Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm
Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankey listener discretion advised. On the
Speaker 1: chilly morning of February twenty fourth, seventeen seventy eight, in
Speaker 1: the middle of one of the worst winters of the
Speaker 1: American Revolutionary War, a carriage emerged from the Pennsylvanian wilderness
Speaker 1: and drove up towards the army's camp. After a long
Speaker 1: ride from York, Pennsylvania, Baron Friederic William von Steuben and
Speaker 1: his aides de camp finally arrived at Valley Forge. For
Speaker 1: our American listeners, that name might ring a bell. Valley
Speaker 1: Forge was the winter camp for the Continental Army during
Speaker 1: the thick of the American Revolutionary War, and this particular
Speaker 1: winter has gone down in infamy for the horrible conditions
Speaker 1: the soldiers faced, But the baron didn't know just yet
Speaker 1: what he had gotten himself into. As the army camp
Speaker 1: came into view, the Baron's heart started racing with excitement.
Speaker 1: The noise of the nearly two thousand acre campgrounds grew
Speaker 1: louder as the baron and his men rode in the
Speaker 1: sounds of thousands of soldiers alongside The many women and
Speaker 1: other noncombatants at the camp were so familiar to the baron.
Speaker 1: He had missed the routine and camaraderie of the military
Speaker 1: immensely after a decade without military employment of wandering around
Speaker 1: the continent. It felt like he was finally returning home.
Speaker 1: He had journeyed all the way from Paris to be here,
Speaker 1: a trip that had taken many months of excruciating travel.
Speaker 1: With the camp now in sight, he was practically champing
Speaker 1: at the bit to get back into the thick of it.
Speaker 1: General George Washington rode out to welcome the noble newcomer
Speaker 1: and his caravan. After perfunctory pleasantries, the General led the
Speaker 1: baron into camp. Their ride together was rather quiet, as
Speaker 1: George Washington had much on his mind, but the Baron's
Speaker 1: anticipation and excitement buoyed both of their spirits. That excitement
Speaker 1: was soon replaced with the sobering realization of what life
Speaker 1: at Valley Forge actually looked like. In a letter written
Speaker 1: that winter, Washington described the conditions as quote little less
Speaker 1: than a famine. The supply chains for the camp's food
Speaker 1: and clothing had broken down, so there was barely any
Speaker 1: clothing to keep people warm. Or food for them to eat.
Speaker 1: For that matter, the little food that did make it
Speaker 1: to camp arrived rotted. People were so desperate that they
Speaker 1: had taken to boyling whatever leather they could find, just
Speaker 1: so they could have something to eat. Soldiers lay around
Speaker 1: half dressed on the brink of frostbite, and two thousand
Speaker 1: men had already succumbed to hunger, typhoid, or dysentery. One
Speaker 1: congressional delegate described the soldiers at Valley Forge as this
Speaker 1: skeleton of an army. Thank god, it wasn't raining or
Speaker 1: snowing when the Baron arrived, but there wasn't much else
Speaker 1: to redeem the state of the military camp. Upon arriving
Speaker 1: at his cabin, the Baron reflected on the work before him.
Speaker 1: He was assigned the monumental task of turning this motley
Speaker 1: ragtag army into a trained military machine. Before he let
Speaker 1: his worries consume him, he decided that work would begin tomorrow.
Speaker 1: He poured himself a glass of whiskey, settled into a
Speaker 1: chair by the fire, and relished his return to the military.
Speaker 1: While he could, the familiar sounds of shouted commands and
Speaker 1: ringing axes lulled him to sleep. Despite all of the
Speaker 1: obstacles in his path and the frankly pathetic state of
Speaker 1: the army he had just enlisted in, Baron von Steuben
Speaker 1: would practically save the Continental Army and be a major
Speaker 1: factor in allowing the colonists to win the American Revolution.
Speaker 1: He would turn the Continental Army into a disciplined and
Speaker 1: formidable fighting force, build morale amongst the revolutionary forces, remedy
Speaker 1: the supply chain issues that held them back, and write
Speaker 1: the military handbook that still influences US military guidelines today.
