I have received that you still re- 
 member an old friend who has always felt sincerely attached to you, 
 I take advantage of Mr. Littelpage's (captain in the Spanish service) 
 departure for Europe to repeat to you the sentiments of esteem and 
 friendship which I feel towards you. I should long since have recalled 
 myself to your recollection, but I always hoped to see you at Paris, and 
 thus refrained from writing. 
 
 30 
 
698 APPENDIX. 
 
 I am vain enough to believe that you have sometimes heard me 
 spoken of) both favorably and the reverse, as is usually the case. I beg 
 you to judge between the two extremes, and the caricature will not be so 
 very extravagant or unlike. I am well aware that in the queen's apart- 
 ments the American Re volution has but one young hero, but you know 
 that women must always have a little Jesus to work miracles. Believe 
 me, dear baron, that the task which I had to perform was not an easy 
 one. My good republicans wanted every thing in the English style, 
 our great and good allies every thing according to the French mode ; 
 and when I presented a plate of saurhraut dressed in the Prussian 
 style, they all wanted to throw it out of the window. Nevertheless, 
 by the force of proving by " God damns" that my cookery was the 
 best, I overcame the prejudices of the former ; but the second liked me 
 as little in the forests of America as they did on the plains of Rossbach. 
 Do not, therefore, be astonished if I am not painted in very bright 
 colors in Parisian circles. Our poor friend, Woedtke, found a grave in 
 this country. Bile and French brandy finished him at Lake Champlain. 
 
 But enough of this Revolution. It is now nothing more than an old 
 newspaper. Let us glance at what is actually going on in your hemi- 
 sphere. It strikes me that you gentlemen of the diplomatic corps are 
 • sparing some work for the soldiers. Would that I were twenty years 
 -^.mnger 1 But no matter. In my solitude the newspapers are a great 
 source of amusement, and they are so insipid without a few battles. 
 Will you have the kindness to give me some information of our old 
 comrades, Schwerin, Gotz, MullendorfF, the Tartar Goltz, Geusau and 
 Natzmer — are they still living? What rank do they hold, in what 
 regiments and in what garrisons are they stationed, so that I may know 
 where to address them ? 
 
 If you have any commissions to execute in this country, I flatter 
 myself that you will intrust them to me. I shall prize any occasion to 
 show you my sincere attachment. 
 
 I bespeak your kindness for the young officer who will hand you 
 this letter. Although he has not served under me, he has shown such 
 excellent testimony to his good conduct at the taking of Minorca and 
 at the siege of Gibraltar, that I do not hesitate to recommend him to 
 your attention.* 
 
 XLY. 
 
 * STEUBEN TO BARON DE GAUDY. 
 
 New York, 17S7-'8S. 
 Sir, — The same paper that contained the announcement of Fred- 
 erick William's accession to the throne, also informed me that you were 
 
 * Baron von der Groltz was at the time Prussian Ambassador at Paris. 
 
APPENDIX. 699 
 
 in your proper place. Sincere regret for my old master, the best wishes 
 for his present majesty, and satisfaction at seeing your merits rewarded, 
 were the sentiments that I experienced on receiving the news. 
 
 Permit me, sir, on this occasion to renew an acquaintance of which 
 I am sorry to say a long lapse of time and distance have deprived me. 
 You may have heard, perhaps, that I have thought proper to put in 
 practice in another hemisphere the military knowledge which I acquired 
 while I had the honor of serving with you under the same colors. 
 My success has outstripped my most sanguine expectations. The dif- 
 ficulties which I had to encounter were innumerable. A foreigner, 
 ignorant of the language of the country, without resources or help — 
 without authority, I may say — I succeeded in forming an army ca- 
 pable of resisting Great Britain, and the result of this Revolution has 
 crowned my enterprise. How happy I should be could I give you as 
 satisfactory an account of our political affairs as I can of our military 
 successes. But I can not. As this matter is not at all within my ca- 
 pacity, I shall content myself with the remark, that it is with real re- 
 gret I see so soon tottering the edifice which I helped to build at so 
 much labor and suffering. But I am forgetting that I am writing to 
 a royalist, who will rejoice at the bad fortune of rebels. 
 
 Notwithstanding that I have laid aside the sword for the second 
 and probably for the last time, I still amuse myself with the profession 
 which for so many years was the object of my study. It is on this ac- 
 count that I beg you to give me a copy of the works which you have 
 published on military matters, and thus increase my military library. 
 Long since I have had your " Elements of Tactics" translated into En- 
 glish for the instruction of the officers; butM. de Holtzendorff's French 
 translation does not do justice to the author, and he does not seem to 
 have paid the least attention to the engraved plans. Will you have the 
 goodness to send me a German copy, and I shall translate it more ac- 
 curately for my American pupils. 
 
 You must not, however, believe that I have introduced the entire 
 system of drill, evolutions, maneuvers, discipline, tactics and Prussian 
 formation into our army. I should have been pelted had I attempted 
 it, and should inevitably have failed. 
 
 My ordinance, which was translated in Paris, is a rhapsody that I 
 hope has never reached you ; but if you have seen it by chance, I beg 
 you not to condemn it without considering my situation. 
 
 In the first place, the genius of this nation is not in the least to 
 be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. You 
 say to your soldier, " Do this, and he doeth it;" but I am obliged to 
 say, "This is the reason Avhy you ought to do that," and then he 
 does it. 
 
 Your army is the growth of a century, mine of a day. My officers 
 
700 APPENDIX. 
 
 were as raw as my soldiers. This army was renewed almost after every 
 campaign, and I considered myself too fortunate if I had my recruits 
 four weeks before the commencement of active operations. 
 
 Judge, then, whether I could amuse myself much with the manage- 
 ment of arms and parades. Contrary to my principles, I was forced to 
 begin my task at the wrong end, and after executing great maneuvers 
 with six or eight thousand men together, I have sent my generals and 
 colonels to learn the manual exercise. 
 
 After what I have related above, you will admit that my task was 
 not an easy one, and you will judge my ordinances indulgently. I 
 should also tell you that besides infantry, cavalry, artillery and light 
 troops, every thing belonged to my department, and my aids and as- 
 sistants were all of my own creation. 
 
 In all the deviations from the Prussian ordinance that I was com- 
 pelled to make, there is one that I never regretted. It is the formation 
 of my battalions, which were numerically only half the strength of a 
 Prussian battalion. The battalion was commanded by a lieutenant col- 
 onel or major. It was divided into two divisions ; each division into 
 two companies ; the company into two platoons ; the platoons into two 
 sections ; the section into two demi-sections ; the demi-section into two 
 squads ; and the squad into two files. Two battalions formed a regi- 
 ment, commanded by a colonel ; two regiments a brigade, commanded 
 by a brigadier general ; two brigades a division, commanded by a ma- 
 jor general. A battalion of light infantry, or rifles, two squadrons of 
 dragoons, and two companies of artillery attached to this division, 
 formed a legion. This simple formation was of infinite service to me, 
 as well for my maneuvers as for the subdivision of detachments. You 
 see that I did not adopt the five companies in a battalion, and that mine 
 was always ready, each officer remaining with his company. 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 STEUBEN TO J. W. MULLIGAN. 
 
 Philadelphia, January 11, 1793. 
 
 Your letter of the 7th was handed me yesterday by Mr. Hamilton. 
 In vain, my dear child, should I undertake to express to you the sensa- 
 tions which this letter created in my heart. Neither have I the courage 
 to attempt to arrest the tears you have so great reason to shed. For a 
 heart as feeling as yours this was the severest of trials, and nothing but 
 time can bring consolation under circumstances so afflicting. 
 
 Strength of mind is enfeebled by griefs of this nature ; but, my 
 friend, one ought not to suffer it to be entirely extinguished, for it is the 
 duty of a sensible man to cherish the heavenly fire with which we are 
 endowed by Providence. 
 
APPENDIX. 701 
 
 Despite moral philosophy, I weep with you, and glory in the hu- 
 man weakness of mingling my tears with those of a friend I so ten- 
 derly love. 
 
 My dear Charles ought, ere this, to have received my answer to the 
 touching letter he wrote me. 
 
 I repeat my entreaties, to hasten your journey to Philadelphia as 
 soon as your strength permits. My heart and my arms are open to re- 
 ceive you. In the midst of the attention and fetes which they have 
 the goodness to give ine, I enjoy not a moment's tranquillity until I hold 
 you in my arms. Grant me this favor without delay, but divide your 
 journey, that you may not be fatigued at the expense of your health. 
 
 0, if our friend could accompany you ! Embrace him for me, with 
 the same tender friendship I feel for you. 
 
 XL VII. 
 
 JOHN W. MULLIGAN TO BENJAMIN WALKER. 
 
 Steuben, November 29, 1794. 
 I am at length sufficiently composed to begin, my dear sir, a sad 
 tale. On Tuesday morning last, our friend, my father, was struck with 
 a palsy which deprived his left side of motion. The evening before we 
 parted at eleven ; he was well, perfectly welL At four o'clock I was 
 alarmed with the cry that he was dying, and when I entered his cham- 
 ber he was in extreme agony and appeared to have suffered long. I 
 sent for immediate assistance, and dispatched White for Major North. 
 He was sensible and could speak, reached violently, asked for an emetic 
 which I gave him — it operated well. I then put him to bed, from which 
 I had taken him by his desire. He continued to speak at intervals till 
 about six, and from thence was speechless. He remained apparently 
 sensible during the greater part of Tuesday, notwithstanding he was 
 often in convulsions. That night he was pretty quiet, though the fits 
 sometimes returned. He did not show any signs of sense afterwards. 
 Every measure which the situation afforded was pursued to relieve him 
 until the arrival of the doctor on Thursday. He administered medi 
 cines which gave some relief, but it was not long. The stroke was too 
 violent, and yesterday, at half past twelve o'clock, oh, my good God, 
 my parent died ! 0, Colonel Walker, our friend, my all ; I can write 
 no more. Come if you can, I am lonely. Oh, good God, what soli- 
 tude is in my bosom. Oh, if you were here to mingle your tears with 
 mine, there would be some consolation for the distressed 
 
 John W. Mulligan. 
 
702 APPENDIX. 
 
 XLVIII. 
 steuben's last will and testament. 
 I, Frederick William Baron De Steuben, of the City and State of 
 New York, do make this my last will and testament. 
 
 Sufficient reasons having determined me to exclude my relatives in 
 Europe from any participation in my estate in Ameiica, and to adopt 
 my friends and former aides-de-camp, Benjamin Walker and William 
 North, as my children, and make them sole devisees of all my estate 
 therein, except as hereinafterwards is otherwise disposed of. In conse- 
 quence thereof I bequeath to the said Benjamin Walker the sum of 
 three thousand dollars, and the gold-hilted sword given to me by Con- 
 gress ; to the said William North I bequeath my silver-hilted sword, 
 and the gold box given me by the city of New York ; to John W. 
 Mulligan I bequeath the whole of my library, maps and charts, and the 
 sum of two thousand five hundred dollars to complete it, and to each 
 of my servants living with me at the time of my decease one year's 
 wages, and besides this, to my valet-de-chambre, all my wearing appar- 
 el. I do hereby declare that those legacies to my servants are on the 
 following conditions: that on my decease they do not permit any person 
 to touch my body, nor even to change the shirt, in which I shall die, 
 but that they wrap me up in my old military cloak and in twenty-four 
 hours after my decease bury me in such a spot as I shall before my 
 decease point out to them, and that they never acquaint any person 
 with the place wherein I shall be buried. And lastly I do give, devise 
 and bequeath all the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, 
 after the payment of my debts and the legacies aforesaid, to the said Ben- 
 jamin Walker and William North, their heirs, executors and adminis- 
 trators, share and share alike, hereby appointing the said Benjamin 
 Walker and William North executors of this my last will and testament, 
 and revoking all former wills by me heretofore made. 
 New York, February 12, 1794. 
 
 Steuben, (l. s.) 
 Signed, sealed, published and declared 
 
 as the last will and testament, etc., in the 
 
 presence of Charles Williamson, Charles 
 
 Adams and W. H. Robinson. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 EULOGY OF THE GERMAN SOCIETY. 
 
 From New York Journal and Patriotic Register, No. 2939, of Jan. 7, 1795. 
 When, in the dispensation of His Providence, it pleases the Al- 
 mighty Ruler of the Universe to remove from this world persons who 
 
APPENDIX. 703 
 
 have been eminently useful to mankind, it becomes the duty of the so- 
 ciety to which they have belonged to bear to their virtue some honor- 
 able testimonial. In this sentiment, mankind in all ages and in every 
 country have been agreed. 
 
 And whereas, we, the German Society in the city of New York, 
 have lately received official intelligence of the death of our late respect- 
 ed countryman and president, Frederick William Baron De Steuben : 
 
 We, reflecting upon his kind and affectionate deportment as a citi- 
 zen, as a member, and as president of our charitable institution, and 
 considering the important services he rendered this our country, can not 
 but view him as justly entitled to an affectionate place in the memory 
 of every citizen, and of each member of our society. 
 
 We therefore conceive it our duty as members of this society, and 
 as citizens of the American republic, to pay, on this mournful occasion, 
 a tribute of respect to his memory ; and though that heart which was 
 once alive to every honorable feeling of our nature, is now " compressed 
 into a clod of the valley," unconscious of this mark of our respect and 
 regard, still this performance of our duty may not be without its use to 
 society, while to the members of our society it may be an inducement 
 to the practice of those gentle and amiable virtues, by which the de- 
 ceased gained our affections and esteem. To our countrymen in gen- 
 eral it may serve as a further incentive to the discharge of those duties 
 they owe to their country ; for by this they will learn that the fame of 
 virtuous deeds is as extensive as their utility, and that the names of 
 those who have rendered distinguished services in the cause of freedom, 
 descend to posterity, not only adorned with the wreath of public ad- 
 miration, but even in societies, like ours, abstracted from all political 
 concerns and devoted solely to the discharge of the duties of benevo- 
 lence, their virtues are held in tender remembrance, and their memories 
 are embalmed by the sight of unfeigned regret. 
 
 Be it, therefore, resolved, by the officers of the German Society, 
 now convened on this mournful occasion, that the members thereof be 
 requested to wear the usual mourning six weeks, in testimony of their 
 respect for the public and private virtues of their late president, Freder- 
 ick William Baron De Steuben ; and also, that the Rev. Dr. Gross be 
 requested to deliver a funeral oration in the German language, in honor 
 of our deceased president, on Sunday next, half past two o'clock, p. m., 
 in the Reformed German Church in Nassau street. 
 
 David Grimm, Y. P. 
 William Wilmerdincx, Sec. 
 
 December 29, 1794. 
 
704 APPENDIX 
 
 FROM AN INCOMPLETE MEMORIAL. 
 
 The respectable citizens who entered the lists with so much ardor, 
 quitted their cabins with more regret to answer to the second call. 
 Those who were in more easy circumstances emptied their purses to 
 induce those who were poorer to take their places. The rotation of 
 service soon became a speculation, and before the end of the second 
 campaign there were very few rich enough to pay a substitute to serve 
 in their stead. Associations were formed, and, by the force of money, 
 children, invalids and vagrants were engaged to complete the number 
 of the contingents. These men were engaged for such short terms that 
 one recruit soon took the place of another, and the country became 
 quickly destitute of money. They then began to pay in produce. 
 Negroes, cattle, produce, even lands were given to recruits who were 
 utterly useless to the army. 
 
 Congress and the commander-in-chief remonstrated. The evil had 
 become incurable. The soldiers whose term had expired could not be 
 kept on at any price ; several withdrew in the middle, others at the end 
 of the campaign. The enemy was always in full force, while the 
 American army was almost insufficient to furnish the guards for our 
 advanced posts. The new recruit generally arrived when the operations 
 of the war were far advanced. He arrived in a wretched condition, 
 destitute of every article of clothing, and utterly ignorant of a soldier's 
 duty. Often a third of these new levies was totally unfit for service ; 
 another third soon went into hospital, and the remaining third was 
 slightly trained during the time that the enemy employed in making 
 his dispositions. 
 
