History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 171

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 932

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

rangements, on the 26th of September, 1777, he set sail from Marseilles in the ship " L'Heureux," of 24 guns. His name was entered on the ship's book as Frank .* His suite consisted of Peter S. Duponceau, as secretary and interpreter ; and his aids, De l'Enfant, De Romanai, Des Epinières, and De Pontiere, the latter of whom afterwards entered the cavalry legion of Count Pulaski as captain.

On board this vessel were also supplies and munitions of war for the American government, consisting of 1700 pounds of powder, 22 tons of sulphur, 52 brass guns, 19 mortars, ete., advanced partly by the French govern- ment and partly by M. De Beaumarchais, who also ad- vanced Steuben his traveling expenses. After a rough and tedious passage of sixty-six days, during which she encountered two severe storms, and had a mutiny and a fire on board, the vessel reached Portsmouth, N. H., on the first day of December, 1777.

News of the capture of Burgoyne's army reached Paris late in the same year, and the new Republie was recognized by the Court of France on the 6th of February, 1778, and an alliance was concluded between the two nations.

Steuben was everywhere received with aeclamation. In writing to a friend in Europe he says,-

" The more disastrous the passage the more flattering was my arrival in America. Before entering the port of Portsmonth, I ordered my secretary to go on shore in a boat, and inform General Langdon, the commander of the place, of my arrival, who came on board himself to take me and my officers ashore in his boat. While we were landing we were saluted by the guns of the fortress, and by ships in the port. Several thousands of the inhabitants weleomed me in the most flattering way. Mr. Langdon took us to his house to dine. Although exhausted by the hardships of the voyage, I went the next day to examine the fortifieations. On the following day I reviewerl the troops of the garrison."

While at Portsmouth, Steuben heard of the capture of Burgoyne's army. It was hailed as a good omen. His first care upon his arrival was to write to Congress and to General Washington. These letters are such a character- istie reflex of the man that we give them entire. To Con- gress, on the 6th of December, he wrote,-

" HONORABLE GENTLEMEN,-The honor of serving a nation engaged in the noble enterprise of defending its rights and liberties was the motive that brought me to this continent. I ask neitber riehes nor titles. I am come here from the remotest end of Germany, at my own expense, and have given up an honorable and lucrative rank. I have made no con litions with your deputies in Franec, nor shall I make any with you. My only ambition is to serve you as a volunteer, to deserve the confidenec of your general-in-chief, and to follow him in all his operations, as I have done during seven campaigns with the king of Prussia, Two and twenty years spent in such a sehool seem to give me a right of thinking myself among the number of ex- perieneed officers; and if I am possessed of acquirements in the art of war, they will be much more prized by que if I ean employ them in serving a republic such as I hope soon to see America. I should willingly purchase, at the expense of my blood, the honor of having my name enrolled among those of the defenders of your liberty. Your graeions acceptance will be sufficient for muc, and I ask no other favor than to be received among your officers. I venture to hope that you will grant this, my request, and that you will be so good as to send me your orders to Boston, where I shall await them, and take suitable measures in accordance."

To Washington he wrote as follows :

# Steuben carried letters of introduction from Franklin to Geucral Washington and prominent members of Congress.

"SIR,-The inclosed copy of a letter, the original of which I shall have the honor of presenting to your Exeelleney, will inform yon of the motives which brought me over to this land. I shall only add to it that the object of my greatest ambition is to render your country all the service in my power, and to deserve the title of a citizen of America by fighting for the eanse of your liberty. If the distin- guished ranks in which I have served in Europe should be an obstacle, I should rather serve under your Excellency as a volunteer than to be an object of diseontent to such deserving officers as have already distinguished themselves among you. Sueh being the sentiments I have always professed, I dare hope that the respectable Congress of the United States of America will accept my services. I could say, more- over, were it not for the fear of offending your modesty, that your Exeelleney is the only person under whom, after baving served the King of Prussia, I conld wish to follow in a profession to the study of which I have wholly devoted myself. I 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 await your Excellency's orders."