Speaker 1: But Baron von Steuben wasn't just a Prussian noble and
Speaker 1: a hero of the American Revolution. He was also a
Speaker 1: queer man who had immigrated to the United States in
Speaker 1: search of opportunity. His story exemplifies the importance of immigrants
Speaker 1: and queer people to the success of the United States,
Speaker 1: even if some people prefer to pretend that they didn't exist.
Speaker 1: With this episode, I think it's important to provide a
Speaker 1: historical reminder that they always did. I'm Dana Schwartz, and
Speaker 1: this is Noble Blood. Despite the United States having never
Speaker 1: been a monarchy. Here on Noble Blood, we find ourselves
Speaker 1: occasionally telling stories about Americans who became nobles or nobility
Speaker 1: who find their way to America. Take for example, our
Speaker 1: episode on the dollar Princesses of the Gilded Age, or
Speaker 1: our more recent episode entitled Count and Cavalry Commander about
Speaker 1: Casimir Pulaski. As I mentioned in our episode about Pulaski,
Speaker 1: there were many Europeans who rushed to America to make
Speaker 1: their fame and fortune during the Revolutionary War, including some
Speaker 1: nobility like the Marquis de Lafayette and the subject of
Speaker 1: today's episode, Baron von Steuben. In order to explain how
Speaker 1: the Baron came to be one of the most consequential
Speaker 1: figures in the Revolutionary War, we must start with the
Speaker 1: Baron's life b a or before America. Everything about Baron
Speaker 1: von Steuben's birth and upbringing predisposed him to becoming an
Speaker 1: influential military general. Baron von Steuben was born Friedrich Wilhelm
Speaker 1: Ludolph Gerhardt Augustine von Steuben, or Steuben as we americanize
Speaker 1: it most frequently, on September seventeenth, seventeen thirty in Madgeburg
Speaker 1: in the Kingdom of Prussia, formerly somewhat of a small principality,
Speaker 1: maybe even considered a European backwater. By the time the
Speaker 1: baron was born, Prussia was a military superpower, and Von
Speaker 1: Steuben was poised perfectly to take advantage of that accomplished
Speaker 1: Prussian position. Not only did he descend from a long
Speaker 1: line of military men of the Yunker class or the
Speaker 1: Prussian class of minor nobility, but the baron's father had
Speaker 1: so distinguished himself in the military that Frederick the Great
Speaker 1: had agreed to serve as the young Von Steuben's godfather,
Speaker 1: hence the baron's first name Friedrich Wilhelm. Logically, as soon
Speaker 1: as he could, at about sixteen, von Steuben enlisted in
Speaker 1: the army. He served in the military for over fifteen years,
Speaker 1: fighting in the Seven Years War, rising through the ranks
Speaker 1: and showing immense promise as a military thinker. Suddenly, though,
Speaker 1: Von Steuben's promising career was cut short as he was
Speaker 1: discharged from the army in seventeen sixty three. Von Steuben
Speaker 1: later admitted that he had gotten on the bad side
Speaker 1: of one of his comrades, who was notorious for getting
Speaker 1: his enemies discharged. Once he earned the rancorps of this
Speaker 1: quote implacable enemy, there was no redemption, so forced out
Speaker 1: of the only profession he ever knew. Now without any
Speaker 1: sense of purpose, Von Steuben drifted around Europe and kept
Speaker 1: himself afloat with a variety of positions, just waiting really
Speaker 1: for another opportunity to return to his true passion of
Speaker 1: military service. It was actually during this time that he
Speaker 1: acquired the title of baron, which is similar to modern knighthood,
Speaker 1: from Princess Friedrika of Wurtemberg in May seventeen seventy seven.