 In the third campaign the government was compelled to reduce to 
 a considerable extent the number of regiments, from inability to recruit 
 them. If the fate of America could have been decided in one day by 
 a general engagement, it is possible that the enthusiasm of our valorous 
 citizens might have achieved a victory over an army as brave as it was 
 well disciplined. But a war is seldom finished by one or two battles. 
 It is necessary to keep the field, and the hope of regaining advantages 
 on another occasion, tends to prolong the operations of the war. 
 
 The citizen who had braved death at Bunker Hill, could not resist 
 the desire to see his family, and take charge of his household. The 
 hero in the battle of to-day became a deserter to-morrow, perfectly con- 
 fident tdat he was not guilty of any impropriety. " I have had my 
 turn," he used to say; "I have fought bravely, let my neighbor do like- 
 wise. If five hundred thousand of my fellow citizens fire as many 
 shots at the enemy as I have fired in the last battle, the enemy would 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 101 
 
 be soon annihilated, and my country would be free." The neighbor, 
 animated by the same sentiments, puts on his arms, joins the army, 
 fills the vacancy, and asks nothing better than to fight and distinguish 
 himself. But a battle is not fought every day. He waits a week, two, 
 three, perhaps a month. He begins to long to see his family, his cabin, 
 his land which requires his presence to sow the crop or make his 
 harvest. He fears to lose the produce of an entire year. His anxiety 
 affects his health. There is nothing left for him but to go into hospital 
 or go home. He returns to require some other neighbor to take his 
 turn, and so on indefinitely. This rotation soon exhausts the village, 
 but the war is not ended, and the enemy is getting ready for another 
 campaign. 
 
 LI. 
 
 RICHARD PETERS TO STEUBEN. 
 
 Bklmont, October 30, 1788. 
 
 Having been in the War Office from its establishment to the dis- 
 solution of the Board of War (which happened after the great events of 
 the war were passed through, and a short time before the peace), I can 
 speak from an intimate knowledge of the effects your talents and in- 
 dustrious exertions produced. 
 
 And you will permit me to say that they operated like a charm 
 upon every branch of the civil business of the department. Many obsta- 
 cles were encountered by you, in the commencement of your operations, 
 which I believe very few men would have overcome. But when your 
 plans were understood and relished by the army, an economy was 
 introduced which not only made the situation of those concerned in 
 superintending the supplies easier and happier, but was the cause of 
 such immense savings to the United States, as will bear no comparison 
 with any compensation you can now expect. 
 
 It was scarcely possible for us, before your successful exertions in- 
 troduced discipline and the police of the camp into our army, to keep 
 pace with the waste and loss daily experienced. 
 
 But how happy was the change, the inspection returns and other 
 documents will abundantly evince ! I say not these things from any 
 motive but that of justice to you, and from a desire to render to you a 
 small but grateful tribute for the eminent and useful services my country 
 has received at your hands. This I consider myself as bound to do, 
 both as a citizen and one who profited not a little by your information, 
 and the observations made on your conduct while I had the honor to 
 fill a public station with which you were connected, and in which I had 
 almost as much to learn as to practice. 
 
 30* 
 
706 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 FORMATION OF THE ARMY COMMANDED BY HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL 
 
 WASHINGTON, FOR THE PRESENT CAMPAIGN (1779). 
 
 
 I 
 
 | 
 
 | To furnish 1 Remains 
 (tor Lt. Inft.l Butt. Men. 
 
 Total iu the Line. 
 Batt. Men. 
 
 Total Lt. Infantry. 
 Batt. Men. 
 
 | 
 
 fd ■§ s f2d Regt. 
 * ,2 1 •»•« * llth 
 
 $3*898 
 
 62 i 1 
 
 ?36 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 
 ■< 
 
 5 •§ lag 
 
 SSI- 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 191 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 fc 
 
 5 £ [3d & 4th 
 
 245 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 224 
 
 
 
 
 
 rt 
 
 A 
 
 fStta 
 
 2d State, 
 
 
 —124 
 
 —3 
 
 
 6 
 
 1758 
 
 1 1-2 
 
 246 
 
 M 
 
 M 
 
 S8{« 
 
 82 
 
 1 
 
 316 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 
 » 1 
 
 8 | 
 
 J Grists' 
 1st State 
 
 »» 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 321 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 [ 1st & 10th 
 
 J 270 
 
 
 1 
 
 270 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 —123 
 
 —3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' bo o 
 
 rlst 
 
 260 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 219 
 
 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 so 1 
 
 5th 
 
 220 
 
 
 1 
 
 220 
 
 
 
 
 
 /«, 
 
 ^7th 
 
 2J0 
 
 
 1 
 
 230 
 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 CO 
 
 [34 
 
 2i0 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 229 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 82 
 
 —4 
 
 
 8 
 
 1866 
 
 1 
 
 164 
 
 M 
 
 
 r2d 
 
 280 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 299 
 
 
 
 
 
 << 
 
 
 6th 
 
 230 
 
 
 1 
 
 230 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 pq I 
 
 {4th 
 
 320 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 2] 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 8 5 
 
 Delaware 
 
 220 
 
 
 1 
 
 220 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 ** f -" 
 
 
 
 — 82 
 
 —4 
 
 
 
 
 
 & 
 -« 
 
 M g 
 
 fist 
 {7th 
 
 t&» 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 339 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 « "? 
 
 lOth 
 
 24) 
 
 
 1 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 iQ 
 
 ••2d 
 
 340 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 229 
 
 
 
 
 
 >5 
 
 i ° 
 
 {6th 
 
 m* 
 
 — 82 
 82 
 
 —3 
 1 
 
 358 
 
 5 
 
 1574 
 
 1 12 
 
 246 
 
 ■ W 
 
 L 1M O 
 
 9th 
 1 6th 
 
 si* 
 
 82 
 
 1 
 
 338 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 be g 
 
 
 
 —164 
 
 —2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 K 1? 
 
 | 4th 
 
 ) 8th 
 
 184 I an 
 
 232 r 16 
 
 64 
 
 1 
 
 338 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 m g 
 
 |6th 
 
 430 
 
 59 
 
 1 
 
 3S4 
 
 
 
 
 
 O <| 
 
 9 
 
 1 3d 
 
 367 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 329 
 
 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 .=* ^ 
 
 fist 
 
 289 
 
 —164 
 41 
 
 —3 
 1 
 
 251 
 
 6 
 
 1909 
 
 2 
 
 328 
 
 8 I 
 
 S I 
 
 J 5th 
 l2d 
 
 220 > , 9r 
 20G5 426 
 
 82 
 
 1 
 
 250 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L7th 
 
 295 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 257 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to n 
 
 
 
 —161 
 
 —3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 '2 o 
 
 (2d 
 
 224 
 
 24 
 
 1 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ) 5t t 
 
 263 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 233 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 (4th 
 
 313 
 
 38 
 
 1 
 
 275 
 
 
 
 
 
 b 
 
 S3 ■ 
 
 
 (1st 
 
 277 
 
 — 92 
 
 32 
 
 —3 
 
 1 
 
 245 
 
 6 
 
 1373 
 
 1 
 
 164 
 
 3 3 
 
 <7th 
 
 212 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 -< 
 
 (8th 
 
 248 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 XX 
 
 
 
 
 
 cc 
 
 
 
 
 — 72 
 
 —3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 fOth 
 
 1 12th 
 
 184 | 376 
 
 43 
 
 1 
 
 333 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 10th 
 (.15th 
 
 «P* 
 
 51 
 
 1 
 
 3S8 
 
 4 
 
 1275 
 
 1 
 
 164 
 
 
 
 
 — 91 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N. CARO. 
 
 (1st 
 
 328 
 
 37 
 
 1 
 
 291 
 
 
 
 
 
 Brigade. N 
 
 298 
 
 33 
 
 -70 
 
 1 
 —2 
 
 263 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 9755 
 
 8 1 1312 j 
 
 N.B.— Each Batt. of Lt. Infty. consists of 1 Field Offi., 4 Capts., 8 Subs., 12 Sergts., & 164 R. <fc F. 
 
 Return of the Numijer of Men Enlisted during the War, and for shorter Periods 
 in the Army under the immediate Command of His Excellency General 
 Washington, December, 1779. 
 
 ! 
 
 Brigades. 
 
 Ten 
 
 ns expire by the 1st of July, 
 
 During 
 
 the 
 War. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1780. 
 
 1181. 
 
 1782. 
 
 1783. 
 
 
 344 
 
 307 
 7 
 
 10 
 191 
 279 
 717 
 76i 
 
 10 
 476 
 
 118 
 
 122 
 1 
 5 
 13 
 19 
 81 
 35 
 
 327 
 
 49 
 
 15 
 3 
 
 14 
 8 
 4 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 900 
 1046 
 1242 
 1035 
 1079 
 960 
 878 
 566 
 1023 
 406 
 
 1416 
 1497 
 1253 
 
 1050 
 1297 
 1267 
 1680 
 1367 
 1033 
 1210 
 
 2d Do 
 
 
 2d Do 
 
 
 New York 
 
 
 2d Do. . . . 
 
 Hand's 
 
 Stark's 
 
 Total 
 
 3KU 
 
 721 
 
 97 
 
 13 
 
 9135 
 
 13070 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 707 
 
 GENERAL RETURN OP THE NUMBER OF MEN WHOSE 
 
 Times of Enlistment expire before the first 
 day of July, 1780. 
 
 Brigades. 
 
 Regiments. 
 
 1st Maryland. 
 
 .../ 
 
 1st 
 5th 
 7th 
 3d 
 
 'id 
 
 Do. 
 
 1st Pennsylvania 
 
 2d 
 
 New Jersey. 
 
 New York. 
 
 Do. 
 
 2d 
 
 6th 
 4th 
 Delaware 
 
 1st 
 
 th 
 
 10th 
 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 6th 
 9th 
 5th 
 
 1st 
 3d 
 4th 
 2d 
 
 2d 
 4th 
 5th 
 
 !3d 
 
 r|Webb's 
 „. , , I Jackson's 
 
 8tark 8 < , 2d Rhode Is. 
 
 1 jSherborn's 
 
 Hand" 
 
 ( 4th Penns. 
 11th Do. 
 Hazen's 
 Livingston 
 
 I 
 
 1st Connecticut. J 
 
 -{ 
 
 2d 
 
 Do. 
 
 Total. 
 
 3d 
 
 4th 
 6th 
 Btta 
 
 1st 
 
 2d 
 
 5th 
 
 th 
 
 35 45 
 37; 43| 
 
 3S 48 
 30 35 
 
 I 
 
 171 
 
 ! 
 
 5 3 . 
 13'lOi 115 
 
 1 
 
 ss 
 
 15 
 
 142 
 
 436 
 
 IT S 
 
 10 3 
 
 6i 6 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 T 
 
 6j 2 
 1311 
 
 197 95 
 
 13| 15 j 
 
 4J 5) 
 
 120 145 
 78| 91 
 T5; 8T 
 
 100J 119 
 
 115; 12S 
 
 75 ! 89 
 74 
 
 146 170 
 
 to 
 
 i> 25 
 
 General Return of the Num- 
 ber of Men who have been 
 Sick Absent, and have not 
 
 BEEN HEARD OF IN SlX 
 
 Months. 
 
 Regiments. 
 
 
 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 ■f; 
 
 P 
 
 g 
 
 a 
 
 et 
 
 1st 
 5th 
 7th 
 3d 
 
 2d 
 6th 
 4th 
 Delaware 
 
 1st 
 7th 
 10th 
 2d 
 
 3d 
 6th 
 9th 
 
 5th 
 
 1st 
 3d 
 4th 
 2d 
 
 !4th 
 5th 
 
 |3d 
 
 ; Webb's 
 Jackson's 
 2d Rhode Is.i 
 
 Shcrborn's j 
 
 i4th Penns. 
 11th Do. 
 illazcn's 
 
 I Livingston 
 
 442 
 
 !;3d 
 !4th 
 j6th 
 Sth 
 
 1st 
 |2d 
 
 5th 
 JTth 
 
 1575 inalUS67 
 
 1 
 
 9 ' 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 (» 
 
 10 
 
 20 5 
 
 i 
 
 ! 81 8 
 
 j 3| 8 
 
 1 9 13 
 
 22 
 
 !•• 
 
 It 
 
 16 
 
 3 2 99 in all 104 
 
 N. B.— The 2d Connecticut Brigade omitted making any Return of 
 in Six Months. 
 
 Men not heard of 
 
708 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 2. 33 £3 3B £;? 0!3 £3 
 
 *8 
 
 St; 2 = 
 
 g S 
 
 KeeSxe 
 
 » 3 2 III? 3 3 "a' 3 _ 
 
 B C.O-^3 0,0.^3 Cin, 1 *; 
 
 ES'3'£» 35'£jE3'3'£.' : 
 . S-'E.. . s-"». . S-'SL. i 
 
 m| Colonels. 
 
 ,_, | Lieut.-Colonels. 
 
 ] Majors. 
 
 to to 
 
 tO M 
 
 Captains. 
 
 tO Oi >&- O 
 
 Capt.-Lieutents 
 and Lieutenants 
 
 
 M 
 
 Pay-masters. 
 
 to 
 
 Adjutants and 
 Qr.-masters. 
 
 
 Surgeons. 
 
 
 Mates. 
 
 
 M 
 
 Sergt. -majors & 
 
 Q-.-mast.sergt-. 
 
 " 
 
 Drum and Fife 
 Majors. 
 
 £^ 
 
 Sergeants- 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 Bombardters. 
 
 Drums & Fife9. 
 
 "3 
 
 3.f 
 
 E.3 2 3 
 
 ~3 
 
 M P 
 
 
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 I 2^8 B^g S^g BJ.*! 
 
 § « g 5 2 P g 1 2 „ g S g , i 8 g 
 
 § £~g § § £§ § ° -§ § § ~g § § 
 
 3 '< 3" — 1 
 
 
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 >5 » . 
 
 iMMihMOO tO03O3 
 
 WHMWtOHHOl 
 
 1 
 
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 MM 
 
 
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 to 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 -£&•**»*£! 
 
 ~i 3-' 2; --> loic to to 
 
 *£ 
 
 olonels. 
 Lieut.-Colonels 
 
 Majors. 
 Captains. 
 
 Ensigi 
 
 Pay-masters. 
 Adjutants and 
 Qr.-masters. 
 
 Sergt. -majors & 
 Qr.-mast.strgts. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 Corporals, 
 
 Drum and Fife 
 Majors. 
 
 Drums & Fifes. 
 
 Rank and File. 
 
 1st September. 
 
 1st. Inly 1st Aug. gthJnly 1st. Sept. 
 
 8 S? 
 
 3 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 ft. 
 
 _ 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 1 8 
 
 War. 
 
 2 years and 
 Upwards, 
 
 1 year and 
 
 upwards. 
 
 6 months and 
 pwards. 
 
 3 months and 
 upwards. 
 
 2 months and 
 upwards. 
 
 1 month and 
 
 upwards 
 
 
 
 
 
 s.- 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 H 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 
 
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 s 
 
 P 
 
 !> 
 
 n 
 
 t 
 
 
 
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 - 
 
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 25 
 
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 B 
 
 
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 M 
 
 M 
 
 s 
 
 
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 B 
 
 5j 
 
 
 Ul 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 Q 
 
 O 
 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DO 
 
 
 
 
 N 
 
 
 Q 
 
 Disputed. 
 Unknown. 
 
 Effectives. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 109 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 Present, fit for and on Field Duty, .... 
 
 Sick, Present and in Hospital, 
 
 On Furlough and in Captivity, 
 
 On Staff, and Menial Duty, 
 
 B 
 
 si 
 
 k> IK 
 
 K i 
 
 S B 
 ■ 
 
 a 
 
 CO 1 
 
 tocoaio 
 
 Field Officers. 
 
 s 
 
 to CO W 00 
 
 Captains. 
 
 g£3£ 
 
 Subalterns. 
 
 m 
 
 H*K 
 
 Surgeons and 
 Mates. 
 
 i 
 
 tuEi 
 
 Noncommissioned 
 Officers. 
 
 g 
 
 tOlOOOS 
 
 TrumpeterSjFifers 
 and Drummers. 
 
 o 
 cio 
 
 ^11 
 
 Privates of every 
 denomination. 
 
 Ss 
 
 *.»6a 
 
 Troop-horses. 
 
