10 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



war, affords an amusing illustration of this amiable weak- 

 ness. 



One day, while at dinner at headquarters, the baron 

 happened to express himself with much feehng and energy 

 on some important subject. Gouverneur Morris, who sat 

 at his right hand, was peculiarly struck with the remark, 

 and, in his frank way, slapped Steuben somewhat roughly 

 on the back, and cried out with an oath, " Well done, 

 general, well done !" Much irritated at the insult, as he 

 deemed it, the old baron abruptly quitted the table, and re- 

 tired to his marquee, exclaiming, with great warmth, " Con- 

 found the fellow ! with his old wooden leg he will govern 

 the whole country !" 



The circumstances which induced Baron Steuben to take 

 an active part in the American struggle for independence 

 are briefly as follows : 



In April, 1777, he visited Paris, with the intention of 

 repairing to London about the end of June, whither he 

 had been invited by Lords Spencer and Warwick, whose 

 acquaintance he had previously formed in Germany. As 

 good fortune would have it, he was induced by Count de 

 St. Germain, the French minister of war, to postpone his 

 visit to England, and finally to abandon it ; otherwise, he 

 might never have joined the American army. 



There was much interest at that time in France respect- 

 ing the difficulties between England and the colonies, and 

 the French ministers wished to aid the revolutionists as far 

 as they could without openly compromising themselves with 

 England. 



On his arrival in Paris, Steuben sent a note to St. Ger- 

 main, testifying a desire to visit him at Versailles. The 

 same evening Col. Pagenstecher, a gentleman attached to 

 the court, waited upon Steuben to inform him that St. 

 Germain desired him not to come to Versailles, but to be 

 at the arsenal in Paris in the course of a few days, where 

 the count wished to converse with him on business of im- 

 portance. As Steuben had no project to execute, nor any 

 favor to ask of the count, there was a mystery in this pro- 

 ceedin<2: which he could not fathom. At the interview, 

 however, which soon occurred, all was explained. 



St. Germain laid the American cause before the baron 

 in as flattering colors as possible. The Spanish minister. 

 Count d'Aranda, the Prince de Montbarrey, and, finally, 

 Vergennes himself, added the weight of their authority to 

 the proposal of St. Germain. As the French ministers 

 had no authority to settle upon terms, they referred the 

 matter to the American envoys then in Paris. At the 

 house of M. de Beaumarchais, Steuben was introduced to 

 Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane. At the same place he 

 became acquainted with Peter S. du Ponceau, then a 

 young man only seventeen years of age, whose services as 

 an interpreter (for he spoke English fluently) were pecu- 

 liarly valuable. The envoys showed a desire to enlist the 

 baron in the American cause, but when the terms were 

 mentioned a difficulty immediately arose. Mr. Deane was 

 willing to enter into any proper engagement, but Dr. 

 Franklin demurred, and urged that he had no authority 

 from Congress to form any contract whatever with any 

 foreign officer, still less to make the required advance of 

 fluids to defray the expenses of the voyage. On the con- 



trary. Congress had already refused to ratify the conditions 

 upon which he had engaged M. Ducoudray and the officers 

 of his suite to embark for America. 



To the baron this answer was decisive, and he soon after 

 left Paris and returned to Germany. But St. Germain 

 and others were unwilling to let the matter rest. They 

 wrote to Steuben that a ship was all ready to sail for 

 America, and induced him to return early in August, and 

 embark without any stipulations from the American min- 

 isters, but with letters of introduction to Washington and 

 the President of Congress. On the failure of any other 

 chance, he was to rely on the French court for remunera- 

 tion, and Beaumarchais advanced the money to defray 

 immediate expenses. 



The French ship, Ij Heureux^ of twenty-eight guns, 

 commanded by Capt. Landais, who had served under Bou- 

 gainville in his voyage round the world, was appointed for 

 the expedition. Her name was changed to Le Flamand, 

 and she was ostensibly freighted by private individuals for 

 a voyage to Martinique. But her lading really consisted 

 of arms and munitions of war for the American service, 

 and the captain had secret orders to proceed to the United 

 States. 



Baron Steuben embarked at Marseilles, on the 26th of 

 September, 1777, under the assumed name of Monsieur de 

 Frank. His suite consisted of M. du Ponceau, who acted 

 as private secretary, and three French officers, — Romanai, 

 L'Enfant, and Ponthierre. After a rough voyage the ship 

 arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the 1st of De- 

 cember. On their first communication with the shore, they 

 received the news of the capture of Burgoyne, an event of 

 happy omen to Steuben, as it assured him that he had not 

 embarked in a desperate cause. 



He immediately wrote to Gen. W^ashington, inclosing 

 Dr. Franklin's letter, and requesting permission to enter 

 the American service, if no other arrangement could im- 

 mediately be made, in the capacity of a volunteer. " I 

 could say, moreover," he added, " were it not for the fear 

 of off*ending your modesty, that your Excellency is the only 

 person under whom, after having served under the King of 

 Prussia, I could wish to pursue an art to which I have 

 wholly given up myself. .1 intend to go to Boston in a few 

 days, where I shall present my letters to Mr. Hancock, 

 member of Congress, and there I shall wait for your Excel- 

 lency's orders, according to which I shall take convenient 

 measures." 



Washington replied on the 9th of January, 1778, refer- 

 ring the baron to Congress, then in session at Yorktown, 

 Pa. On the day after his arrival at that place, Congress 

 appointed a committee of five members to confer with him. 

 The famous Dr. Witherspoon was chairman, and the only 

 one to whom Steuben could explain himself in French. 

 Steuben said, in answer to the questions of the committee, 

 that he had come to serve as a volunteer in the army, and 

 in order to do this he had resigned offices in Europe which 

 gave him an income of six hundred pounds sterling. If 

 his services should not prove acceptable, or if the United 

 States should fail in establishing their independence, he 

 would hold them quit of any obligation to him, either for 

 indemnity or reward. But if the value of his services 



