Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-10-11
BARON Won STEUBEN.


kindly old German Who may be said to
have found Washington's soldiers a rabble
and made them an army, by the erection
Of memorial Of monumental marble over
his remains, recalls one Of the most sim
gular, heroic, effective and valiant careers
in American annals. 1t is we'll not to for
get, amid the noise OF modern events, who
this bluff Baron was, and what he did Tor
Us; and it is far from Il bootless task to
throw gar1ands upon his grave, and look
back on his life with tender recollection,
though he has lain three quarters of cer-
fury dead. What stirring, generous and
fruitful life it was! How stoutly, yet
modestly, he fought his way to farie, how
gently he bore adversely, how cheerily he
encountered peril and obstacle and want;
with what gusto he drilled the scantily-clad
and poorly trained patriots at Valley Forge,
and lfow calamity he bore himself in the
unequal fight Baron Won Steuben was
one OF those CT aracters who klndle enthu-
siaSm in all vile hear the story Of his life !;
it is easy to imagine that his ragged but re-
sOlute sOldiery, who misunderstood his
broken English, and started in their latter
ed boots when he stamped his foot, adOred
him for his martial mien and warmth OF
heart, his high sense of honor and his un-
selfish generosity. In war which, in its
upon endurance, courage and persistency,
was never Outstripped by any previous or
later conflict, Steuben proved himself a
hero moulded in a heroic mould, a discip-
| linarian unequalled among his fellow Off
GERS, and brother in charity to the SOL
| diers Who were under his command. Il is
! said that when the war was at its drearleSJ,
and food and clothing were at their scar
cest, this golden-hearted German shared his
| last dollar with his shivering and famished
troops the annals of warfare preserve nc
| nObler deed.
| Baron Won Steuben may be said to have
! almost been born in regimentals; his father
was an officer of stern little Fritz, the con.
quelor of Silesia and the idol Of Prussia
and he himself began to serve at the age
of fourteen. Bis life from that time til
his death, near Utica, sixty-four year:
| later, was a chequered romance, full O
strange adventure and incident, good anC
evil, and always varying fortune. Now
fighting grimly under Frederick at Prague
and kunersdOrt; now a prisoner of war il
a Russian dungeon; now ablaze with the
uniform of Adjutant- General, lowering
around the dapper little figure of the King
now besieging SchweidnitZ; now making
the grand tour with royal prince, lollins
| in Partisan salons, and discussing art an,
ing the carpet troops of the Hapsbure
! Court, and wandering through Italian gal
lerieS and across sunny lakes; then sud
denly crossing the Atlantic, putting hi:
sword with jealous gallantry at the service
| of Washington; incOrr gibly drilling
| raw recruits amid the SHOWS of Valley
Forge; showing the red-coats a specimen
of warfare according to Fritz at MonmoUth
and fighting and drilling and writing man
uals, and looking after his soldiers anc
/ spending his money on suffering privates
until the close of the Revolution found him
with a still CHEEKY and unGaunted soul
though well-nigh penniless. Then came a
time of trial, when the noble old Prussian
who had given his best years and genius
to the patriot cause, saw himself neglected
and was forced 10 stifle the pride of his
| knightly race, sue for the means Of exist
ence, and await the slow delay of legiSla-
! ton. But he kept up a brave and kindly
/ spirit, and was patient, and in due time
reward came. He spent the evening OF
his days upon the estate conferred upon
/ him by grateful people peacefully, we
are happy to know, wanting nothing, be-
loved by all his neighbors, and looking out
always, from beneath his vine and fig tree,
with Il smiling old face and a large and
loving heart. In his will he forbade the
erection Of any memorial over his grave ;
in his modesty his wish was, like Pope's,
to ''steal from the world, and not stone
| tell where | lie." But now that modern
! enterprise threatens to Oblterate his grave,
and the railway needs the honored but I'M
commemOrated ground, it is meet that the
place whittier all that remains of fine old
Steuben has been transferred, should be
decorated with a monumental shaft, with
his name engraved thereon, as it IS, or
should be, engraved on the hearts Of the
people he 50 nobly served.-Boston Post.