Speaker 1: After over a decade of taking whatever positions he could
Speaker 1: to get by, the Baron happened to strike up a
Speaker 1: conversation with an English cartographer who was an undercover agent
Speaker 1: for Benjamin Franklin, the new American ambassador to France. The
Speaker 1: Englishman explained the rebellion currently going on in the British
Speaker 1: colonies in America and encouraged the Baron to seek enlistment
Speaker 1: in the Continental Army. Seeing at last an opportunity to
Speaker 1: return to the military and even to achieve a high
Speaker 1: ranking position, the Baron set out enthusiastically for Paris to
Speaker 1: enlist with the by now famous Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately, for
Speaker 1: the Baron, enlisting would not be quite as easy as
Speaker 1: he thought it would be. When the Baron arrived in
Speaker 1: Paris to make his case for a commission in the
Speaker 1: Continental Army, Benjamin Franklin refused his request. The baron couldn't
Speaker 1: have known, but he was just barely too late. So
Speaker 1: many foreign mercenaries had enlisted in the Continental Army that
Speaker 1: the colonists were basically getting jealous of their commissions and
Speaker 1: growing frustrated. There were simply too many European noblemen trying
Speaker 1: to fight in America, thus Franklin's refusal. The baron, however,
Speaker 1: didn't know any of that, and was infuriated by the rebuff,
Speaker 1: but his spirits were quickly buoyed by news that he
Speaker 1: had been summoned for an open position in the army
Speaker 1: at the court of the Mcgrave of Baden. The Baron
Speaker 1: departed for southern Germany promptly, and upon arriving at court,
Speaker 1: he discovered, unfortunately, that a vicious rumor preceded him. Whispers
Speaker 1: told that while at Prince Joseph's court during his decade
Speaker 1: or so without military employment, the baron had quote take
Speaker 1: in familiarities with young boys. In other words, the baron
Speaker 1: was rumored to have had same sex sexual interactions. Let
Speaker 1: briefly digress from the baron's hectic early life to explain
Speaker 1: a bit about sexual mores, particularly as it relates to homosexuality.
Speaker 1: During this time period, in the Prussian court of Frederick
Speaker 1: the Great, who was openly only interested in men, homosexuality
Speaker 1: was acceptable. It was still technically punishable by death, but
Speaker 1: amongst the court and in the military it was permissible
Speaker 1: and even sometimes encouraged, as part of the masculine military
Speaker 1: machine that Frederick the Great built. Frederick the Great's brother,
Speaker 1: Prince Henry, whom the Baron became friends with during his
Speaker 1: time in the Prussian military, was also notorious for his
Speaker 1: same sex dalliances. So the baron was raised in a
Speaker 1: space that encouraged same sex relationships, and I'm sure this
Speaker 1: was much appreciated by the Baron, who, as we will
Speaker 1: discuss later, was almost certainly sexually attracted to other men. However,
Speaker 1: in America and most of the rest of Europe, open
Speaker 1: homosexuality was very much frowned upon, even in hypermasculine spaces
Speaker 1: like the military. Even though those claims against the baron
Speaker 1: were never proven, the insidious rumor ruined the baron's chances
Speaker 1: of any sort of job in that army. The baron
Speaker 1: was understandably devastated by this blow to his reputation and career,
Speaker 1: just as he was about to get his long sought
Speaker 1: after military commission. However, he could not pout for long,
Speaker 1: as he was summoned back to Paris. Promptly, Knowing the
Speaker 1: baron's impressive military pedigree, some French allies of the Americans
Speaker 1: decided to do whatever necessary to get Baron von Steuben
Speaker 1: to America and enlisted in their army. They embellished his
Speaker 1: resume a bit who among us, and framed his desire
Speaker 1: to enlist purely in support of the new American Republic
Speaker 1: and the ideals it stood for. They covered his expenses
Speaker 1: to sail across the Atlantic, and so in fall of
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy seven, Baron von Steuben set sail for America.
Speaker 1: Though he had been squarely shot down by Benjamin Franklin
Speaker 1: in his first attempt to enlist, Baron von Steuben was
Speaker 1: received quite favorably by the Continental Congress. Once he got there,
Speaker 1: they took little convincing and promptly granted von Steuben the
Speaker 1: title of captain and directed him to join the army.