 9 5 g 
 
 is 
 
 S3 
 
 CD ■ g 3 
 
 2 Si 3 Q 
 
 © 3 © r* c 
 
 >0 cd ^ » S 
 
 o o so !? m 
 
 •"*sl 5 S 3 
 
 ?$^ *g 
 
 s -< ° s 
 
 b*d*3 5 
 
 © » ?t CD CD 
 
 a 5* 5 B a 
 
 3 J2i{3 ts 
 
 ■ff*=T 
 
 £ 2. 8 v? S I 
 
 S3 o ' S. » V „ 
 
 EL » » 
 
 sis 
 
 "^ 3 SS 
 
 8 a 
 p «» B i 
 
 3^3* 
 
 See =rg; 
 
 8 O** CD 
 
 i5 s l 
 
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 A PP EX I) I X 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OP THE NORTHERN ARMY 
 Foe the Month of Apeu., 1782. 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 
 jj 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 X 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 1 E 
 
 a « 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
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 c 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 1 1 1 1 
 
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 SI 
 
 8 
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 t 
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 S 3 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 r i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 9 6 
 
 2 1 
 
 P 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 ' 21 
 
 10 
 
 17 285 
 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 8 
 
 6 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
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 24 13 271 
 
 
 :> 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 6 6 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 24 
 
 23 15 265 
 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 6 6 
 
 8 1; 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 2f 
 
 22; 18 272 
 
 Massachusetts - 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 7 
 7 6 
 
 7 l; 
 
 7 I 
 
 l! 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 30 
 1 26 
 
 21; 16 263 
 23 17 268 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 7 
 
 2 1 
 
 1 * 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 27| Willi 282 
 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 7 
 
 6 1 
 
 1 * 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i{ 1 
 
 1 28 1 21 16 276 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 7 7 
 
 4 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l: 1 
 
 1 23! 22 17 275 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 6 5 
 
 5 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 34! 80(18 258 
 
 
 
 r i 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 10 
 
 7 6 
 
 8 
 
 4 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 i 
 
 1 26, 24 14 276 
 
 1 26; 24 171 223 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 9 7 
 
 8 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 27 25 15! 241 
 
 Connecticut \ 
 
 a l 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 6 
 
 2 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 lj 1 
 
 1 311 21 17 288 
 
 
 4! 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 5 7 
 
 8 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 36 24 19 236 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 1 
 
 5 6 
 
 3 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 30 24 14 233 
 
 New York - 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 9) 9 
 7 7 
 
 9 1 
 5 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l! 1 1 34 31 17 861 
 
 11 1 l! 89 28 20| 896 
 
 New Jersey - 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 9 11 
 
 + 1 ! 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 25 28;i7; 298 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 S 5 
 
 6 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l! 1 1 29 
 
 24 ! 12' 283 
 
 Canadian Old Regt. . . 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 9 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 18 
 
 6 17| 265 
 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1 45 
 4 50 
 
 Commdr.-in-chief s Gd 
 
 Sappers and Miners. . . 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 » 
 
 66 
 
 Total j 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 8 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 .! 
 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 ; 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
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 O 
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 I 
 
 : 
 
 ■s 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
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 r 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 § 
 g 
 
 f 1 
 
 I 
 
 ] 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 J 
 | 
 
 c 
 14 1 
 
 j I 
 
 5 1 
 
 7 272 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 7 1 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 I 1 
 
 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 K 
 
 2S 
 
 17 
 
 New York, 
 
 1 ] 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 8 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 24 
 
 8 
 
 20 : 
 
 9 167 
 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 { 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 3 77 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ~~ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 fi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 < ; 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 Cavalry. 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 e 
 i 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 * 5 
 
 
 v 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 a 
 c » 
 
 t: 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 '3 
 
 i 
 
 
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 3 S. i. 
 
 s 
 
 | 
 1 
 
 
 r 
 
 1 
 
 » | 
 
 E 1 
 
 T t: 
 
 £ 1 
 a 
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 £ 
 
 2 5 
 
 c 
 
 2 s a 
 
 < : 
 
 if £ j 
 
 ** ! 
 
 cc 5- 
 
 5 £ 
 
 c^ iU 
 
 H 
 
 a O 
 
 fa CO 
 
 ^ a; 
 242 
 
 Connecticut. . . 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 « 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 r 
 
 
 11 
 
 191 4, 1 1 41 
 
 Van Heer 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 "T 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 2 
 
 28 
 
 Total.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
A P P E N O I X . 
 
 71i 
 
 ABSTEACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of May, 1782. 
 
 8TATES AND CORPS. 
 
 New Hampshire.... 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 Connecticut. , 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey -j 2 
 
 Invalids j 1 
 
 Sappers and Miners. .. j 
 Commdr.-in-chief s Gd. 
 Artificers 
 
 Total. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 281 26; IS 247 
 
 22 
 26 
 
 2 s 
 
 29 
 
 2S 
 
 2G 
 
 25 
 
 2S 
 
 25 
 
 84 
 
 28 
 
 1! 29 
 
 1 81 
 
 80 
 
 1! 39 
 
 1 80 
 
 34 
 
 1 36 
 
 28 
 
 23 16; 239 
 18 15! 2S7 
 25 13! 297 
 27^17! 309 
 26171 285 
 2116 276 
 
 24 18; 324 
 23 | 13! 306 
 21 17' 284 
 24 
 32 
 
 13 
 9 
 
 IS 314 
 14 i 297 
 
 18: 310 
 14 313 
 19 259 
 
 17 2SS 
 18 j 3S0 
 201 417 
 
 18 295 
 12 276 
 
 263 
 60 
 50 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 s 
 
 t 
 
 c 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 3 
 
 7. 
 
 < 
 
 2 . 
 
 I 1 
 
 3 S* 
 
 Of Ph 
 
 3 
 M 
 
 5 
 s. 
 
 1 
 
 "3? 
 
 s 
 
 J! 
 
 5 
 
 J? 
 
 a 
 Q 
 
 ^3 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 | 
 
 i 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 B 
 O 
 
 Q 
 
 1 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 1 
 
 5 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 35 
 21 
 15 
 
 25 
 20 
 
 15 
 8 
 
 16 
 21 
 
 u 
 
 19 
 
 235 
 170 
 57 
 
 i 
 3 s 
 
 S 6 
 
 Connecticut. . 
 Van Heer 
 
 Total . 
 
712 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OP THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of June, 17S2. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 New Hampshire. . 
 
 Massachusetts. . 
 
 1 1 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 Connecticut. . 
 
 New York.. 
 
 New Jersey. 
 
 Canada Regiment. 
 
 Invalids 
 
 Commdr-in-chf s Gd. 
 Sappers and Miners. 
 
 Total. 
 
 8 4 
 
 9 2 
 7 4 
 7 4 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 II 1 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 
 1 1 
 
 li 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 I 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 II 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 I 1 
 
 84 
 
 81 
 
 21 17 
 24 15 
 2816 
 
 26,18 
 22il8 
 2217 
 
 24 13 
 
 25 18 
 25 IS 
 
 :;lo 
 8o<; 
 .„. 315 
 19 290 
 17 293 
 
 84 18 427 
 24 21 430 
 
 18 305 
 15 294 
 
 293 
 
 5j 52 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 t\ a 
 
 Massachusetts, 
 New York, . . 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total, . . 
 
 131 
 
 8 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 18 
 
 •_'f,it 
 
 57 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 713 
 
 ABSTEAOT OF THE MUSTEES OF THE NOETHEEN AEMY, 
 Fob the Month of July, 1782. 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 £ 
 
 
 STATES AND COBPH. 
 
 i 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 s 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
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 i i a 
 
 S 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 1 
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 3 
 
 
 e 
 
 
 
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 m 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
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 3 
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 .1 
 
 d 
 
 5 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 » 
 
 | 
 
 s 
 
 00 
 
 1 
 
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 I 
 
 ■ 
 
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 £ 
 
 New Hampshire. . -j 
 
 l 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 28 
 
 19 
 
 857 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 9 ! 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 * * 
 
 23 
 
 20 
 
 16 833 
 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 l! i 
 
 28 
 
 27 
 
 10! 335 
 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i i 
 
 81 
 
 25 
 
 18 1 340 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 111 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 82 
 
 20 
 
 18 334 
 
 Massachusetts - 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 22 
 
 18 350 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 26 
 
 2:> 
 
 14 357 
 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 l 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 8) 
 
 27 
 
 171 342 
 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 28 
 
 18 347 
 
 
 j 10 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 111 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 38 
 
 28 
 
 15 
 
 332 
 
 Ehode Island 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 31 
 
 M 
 
 17 
 
 479 
 
 1 
 
 " 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 80 
 
 20 
 
 Is 
 
 322 
 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 84 
 
 26 
 
 10 
 
 325 
 
 Connecticut 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 81 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 813 
 
 ■ 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 40 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 296 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 111 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 80 
 
 24 
 
 17 
 
 805 
 
 New York J 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 111 
 
 j J J 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 84 
 
 84 
 
 IS 
 
 414 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 r> 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 84 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 441 
 
 
 New Jersey. i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2S 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 297 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 24 
 
 15 
 
 275 
 
 
 Canada Eegiment. . 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Invalids 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 
 28 
 8 
 
 17 
 4 
 
 9 
 5 
 
 193 
 47 
 
 Commdr-in-chf's Gd 
 
 Sapper and Miners . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 1? 
 
 1 
 
 62 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 " 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 ! i 
 
 1 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "2 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 s 2 
 
 1 : 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 p 
 
 
 
 §1 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 H 
 
 3 
 
 7, 
 
 i 
 5 
 
 •3 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 ■7. 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 SB J « 
 
 So"" 
 
 7 T o 
 5 = "a 
 * d I 
 
 S 3 i 
 
 Jo E 
 
 1 & 
 
 "5 
 o 
 & 
 
 1 
 
 ■9 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 (5 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
 Massachusetts,. 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 ■ 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 1 J 
 
 39 
 
 «i 
 
 19 
 
 17 
 
 is 
 
 270 
 
 New York, . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' Artificers, 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 — — 
 
 — 
 
 
 - — | — - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - — — 
 
 
 
 - — 
 
 — 
 
 — — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 Total, . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
714 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ABSTEACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 Fob the Month of August, 1782. 
 
 
 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c o 
 
 « 
 
 
 1 a 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jj a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. »? Q *• 
 
 . c * £ £ 
 
 
 % i 
 
 © 
 
 ! 
 
 
 e 
 
 
 Regimer 
 Colonels 
 Lt, Cols. 
 Lieutena 
 
 Captains 
 Lieutena 
 Ensigns. 
 Adjutant 
 Quarter- 
 Pay-mas 
 
 9 
 
 c „; 
 | | 
 
 1 1 
 
 a >1 
 
 1 1 
 
 eg 1 
 
 a 
 1 L 
 
 ? a 
 
 El CO 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 § 
 
 1 
 
 £ 
 
 New Hampshire ....< n 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Canada Regiment 1 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 1 1 1 - 
 
 18 7 1111 
 
 
 1 ll 1 
 
 1 21 
 
 a 
 
 18 
 
 336 
 
 2 1 5 
 
 1 9 10 2 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 ll 1 
 
 1 2$ 
 
 27J17 
 
 335 
 
 8 1 ] 
 
 9 10 4 1 1 
 
 
 1 11 1 
 
 1 2£ 
 
 2SI16 
 
 327 
 
 4 1 1 ] 
 
 9 7 4 111 
 
 
 1 ll 1 
 
 1 27 
 
 25|l8 
 
 327 
 
 5 1 
 
 Massachusetts -1 g .. : 
 
 8 11 5 1 1 1 
 5 8 8 111 
 
 
 
 
 1 3< 
 1 2£ 
 
 as 
 
 2'. 
 
 is 
 18 
 
 319 
 
 830 
 
 7 i 
 
 ,792111 
 
 
 
 
 1 25 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 841 
 
 8 1 
 
 7 8 2 111 
 
 
 
 
 1 31 
 
 27 
 
 IS 
 
 336 
 
 9 1 11 
 
 8 11 2 1 1 1 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 1 27 
 
 2( 
 
 IS 
 
 356 
 
 h 10 1 11 
 
 9 9 5 111 
 
 
 ii i 
 
 
 1 37 
 
 w 
 
 15 
 
 841 
 
 Rhode Island 1 1 S 
 
 9 10 1 1 1; 1 
 
 1 
 8 8 6 111 
 
 
 
 
 1 35 
 1 28 
 
 27 
 
 K 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 466 
 809 
 
 riii 
 
 2 1 ll 
 
 9 7 2 11 
 
 
 
 
 1 34 
 
 24 
 
 15 
 
 811 
 
 Connecticut 1 3 1 11 
 
 9 9 2 11 
 
 
 
 
 I 30 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 306 
 
 It 1 1 1 
 
 6 6 4 111 
 
 
 
 
 I 40 
 
 28 
 
 10 
 
 283 
 
 I 6 1 2 
 
 7 7 4 1 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 I 2S 
 
 22 
 
 15 
 
 803 
 
 New York 
 
 j 1 ii 
 
 •{2 1 11 
 
 8 7 6 111 
 
 8 10 4 1 1 1 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 32 
 I 36 
 
 31 
 25 
 
 17 
 21 
 
 350 
 409 
 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 j 1 1 11 
 •"j 2 1 11 
 
 9 8 5 11 
 8 S 6 1 1 1 
 
 
 I \ 
 
 1 " 
 
 1 ] 
 
 29 
 
 2S 
 
 26 
 28 
 
 1!) 
 15 
 
 296 
 276 
 
 
 Invalids 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 40 
 
 Commdr.-in-cliief s Gd. 
 
 Sappers and Miners 
 
 • • 
 
 i__ 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 62 
 
 Total 
 
 ..—-— 
 
 1 1 
 
 T 
 
 T) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - • 
 
 | 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 B £ 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 
 1 1 4 i 
 
 Si C 
 
 » 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 § § | 
 
 1 e I a 1 = 
 
 •s o 5 J j 4j 
 
 3 S o o « S 
 
 Adjutants. 
 Quarter-mast 
 Pay -masters. 
 Surgeons. 
 Mates. 
 
 Sergeant-Maj 
 
 7 '? 
 
 i i 
 
 s 8 
 
 i i *» 
 £ i to 
 
 "5 
 o 
 & 
 
 a 
 
 f 
 
 | 
 
 a 
 
 5 
 
 £ 
 1 
 
 B 
 1 
 | 
 
 Q 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 "3 
 1 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 i 
 
 19 7 7 9 
 
 111 11 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 45 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 IS 
 
 17 
 
 254 
 
 New York, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 715 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of September, 1TS2. 
 
710 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OP THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 Foe the Month of October, 17S2. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 * J 
 $ 6 
 
 -5 G 
 
 ■z O 
 
 1 a 
 Q ! 
 
 — c 
 
 o 1 
 
 a 3 
 
 i 
 a 
 
 91 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 
 Ensigns. 
 
 Adjutants. 
 
 Quarter-masters. 
 
 Fay-masters. 
 
 
 | 
 
 1 B* 
 | 1 
 
 5 « 
 C § 
 
 V 
 
 p 
 
 s 
 
 Z efl 
 
 | 
 1 
 
 e 
 
 s 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 New Hampshire •< 
 
 Canadiau Regiment. . . 
 