Steuben left Portsmouth Dec. 12, and set out for Boston by land, where he arrived on the 14th. He was most cor- dially received by John Hancock, then just retired from the presideney of Congress. At Boston he received a reply from Washington, who informed him that he must proceed to York, Pa., where Congress was in session, and report to them direct. On the 14th of January, 1778, he left Boston, and traveled on horseback through Massachusetts, Connec- ticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, a journey of about 400 miles, which oeeupied three weeks. The same journey can be performed at the present time (1878) in fifteen hours. The party arrived at York on the 5th of February.

A characteristic anecdote is related of Steuben by his seeretary, Duponceau, while on this journey :

"We bad been cautioned against putting up at a certain tavern in Worcester Co., Mass., not far from the frontier of Connecticut. We were told that the landlord was a bitter Tory, and that he would refuse to receive us, or, at least, treat us very ill. We determined to avoid the place if it were possible. Unfortunately, when we were at some distance from it, we were surprised by a violent snow-storm ; it was in the evening, and we were compelled to take shelter in the very house we wished to avoid. We had not been misinformed. The landlord at onee said that he eonld not accommodate us. He had no beds, no bread, no meat, no drink, no milk, no eggs; all that he eould offer us was the bare walls. In vain we remonstrated and prayed ; he remained inflex- ible. At last Baron Steuben grew impatient, and flew into a violent passiou. After exhausting all his store of German oaths, he eallel in that language to bis servant to bring his pistols, which he did. Then, the baron, presenting the deadly weapons at the frightened landlord, repeated the question he had in vain asked before, 'Have you any bread, meat, drink, beds, etc .? ' The answers were now such as we desired ; we were accommodated with good beds and a good snpper, and our horses were properly taken care of. In the morning, after our breakfast, we politely took leave of our host, who, thongh a Tory, did not refuse the Continental money in which we liberally paid him."

On the 6th of February a committee of Congress, at the head of which was Dr. Witherspoon, waited upon the baron, and to their inquiries as to his wishes and desires, he replied that he had made no arrangements with the commissioners in Paris, and that he desired to make no special arrangements other than to enter the army as a vol- unteer. If the country should not sueeeed in gaining its independence he should ask nothing; but if, on the con- trary, the cause should triumph, he should expeet reason- able return for his services. He asked commissions for the officers attached to his person, namely, that of major and aid-de-camp for Mr. De Romanai ; that of captain of engineers for Mr. De l'Enfant; that of captain of cavalry

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

for Mr. De Depontière ; and the rank of captain for his secretary, Mr. Duponceau. If these terms were agreeable to Congress he would join the army without delay.

The committee were greatly pleased at his modest request, and the following day Congress gave an entertainment in his honor, at which Mr. Laurens, the president, informed him it was the desire of Congress that he should join the army immediately, in conformity with the following resolutions :

" Whereas, Baron Steuben, a lieutenant-general in foreign service, has, in a most disinterested and heroie manner, offered his services to these States as a volunteer,

"Resolved, That the president present the thanks of Congress, in behalf of these United States, to Baron Steuben, for the zeal he has shown for the cause of America, and the disinterested tender he has been pleased to make of his military talents; and inform him that Congress cheerfully accepts of his servives as a volunteer in the army of these States, and wish him to repair to General Washington's quarters as soon as convenient."

He was received with every mark of distinction by Con- gress and the prominent meu of the nation, General Gates in particular paying him great attention. He arrived at Valley Forge on the 23d of February. Washington rode out several miles to meet him, and he was received with the most distinguished honors. When he remonstrated with Washington for detailing a guard of honor at his quarters, the commander-in-chief playfully replied that the whole army would gladly stand sentinel for such volun- teers. His name was given out as the watchword on the same day, and on the next day he accompanied Washing- ton in a review of the army. In closing a letter written shortly after to a friend, he says,-

" To be brief, if Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, or the greatest field-marshal of Europe, had been in my place he could not have been received with greater marks of honor."