Speaker 1: In Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He was charged to be of
Speaker 1: use in planning encampments, et cetera, and promoting the discipline
Speaker 1: of the army, and that directive could not have come
Speaker 1: a moment too soon for the Continental Army. Now we're
Speaker 1: back where we started the Baron's arrival at Valley Forge
Speaker 1: to recap, conditions are dismal, and the Baron was there
Speaker 1: to hopefully remedy everything, a tall task. For the first
Speaker 1: three weeks after Baron von Steuben arrived in Valley Forge,
Speaker 1: he set about observing the camp and noting all of
Speaker 1: the things that could be improved upon. General Washington gave
Speaker 1: him full reign to roam around, observe, and inquire about
Speaker 1: the state of camp. As he rode around on his horse,
Speaker 1: with his dog Azure trotting alongside, he might have appeared
Speaker 1: comically pompous, but instead he inspired dumbstruck wonder and awe
Speaker 1: amongst the soldiers. Quote, never before or since have I
Speaker 1: had such an impression of the ancient faith pep god
Speaker 1: of war as when I looked on the Baron, wrote
Speaker 1: a sixteen year old private named Ashville Green. He seemed
Speaker 1: to me a perfect personification of mars, the trappings of
Speaker 1: his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size,
Speaker 1: and his strikingly marital aspect all seemed to favor the idea.
Speaker 1: To the disorganized and underfed American soldiers, Von Steuben appeared
Speaker 1: the ideal of a winning, respected military leader, and that's
Speaker 1: exactly the image the Baron hoped to project, even as
Speaker 1: his head was filled with worries about the dramatic odds
Speaker 1: he was facing in revamping Valley Forge. At the end
Speaker 1: of his three weeks of observation, the baron showered General
Speaker 1: Washington with his takeaways and advice. He had noticed that
Speaker 1: the colonists fought with fury, but lacked the discipline and
Speaker 1: skill to be a proper army. If they couldn't maneuver
Speaker 1: and change formation or coordinate concentrated volleys, they would continue
Speaker 1: to struggle up against the British Redcoats. They were uncomfortable
Speaker 1: wielding bayonets, which some men had just fully removed from
Speaker 1: their rusted muskets, and that's of the men who were
Speaker 1: still there. Disorganization was so rampant that Von Steuben warned
Speaker 1: Washington that if they had to mobilize the army. Then
Speaker 1: in there he might be commanding a third of the
Speaker 1: men he thought he had. Luckily, though, the Baron had
Speaker 1: suggestions on how to make the infantry an effective weapon,
Speaker 1: how to bolster camp security, how to improve valley forges fortifications,
Speaker 1: how they might tighten up supply management. Washington was sufficiently
Speaker 1: impressed with the Baron's assessment and ordered him to start
Speaker 1: making changes a meetly as the unofficial Inspector General. During
Speaker 1: those first few weeks, the baron found solace in a
Speaker 1: friendship with two young men, John Lawrence and Broadway's favorite
Speaker 1: Alexander Hamilton. Von Steuben couldn't speak English, but Lawrence and
Speaker 1: Hamilton both spoke French and could therefore act as interpreters
Speaker 1: and aides. Plus, the baron appreciated the young men's eagerness
Speaker 1: at his stories of his time in the Prussian Army.
Speaker 1: Hamilton and Lawrence weren't the only friends von Stuben made.
Speaker 1: In fact, he became a fast favorite in camp, not
Speaker 1: only by asking regular infantrymen about their experience during the day,
Speaker 1: but also by inviting them to parties in his cabin
Speaker 1: in the evenings. And they sure did party. The baron
Speaker 1: served the men salamanders, cheap whiskey set on fire. Despite
Speaker 1: his lesson instellar general assessment of the army, the Baron
Speaker 1: began to develop a deep appreciation for his new American comrades.
Speaker 1: He recognized that they were different from soldiers in European armies,
Speaker 1: not serfs or subjects, but citizens with a stake in
Speaker 1: this upstart country. In a letter to a Prussian friend,
Speaker 1: Von Stuben observed, you say to your soldier, do this,
Speaker 1: and he do with it. But I am obliged to
Speaker 1: say to the American soldier, this is the reason why
Speaker 1: you ought to do that, and then he does it.
Speaker 1: Recognizing this unique feature of American soldiers would be a
Speaker 1: boon to the Baron as he undertook reshaping the army.
