General Von Steuben Statue

General Von Steuben Statue

NPS / Claire Hassler

Quick Facts

Location:

Washington, DC

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

This memorial portrays Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794) as he inspected American troops at the great maneuvers of 1778 during the American Revolution. His experiences as a General staff member in the Prussian army gave him a wealth of knowledge unheard of in the British and French armies of the period. This training eventually brought to the American soldiers the technical knowledge necessary to create an army. During the winter of 1778-9, von Steuben prepared the "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States." He also established a standard of sanitation and camp layouts that would remain a standard a century and a half later. Today he is known as the "Father of Military Instruction." After his discharge from the army on March 24, 1784, he became an American citizen and was granted sixteen thousand acres of land by the state of New York. Today, this land, including the town of Steubenville, is located in central New York. The statue, erected on the northwest corner of Lafayette Park in 1910, shows von Steuben wearing the uniform of a major general of the Continental army, heavily cloaked against the rigors of the winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Sculptor: Alben Yaegers

Inscriptions
Pedestal
ERECTED BY THE CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES TO
FREDERICK WILLIAM AUGUSTUS HENRY FERDINAND
BARON VON STEUBEN
IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF HIS
SERVICES TO THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE
IN THEIR STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY
BORN IN PRUSSIA
SEPTEMBER 17, 1730
DIED IN NEW YORK.
NOVEMBER 28, 1794
AFTER SERVING AS AIDE
DE CAMP TO FREDERICK
THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA
HE OFFERED HIS SWORD
TO THE AMERICAN COLONIES AND WAS APPOINTED
MAJOR GENERAL AND
INSPECTOR GENERAL IN
THE CONTINENTAL ARMY.
HE GAVE MILITARY TRAIN-
ING AND DISCIPLINE TO
THE CITIZEN SOLDIERS
WHO ACHIEVED THE IN-
DEPENDENCE OF THE
UNITED STATES.
M.C.M.X
Base, statue's left
COMMEMORATION
Base, statue's right
MILITARY INSTRUCTION
pedestal, back
COLONELWILLIAM NORTH
MAJOR BENJAMIN WALKER
AIDES AND FRIENDS
OF GENERAL VON STEUBEN