HISTORY 



OF 



STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



CHAPTER I. 



BAKON STEUBEN. 



His Early Life and Military Services in Europe. 



This county derives its name from Frederic William 

 Augustus, Baron Steuben. The baron never had the honor 

 of living within its borders. He was one of those distin- 

 guished foreigners, like Lafayette, De Kalb, and Kosci- 

 usko, who came to this country to aid the cause of liberty 

 in the American Revolution. Unlike those other distin- 

 guished foreigners, however, who first became conspicuously 

 known on this side of the ocean, Steuben had acquired a 

 high military reputation in the Prussian service, where he 

 had attained the rank of aide-de-camp to Frederic the Great, 

 and was particularly connected with the quartermaster- 

 general's department. 



Frederic William Augustus, Baron Steuben, was 

 born about 1730, in some part of Glermany, probably in 

 Suabia, as he possessed a small estate in that province. 

 That he was not a Prussian by birth is shown by a remark 

 of his on one occasion, that if he had been a native subject 

 the great Frederic would certainly have dispatched him as 

 a prisoner to Spandau for daring to request a dismission 

 from his service. The father of Baron Steuben in 1779 

 wrote a letter to Dr. Franklin, making inquiry about his 

 son. It is dated Custrin, Prussia, Oct. 8, 1779, and is 

 signed " W. K. von Steuben, Major and Chevalier of the 

 Order of Merit." In this letter the father says he is eighty- 

 one years old, and his wife seventy- three. 



Steuben was fortunate enough to engage the friendship 

 and confidence of Prince Henry, the king's brother, to 

 whose family he was for some time attached. In an un- 

 fortunate campaign, the prince incurred the displeasure of 

 his inexorable brother. He was ordered to retire from the 

 field, and his suite were placed in situations intended to make 

 them feel the misfortune of being friends to a man who 

 had dared to displease the king. Steuben was sent into 

 Silesia, with orders to recruit, equip, and discipline, within 

 a certain period, a regiment broken down by long and hard 

 service. The pecuniary allowance was wholly insufficient 

 for the end proposed ; but in such a service no intrinsic 

 difficulties could excuse a failure in executin": the kin2;'s 

 commands. The baron repaired to the appointed spot, and 

 by his unwearied exertions the regiment was marched com- 

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plete to headquarters within the prescribed time. This 

 service was performed at an early period, and probably pro- 

 cured the appointment which he subsequently held, of aide- 

 de-camp to Frederic himself. 



An arbitrary exertion of the royal authority, consequent 

 upon the peace of Hubertsburg, in 1763, induced him to 

 withdraw from the Prussian army, which he did without 

 forfeitins: the favor of the kin«:. He seems ever after to 

 have retained a strong attachment for his stern old master, 

 and was observed to be much aiFected on receiving news of 

 that monarch's death in America. 



That his military talents were highly esteemed in Prussia 

 is shown by a fact of more recent date. When, in the 

 course of the Revolutionary war in this country. Congress 

 applied to the several European courts for a transcript of 

 their military codes, the prime minister of Prussia replied 

 that their military instructions had never been published, 

 nor even transcribed, except for the use of the generals. 

 He added that he was surprised at the request, for he un- 

 derstood that Baron Steuben was employed in the American 

 service, and that no one was better able to give accurate 

 information respecting the minutest details of the Prussian 

 system. 



Upon leaving the army, Steuben repaired to his estate of 

 Weiiheim, in southeastern Bavaria. In 1764, Prince Ho- 

 henzollern-Hechingen made him marshal of the court, 

 with a salary of twelve hundred florins. He was at the 

 same period appointed colonel in the Circle of Suabia, an 

 office more honorable than lucrative. The troops of the 

 Circle were chiefly militia, and the duty consisted in little 

 else than attending a periodical review. In 1767, Prince 

 Margrave, of Baden, made him a Knight of the Order 

 of Fidelity, and soon after gave him the chief command 

 of the troops, with the rank and title of general, and yearly 

 emoluments to the amount of two thousand florins. Thus 

 situated, he refused two liberal proffers from the prime 

 minister of Austria to induce him to enter the service o 

 the emperor. 



Steuben retained through life the pride and bearing of 

 an old soldier. He always wore the insignia of his order, 

 a star ornamented with gold and diamonds, suspended at the 

 breast of his coat. His military subordinates were obliged 

 to conform strictly to the rules of etiquette in rendering the 

 outward testimonials of respect due to his office. A little 

 incident, which occurred near the close of the American 



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