In March, 1778, Steuben accepted the position of in- spector of the army, tendered him by Washington, and commenced that remarkable series of instruction and disci- pline which eventually made of the raw and undisciplined American troops an army able to cope with the veterans of European armies; for of this renovated and erystallized ma- terial was the detachment of New England troops which, under Wayne, carried the strong fortress of Stony Point at the bayonet's point ; which charged unhesitatingly, under the same commander, upon the veterans of Cornwallis, in Virginia; and which competed nobly with the white-coated chivalry of France in the smoking trenches of Yorktown.

At the time of Steuben's temporary appointment by Washington the position of chief-inspector was held by General Conway, whose cabal against the commander-in- chief, soon after, forced him to leave the army in disgrace, leaving the position to be filled by Steuben, who was appointed by a resolution of Congress, at the urgent solici- tation of Washington, on the 5th of May, 1778, inspector- general, with the rank of major-general.

In Frost's " American Generals" the following worthy tribute is paid the baron :

" The great services rendered by the Baron, as exhibited in the rapid improvement of the army, did not escape the notice of either Washington or Congress, and at the recommendation of the former he was appointed inspector-general with the rauk of major-general. By his great exertions he made this office respectable, establishing frugality and economy among the soldiers. In the discipline of both

the men and officers he was entirely impartial, and never omitted an opportunity to praise merit or censure a fault.

"Washington speaks of him in the following manner : 'Justice coneurring with inclination constrain me to testify that the baron has in every instance discharged the several trusts reposed in him with great zeal and ability, so as to give him the fullest title to my esteem as a brave, indefatigable, judicious, and experience I officer.'"

When it is recollected that Washington never acted or spoke except with due deliberation, and upon the most thorough conviction, and that, above all men, he abstained from fulsome flattery, the value of his opinion and the merit of Steuben will be understood.

In speaking of the great difficulties of his position, and the obstaeles to be overcome, Col. William North, the baron's aid-de-camp and intimate friend, uses the following language :

"Certainly it was a brave attempt. Without understanding a word of English, to think of bringing men, born free, and joined to- gether to preserve their freedoui, into striet subjection ; to obey with- out a word, a look, the mandates of a master,-that master once their equal, or possibly beneath them, in whatever might become a man ! It was a brave attempt, which nothing but virtue or high-raised hopes of glory could have supported. At the first parade the troops, neither understanding the command nor how to follow in a change- inent to which they had not been accustomed, even with the instructor at their head, were getting fast into confusion. At this moment Capt. B. Walker, then of the 2d New York Regiment, advanced from his platoon, and offered his assistance to translate the orders and inter- pret to the troops. ' If,' said the baron, ' I had seen an angel from heaven I should not have more rejoiced.' The officers in the army who spoke English and French fluently were indeed very few in num- ber,-how few were so capable of giving assistance to the Baron in the formation of his system ! Walker became from that moment his aid-de-camp, and remained to the end of the baron's life his dear and most worthy friend.

" From the commencement of instruction no time, no pains, no fatigue were thought too great in pursuit of this great objeet. Through the whole of each campaign, when troops were to manœuvre, and that was almost every day, the baron rose at three o'clock ; while his servant dressed his hair he smoked a single pipe, and drank one eup of coffee, was on horseback at sunrise, and, with or without his suite, galloped to the parade. There was no waiting for a tardy aid- de-camp, and those who followed wished they had not slept. Nor was there need of chiding; when duty was neglected or military eti- quette infringed, the baron's look was sufficient. It was a question why, in the first instance, our troops had been put to the performance of the great manœuvres. I beg pardon for calling them great, but they were great to us, for we were ignorant. Bland's exercises and Symmes' military guide were almost the only poor and seanty sources from which we drew. To the question it was answered that in fact there was no time to spare in learning the minutiæe; the troops must be prepared for instant combat; that on a field of battle how to dis- play or fold a column or to change a front was of the first conse- quenee; that the business was to give the troops a relish for their trade, a confidence in their skill in the performance of complicated evolutions ; that, even if time permitted, the officers, copying the bad example set them by the British of referring all instructions to the sergeants, would feel themselves degraded in attending to an awk- ward squad, 'But the time will come,' said he, ' when a better mode of thinking will prevail ; then we will attend to the A, B, C of the profession.' This prophecy was amply fulfilled. A year or two after- wards the baron said to me, 'Do you see there, sir, your colonel instructing that recruit ? I thank God for that! "

