The Drillmaster of Valley Forge (46 page)

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Some writers have asserted that Steuben claimed status as “German aristocrat”—namely, a member of the higher levels of the noble estate. Steuben never said such a thing. When writing about his social origins, he never claimed to be anything other than a “poor Junker” or a “Baron” (see chapter 2), both of which were indeed correct.

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Although American authors tend to refer to him as the “Baron von Steuben,” Steuben never styled himself in this fashion, so I have eschewed this in favor of his preference for the “Baron de Steuben.”

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Almost without exception, American historians have agreed that Steuben was not a legitimate baron. Others have asserted that Steuben claimed to be a “Baron of the Empire.” Baron of the Empire (Reichsfreiherr) was a title granted by the Holy Roman Empire; Steuben never claimed to be a Reichsfreiherr. He claimed only to be a Freiherr, which was a very commonly held distinction among the Junker class. That title was legitimately held, being granted along with the Order of Fidelity in 1769. He did not claim the title before that date. Its first appearance in the surviving archival material is in a Ranglist (list of court personnel) for the court at Hechingen, dated 1771. And given the close ties among the lesser princes of southwestern Germany, Steuben could not possibly have made such a claim without justification.

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Historians have described Azor's breed as anything from an Irish wolfhound to a mastiff. The only one of Steuben's circle to give particulars on Azor was Duponceau, and he consistently referred to him as an “Italian greyhound.” Since the modern breed is characteristically small, and Azor was remembered for being quite large, a specific identification of Azor's pedigree remains elusive.

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This claim, like Steuben's claim to baronial status, has sometimes been misinterpreted. For centuries, the Empire was divided into ten Circles (Reichskreise), each of which contained several—sometimes dozens of—German territorial states. In addition to adjudicating local disputes among the member princes, the Circles provided contingents of troops for the (usually ineffectual) Imperial Army (Reichsarmee) when called upon by the Emperor to do so. The Swabian Circle (der schwäbische Kreis) was one of the more active districts in this regard. All Circles had a military commander (Kreisoberst, or “Circle Colonel”), but the Swabian Circle also frequently designated a Circle General or Circle Field Marshal (Kreisgeneral or Kreisfeldmarschall). This, however, was a very high profile position, being held at one time by one of the most celebrated soldiers of the early eighteenth century, Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, better known as Türkenlouis. By claiming that he had been general in the Circle, Steuben was making a potentially big mistake: any of the more experienced Europeans in the Continental Army, such as Conway, the Baron de Kalb, or the Baron d'Arendt, would surely have heard of Steuben had he held such a post.

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The length of the uniform marching step was later changed to twenty-four inches, after critics pointed out that the twenty-eight-inch step was proving to be awkward for the men.

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La Neuville chose to resign, and departed for France immediately thereafter.

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One to rotate the musket inward, one to bring the musket held upright in front of the body, one to step back with the right foot and bring the musket to the position of “Present,” one to carry the musket to the right shoulder, one to raise the right hand to grasp the musket near the muzzle, and one to bring the musket straight down to the ground while bringing the right foot forward again.

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Perhaps more familiar as Fort Stanwix, near Rome, New York.