 Massachusetts -1 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 l 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 2 
 
 3 1 
 
 4 1 
 5 
 
 6 
 7 
 
 8 1 
 
 9 1 
 10 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 1 
 
 3 1 
 
 4 1 
 5 
 
 1 
 2 1 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 2 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 6 6 2 
 8 9 3 
 
 8 11 2 
 711 1 
 
 9 9 4 
 8 10 3 
 
 6 11 4 
 6, 8 8 
 
 7 9 1 
 
 8 9 3 
 
 6 12 8 
 
 9 5 6 
 
 8 8 5 
 9: 8 3 
 S 6 1 
 
 8 S 3 
 67 8 
 
 9 10 6 
 
 7 9 4 
 
 7 10 3 
 7 6 6 
 
 4 3 3 
 
 2 2 
 2 
 4 
 
 ~~T 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 111 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 1 
 
 l! 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l! 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 2" 
 1 3' 
 
 1 2( 
 1 96 
 
 1, 24 
 1! 31 
 1 2£ 
 1 2] 
 1 27 
 1 2fl 
 1 2g 
 3S 
 
 1 29 
 1 33 
 1 27 
 1 36 
 1 24 
 
 1 29 
 1 36 
 
 28 
 1 22 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 8 
 5 
 
 ' V 
 2( 
 
 a 
 
 2' 
 
 2: 
 2" 
 1! 
 8f 
 M 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 24 
 18 
 
 11 
 
 33 
 
 24 
 
 2C 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 4 
 4 
 
 [ 14 
 
 j U 
 
 IS 
 1- 
 111 
 17 
 17 
 17 
 14 
 
 id 
 
 17 
 
 lis 
 
 323 
 323 
 
 844 
 352 
 852' 
 844 
 824! 
 356 ! 
 852 
 
 : 357; 
 
 j 837 
 833 
 
 Connecticut -j 
 
 New York i 
 
 16 233 
 
 14 [ 273 
 18 229 
 
 14 226 
 
 15 212 
 
 18 ! 411 
 20, 436 
 
 16 2S3 
 15; 266 
 
 7 193 
 
 4! 92 
 5 51 
 1 58 
 
 New Jersey -j 
 
 Maryland Detachment. 
 
 Commdr.-in-chief s GUI. 
 Sappers and Miners. . . 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 z 
 
 : 
 
 c 
 c 
 
 C 
 
 3 
 
 - s 
 
 'i? ZT 
 
 S 6 
 
 S 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 a 1 
 « a 
 1 2 
 
 g , 
 
 r 5 
 
 J .= 
 
 _ -3 
 
 i . 
 
 1 s 
 
 * a s 
 
 -2 S S 
 
 . 5 «f 
 
 = a c 
 
 tf fe « 
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 5 ® 
 
 it 
 
 3 
 
 S 
 
 | 
 
 5 
 
 I \ 
 
 (5 £ 
 
 ; i 
 
 \ % 
 
 i X 
 
 : «3 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 ■5 
 
 ■8 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 C3 
 
 s 1 
 a 
 
 £ 
 | 
 
 | 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total, 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 110 
 
 1 7 
 1 
 
 9 
 7 6 
 
 li. 
 
 LI J 
 11 j 
 1 
 
 [111 
 1111 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 ] 
 3 
 
 46 
 20 
 14 
 
 35 
 17 
 
 25 
 
 22 
 
 IS 
 
 10 
 14 
 
 294 
 226 
 53 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 717 
 
 ABSTKACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of November, 1782. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 3 
 . a -e 
 
 m s m B 
 
 till 
 
 « .2 C "3 
 O i3 K •< 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 Massachusetts - 
 
 Connecticut. , 
 
 New York, 
 
 New Jersey < 
 
 Maryland Detachment. 
 
 Invalids 
 
 Commdr.-in-chief s Gd. 
 
 Sappers and Miners. . . 
 
 Total 
 
 .Ml 
 
 8 10 
 
 1 7 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 l! 1 80 
 1 37 
 
 21 16 
 24 16 
 
 22*18 
 29 13 
 
 27il7 
 2318 
 27117 
 26,18 
 21112 
 30|14 
 2618 
 21 14 
 
 51 42 21 
 55 35 25 
 50 87 31 
 
 29 31 
 39 24 
 
 IS 
 
 339 
 301 
 
 I 
 
 357: 
 
 355 
 .",53 
 853 
 342 
 359 
 361 
 361 
 326 
 355 
 
 420 
 457 
 
 407 
 435 
 
 280 
 192 
 113 
 
 11 55 
 I 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 Si S 
 
 i : M 
 
 E S 
 
 
 Massachusetts,. 
 New York, . . . 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total, . . . 
 
 43 
 
 85 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 283 
 211 
 53 
 
718 
 
 A P P E X D 1 X 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY 
 Fob the Month of December, 1782. 
 
 o 
 
 to 
 
 Regiments. 
 
 Colonels. 
 
 Lt. Cols. Commdts. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonels. 
 
 Majors. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 
 Ensigns. 
 
 Adjutants. 
 
 Pay-masters. 
 
 Surgeons. 
 
 Mates. 
 
 Sergeant-Majors. 
 
 Quarter-master sergts. 
 
 Drum-majors. 
 
 Fife-majors. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 j 
 
 1 
 ■ 
 
 1 1 
 
 Canadian 1 12 7 5 3 
 
 New Hampshire....-} * 1 * : 5 « 
 
 ( * 1 o 1 
 
 f 1 1 6 8 2 1 
 
 2 ! 2 5 10 21 1 
 
 3 1 : 1 5 S 3 j - 
 
 Massachusetts J i } * ^6 2 l| 
 
 o 1 1 5 4 4 11 
 
 6 1 5 2 5! 2 ] 
 
 7 14 9 3 11 
 LSI 1 710 4 1 1 
 
 (11 15 3 5 11 
 Connecticut 1 2 145 3 
 
 (3 14 2 4 1: 
 Rhode Island 1! i 299211 
 
 Ill 1 ll 19| 15 1 
 
 II 11 11 24: 19 1 
 I ill 1 80 28 1 
 
 t S ! 1 
 
 I 1 1; 1 1 1 11 33 231 
 
 III 1 1 1 1 1 27 241 
 
 I | 1 1 1 31 28 1 
 
 II | 1 1 1 30 27 1 
 1111 1 1 34 27 1 
 
 I 1 j 1 1 1 33 27 2 
 
 III 1 1 1 1 33 23 1 
 
 II 111 35 33 1 
 
 1 
 
 III 11 44 33 2 
 11 111 50 27 2 
 
 1 1 2 37 80 2 
 
 II 1 1 1 1 35 27 1 
 
 11 1 1 1 1 31 23 1 
 11 1 11 1 34 24 1 
 
 I 1111 24 23 1 
 
 II 1 1 1 27 19 1 
 11111 191 17 
 
 1 41 3 - 
 
 111111 6 7' 
 
 1 f | f J 
 
 7 418 
 6 321 
 6 291 
 
 6 432 
 S 427 
 
 7 415 
 
 3 408 
 S 424 
 1 427 
 S 425 
 
 1 428 
 
 389 
 i 400 
 7 395 
 5 399 
 
 7 378 
 5 899 
 7 280 
 t 261 
 " 192 
 
 1 52 
 
 r 163 
 
 53 
 
 r 
 
 New York i * 1 J J 7 4 
 
 j 2! 17 4 2 1 
 
 i New Jersey J j* 1 2 8 3 ] 
 
 17 (2| 1274 1 
 I Maryland Detachment.! 14 3 3 1] 
 
 (Invalids 1 14 11 
 
 i Sappers and Miners. . . j 8 
 Total 
 
 AKTILLERY. 
 
 c 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonels. 
 
 Majors. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Capt. Lieutenants. 
 
 1st Lieutenants. 
 
 2d Lieutenants. 
 
 Adjutants. 
 
 Quarter-masters. 
 
 Pay-masters. 
 
 Surgeons. 
 
 Mates. 
 
 ,0 « . .3 
 SI 1 &, £ , . v 1 
 
 i f I T 1 11 s i 
 
 v 1 1 J I & 1 1 I 
 
 k v a £i tc a © 
 
 11 1 37 29 20 28 18 
 1 1 21 14 6 20 15 
 14 
 
 271 
 1S4 
 49 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 New York, 
 
 1 
 
 1 j 
 
 6 5 7 9 l! 1 ll 
 1 6 5 2 13 1 1 
 
 Total 
 
 
 I II 
 
 1 
 
 Cavalry. 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 Majors. 
 
 Cap ftins. 
 
 1st Lientenants. 
 
 2d Lieutenants. 
 
 Cornets. 
 
 Adjutants. 
 
 Quarter-masters. 
 
 Pay-masters. 
 
 burgeons. 
 
 Mates. 
 
 Sergeant-Majors. 
 
 Quarter-master sergts. 
 
 Riding-masters. 
 
 Trumpet-majors. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 Trumpters. 
 
 Buglers. 
 
 Drummers and Fifers. 
 
 Farriers. 
 
 Clerks. 
 
 C 
 
 Sheldon's 1 
 
 Van Heer j 
 
 1 
 
 1 3 41 11 1| 
 
 2 1 1 
 
 2, 11 112 22 4 1 14 11 
 
 8 4 31 ] 
 
 [214 
 41 
 
 Total....| 1 
 
 ■*■ ! " 
 
 ~rH — H) — ~r 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 719 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 
 For tiik Month of January, 1783. 
 
 BTATKS AND CORPS. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 i 
 
 g 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 E 
 
 g 
 
 <! 
 
 1 
 9f 
 
 £ 
 S' 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 7; 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 .$. 
 
 s 
 
 g 
 
 CO 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 
 '2 
 
 2 
 
 B 
 
 co 
 
 1 
 
 § 
 
 E 
 
 £ 
 I 
 
 Q 
 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 1 
 
 ! 2 
 
 r i 
 i 
 i 
 
 4 
 5 
 « 
 
 7 
 
 S 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 \i 
 
 L 
 I. 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 5 
 
 7 
 4 
 6 
 4 
 8 
 G 
 4 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 7 
 4 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 3 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 7 
 8 
 7 
 8 
 1 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 8 
 G 
 
 7 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 ;; 
 
 2 
 3 
 3 
 5 
 3 
 4 
 
 5 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 22 
 30 
 
 32 
 2'J 
 
 2!) 
 
 a 
 
 33 
 80 
 88 
 
 37 
 
 44 
 
 GO 
 
 37 
 
 33 
 85 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 21 |l4 
 20 15 
 
 25,18 
 31 1 17 
 29,18 
 26^16 
 
 327 
 
 300 
 
 447 
 421 
 427 
 422 
 427 
 427 
 425 
 427 
 
 3S9 
 
 400 
 395 
 
 372 
 
 404 
 
 274 
 270 
 
 188 
 45 
 
 163 
 53 
 
 Connecticut ■ 
 
 New York 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 31 
 
 88 
 
 27 
 3i 
 
 27 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 24 
 
 It 
 8 
 7 
 8 
 
 2D 
 IS 
 14 
 
 20 
 23 
 
 27 
 
 15 
 
 IS 
 
 17 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 Maryland Detacbmen 
 Commdr.-in-chief s Gc 
 
 Sappers and Miners. . 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 . c 
 1 I 
 
 1* 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 = 
 
 3 
 S 
 
 
 g 
 
 5 
 
 g 
 
 
 i 
 
 3 
 
 CO 
 
 P. 
 
 a 
 
 /. 
 
 1 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 2 « 
 
 £ l CO 
 
 i 
 
 a, j 
 
 6 
 
 ■5 
 | 
 
 c 
 g 
 
 ■a 
 
 ] 
 
 Q 
 
 m 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total, 
 
 1 
 
 L 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 T 
 2 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 it 
 
 1 
 "1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 37 
 21 
 14 
 
 29 
 14 
 
 20 
 6 
 
 M 
 
 20 
 
 IS 
 1C 
 
 271 
 
 1S4 
 
 49 
 
720 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ABSTRACT 01' TIIE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of February, 17S3. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 a. 
 
 Regiments. 
 
 Colonels. 
 
 Lt. Cols. Commdts. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonels. 
 
 Majors. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 
 I 
 S .2, £ ■ 
 
 .ill s i 1 1 
 1 1 1 i S i ill 
 
 h << or £ da X <« » q 
 
 1' ite-majors. 
 Sergeants. 
 Corporals. 
 
 Drummers and Fifers. 
 Privates. 
 
 New Hampshire.... -j \ 2 4 < 
 
 f 1 1 1 1 5 S 
 
 2 2 4 S 
 
 3 16 7 
 
 Massachusetts 1 5 1 i \\\ 
 
 6 j 17 1 
 
 7 ! 1 2 3 5 
 I 8 li 1 6 7 
 
 j 
 (11 16 4 
 Connecticut 1 2 1 1154 
 
 11 1 11 
 111 1 11 
 
 2 111 1111 
 
 3 1111 11 
 
 2 1 1 111 
 
 3 111 li 
 3 1111 1 ll 
 6 11111 11 
 3 11111 111 
 5 11111 1 i 
 
 3 12 11 
 2 11 1 11 
 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 5 11 11 1 
 
 4 1111 111 
 
 4 1 1 11 
 
 2 11 11111 
 
 3 11111 11 
 
 1 
 1111 111 
 
 21 21 1 
 26 191 
 
 1 32 25 '] 
 1 28 811 
 
 22 281 
 1 30 261 
 
 34 281 
 1 34 24 1 
 1 32 24 1 
 1 40 28 1 
 
 1 42 35 2 
 
 53 31 2 
 
 1 40 24 2 
 
 1 35 2S1 
 1 37 25 2 
 
 26 21 1, 
 1 24 20 1. 
 
 10 15 ' 
 3 { 
 
 13 13 8 
 5 2 1 
 
 1 
 4! 324 
 3 291 
 
 8 442 
 
 7 423 
 
 8 426 
 
 6 422 
 
 7 426 
 
 9 434 
 S 430 
 5 424 
 
 d 377 
 I 411 
 7 407 
 
 ' 307 
 1 412 
 
 > 276 
 ? 273 
 
 f 196 
 
 ) 53 
 
 164 
 
 55 
 
 | 3 12 6 
 New York i J ? J I 
 
 ( 2 1 1 1 2 9 
 
 New Jersey i ^ 175 
 
 Maryland Detachment. 14 8 
 Commdr.-in-chief s Gd. 1 
 Invalids 1 a 
 
 Sappers and Miners 
 
 1 
 
 Total 
 
 
 j 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 § 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonels. 
 
 Majors. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 Capt. Lieutenants. 
 
 1st Lieutenants. 
 
 2d Lieutenants. 
 
 Adjutants. 
 
 Quarter-masters. 
 
 Mates. 
 
 Sergeant-Majors. 
 
 (luarter-master sergts. 
 
 Drum-majors. 
 
 ray-masters. 
 
 Fife-majors. 
 
 Sergeants. 
 
 Corporals. 
 
 Bombardiers. 
 
 Gunners 
 
 Drummers and Fifers. 
 
 1 
 a 
 
 *5 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total, 
 
 1 
 
 4 8 8 5 1 
 11444 9> 11 
 1 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 47 86 
 11 1 1 1 1 1 20 15 
 1 12 
 
 22 21 IS 
 4 16 14 
 
 26 37 1 32 
 
 805 
 200 
 51 
 536 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 912J1S15 2 1 
 
 11 2 2| 3 ( 2J 2 79 51 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 721 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 Fob thk Month ov March, 17S3. 
 
 hTATKS AND CORPS. 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 Do. Battalion 
 
 Massachusetts. . . 
 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 Connecticut.. 
 
 £ a 
 
 ij 
 
 1! 
 1! 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 1 
 
 6 1 
 7 
 I 
 
 '' New York. 
 
 1 
 1 
 9 
 8 
 1 
 2 
 
 New Jersey \ | 1 
 
 Do. Battalion | 1 
 
 Penn'a Detachment 
 
 Delaware do 
 
 Maryland do j 
 
 Guards 
 
 Invalids | 
 
 Sappers and Miners 
 
 Total. 
 
 3 o 
 
 Tt 
 
 l! 1 
 
 ll 1 
 
 l! l 
 i 
 
 l i 
 l l 
 
 l i 
 i 1 
 l 1 
 l l 
 1 i 
 11 
 l l 
 l l 
 
 ! 1 
 
 1 I 1 
 11 
 
 ! 
 
 l\ 
 ill 
 
 i i 
 i i 
 
 147 158 75 19 19 20 18 15, 20 20 20 17 753567.843 7894 
 
 I | ! I |! i I i I _ I I 
 
 6 ft 
 
 27 -22 15 224 | 
 
 4S| 38 21; 404 
 
 59 38 18' 485 
 
 49 l 35 25 
 
 2(5 17 
 
 27 19 
 23 
 
 31: 21' 503 
 
 14 j T 179 
 
 25 18 ; 459 
 
 34 18 439 
 
 38, 19 449 
 
 29! 171 444 
 
 28 16, 443 
 
 30 19 t 460 
 
 25! 18 446 
 
 32 18 450 
 
 4<i 
 
 45 
 
 '20 
 10 
 
 2 
 17 15 
 
 5 4 
 24j 19 
 
 5 4 
 
 419 
 446 
 1S3 
 100 
 
 63 
 203 
 
 50 
 215 
 
 55 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 Massachusetts,. . , 
 
 New York, 
 
 Pennsylvania, . 
 Mass. Artificers, 
 Penn. do — 
 
 Total.... 
 