Speaker 1: On the morning of March nineteenth, seventeen seventy eight, the
Speaker 1: Baron began implementing his reforms. He started with what he
Speaker 1: viewed as the most essential aspect of military success, uniformity,
Speaker 1: but teaching the entire army to march in sink before
Speaker 1: spring was essentially impossible. Instead of trying to train all
Speaker 1: of the men at Valley Forge at the same time,
Speaker 1: he pulled together a group of one hundred veteran soldiers
Speaker 1: and taught them. Once they mastered the drills, like how
Speaker 1: to walk seventy five steps a minute in formation, these
Speaker 1: veterans became drill sergeants and taught their own regiments the
Speaker 1: necessary skills. The baron taught his drill sergeants, who then
Speaker 1: taught their fellow soldiers how to reload their muskets quickly
Speaker 1: after firing, how to charge with a bayonet, and how
Speaker 1: to march in compact columns instead of miles long lines.
Speaker 1: Learning about the American ethos, and becoming friendly with the
Speaker 1: men in his first few weeks were crucial when training them.
Speaker 1: These new skills weren't easy to learn, especially for men
Speaker 1: who were underfed, barely clothed, and trying to learn from
Speaker 1: a man who didn't really speak any English. But the
Speaker 1: baron's outward display of confidence and his congeniality fostered goodwill
Speaker 1: amongst the soldiers, and even when the baron did get
Speaker 1: frustrated because the men weren't executing their new maneuvers properly,
Speaker 1: his slightly over the top expressions of profanity made him
Speaker 1: that much more relatable and likable, and the barons slight
Speaker 1: the atricks impacted more than just the Model Regiment. Every
Speaker 1: day a crowd would gather at the parade ground to
Speaker 1: watch the Baron's training. These soldiers, who would soon come
Speaker 1: to learn these skills, got a taste of what was
Speaker 1: to come, and they began to respect the Baron as well.
Speaker 1: Just one week after the Baron began training the Model
Speaker 1: regiment of new drill sergeants, General Washington ordered that everyone
Speaker 1: begin learning Baron von Steuben's drills. The drill sergeants returned
Speaker 1: to their regiments and led the training of the thousands
Speaker 1: of soldiers at Valley Forge. The soldiers took to their
Speaker 1: lessons fabulously, and in turn, their success built their confidence
Speaker 1: and pride After a series of military losses followed by
Speaker 1: the absolutely brutal winter, This intangible growth was just short
Speaker 1: of miraculous and absolutely crucial to the Army's success going forward.
Speaker 1: Just over a month after von Steuben began his training program,
Speaker 1: multiple pieces of fantastic news came to Valley Forge. First,
Speaker 1: France had officially pledged to enter the war on the
Speaker 1: side of the colonies. This new partnership was a huge
Speaker 1: bolster to the Americans. Secondly, General Washington was finally able
Speaker 1: to make Baron von Steuben the official intea General of
Speaker 1: the army, but he held on to this second piece
Speaker 1: of news for the time being. Washington ordered the Baron
Speaker 1: to organize a demonstration of the army's newly acquired skills
Speaker 1: to celebrate their French allies. In just a few days,
Speaker 1: the baron organized seven thousand soldiers to perform an impressive
Speaker 1: display of maneuvers, followed by a faux degois, a ceremonial
Speaker 1: rifle salute in which each soldier in a line fires
Speaker 1: in sequence. According to the Baron's aid John Lorens, the
Speaker 1: plan as formed by Baron von Stuben, succeeded in every particular.
Speaker 1: It was a resounding success and demonstrated to everyone there
Speaker 1: that day just how far they had come thanks to
Speaker 1: the Baron's efforts during these celebrations. After that morning's demonstration,
Speaker 1: Washington revealed his secrets and announced there that the Baron
Speaker 1: was officially the Inspector General. This title put the baron
Speaker 1: at the rank of major general and entitled him to
Speaker 1: a significant stipend and pension. This moment was everything the
Speaker 1: baron had worked for over the entirety of his career.