The first result of the French alliance was the evacuation of Philadelphia by Sir Henry Clinton, which occurred on the 18th of June, 1778. The British commander evidently feared a blockade of the Delaware by a French squadron, which, with the co-operation of Washington's army, might place his army in a state of siege. The British army took

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the road to New York, and Washington upon hearing of the movement broke camp at Valley Forge and followed the British commander with his whole available force, de- termined, if a favorable opportunity presented, to give him battle.

Steuben, who was on a visit to Congress at York, Pa., immediately set out and joined the army in New Jersey. Washington sent him in advance to watch the movements of the enemy, and when the battle of Monmouth was brought on, June 28, he was on Washington's staff without any command in the field. Upon the retreat of General Lee, Washington assigned Steuben and Wayne to the difficult duty of checking the retreat and re-forming Lee's corps under the enemy's fire, a most hazardous and difficult operation with the best disciplined troops. Wayne was assigned to the right and Steuben to the left wing, and the simple fact that both commanders accomplished their object, and checked the British advance, shows how thorough had been Steuben's instructions in the camp at Valley Forge. Colonel Hamilton, who witnessed Stcuben's opera- tion on that field, was struck with admiration at the cool- ness and precision with which the troops manœuvered under a heavy fire of infantry and artillery, and said that " he had never known or conceived the value of military discipline until that day."

While reconnoitering on the 27th, the baron narrowly escaped being made a prisoner. He and his two aids were alone, and, while looking for the enemy,

"Steuben heard a rustling near, and looking towards it he saw two of the enemy's light horse emerging. He had just time to discharge his pistols before he turned his horse and leaped a fenee, his hat falling off as he rode. The horsemen did not fire at him, but hallooed to him to stop. He supposed his two aids were captured, but while making his report at headquarters he was surprised at the entranee of Walker and his companion, and exelaimed, ' How is this ! I thought you were taken prisoners !' ' Oh, no,' said Walker, 'they were intent on the high prize and overlooked us.' ' Have you brought my hat ?' ' Oh, no, baron, we had not time.' After the battle some prisoners were brought to head- quarters, and one of them, after being examined, addressing Steuben, said, ' I believe, general, I had the honor of seeing you yesterday, and thought to get a more splendid prize than your hat.' 'Why did you not fire?' 'You were recognized by General Kniphausen, and our orders were rather to take you if we could do it without harming you.' "#

The baron constituted one of the court-martial which tried General Lee, and his statements ealled out a personal allusion from Lee, which led to a challenge from Steuben ; but Lee's explanation settled the matter without bloodshed. The baron's command was only temporary, and upon the arrival of the army at White Plains he assumed his old position of inspector-general. -

In March, 1779, Steuben's system of regulations and tacties for the American army was adopted by Congress, and ordered printed and distributed. It was the first work of the kind compiled and published in America, and became standard authority in the United States army for many years, probably until superseded by General Scott's tacties subse- quent to the war with Great Britain, 1812-15. During a portion of the winter of 1778-79 the baron was busily en- gaged at Philadelphia upon his work, but he rejoined the

army again, in New Jersey, on the 26th of March. Here he put his new system in practice, and worked assiduously and most sueeessfully in improving and disciplining the army until the enemy opened the eampaign of 1779. One of his famous reviews is thus described by Dr. Thatcher :