 10 10 
 6 14 
 I 1 
 1 1 
 1 
 
 2 2 2 IS 16 19 26 2 2 1 
 
 22 21 
 
 7 18 
 2 
 
 3 2| 2 95: 61] 31 39 32 1 657 
 
 386 
 231 
 81 
 
 57 
 2 
 
 Sheldon's. 
 Van Heer. 
 
 Total. 
 
 5 101 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 7 181 3, 
 3 4 8 
 
 4022i 6| 
 
 1274 
 
 31 
 
722 
 
 A P P E >i D 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTEUS OF THE gtOttTFIEKN ARMY 
 Fo:i thf. Month or April, 1788, 
 
 tiTATK^ AND COKl'.S. 
 
 I New Hampshire. . 
 Do. Battalion 
 
 i 
 
 3 £i ^ j i?\ c 
 
 Massachusetts. . . 
 
 Bhode Island 
 
 I l 
 4 1 
 
 6 i 
 
 7 
 
 8, 1 
 
 
 
 tL 
 
 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'P. ?. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .-. 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 
 
 •/. 
 
 " 
 
 .■-\~ 
 
 2 it 
 
 2 4 
 
 I I 
 
 Connecticut.. 
 
 j 
 
 i 
 
 1 N< ; \v York i 
 
 I N>w Jersey. . ' 
 
 I Do. Battalion 
 Md. Detachment... 
 Guards 
 Invalids 
 
 I Sappers and Miners 
 
 1 1 
 
 a i 
 
 i i 
 
 i i 
 j i 
 
 ii i i i 
 
 1 \ V 1 1 
 
 I I i 1 r a | 42 82 
 111! 1 20 15 
 
 111 i i 
 
 111 11 
 
 1 1 i 1 1 
 
 1 I 1 ! 1 
 
 I 1 Ij 1 1 
 
 ill ii i 
 
 l i 
 l l 
 
 s 8 
 II | 7 
 
 8 8 
 
 4 11 
 
 9 l 1 I 
 
 II 4 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 
 
 Total. 
 
 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 i ! 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 ! 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 I 1 
 i 1 1 
 
 II 1 
 
 6 1 l I i 
 
 7 1111 
 
 8 ill i a 
 
 i i i 
 
 i i 
 
 i i 
 
 1 ! 
 
 : i 
 
 i i 
 
 I 1 1,1 ! 
 
 11111] 
 
 6 9 2! 140 140 70 18 19 19 IS 17 20 19 
 
 I ! I I | I j 
 
 1 1 i 
 l i 
 
 *i A 
 
 M 1 
 i 1 
 
 I l 
 
 i 1 
 
 ' 1 
 
 ! i 
 
 1 11 
 I 1 
 
 If 
 l : 
 
 I ! 
 
 1 1 
 
 88 25 
 
 83 88 
 
 81 88 
 
 39 26 
 
 4:) 29 
 
 87 80 
 
 83 25 
 
 41 81 
 
 1917 
 
 49 
 
 :;: 
 
 38 
 
 27 
 
 40 
 
 27 
 
 15 
 
 85 
 
 20 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 15 
 
 35 21 
 86 15 
 
 8 2:; 
 17 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 494 
 
 172 
 
 458 
 
 434 
 451 
 431 
 441 
 460 
 449 
 430 I 
 
 714 527 
 
 317 7407 
 
 Massachusetts.... 
 New York 
 
 Mass. Artificers, 
 Total 
 
 ■Z ,2 
 
 8 
 5 6 
 
 H 1 
 
 15 1547 2,, 
 
 1 1 
 
 a! i 
 
 Sheldon's. 
 Van I leer. 
 
 Total.... | 
 
 2 1 
 
 I 1 
 
 ;. • a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ta 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ™ 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 ■g 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 
 g 
 
 \ 
 
 ;"< 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 § 
 
 a 
 
 G 
 
 !K 
 
 X 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 5 
 
 P 
 
 
 ~ 
 
 f 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 48 
 
 37 
 
 22 
 
 21 
 
 Ifl 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 12 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 88 
 
 59 
 
 29 
 
 39 
 
 30 
 
 339 
 218 
 58 
 
 615 
 
 2 
 
 4 3 
 
 I ! 
 
 1| 40 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 123 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY 
 For the Months of May and June, 17S3. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 Canadian Regiment. 
 Now Hampshire 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Sappers and Miners... 
 Rhode Island for May. 
 
 Total 
 
 i J 
 
 8.1 
 4 1 
 
 a % 
 
 i 
 
 1 s 
 
 2 9 
 18 
 
 1 8 
 
 v 
 
 1 
 
 6 8 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 1. 1; i 
 
 si 1 1 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 7 1! l! 1 
 
 8 1 
 
 2 1 
 
 _L 
 
 I t 
 
 1 
 
 !'i 1 
 1 1 
 
 lii 1 
 
 1 ! ! i 
 
 J i 
 
 21 
 1910 
 
 82 19 
 
 36 14 
 26 12 
 
 25 12 
 
 29 
 1 
 
 25 17 
 
 j 
 
 I 
 
 ARTILLKKY. 
 
 
 
 -- 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 6 
 
 S 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 a 
 
 '2 
 
 V 
 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 c 
 
 r. 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 "5 
 - 
 
 C 
 
 1 
 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Massachusetts,. . . 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 -: 
 3 
 
 4 
 1 
 
 •t 
 2 
 1 
 
 8 
 4 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 i 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 5 
 
 6 
 2 
 
 4 
 2 
 
 191 
 
 58 
 8 
 
 ft 
 
 6: ~ 
 
 Sheldon's. 
 Van Heer. 
 
 1 II 1 2 
 
 Totai 1 
 
 I ? « 
 
724 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OF THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of July, 1783. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 New Hampshire.. 
 Massachusetts < i 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Sappers and Miners. 
 
 Total. 
 
 15 
 
 1 8 
 
 2 9 
 
 1 1 
 
 I I 
 
 1 ill 
 
 ill 
 1 I 
 
 If, 
 23 
 M 
 84 
 
 35 
 27 
 
 1 
 
 n 
 
 :>r>5 
 BW 
 B66 
 mi; 
 418 
 28 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 Massachusetts,. ..II 
 
 Nesv York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total. 
 
 1 1 1 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 For 
 
 the Month 
 
 of August, 
 
 17S3. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 § 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 e 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 a 
 J 
 
 2 
 
 j 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 S 
 
 = 3 
 
 £ - 
 
 o p 
 
 = 2 
 
 1 s 
 
 3 
 o 
 
 | 
 
 | 
 
 
 s 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 1. 
 
 : 5 
 
 5 £ 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 5. 
 
 
 
 •a 
 a 
 
 e 
 
 1 
 
 E 
 p 
 
 ■ 
 
 •2 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 Bat.... 
 f 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 1 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 11 11 
 
 11, 7 
 
 230 
 
 Massachusetts.. . 
 
 '-' 
 
 
 
 
 2 7| S 
 
 6 1 
 
 i i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 81 
 
 36 13 
 
 438 
 
 
 1 • 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 8 t 
 
 6 1 
 
 i i 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 l 
 
 1 1 
 
 35| 26 13 
 
 497 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 1 7 1 
 i 7 £ 
 i 1 
 
 8 1 
 
 Vi 
 
 i i 
 i i 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 86 26 12 
 
 512 
 
 Sappers and Miners 
 
 
 
 
 
 28: 27 
 1 
 
 6 5 
 
 
 
 413 
 14 
 
 81 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 2 a 
 
 l 1 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 i l i J l 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 i i i n ! ii t 
 
 rn 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 S 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 1 
 | 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 -' 
 
 '3 
 
 3 
 
 = 
 
 a 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 ■< 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 3 - 
 jo- P 
 
 ? 3 3 
 
 M fl S 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 ■ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 B 
 
 - 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 si 
 
 4 
 
 a 
 a, 
 
 
 
 •3 
 I 
 A 
 
 3 
 
 c 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 i « 
 
 £ 
 
 Massachusetts, . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New York, 
 
 Artificers, 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 4 
 
 11 
 
 l 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 I s 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 B 
 
 
 68 
 2 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 121 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OP THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Month of September, 17S3. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 1st Massachusetts 
 
 2d ditto , 
 
 3d ditto 
 
 4th ditto 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Sappers and Miners . 
 
 Total. 
 
 9 4 
 6 
 6 
 
 7 
 1 
 2 
 
 I ! 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 34 
 
 1 
 
 31 
 
 1 
 
 35 
 
 
 85 
 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 1 
 
 
 13 6 223 
 
 24 18 479 
 
 86 13 438 
 
 26 13 497 
 
 4S2 
 81 
 363 
 
 ARTILLKUY. 
 
 Massachusetts,. 
 New York, . .. 
 Artificers, 
 
 Total. 
 
 4 1 
 
 1 2 2 
 
 3 t 
 
 H 
 
 ft s 
 
 ■Sj \0 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 | 
 I 
 
 175 
 54 
 
 For the Months of October, November, and December, 17S3. 
 
 STATES AND CORPS. 
 
 1st Massachusetts... 
 
 2d ditto 
 
 3d ditto 
 
 4th ditto 
 
 New Hampshire . . . 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Sappers and Miners 
 
 Total , 
 
 910 
 9| 9 
 910 
 
 9| 9 
 5 5 
 
 MM 
 
 21 13 
 
 28 13 
 
 25 11 
 
 24 12 
 
 14 7 
 
 460 
 444 
 
 459 
 241 
 
 10 
 
 I I 
 
 AUTILLEUr. 
 
 Massachusetts, 
 New York, . . , 
 Artificers, 
 
 1 8 
 5 
 
 5 1 
 
 2 2 
 
726 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE MUSTERS OP THE NORTHERN ARMY, 
 For the Months of January, February, March, and April, 1784. 
 
 bTATES AND CORPS. 
 
 Jackson's Regiment... 
 Invalids 
 
 Field and Staff, and 
 eight Companies of 
 Jackson's Regiment 
 for May and June.. 
 
 Invalids 
 
 Total . 
 
 1 1 9 
 
 1 S 
 
 9, 8 
 1 
 
 I I 
 
 1 
 
 u 
 
 86 
 
 421 
 12 
 
 3S4 
 14 
 
 ARTILLERY 
 
 For January, February, March, and April, com- 
 manded by .Major Baumann. 
 
 January, February, March, April 
 
 I May and June 
 
 | Lt. Jefferdt's Detachment for Jan. and Feb. 
 
 Total. . 
 
 1 2 
 
 1 
 
 61 11-1 
 5 1 1 
 I 2 
 
 6 8 
 
 For the Month of September, 17S4. 
 
 STATES AND COUPS. 
 
 -2 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 - 
 
 
 | 
 
 '3 
 
 
 H 
 — ' 
 < 
 
 
 2 S 
 2 • *? 
 £ a a 
 = I » ? 
 >> g> 2 |g* 
 3h 5 IS joa 
 
 Quarter-master sergts. 
 Drum-majors. 
 Fife-major*. 
 Sergeants. 
 
 II 
 
 5 ft 
 
 
 Troops under Colonel 
 
 Harmer. 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 
 - 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 l 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 — JiL 
 1 1 2 
 
 1 7 
 
 7 4 
 
 
 Jersey 
 
 1<2 
 
 Total Infantry. . . . 
 
 Invalids for July, Aug., ) 
 Sept. and Oct! J 
 
 
 8b 
 
 3 
 
 
 i is! 
 
 1 2 i 
 
 7 G 
 1 
 
 2o8 
 
 18 
 
 ARTILLERY. 
 
 8 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 2_ 
 
 r. 
 
 1 
 
 1 I i 
 
 S" J ■? ! 
 
 ■ i 1 1 1 
 
 ■« *5 CO O 
 
 '1 ,; 
 
 s S 
 | | 
 
 I 3 : 
 
 § J 
 
 Harmer's for September 
 
 Doughty for July, August, September, and 
 October 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 3 3 
 6 B 
 
 3 3 
 
 2136 
 
 2 148 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Academy, Military, plan of, 5b>. 
 
 Adams. John, Steuben introduced to, Jt. 
 Vice President, 551. Cincinnati, 574. 
 Daughter marries Win. S. Smith, 63a. 
 
 Adams, Samuel, 75. Steuben introduced to, 
 97. Anecdotes, 98. 
 
 Adams, T., 11)2. 
 
 Adjutant General appointed by Con- 
 gress, 811. ttno 
 
 Advertiser, N. Y. Daily, quoted, 523. 
 
 AlX-LA-ClIAR-ELLE. 79. «, _ 
 
 Albany, 288. Arms at, 253. Freedom of 
 
 city to Steuben. 577. Great commer- 
 cial metropolis, 632. 
 
 Albemarle Barracks, 429. C. II., 449. 
 
 Allen town, 157. 
 
 Allimanoe Creek, 400. 
 
 Alyensleben, Von, 644. 
 
 Amboy, South, 157. 
 
 Amelia C. H., 419. 
 
 Amory, Tiios. G, jr., 129. 
 
 Andre, 2-9, 025. 
 
 Anhalt, Count, GO. 
 
 Annapolis, 414, 521,537. 
 
 Appomatox River, 424. 
 
 Arvnda, Count De, 09. Advises Steuben, 
 75. 
 
 Arbuthnot, 412. 
 
 Armand, Col.. 329, 621. 
 
 Armstrong, Major John, author of New- 
 burg letter. 149, 534, 513, 5S5. 
 
 Army, sad condition of, L18. English sys- 
 tem in. 114. Pay-roll, 116. Arrives at 
 White Plains, 165. Strength of, 224. 
 Situation of after capture of Stony Point. 
 232. Transactions in regard to estab- 
 lishment of. 212, U seq. Quota of the 
 several Slates, 320. Contrast between 
 position of Northern and Southern, 842. 
 Insubordination in Southern, 308. Em- 
 barrassment by Arnold's invasion, 3S7. 
 Desertion from, 892. Description of at 
 surrender of Cornwallis, 461. Discip- 
 line, 4S9. Encamped at Newburg and in 
 the Jersevs, 400. Strength of different 
 corps, 497'. Arrearages ofpay, 500. Dis- 
 bandment discussed, 511. Good for- 
 tune in having Steuben for instructor, 
 645. 
 Arnold, B., 278. Treason of, 2S9. Leads 
 troops to Virginia, 371. Escape of, 413. 
 
 Arnold, B. — continued. 
 
 Joins Phillips, 427. Fleury speaks of, 
 
 625. At court, G36. 
 Arnold, Jonathan, memorial for change 
 
 of name, 291. 
 Asia, the, fires upon New York, 630. 
 Augusta County, 402, 435, 451. 
 Austria, 590. 
 Auxkrres, 565. 
 
 Baden, Margrave of, 74. 
 
 Bai.eysiutrg, 367. 
 
 Baltimore, 456. 
 
 Bam hero, 53. 
 
 Barbadoes, New, 577. 
 
 Barber, Col., 126, 500, 009. 
 
 Barras, Mr., 455. 
 
 Basedow, 91. 
 
 Batavia, 36S. 
 
 Bath, Earl of, 615. 
 
 Baumann, Col. 572 
 
 Beaumaroiiais, M. De, 70. Advance to U. 
 
 S., 76. Named, 009. 
 Benson, Mr., (520. 
 Bergen, 165. Neck. 298, 577. 
 Berky, Rev. A., Out. 
 Berlin, 515. 
 Bermudas, 18S. 
 Bethlehem, 90. 
 BlLLlKGSPORT, 221. 
 
 Bland, Col., 339, 549. 
 
 BlANDFORD, 424. 
 
 Bloodworth, Mr., 548. 
 
 Blue Book, the, 528. 
 
 Bixeciiei:. Field Marshal, 62. 
 
 Botetourt County, 401. 
 
 Boonesville, 599. 
 
 Boston, 574, 011. 
 
 Bottom Bridge, 428. 
 