Speaker 1: It hadn't been easy, and it hadn't come the way
Speaker 1: he expected. But now the Baron had achieved the highest
Speaker 1: rank one could hold beside general of an entire army,
Speaker 1: and more than that, he was the recipient of massive
Speaker 1: praise and accolades for the way he had turned an
Speaker 1: army around, or at least hopefully so. The Continental Army
Speaker 1: may have been able to now march in unison, but
Speaker 1: only time would tell they could actually win battles because
Speaker 1: of it. Luckily for the Baron, it didn't take long
Speaker 1: for his hard work as drill master of Valley Forge
Speaker 1: to sh dividends. Just two weeks after the impressive celebration,
Speaker 1: Von Stuben orchestrated the Marquis de Lafayette led an expedition
Speaker 1: that was almost captured by the British. Their narrow escape
Speaker 1: was only possible because of the regiment's newfound maneuver abilities
Speaker 1: taught by von Steuben. Despite the near humiliation of that expedition,
Speaker 1: the Baron and General Washington saw their escape as an
Speaker 1: indication that there was actually hope for the Continental Army now.
Speaker 1: Later that summer, in June seventeen seventy eight, the Continental
Speaker 1: Army showed immense fortitude and discipline at the Battle of Monmouth.
Speaker 1: With their victory in that battle, the Baron was officially
Speaker 1: vindicated as a superior military organizer as the official Inspector. General.
Speaker 1: Von Steuben would serve for the remaining five years of
Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War. During this time, he created import infrastructure
Speaker 1: for what would become the American military. During the winter
Speaker 1: of seventeen seventy eight to seventeen seventy nine, the first
Speaker 1: winter after his successful training program at Valley Forge, the
Speaker 1: Baron wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the
Speaker 1: Troops of the United States, commonly known as the Blue Book.
Speaker 1: The Blue Book outlined the training program which he had
Speaker 1: developed in Valley Forge that first winter. In a very
Speaker 1: forward thinking moment, every night at Valley Forge, the Baron
Speaker 1: had written down all of the drills, exercises, and regulations
Speaker 1: that he would teach the next day. He then used
Speaker 1: these notes a year later to construct the Blue Book.
Speaker 1: This book would go on to be the basis for
Speaker 1: American Army operations and discipline until the War of eighteen twelve,
Speaker 1: and portions of the Blue Book are still used in
Speaker 1: the Army's manual today, Creating the first American military Handbook
Speaker 1: and turning around the American War for Independence talk about
Speaker 1: a pretty big impact, and indeed thinks in large part
Speaker 1: to the Continental Army's new discipline and skills, the Revolutionary
Speaker 1: War would turn in the colonists favor. After acting as
Speaker 1: one of the three commanding generals at the last battle
Speaker 1: of the war, the Battle of Yorktown, and after the
Speaker 1: Colonists had officially won the war, von Steuben was honorably
Speaker 1: discharged from the army. Very much a bolster to the
Speaker 1: Prussian's ego, few failed to recognize the Baron's contributions to
Speaker 1: the new nation's success. The same Washington, who received the
Speaker 1: baron with little fanfare back in seventeen seventy eight, would
Speaker 1: address his last letter as commander of the Continental Army
Speaker 1: to the Baron to commend him for changing the court
Speaker 1: of the war. Quote. Although I have taken frequent opportunities,
Speaker 1: both in public and private, of acknowledging your zeal, attention,
Speaker 1: and abilities in performing the duties of your office, yet
Speaker 1: I wish to make use of this last moment of
Speaker 1: my public life to signify in the strongest terms my
Speaker 1: entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense
Speaker 1: of the obligations the public is under to you for
Speaker 1: your faithful and meritorious services. After the baron's discharge from
Speaker 1: the military, he settled in Manhattan and later in upstate
Speaker 1: New York. Now we've been relatively quiet so far on
Speaker 1: the baron's sexuality, but his life after the war offers
Speaker 1: us a pretty good glimpse into that aspect of his life.
Speaker 1: The baron was never married and instead lived with a
Speaker 1: variety of male companions. These companions weren't just good friends
Speaker 1: or roommates of the barons. They were almost certainly also
Speaker 1: engaged in some sort of sexual or romantic relationship with him.
Speaker 1: The vast majority of American history scholars would agree that
Speaker 1: von Steuben was gay, although it's important to remember that
Speaker 1: that is a more modern term and not one that
Speaker 1: he would have identified with, and their consensus is founded
Speaker 1: upon letters between the baron and his various companions that
Speaker 1: reveal the nature of those relationships. The two most important
Speaker 1: companions in the baron's life were Benjamin Walker and William North.