"On the 28th of May Baron Steuben reviewed and inspected our brigade. The troops were paraded in a single line with shouldered arms, every offieer in his partieular station. The baron first reviewed the line in this position, passing in front with a serutinizing eye; after which he took into his hands the musket and aecoutrements of every soldier, examining them with partieular aceuraey and precision, ap- plauding or condemning according to the eondition in which he found them. He required that the muskets and bayonets should exhibit the brightest polish ; not a spot of rust, or defeet in any part, could elude his vigilanee. He inquired, also, into the eonduet of the officers to- wards the men, eensuring every fault and applauding every meritorious action. Next he required of me, as surgeon, a list of the siek, with a particular statement of their accommodations and mode of treatment, and even visite l some of the siek in their eabins. The baron is held in universal respeet, and considered as a valuable aequisition to our country. He is distinguished for his profound knowledge of taeties, his ability to reform and discipline an army, for his affectionate attaeh- ment to a good and faithful soldier, and his utter aversion to every appearance of insubordination and negleet of duty. The Continental army has improved with great rapidity under his inspiration and review."

When the French minister, Chevalier M. de la Luzerne, was to be received in camp, no one but the baron was familiar with the ctiquette necessary on the occasion, and he was made master of ceremonies. He experienced, in common with all the army offiecrs, an immense amount of trouble in obtaining money for his expenses, and it took Congress a long time to remedy the evils of the pay de- partment. So desperate did the situation finally become that Steuben thought seriously of resigning his commissions and returning to Europe; but better counsels prevailed, Congress succeeded in relieving his immediate wants, and his services were saved to the country. Steuben served with distinction in the Jerseys, and on the Hudson, at West Point, during the year 1780, perfecting and introducing his new system of organization into the American army, and with such sueeess as to win the admiration and cause the astonishment of the veteran offieers of the French army. He was one of the board of fourteen general officers who examined and reported upon the case of Major John Andre, the British spy, and confrere of the traitor Arnold. His feelings and sympathies coneerning that most remark- able episode of the war are best illustrated by an anecdote related by Jonathan Steuben, and published in Jones' " Annals of Oneida County" :

" On one occasion, after the treason, the baron was on parade at roll-eall, when the detested name, Arnold, was heard in one of the infantry companies of the Conneetieut line. The baron immediately ealled the unfortunate possessor to the front of the company. He was a perfeet model for his profession,-elothes, arms, and equipments in the inost perfeet order. The praetieed eye of the baron soon seanned the soldier, and ' Call at my marquee after you are dismissed, brother soldier,' was his only remark. After Arnold was dismissed from parade, he ealled at the baron's quarters as directed. The baron said to him, ' You are too fine a soldier to bear the name of a traitor ; ehange it at onee, change it at onee.' 'But what name shall I take ?' replied Arnold. 'Any that you please, any that you please; take mine, if you eannot suit yourself better ; mine is at your service.'

" Arnold at onee agreed to the proposition, and immediately re- paired to his orderly ; and Jonathan Steuben forthwith graeed the company-roll in lieu of the disgraced name of him who had plotted

# Verbal communication by John W. Mulligan, in Stapp's " Life" of the baron.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

treason to his country. After the United States had conquered their independence our hero returned to Connecticut, and on his petition the general court legalized the change of name. A few years after he wrote the baron, who had now settled on his patent in Oneida County, that he had married and had a fine son born, and that he had named him Frederiek William. The baron replied that when the son had arrived at the age of twenty-one he would give him a farin. The baron soon after paid the debt of nature, but his letter was carefully preserved. A few years after its settlement, Jonathan Steuben re- moved to the town of Steuben with his family. When Frederiek Wil- liam arrived at his majority the letter was presented to Colonel Walker, one of the baron's executors, who at onec executed him a decd in fec of fifty acres of land, but which had been previously leased to Samuel Sizer ; and as the recipient preferred the enjoyment of the land to the receipt of the rents, he purchased the lease, and at once went into possession.

" Jonathan Steuben lived to become a pensioner, and died about 1835-36. His widow survived him a number of years, and also drew a pension.

" In the war of 1812-15, Frederick William went with the militia to Sacket's Harbor, where he was taken sick and died. For his ser- vices his widow received a pension. He was orderly-sergeant of his company, and with the name of the baron he had seemed to inherit at least a portion of his distinguished qualifications, for he was con- sidered one of the best disciplinarians in his regiment."

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History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 171

Author: Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 932