 Bouchet, Chev. Du, 565. 
 
 Buudinot, E., letter from Hamilton to, 169. 
 
 Aids Steuben, 239. Appealed to by 
 
 Steuben, 594. 
 ! Bouilly, Marquis De, Gov. of Martinique, 76. 
 
 BOUNDBROOK, 221. 
 
 Bourbon, House of, 63. 
 Bowling Green, 031. 
 Brandenburg, 045. 
 Brandywine. 023. 
 Breslai-, 043. 
 
728 
 
 I N D E X 
 
 Breton Point, 025. 
 
 Bkoad River, 399. 
 
 BROADWATER, 422. 
 
 Broglio, Maj., 1S2. 
 
 Brooklyn, 298, 494. 
 
 Brooks, Col., 120, 534. In camp, 021. 
 
 Bruce, 045. 
 
 Brubbe, Theodore, 005. 
 
 Brunswick, 157. 
 
 Bin tus, 509. 
 
 Bufoed, Col., 303. 
 
 Bulow, II. D. Vox, 531. 
 
 Bunker's Hill, 54S. 
 
 BUNZKLWITZ, 50. 
 
 Buegoyne, capitulation of, 91. 
 
 Burke, Judge Acdanus, 558. 
 
 BURKERSDORF, 043. 
 
 Burnet, Maj., 340, 574. 
 Burweli/s Ferry, 427. 
 Bythinia, 352. 
 
 Cabin Point, 370, 423. 
 Cabrera, 040. 
 Call, Maj., 443, 470. 
 Camden, Gates defeated at, 343. 
 Cam pit ell, Col., 393, 407. 
 Canada, conquest of, 295. Steuben s mis- 
 sion to, 520. 
 Canitz, Barons Von 025. 
 Canitz, Baron Von, 73. 
 Canoni ut, 625. 
 Carlisle, arms at, 258. 
 Carolina, So., 342. 
 Carolingian Dynasty, 560. 
 Cariungton, Col., 372. 
 Carroll, Mr., 505. 
 Carter's Ferry, 429, 431, 452. 
 Cartiiagena, 5S3. 
 Cary, Mr. Speaker, 439. 
 Cassius, 569. 
 Catawba, 399. 
 ClIACKATUK. 392, 415. 
 ClIAMBLKE, 522. 
 
 Champagne, 590. 
 
 Champlain, Lake, 521. 
 
 Charles III. of Spain, 81. 
 
 Charleston, 203. Investment of, 294. 
 
 Cruising station, 400. Natural strength 
 
 of, 493. Cincinnati, 574. 
 Charlotte, 300, 399. (C. II.), 432, 448. 
 Ciiarlotteville, Legislature moves to* 433 
 Chesapeake Bay, 347, 453. 
 Chester, 289, 340. 
 Ciiesteei-teld, 300-303, 416. 
 Chickahominy, 375, 423. 
 Church, St. Paul's, 580. German Reformed, 
 
 583. 
 Cincinnati, order of, 519, 554. Basis of 
 
 556. Festivals, 572, 573. City, 575. ' 
 Cincinnatus, 347, 556. 
 Claiborne, Maj., 373. Complains of affairs 
 
 881. Do., 395. Vain effort to protect the 
 
 State, 433. 
 Class, Col., 376. 
 Class, Mrs., 017. 
 Clarke, Mr., 505. 
 Clinton, Gen., 151. Goes to Monmouth, 
 
 loS. Proceeds to the South, 343. Corn- 
 
 wallis marches towards, 427. Orders 
 
 troops from Cornwallis, 452. Gov., 581 
 
 Cobiiam, 427. 
 
 Cochrane, Lieut. Col., 639. 
 Coggivs Point, 370. 
 Colberg, 47, 643. 
 Cole's Ferky, 44S. 
 College, Columbia, 592. 
 Condottieri, 645. 
 
 Congress, Com. of wait on Steuben, 102. 
 Give an entertainment to Steuben, 103. 
 Resolutions, ib. Sends Com. to Valley 
 Forge. 100. Resolve to app. insp. gen., 
 121. Reply to Washington, 137. Reso- 
 lutions submitted to by Inspection 
 Board, 147. Plan of inspection, 192. 
 Orders Steuben's Regulations publish 
 ed, 210. Compliment to Steuben, 220. 
 Reimburses Steuben for expenses of 
 coming to America, 239. Apportionment 
 of recruits to States, 255. Appoints a com- 
 mittee to confer with Washington, 272. 
 Modifies its plan of inspectorship, 308. 
 Appoints adjutant general, 811. Plan 
 of inspecting and mustering departs., 
 316. Makes Gates commander of South- 
 ern army, 343. Appoints Greene his 
 successor, 345. Sees political value of 
 Lafayette's alliance, 477. Resolutions in 
 regard to the same, 478. Approves 
 Steuben's plan of inspectorship, 4S5. 
 Makes him inspector general, 483. Dis- 
 charges officers and soldiers, 523. Pre- 
 sents a sword to Steuben, 527. Settle- 
 ment with officers, 532. Resolutions, 
 534. Final adjustment, 551. 
 Connecticut Farms, 277. Line, mutiny 
 in, 492. ' 
 
 Constable's Point, 293. 
 Contrat Social, 82. 
 Conway, Gen., 106, 121. Intrigues, 646, 
 
 648. 
 Cook, Capt., 593. 
 Cooper's Mill, 406, 415. 
 Cornwallis, Lord, 160. Has entered Jer- 
 sey, 196. Goes into interior of S. Caro- 
 lina. 343. At Hillsborough, 415. Sends 
 to Phillips, 427. Crosses James River, 
 432. Evacuates Richmond, 452. Evac- 
 uates Portsmouth, 453. Capitulates, ib. 
 Particulars of his surrcnfler, 459. Treat- 
 ment of after surrender, 464. North 
 present at surrender of, 626. 
 Costa Firma, 82. 
 Coudrai. Mr. Du. 71. 
 
 Cocrt House, Prince George's, 376, 423. 
 Hanover, 377. Guilford, 400. Powhat- 
 tan, 424. Cumberland old, 4" ', 449. 
 New Kent, 428. Prince Edward, 432, 
 448, 449. Charlotte, 432, 448. Halifax, 
 432,448. Goochland, 441. Louisa, 443.' 
 Albemarle, 449. Amelia, 449. 
 Oouetlandt, Gen. Van, 570. Regiment. 
 631. ' 
 
 Courtlandt, Philip, 567. 
 COWPBNS, 400. 
 
 Creek, Four Mile. 373. Cross, 401, 416. 
 Pagan's, 423. Willis's, 443. Mechunck, 
 451. Wood, 595. 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 111. 
 Cross Creek, 401, 416. 
 Crosswicks, 157. 
 Cumberland C. II., 424. 
 Curtis, Gko. Ticknor, 535. 
 Custis, Miss, 347. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 729 
 
 Da be ny. Misses, 580. 
 
 Dabney, Col., 405. 
 
 Dan, the, 400. 
 
 Davies, Ciis. S.. 574. 
 
 Davies, Col., 126, 360. Account of the 
 troops, 384. Removes stores, 448. Cited, 
 472. In camp, 621. Scanty information 
 as to, 636. 
 
 Dawson, H. B., 159. 
 
 D'Akobly, St. John, 609. 
 
 Deane. Mr., 70. 
 
 Deep River, 419. 
 
 De Kalb, Baron, position in grand ma- 
 neuver, 139. Anecdote, 239. Mortally 
 wounded at Camden, 343. Hatred of 
 England, 477. 
 
 De Kalb, Capt. Henry, 459. 
 
 Delaware, 549. 
 
 Democrat, St. Charles, 605. 
 
 Depontiere, Mr., 103. 
 
 D'Estaing, Count, 186, 564. 
 
 Destouches, Admiral, 406, 413. 
 
 Detroit, 521. 
 
 Deuxponts, 457. 
 
 Diebitsch, Von, 60. 
 
 Dismal Swamp, 405, 415. 
 
 Doane, Mrs., 610. 
 
 Doane, Sally, 610. 
 
 Dobbs 1 Ferry, 303, 624. 
 
 Doeiila, John Conrad, 459. 
 
 Don Quixote, 430. 
 
 Donnersmark, Count Henkel Von, letter 
 to, 49. 
 
 Doughty, 630. 
 
 Dresden, 643. 
 
 Drilling by Steuben, 126. By Fleurv, 128. 
 
 Duane, Jas., 540, 5S2, 630. 
 
 Duanesburg, 590, 599, 629. 
 
 Duer, Lady Kitty, 581. 
 
 Duer, Wm., letter from Hamilton to, 41. 
 Appealed to, 54). Anecdote, 581. 
 
 Duponceau, Peter S., 76. Anecdote by, 
 97. Commission asked for, 103. Sketch 
 of army at Valley Forge, 119. Legacy, 
 608. Sketch of, 609. Death, 613. 
 
 Duportail, 88, 465. 
 
 Duval, Capt., 608. 
 
 Easton's Beach, 625. 
 
 Edmond's Hill, 391. 
 
 Edward, Fort, 634. 
 
 Effern, Charlotte Dorothea Von, 42. 
 
 Egalite, (Due d'Orleans), 609. 
 
 Eimbeck. 858. 
 
 Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, 57. 
 
 Elizabeth River, 406. 
 
 Elk, Head of, 408. 
 
 Ellery, Mr., 192. 
 
 Ellsworth, Mr.. 192. 
 
 Enfant de l 1 , 76. Commission asked for, 
 
 103. Order of Cincinnati, 554, 564. 
 
 Named. 60S. 
 England, 514, 645. 
 English, Brig. Maj., 126. 
 Englishtown, 162. 
 Epinieres, Des, 76, 608. 
 Eugene. Prince of Savoy, 173. Example in 
 
 making detachments, 305. 
 
 31* 
 
 F. 
 
 Fatrlie, Jas., Captain, 372, 442, 567, 578, 
 608. Sketch of, 630. Death of, 631. 
 
 Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, his ser- 
 vice, 643. 
 
 Ferguson leads troops to Virginia, 371. 
 
 Fisn, Brig. Maj.. 126. 
 
 Fish, Hon. Hamilton. 555, 574. 
 
 Fish, Nicholas, 567, 574, 593, 608, 619. 
 Sketch of, 633. 
 
 Fishkill, 99, 627. 
 
 Flamand, Le, 75. Arrival at Portsmouth, 
 N. H., 94. 
 
 Fleury, Col., 126. Letter of, 128. Named, 
 608. Sketch of, 622. 
 
 Floridas, the, 295. 
 
 Fluvanna, the, 445. 
 
 Fork, Point of, 424, 432. 
 
 Fosey, Col., 392. 
 
 Fouque, De la Motte, Baron, 50. 
 
 Four Mile Creek, 373. 
 
 France, position of, 79. News of her alli- 
 ance, 137. Influence of in Europe, 173. 
 Teachers from, 514. 
 
 Francken, Henriette Von, 41. 
 
 Francv, M. De, 76. 
 
 Franklin, Dr., 70. Great work in France, 
 • 89. Schlosser's sketch of, ib. Recep- 
 tion at court, 92. Letters from referred 
 to, 543. 
 
 Frank, Mr. De, letter from Steuben to, 160. 
 
 Frank, sailing name of Steuben, 76. 
 
 Fredericksburg, 187, 348, 417. 
 
 Frederickstown, 348. 
 
 Frederick the Great, 47. Founds light in- 
 fantry in imitation of America, 226. 
 Admirer of Washington, 330. His ser- 
 vice, 643. 
 
 Freehold, 157. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galignani's Messenger, 596. 
 
 Galvan, Maj., 609. 
 
 Ganesvoort, Peter, 594. 
 
 Garden, A., 615, 647. 
 
 Gaskins, Col. 430, 435. 
 
 Gates, Gen., 100, 176. Made commander of j 
 Southern army, 343. Defeated at Cam- 
 den, ib. Cincinnati, 568. Member of 
 German Soc, 583. Intriguer, 64S. 
 
 Gaudy, General, 601. 
 
 Gemat, Col., 163. 
 
 Genesee Land Assoc., 583, 598. 
 
 Genet, " Citizen," 621. 
 
 Genlis, Mr. De, 610. 
 
 Georgia, 342. 
 
 Gerard, Mr., letter to Steuben, 221. Opin- 
 ion of action at Stony Point, 230. Cor- 
 respondence of Steuben with, 624. 
 
 Germantown, New, 359, 548. 
 
 Germany, 514. 
 
 Gerry, E., 537, 540, 547. 
 
 Geusau, Von, 60. 
 
 Gibbon, 598. 
 
 Gibbons, Lieutenant, 638. 
 
 Gibbs, Mr., 618, 619. 
 
 Gibson, Col., 104,362. 
 
 Grimm, D., 584. 
 
 Gist, Col. and Gen., 263, 456. 
 
7.10 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Gloucester, 453. 
 
 Gloucester Point, 151. 
 
 Clover, Gon., stores drawn by his brink 
 233. 
 
 Goat Island. 626. 
 
 Goochland 0. H., 441. 
 
 Gordon, Wn, 150. 
 
 Gouvion, Gen., 410. 
 
 Governor's Island. 595. 
 
 Grates, Admiral, 294. 455. 
 
 Grasse, Count I)e. 455, 664, 
 
 Great Bridge, 411. 
 
 Green, Ashhkl, Bishop, 277. Sketch of 
 Steuben, (537. 
 
 Greene, Gen , 1 10. His wife at camp, 120. 
 Steuben's advisor. 124. Commands r. 
 wing at Monmouth, 160, Acct. of des- 
 titution, 28"). Appointed Gates's suc- 
 cessor, 844. His favorite authors, ib. 
 Opinion of Virginia, 355. Orders Steu- 
 ben to join him, 454. Endorses Steuben, 
 470. Ingratitude of United States to, 
 531. Opinion of the Cincinnati, 5G2. 
 
 Gregory, Gen , 405. 
 
 Griswold, R. W., 571, 531. 
 
 Gross, Kev. John D.. 604. 
 
 Gitabdaqut, Don Diego, 533. 
 
 Guilford C. II., 400. 
 
 Guyon, Capt.,570. 
 
 II. 
 
 HaCKEXSACK River, 303. 
 
 Haddonpield, 157. 
 
 Haldimax, Gen., 520. Reply to Steuben, 
 522. 
 
 Hale, Daniel, 594. 
 
 Halifax, N. S., 295, 493. 
 
 Halifax, Va., 428. C. H, 432, 443. 
 
 Hall, Col, 566. 
 
 Hamilton, Alex., 73. Opinion in regard to 
 Insp. gen., 121. Steuben's adviser, 124. 
 Letter to Duer, 141. At Monmouth, 
 161. Estimate of affair between Sreii- 
 ben and Lee, 1(55. Letter to Doudinot, 
 170. Do. to Steuben, 192. Ab.luction 
 of Clinton prevented bv. 4 )7. One of 
 Committee, 505. Ingratitude of U. S. 
 to, 681. Effort for Steuben, 539, 540. 
 Report, 541. Inaugural address of 
 Cincinnati, 570. Eulogy of Greene, 
 572. 
 
 Hamilton-. John C 171. 
 
 Hampton Roads, 37->. 403. 
 
 Hampshire, 195. 512. 
 
 Hancock, John, 97. 
 
 Hand, Gen., 277, 656. 
 
 Hanover C. II., 377. 
 
 Hardy's Febky, 878. 
 
 Harmer, Col., 121). 
 
 Harbison, Gen., 471. 
 Hartpord, 88, 231. 
 
 Haskins, Col., 882. 
 
 Havrlsbebg, canonry of, CO. Disposed of, 
 
 HAYEB8TBAW, 165. 
 Hatley, Madame, 029. 
 IIa/.ev, Col.. 264, 300. His regiment con- 
 tinued. 828. March of, 490. 
 Heath, Maj. Gen., 503. 
 
 Heciiingen, Steuben grand marshal of, 62, 
 
 Hell Gate, 593. 
 
 Henderson, Col., burning of his house, 15$. 
 
 Henry Co., 401. 
 
 Henry, Mr., 102. 
 
 Henry, Patrick, 359. 
 
 Henry, Prince of Prussia, 534, 043. 
 : Herman, 5 S3. 
 I Heurkux, 1', 75. 
 