Speaker 1: He met both of these much younger men during his
Speaker 1: first winter in the Continental Army, and they would go
Speaker 1: on to be his aides to camp during the Revolutionary War,
Speaker 1: the two young men each developed with the Baron a
Speaker 1: romantic mentorship, As historian William E. Benneman describes it, a
Speaker 1: quote close affectionate relationship between two men with a substantial
Speaker 1: age gap, though sometimes between men of similar age but
Speaker 1: of differing socioeconomic status. There wasn't necessarily a sexual component
Speaker 1: of a romantic mentorship, but there certainly could be. For example,
Speaker 1: the Baron likely did not have a sexual relationship with Walker,
Speaker 1: but according to Beneman, likely did with North. This relationship
Speaker 1: is just one example of the types of homosexual relationships
Speaker 1: that occurred during this era. Another type developed between Walker
Speaker 1: and North, a romantic friendship aka a close affectionate relationship
Speaker 1: between two men who were social equals. Oftentimes, but not always,
Speaker 1: romantic friendships did involve a sexual element. Historians believe it
Speaker 1: is very likely that Walker and North's relationship did involve
Speaker 1: sexual intimacy. You might be wondering was it common knowledge
Speaker 1: at the time, even if unspoken and taboo, that the
Speaker 1: Baron was attracted to men. There isn't an overwhelming amount
Speaker 1: of evidence to say so, but a lack of evidence
Speaker 1: doesn't mean it wasn't the case. Despite many claims that
Speaker 1: George Washington and Benjamin Franklin knew of von Steuben's preferences
Speaker 1: before he arrived at Valley Forge. The research doesn't really
Speaker 1: surface a lot of evidence to demonstrate that. Regardless. I
Speaker 1: have a hunch that Washington knew that the army could
Speaker 1: not bear to reject a willing volunteer of von Steuben's caliber,
Speaker 1: and once he saw just how impactful von Steuben was
Speaker 1: in revamping the Continental Army, he might have reasoned that
Speaker 1: he could overlook anything he might not personally approve of
Speaker 1: for the good of their fledgling nation. After the war,
Speaker 1: Von Steuben maintained a romantic mentorship with William North for
Speaker 1: a number of years until North got married. It was
Speaker 1: absolutely common at the time for young men who were
Speaker 1: involved in same sex relationships to go on to marry
Speaker 1: women and lead a more quote unquote normal for the
Speaker 1: time life. Take Alexander Hamilton, who was rumored to have
Speaker 1: had a romantic relationship with John Lawns before going on
Speaker 1: to marry Eliza Schuyler. After North departed Von Steuben's household,
Speaker 1: the baron developed relationships with John Mulligan and a man
Speaker 1: by the last name of Mitchell, two men who consecutively
Speaker 1: served as his paid secretary because the Baron was paying
Speaker 1: their salary. Benemann identified their relationships as quote erotic employment,
Speaker 1: the third of the three gay relationship types he defined
Speaker 1: in this era. As Benemann put it, quote, these relationships
Speaker 1: involved two men of very unequal social status, with one man,
Speaker 1: usually significantly younger, serving as the employee of the other
Speaker 1: as an employee secretary valet paid companion. The younger member
Speaker 1: performed specific duties for which he was paid a salary,
Speaker 1: but he also served a sexual function. The relationship could
Speaker 1: also include an emotional component, and there was frequently some
Speaker 1: level of respect and even affection between the men, But
Speaker 1: at base the arrangement was economic, and it would cease
Speaker 1: whenever the wages ceased. The Baron was engaged in erotic
Speaker 1: employment with John Mulligan when his health took a sharp
Speaker 1: turn and he passed away from a stroke in late
Speaker 1: seveneteen ninety four. When the Baron passed, he left various
Speaker 1: portions of his estate to the most important men in
Speaker 1: his life, Walker North and Mulligan. While one could argue
Speaker 1: that his legacy is the existence of the United States,
Speaker 1: Von Steuben can be found in place names throughout the
Speaker 1: country like Steuben County, New York, and Steubenville, Ohio. Statues
Speaker 1: of the baron can be found in Valley Forge, d c.