 HlOHTSTOWN, 158. 
 
 Hillsborough, 347, 362. Cornwall is at, 
 415. 
 
 Hociikircii, 173, 043. 
 
 Hop, 68. 
 
 Hoiienzollern Heciiingen, Prince of, 01. 
 
 Holly, Moust, 157. 
 
 Hood, Admiral, 455. 
 
 Hopewell, 157. 
 
 Hortalez, Ploderique & Co., 76. 
 
 Hough, L, 595, 003. 
 
 Howard. Lieut. Col., 507, 534. 
 
 Howe, Maj. Gen., 278, 50S. 
 
 Huberts burg, Peace of, 00. 
 
 Hudson, the, 453. 
 
 IIl-ger, Gen., 309. 
 
 Hulsen, Gen Yon, 54. Wounded at Kun- 
 ersdorf, 55. 
 
 Idealism in Europe. SI. 
 
 Independence, Declaration oe, its spirit, 
 88. Anniversarv, 571. 
 
 Indies West. 3)5. 495, 507. 
 
 INNES, Col.. 391. 
 
 Inspector General, resolution of Congress 
 (O appoint, 121. Conwav made, ib. 
 Steuben temporary, 122. " Plan of of- 
 fice, 124. Oiliee degraded by Washing- 
 ton's orders, 151. Steuben's memorial 
 in regard to, 178. Plan of office by < \>n- 
 gress, 192. Plan modified, 808. Steu- 
 ben's list of officers for this department, 
 314. 
 
 Inspectors, Sub, 125. Assignment to, 126. 
 Duties of defined, 310. Number of lim- 
 ited, 485. 
 
 Irving, Washington, quoted. 412. Do., 
 032. 
 
 Izard, Mr., 2S7. 
 
 Jackson, 204, 567, 626. 
 
 Ja< qielin, 040. 
 
 Jamaica. 517. 
 
 •I ames River, French vessels at, 405. 
 
 Jamestown. 373. 
 
 Jay, Mr., 110, 540, 5S1, 58 1, 594. 
 
 Jay, Mrs., 680. 
 
 Jefferson Tiros., 110. Accused of neglect, 
 351. Opinion of expenses, 382. Esti- 
 mate of Steuben, 838. Congratulates 
 Steuben, 420. Appoints Eairlie Com- 
 missioner, 031. 
 
 Jerseys, the, 490-495. Cincinnati, 573. 
 
 JOB .\st< in. A i. ex., 555, 509. 
 
 Jones's Wood, 578. 
 
 Joseph 11., Emperor, 00. 
 
fNDEX. 
 
 731 
 
 K. 
 
 Kamschatka, 439. 
 
 Kant, Emanuel, 111. 
 
 Kay. battle of. 55. 
 
 Keith, Lord, 173. 
 
 Kent, New, 403, 411, 423. 
 
 King William's Co., 455. 
 
 King's Ferry, 1G5, 223. Bridge, 293, 494. 
 
 KlEKPATRICK, Capt., 459. 
 
 Knoblocii, Gen.. 56. 
 
 Knox, Gen., 117. Named ia orders after 
 Yorktown, 465. Command of troops, 
 524. Candidate for Secretary of War, 526. 
 Sword to Steuben, 526. Meeting at 
 Philadelphia, 534. Origin of Cincin- 
 nati, 554. Secretary of do., 553. Mem- 
 ber of Com., 533. Letter in regard to 
 order, 536. Will remain Sec. of War, 
 630. 
 
 Knyphausen, Gen., 159. Invades N. J., 
 277. 
 
 KuNERSDORF, 601. 
 
 Kuntze, Dr., 5S2. 
 
 Lafayette, 87. Position in grand maneu- 
 ver, 129. In cabal, ib. Popularity in 
 the arm v. 235. Goes to Muhlenberg's 
 camp, 413. Consulted by Steuben, 416. 
 Ordered South, 422. • Arrives, 427. 
 Driven back by Cornwallis, 423. Re- 
 tires to Kacoon Ford, 451. Named in 
 orders after Yorktown, 465. Letter of 
 compliment to Steuben, 470. Cabal re- 
 ferred to, 472. Talent for " arranging" 
 facts, 475. Order of Cincinnati, 564. 
 Refuses to inaugurate Steuben's monu- 
 ment, 608. Allusion to his arrival, 625. 
 North's allusion to, 629. 
 
 Lamb, Mr., 619. 
 
 Lanc.vstkii, Jui, 343, 500. 
 
 Lands hut, 643. 
 
 Landsk n e outs, 645. 
 
 Lanoborn, Col. Wm., 447. 
 
 Langoon, Gen., 95. 
 
 Laboche, 646. 
 
 L.v Tbappe, birth-place of Muhlenberg, 
 353. 
 
 Laurens, Col., 456. 
 
 Laubens, President, 75. Steuben's adviser, 
 124. Letter from Steuben. 133. Letter 
 to Steuben, 1S7. Referred to, 542, 
 
 Lauyaute, Col. Do la, 609. 
 
 Lawrence. Mr., 547. 
 
 Lawson, Gen., 354, 373," 435. Joins Steu- 
 ben, 441. Cited, 472. 
 
 Lee, Gen., in cabal, 139. Difficulty with 
 Steuben, 164. Cabal referred to, 472. 
 Council of war, 622. Intrigues, 643. 
 
 Lee, Maj., 205, 329. Col., 367, 446, 543. 
 
 Lepine, 609. 
 
 Leslie, Gen , leads troops to Virginia, 3i 1. 
 
 Lbydbs Gazette, 596. 
 Licking, the, 575. 
 
 Ligne, Prince De, letter to Stenben, 66. 
 
 Lincoln, Gen., 465, 491, 512. Resignation, 
 526. 
 
 Lippe, Count De la. 645. 
 
 Livingston, Chancellor, 532, 5s4, 612. 
 
 Livingston, Col., 264. 
 
 Livingston, Gov., letter to Steuben, 220. 
 
 Appealed to, 540. 
 London, 523. 
 Long 15 ridge, 375. 
 Long Island, 296, 494. 
 Long Island Sound, 299. 
 Losanteville, 575. 
 Lossing, B. J., 604. 
 Louisa C. H., 443. 
 Louisiana, 536. 
 
 Louis William, Prince of Baden, 72. 
 Louis XV.. SO. 
 Louis XVI., wavering in regard to America, 
 
 SO. 
 Louvre, the, 573. 
 Lovell, James 195, 236. Compliments to 
 
 Steuben, 335. 
 Lutiieu, Martin. 111. 
 LtrTTEBLon, Henry Emanuel, 5S2. 
 Lynniiayf.v Bay, 418. 
 LtrzEfcNE, Dr la, French ambassador, 2M. 
 
 Visits Washington, 272. Quoted, 568 
 
 Named, 616. 
 
 MaoEwen, Thomas, 574. 
 
 Madison, President, oilers Fairlio Adjutant 
 
 Generalship, 631. 
 Madrid, 533. 
 Manchesteb, 374. 
 m an ii ei m, 99. 
 Mappa, 593. 
 Marshall, Judge, 121. 
 Maryland, 417. Cincinnati, 573. 
 Massachusetts Line, memorial from State, 
 
 495. Cincinnati, 573. 
 Mathews, Gen., invades Virginia, 870. 
 Matthews. 272. 
 
 Mauduit, Chev. Du PlcssisDe, 162. 
 Maxwell, Gen., 277. 
 Mayb, John V<>x, Gen, 52. 
 MoDoro all, Gen., Treas. of Cincinnati, 553. 
 
 N. Y. Regiment, 681. 
 MoKeon. 102. 
 Meade, E., 391, 472, 609. 
 Mechunck Creek, 451. 
 Mexico, 82. 
 Miami, the, 577. 
 
 MlDDLEBROOK, 222. 
 MlDDLETOWN, 160. 
 
 Mifflin, Fort, 623. 
 
 Mifflin, Gen., in cabal, 139. Do., 472. 
 
 Minerva, 523. 
 
 Mir a beau, 553. 
 
 Mississippi, the, 536. 
 
 Mohawk, the, 522. 593. 
 
 Monmouth, 15S. Battle of, 159. Distribu- 
 tion of forces at, 16i). North present at, 
 626. Fairlio present at, 631. Steuben's 
 skill at, 643. 
 
 Montbarey, Prince De, 64. Steuben vis- 
 its, 72. Copy of Beg., 221. 
 
 Montgomery Co., 401. 
 
 Montgomery, Gen., 439. 
 
 MoNTHlEir, M. De, 75. 
 
 Moore, Mr.. 619. 
 
 Mobgan, Col., 362. 
 
 Morris, Col., 346, 416. 
 
 Morris, Gorvr.itNF.rit, letter from Wash- 
 ington to, 167. Reply, 177. Member of 
 German Society, 582. 
 
'32 
 
 NDEX 
 
 Morris, Lewis, 620. 
 
 Morkis Robert, 75, 640. 
 
 Morristown, 616. 
 
 Mount Vernon. 346, 879. 
 
 Mud Island, 221. 
 
 Muhlenberg, FRED. A., 551, 532. 
 
 Muhlenberg, Gen., 163, 355. Sketch of, 
 353. Diil not command at Petersburg, 
 424. Member of German Soc, 5S2. 
 
 Muhlenberg, Henry M., 35S. 
 
 Mulligan, J. W., 5S5, 591, 593. 
 
 Mum kord, Col., shocking carelessness of, 
 397. 
 
 Muskets, price of, 117. 
 
 Muskingum, the, 577. 
 
 N, 
 
 Nansimond River, 379. 
 
 Napier, Sir Wm., opinion of In regard to 
 
 American, victories, 150. 
 Naples, 645. 
 Napoleon, 226. 
 Narrows, the, 593. 
 Nash, Gov., 443, 449. 
 Nelson, Gen., 355, 372. 
 Neuville, Col. De la, 166. Resigns and goes 
 
 to France, 178. Insubordination, 474. 
 Newark, 284. 
 Newburg, 289. 490. Letter, 534. Major 
 
 Burnett dies at, 574. 
 New Haven, accouterments at, 288. 
 Newport, 300. 
 Newport News, 406. 
 New York, hostile forces at, 294. Cruising 
 
 station, 406. Natural strength of, 493. 
 
 State, 495. Evacuation of city, 524. 
 
 Congress at, 539. Cincinnati, 573. 
 
 Freedom of city to Steuben, 577. 
 Ninety-Six. 451. 
 
 NORMANN, 217. 
 
 North, Wm., incorrect statement of, 58. 
 First meeting with Steuben, 104. Ac- 
 count of Steuben's inspection. 129. Do., 
 227. Anecdote of Steuben and Wayne, 
 457. Retrospection, 490. Facts in re- 
 gard to want of cash, 500. Eulogizes 
 Steuben, 503. Appointed Inspector, 
 524. Cincinnati, 567. Lives with Steu- 
 ben. 578. Legacy, 608. Named, 608. 
 Sketch of, 626. 
 
 North River, 165, 298, 624. 
 
 Norwalk, 234. 
 
 Nuremberg, 53. 
 
 O'Hara, Gen., 460. 
 Ohio, the. 575. 
 Oneida County, 576. 
 Onondaoa Lake, 595. 
 Orleans, Duke of, 609. 
 Orleans, New. 101, 583. 
 Oswego, the, 595. 
 
 Paca, Mr., 192. 
 Pagan's Creek, 423. 
 Page, Mr., 150, 547. 
 
 Pagenstecher, Baron De, 68. 
 
 Paoli, 646. 
 
 Paramus, 165. 
 
 Paris, Steuben arrives in, 67. 
 
 Parker. Col.. 378. Joins Muhlenberg, 415. 
 
 Passy, Steuben meets Dr. Franklin at, 70. 
 
 Paterson, Gen., 163, 285. 
 
 Paulus Hook, 298. 
 
 Peabody, 272. 
 
 Peale, the painter, 620. 
 
 Pedee, the, 851, 400. 
 
 Pemberton, Capt., 570. 
 
 Pennsylvania, 270. Cincinnati, 578. 
 
 Penobscot, 294. 
 
 Peru, 82. 
 
 Peter III. of Russia. 57. 
 
 Petersburg, 372, 402, 422. Engagement 
 near, 424. 
 
 Peters, Richard, letter, 104. Replv to 
 Steuben, 146. Do., 137. Jocose letter 
 of reproof to Steuben. 218. Appealed to, 
 540. Friend of Steuben, 628. Commen- 
 dation, 647. 
 
 Pfau, Von, 60. 
 
 Philadelphia, 111. Evacuation of, 150. 
 Letter in regard to armv, 510. Do., 515. 
 
 Phillips, Gen., 414, 427. Dies, 423. 
 
 Philosophy, power of in France, 82. 
 
 Pickering, Timo., letter to Steuben, 217. 
 
 Pierce, Ex-Pres., 229. 
 
 Pinto, Major Count, 60. 
 
 Pitt Fort, 362. 
 
 Pittsylvania, 401. 
 
 Plank Fort, 634. 
 
 Platen, 56. 
 
 Platt, Maj., 570. 
 
 P L.YUEN, 54. 
 
 Pocahontas, Bridge of, 424. 
 
 Poland, 79. 
 
 Pompton, 278. 
 
 Pontiere, De, 76, 608. 
 
 Popham, 500, 609, 618. 
 
 Popish Plots against Steuben, 63. 
 
 Portland, 574. 
 
 Portsmouth, 871, 37S, 452. 
 
 Portugal, 645. 
 
 Posey, Maj., 435. 
 
 Post, John, 590. 
 
 Potomac, the, 877. 
 
 Potsdam, 515. 
 
 powhattan court house, 424. 
 
 Prague, siege of, 45, 601, 643. 
 
 Preakness, 2S5. 
 
 Prescott, 234. 
 
 Prince Edward C. II., 432, 443. 
 
 Prince George's Co., 397. 
 
 Princess Ann County, 411. 
 
 Princeton, 548. 
 
 Providence, 231. 
 
 Provost, Mr., 578, 627. 
 
 Prussia, 46. Fame of her army, 48. Cadet 
 
 houses, 515. War against, 596. 
 Publicola, 589. 
 Putnam, Gen., 534. 
 Putnam, R., 566. 
 
 Quakerhill, 188. 
 Quebec, 300 498. 
 Queen, the Indian, 618. 
 Quay, South, 379. 
 
INDEX 
 
 733 
 
 Racoon Ford, 451. 
 
 Randolph, Peyton, 609. 
 
 Rappauanock, the, 451. 
 
 Reading, 99. 
 
 Realism in America, 84 
 
 Recruits, apportionment of, 255. Rendez- 
 vous of in Virginia, 365. Desertion, 
 429. Disappointment in regard to, 434. 
 
 Red » an ic, 221. 
 
 Reddock Mills, 379. 
 
 Reed, Pres., 183. Invites Steuben to Phil- 
 adelphia, 221. 
 
 Reformation, results of in change of so- 
 ciety, 40. Relation to Am. Rev., 111. 
 
 Regulations for discipline, 2)0, et 86$. 
 Washington's opinion of, 214. Opin- 
 ions of various officers, 22). 
 
 Re, Island of, 609. 
 
 Remsen, 578, 603. 
 
 Rennselaer, Stephen Van, 532, 593. 
 
 Revolution, American, news of in France, 
 80. Overrated abroad, 84. Peculiarity 
 of, 107. French, 597. 
 
 Rhode Island, 495, 567, 623. 
 
 Richmond, 316, 373. Lafayette reaches, 
 422. Legislature removes from, 433. 
 
 Rivanna, the, 440. 
 
 Riviere. N. A., 555. 
 
 Roanoke, the, 352, 436. 
 
 Boohambra.it, Count, 293. 407, 56k His 
 arrival, and change of Fleury's service, 
 623. 
 
 Rockingham Co., 402. 
 
 Rockijridge Co., 402, 435. 
 
 Rodney, 625. 
 
 Romanai, M. De, 103, 608. 
 
 Rose Island, 625. 
 
 Rossbach, 52. 
 
 Rousseau, 82. 
 
 Ruits, Captain Von, 60 
 
 Russell, Lieut, 363. 
 
 Russia, 645. 
 
 Salisbury, 363. 
 
 Salis, Von, 645. 
 
 Sandy Hook, 157. 
 
 Sandy Point, 406, 423. 
 
 Sansculottes, 120. 
 
 Saratoga, 101, 343, 523. 
 
 Sardinia, King of invites Steuben, 63. 
 
 Sargent, Maj.,506, 575. 
 
 Savannah taken, 312 Possession of, 495. 
 
 Scammel, Col., 126. Letter of to Sullivan 
 
 129. Reports to Steuben, 231. 
 Schermeruorn, Mrs., 578. 
 Schill, 646. 
 Sciilosser, estimate of Franklin, 89. 
 
 SdlOMBERG, 645. 
 
 Schuyler, Fort, 578, 615, 634. 
 
 Schuyler, Gen., 272. Success of Saratoga 
 due to, 313. Cincinnati, 570. At Al- 
 bany, 590. 
 
 Schuyler, Peter, 583. 
 
 Schuylkill, 617. 
 
 Schweidnitz, surrender of, 53. Siege of, 
 456, 643. 
 
 Scuweiun, Field Marshal, Count, 
 
 Scipio, 569. 
 
 Scott, Brig. Gen., dispatch from Steuben 
 
 to, 153. 
 Scott, Jos. W., 574. 
 Segue, Count, extract from memoirs, 86. 
 
 Do., 478. 
 Senf, Col., 372. 
 Seven Years 1 War, 38. Conclusion of, 58. 
 
 Allies in, 596. 
 Seybothen, Col. Baron, 462. 
 
 SlIAKSPEARE, 111. 
 
 Shaw, Captain, 556. 
 
 Sheaf, Miss, 640. 
 
 Shenandoah Co., 402. 
 
 Siieruorn, Col., 264. 
 
 Silesia, 489. 
 
 Simcoe, 440, 442. Opinion of Steuben, 444. 
 
 Singleton, Captain, 392. 
 
 Sizek, Samuel, 292, 591. 
 
 Sleepy Hole, 378. 
 
 Smallwood, Gen., 163. Insults De Kalb, 
 239. Arrives at Petersburg, 375. Con- 
 sulted by Steuben about reinforcements, 
 402. 
 
 Smith, Adam, 111. 
 
 Smith, Col., 528. 
 
 Smith, Mr., 192, 547, 549, 620. Sketch of, 
 635. 
 
 Smith, Wm. S, 567, 573, 608. 
 
 Smithfield, 378. 
 
 Society, American, estimate of in Europe, 
 85. 
 
 Soltikow, 55. 
 
 Sorel, the, 522. 
 
 Spain, 644. 
 
 Spain, King of, 5S6. 
 
 Spencer, Col., 264. 
 
 Spencer, Earl of, 64. 
 
 Spottsyi.vania, 391. 
 
 Springfield, 93. Burned, 278. 
 
 Sprout, Col., 126. 
 
 Stagg, Captain, 523. 
 
 Stanvvix, Fort, 595. 
 
 Stanton, 435. 
 
 Star Hill, 590. 
 
 Staten Island, 296,494. 
 
 St. Clair, Gen., 575. 
 
 St. Esprit, 538. 
 
 Stella, Count, 52. 
 
 Steuben, Augustine Von, 42. 
 
 Steuben, Ernest Nicholas Von. 41. 
 
 Steuben, Fred. William, 292, 594. 
 
 Steuben, Frederick William Augustus 
 Henry Ferdinand Von, career as a 
 boy, 33. Family, 39. Born, 44. Edu- 
 cation, 45. Letter to Von Donners- 
 mark, 49. Wounded at Kunersdorf, 
 50. Sent as prisoner to St. Peters- 
 burg, 57. Extreme popularity there, 
 5S. Sent into Silesia, 59. Personal 
 pupil of Frederick, 60. Gifts from 
 Fred., ib. Quits Prussian service, ib. 
 Appointed grand marshal at Heching- 
 en, 01. Made Gen. of Circle of Suabia, 
 64. Fails to enter the German empe- 
 ror's service, 6o. Goes to England via 
 France, 67. Advised by St. "Germain 
 to go to America, 68. Declines, 71. 
 Letter to Hamilton, 73. Title In Eu- 
 rope, 74. Sails for America, 75. Mo- 
 tives, 77. Treatment by the French 
 court, 91. Letter to Frank., 95. Do. to 
 Congress, ib. Do. to Washington. 96. 
 Dinner in Boston, 97. Landlord iu 
 
N DEX. 
 
 Steuhen, Baron Ynn—cojitinued. 
 
 Mass., 99. Lodging in Conn., 100. Let- 
 ter to Hancock, 102. "Waited upon by 
 com. of Congress, lb. Entertained by 
 Congress, 103. Account of the army at 
 Valley Fprge, 114. Costume dinner at 
 Valley Fbrge, 120. Accepts temporary 
 inspectorship, 122. Method of Inspec- 
 tion, 126. Estimate of by Scammel, 123. 
 Do. by North, ib. Daily habit, 180. 
 Washington eulogizes, 1:30. Appointed 
 inspector general by Congress, 137. 
 Jeaiousy of officers against, 140. Sketch 
 of his own plan, 144. First present at 
 council of war, 149. Starts for York, 
 151. Dispatch to Scott, 153. Report to 
 Washington, ib. Loss of Steuben's hat, 
 159. On left wing at Monmouth, 100. 
 Ditiiculty between Lee and, 1(H. Ap- 
 pointed 'to conduct Lee's division, 105. 
 (iocs to Philadelphia, 177. Letter to 
 Washington, 178. Memorial in regard 
 to inspectorship, ib. Letter to Pres. 
 Reed, 183. Do. to Washington, 190. 
 Do. to Jas. Lovell, 195. Book of regu- 
 lations, 101 Letter to Washington in 
 regard to reg.. 215. Receives commen- 
 dation from Governors, etc., 220; Ap- 
 plication to Board of War, 222. Joins 
 army in N. J., ib. Paying expenses, ib. 
 Taught the use of the. bayonet, 229, 
 
 Meets I)e la Luzerne, 201. Popularity" St. Martin, 609, 
 
 with the army, 205. Naming a chi 
 "ib. Financial affairs, 207. "Goes to 
 Philadelphia to propose to Congress the 
 formation of the army on permanent 
 basis, 241. Disappointment in regard 
 to arms, 2S7. Change of name by a 
 soldier, 290. Proposal of future opera- 
 tions, 290. Second do., 802. Dissatis- 
 faction with plan of Congress, 822. 
 Opinion of new formation of the army, 
 833. Domand on Virginia, 05:'.. Plan 
 to prevent desertion, 00k Sickness 
 from vexation, et3., 303. Beports inva- 
 sion of Virginia, 072. Of Nelson, 330. 
 Confidence between Steuben and Jeffer- 
 son, 882. Gets into a^a^on, 339. A 
 recruit, 890. Letter to llelson, 412. 
 Proposes to meet CornwaUjs, 415. Dis- 
 couraged, 419. Commands in engage- 
 ment near Petersburg, 424. Jloins La- 
 fayette. 482. Complains to Mr. Speaker 
 Gary, 409. Not surprised by Simcoe, 
 418. ('ensured by North Carolina gen- 
 tlemen, 45t. Again sick, 453. Re- 
 ceives command, 450. Covering a re- 
 treat. 4.57. Contests honor with Lafay- 
 ette, 4>S. Favorite charger, 401. Offi- 
 cial relations, 466. Demands official 
 letter from Gov. Nelson, 471. Contrast 
 with Lafayette, 431. Returns to the 
 North, 184. Appointed Insp. gen., 438. 
 Opinion in regard to New York, 190. 
 Extract from inspection book. 107. < 'on- 
 tinued disappointment, 502. Letter from Tioklkb, Timothy, 5S5 
 
 Steuuen, Baron Yon— continued. 
 
 555. Member of Com., 568. New York 
 State Soc , 568. Embarrassment, 57(5. 
 Besides in New York, 530. By Duer, 
 
 531. Whale or eel? 5S2. A Federalist, 
 534. Regent of university, 585. Leaves 
 New York, 595. Terror of the captain, 
 597. Steuben best land in the world, 
 593. Death and burial, 000. Grave, 
 
 002. inscription on do., 604 Of Du- 
 ponceau, 010, 611. Of Walker, 014 
 North's i)un, 027. Otfense with Fair- 
 lie. 000. Personal appearance and char- 
 acter, 007. Lieut, (ribbons, 033. Steu- 
 ben's kindness, 009. The indignant 
 cook, 041. Military character, 042. 
 
 Bteubbn Hill, 590. 
 
 Steuhen, Jonathan, 290. 
 
 Steuben, Wiliiel.u Auoustise, 42. 
 
 Steube, Stoebe, Stoyben, 39. 
 
 St. Germain, Count De, visited by Steuben, 
 
 03. Conversation regarding Am. army, 
 75. 
 
 Stevens, Brig. Gen., 302. 
 
 Stewart, Col., 4s0, 500. 
 
 Stirling, Maj. Gen. Lord, 165. Position in 
 
 grand maneuver, 139. Commands left 
 
 wing at Monmouth, 100. 
 St. Johns, 490, 520. 
 St. Lawrence, 300. 
 St. Louis, Cross of, 504. 
 
 Stony Point, 225, 223, 023. Steuben's skill 
 at, 043. 
 
 Street, Broad, 5G9. Fifty-seventh, 573. 
 Courtland, 530. Liberty, 580. Wall, 
 580. Hanover, 530. Fulton, 530. Broad- 
 way, 530, 595. Nassau, 530, 595, 604. 
 Maiden Lane, 530, 604. Whitehall, 595. 
 John, 004. Front, 017. 
 
 Stuyvesant. Gov., 032. 
 
 StiAiiiA, Circle of, 64. 
 
 Buff-kens, 204. 
 
 Suffolk, 37 3, 405. 
 
 Sullivan, Cxcn. John, 129. Critical posi- 
 tion in R. I., 130. Cited, 339. Cincin- 
 nati, 563. 
 
 Sumner, Gen., 450. 
 
 Susquehanna, the. 522. 
 
 T. 
 
 Table, 665. 
 
 Taeleton, 400, 41), 4t2. 
 
 Taylor, John, 593. 
 
 Taylors Ferry, 352, 402, 430. 
 
 Teiinant. Col., 120, 409. Inspector of 
 
 Southern army, 436. Named, 003. 
 
 Sketch of, 620. 
 Teutonic Heroes, 111. 
 Texas, 53S. 
 Tiiac her, report of Steuben's inspection, 
 
 22ii. 
 Thompson, Sec, 542. 
 
 Officers, 519. Last duty in service. 52 
 Treats with Haldlman, 522. Service at 
 Phila., 521. Reply to Washington's let- 
 ter, 525. Secretaryship, 520. Gold- 
 hilted sword, 52S. i'o-iiion in private 
 litv, 535. Response of Sec. Treasury to 
 his memorial, 51 !. Order of Cincinnati, 
 
 TlLLOBY, Dr., 5-0. 
 
 Tilly, M. De, 4o5. 
 Tippo Saiiib, 82. 
 ToMiNY Hill, 625. 
 Tobgau, 643. 
 Trenton, 588,548. 
 
 Flimsy excuse, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 35 
 
 U. 
 
 United States, condition and wants of, OS. 
 Congress of, 100. Indebtedness to Steu- 
 ben, 490. Ingratitude, 5)1. 
 
 Utica, 578, 590. 
 
 Valley Forge, 9 1. Encampment at, 105. 
 
 Fleury at, 02:3. 
 Varus, 688. 
 
 Vebgennrs, Count De, 74, 221. 
 Verdier, Lieut., 442. 
 Verneb, Joun t , 594. 
 Vebplanck's Point, 22S, 439. V.'s House 
 
 556. 
 Versailles, 5SS. 
 
 VlLLEFBANCHE, 009. 
 
 Yimng, Mr., 547. 
 
 Viomenil, Baron De, 407, 457. 
 
 Virginia, 804. Stale of affairs in, 851. In- j 
 vasion of by Matthews, 870. D.>. bv 
 Leslie, 371. Do. by Arnold, ib. No | 
 money and no credit, 410. 
 
 Vogbl, Carl. 98. 
 
 Voltaire, 598. 
 
 Vox Foi-uli, 569. 
 
 W. 
 
 WADSwoRTn, Mr . 547. 
 
 Walker, Captain B., 180. Steuben's rep. 
 at II. Qu., 274. Lives with Steuben, 
 530. Removes remains of Steuben, 602. 
 Legacy, 608. Sketch of, 61*. Death, 
 615. Secretary of Gov. of New York, 
 020. 
 
 Wall's Bridge, 428. 
 
 Walsh, Robert, 010. 
 
 Wabbasquiaok Bay, 872. 
 
 Wabtha, passage of Platen's army over the, 
 56. 
 
 Warwick, 075. 
 
 Warwick, Earl of, 64. 
 
 Washington Co., 401. 
 
 Washington, George, 75. Courtesy to 
 Steuben, 105 Letters to Congress, ib. 
 Greatness of in the Rev., 103. Not to 
 be compared with any modern con- 
 queror, 110. Teutonic character, 112. 
 Orders of, 133, et zeq. Report to Con- 
 gress. 185. Letter to Morris, 167. Do. 
 to Congress, ib., 103. Opinion of for- 
 eigners in the army. 171. Letter to 
 Steuben. 191. Criticism of regulations, 
 214. Takes up winter quarters at M>r- 
 ristown, 237. Seeks pecuniary aid for 
 Steuben, ib. Opinion of basis of the 
 army, 251. Forced inactivity of, 293. 
 Sagacity in use of men. 330. Appoints 
 Greene successor of Gates. 344. living's 
 Life of quoted, 412. Misleads Clinton, 
 453. Gives Steuben a command, 450. 
 
 Washington, George — continued. 
 
 Wisdom in appointing Lafayette, 473. 
 
 Approves Steuben's new plan, 485. 
 
 Meditates attack on New York, 492. 
 
 General order, 498. Ins! ructions to 
 
 Steuben as missionary to Canada, 520. 
 
 Enters New York, 524. Last letter in 
 
 service, 524. Urges upon Congress a 
 
 settlement with officers, 532. Newburg 
 
 difficulty, 584. President of Cincinnati, 
 
 558. Inauguration, 585. 
 Washington, "Mrs., at headquarters, 120. 
 
 At dinner, 582. Learns chess, 619. 
 Watebee, 352. 
 Wayne, Gen., dispatched to Jersey, 156. 
 
 At Monmouth, 161. Monument to, 229. 
 
 On the march southward, 430. Bravery 
 
 at Jamestown, 452. 
 Webb, Col., 264. 
 
 Weedon, Gen., 375, 877, 406, 416. 
 Weilheim, Steuben's country seat at, 63. 
 Weissenfels, T. Yon, 532. 
 Westham, 373. 
 Westmobeland Co., 577. 
 Wkstovkr, 873, 424,423. 
 West Point, 227,500. School at. 513. Fish's 
 
 letter from, 088. Steuben's skill at, 043. 
 Whips any, 278. 
 White Plains, 105. 406. 
 Wickokf, burning of his house. 158. 
 Wildebming, Wm., 584 Named, 60S. 
 William of Obangk (two), 111, 045. 
 
 WlLLlAMSBUBG, 452. 
 
 William, Steuben's servant, 599. 
 Williams, Col., 120, 303. 
 Willis, Maj., 373. 
 Willis's Creek, 443. 
 Willoughby Point, 372. 
 Wilmington, 128. Cornwall is arrives at, 
 427. Fleury commands division at, 
 
 Wilson, Gen., 355. 
 Wilton, 423. 
 Windsor, New, 408, 507. 
 WINN8BOROUGH, 800. 
 WiTiiEKSi-ooN, Dr., 102, 540, 542. 
 Wittenberg, 111. 
 Woodruff, Simeon, 598. 
 Woodstock, 359. 
 Wright Mills. 166. 
 
 1. 
 
 Yadkin, 852, 400. 
 Yates, Chief dust. Rob.. 631. 
 York, 90. Steuben goes to, 151, 848. En- 
 gagement at. 589. 
 
 York, Field Marshal, 02. 
 York Island, 200. 
 York RlVER, 428. 
 Yorktown, 410, 447, 453, 464. 
 
 Zabriskie, John, 577. 
 
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