Speaker 1: Even Berlin. He was even voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger in
Speaker 1: PBS's Liberties Kids. Despite this wide variety of tributes to
Speaker 1: Von Steuben, the Baron's impact on America is not particularly
Speaker 1: widely known nowadays, but his contributions to the Continental Army
Speaker 1: ensured that the colonies had a fighting chance against their
Speaker 1: imperial ruler. Unfortunately, many people, in pursuit of an easy
Speaker 1: and so full story of the United States, want to
Speaker 1: erase people like the Baron from American history, or at
Speaker 1: least erase the parts of his personhood that seem unsavory.
Speaker 1: But queer people and immigrants have always been integral to
Speaker 1: the American story and to the success of the ideals
Speaker 1: America was founded upon. Lucky for me, one such example
Speaker 1: happens to have been a nobleman, which allows me to
Speaker 1: share with you his story. Even though I am obviously
Speaker 1: a fan of the history of nobility, I, on a
Speaker 1: personal note, hope not to see any kings arise in
Speaker 1: the United States. That's the story of Baron von Steuben,
Speaker 1: but keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear
Speaker 1: about how Baron von Stuben is connected to Matthew Broderick. Hint,
Speaker 1: They're not related. For those unfamiliar with arguably one of
Speaker 1: the quintessential eighties classic films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off follows
Speaker 1: young Ferris Bueller as he plays hooky with his friends
Speaker 1: and gallivants around Chicago, living his best mischievous life, and
Speaker 1: perhaps one of the most joyous sequences is when Ferris,
Speaker 1: played by Matthew Broderick, jumps on a parade float in
Speaker 1: downtown Chicago and lip syncs donkeshon and twist and shout
Speaker 1: to a crowd of dancing onlookers. If you don't have
Speaker 1: time to rewatch the whole iconic movie, go watch a
Speaker 1: clip of the parade scene because it'll just make you smile.
Speaker 1: With Ferris on the float, our dancers in leader hozen,
Speaker 1: and throughout the crowd, people are waving tons of American flags,
Speaker 1: and if you look closely at some of the other
Speaker 1: floats in the background, you'll see people dressed up in
Speaker 1: Revolutionary War era costumes. At first glance, it is a
Speaker 1: bit of an odd amalgamation of iconography, but all of
Speaker 1: these somewhat random elements make sense when you learn that
Speaker 1: this is the Von Steuben Day parade. Even though the
Speaker 1: baron was technically Prussian, over the years, he's become a
Speaker 1: symbol of German American friendship. During the twentieth century, many
Speaker 1: German immigrants and German Americans would celebrate their heritage on
Speaker 1: the Baron's birthday. So in nineteen sixty four, US President
Speaker 1: Lyndon B. Johnson officially designated von Steuben's birthday September seventeenth,
Speaker 1: as von Steubende and encouraged people to celebrate the contribution
Speaker 1: of this specific patriot and all other German Americans to
Speaker 1: the United States. Von Steubenday is still celebrated across the country,
Speaker 1: particularly in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The NY
Speaker 1: cities in September you'll find parades with people in drindles
Speaker 1: and leederhosen marching behind uniformed Army Reserve members. In New York,
Speaker 1: the parade is also accompanied by a slightly early octoberfest
Speaker 1: held in Central Park. I'm sure it's quite the party
Speaker 1: to return to Ferris Bueller. John Hughes, Chicago hometown Boy,
Speaker 1: filmed the parade scene during the actual nineteen eighty five
Speaker 1: Von Steuben Day Parade. In fact, most of the people
Speaker 1: in the shots had no clue what they were filming for. Understandably,
Speaker 1: they were probably delighted and surprised to see themselves on
Speaker 1: screen in one of the defining films of the decade.
Speaker 1: They were just in downtown Chicago one September Day to
Speaker 1: celebrate the drill Master of Valley Forge, our very own
Speaker 1: Baron von Steuben. Noble Blood is a production of iHeart
Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood
Speaker 1: is hosted by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and
Speaker 1: research by Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and
Speaker 1: Julia Melaney. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk,
Speaker 1: with supervising producer rima il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke,
Speaker 1: Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.