The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-24
DIXON srEUnEN,s MoxUMEsr.
Although In n Secluded spot, vandais Have pe-
need II 20 Secure nelIcs-


UTICA, Aug. e3.-Tho grave OF Baron steuben
has none Of tho spruceness which charncteriEes
the monuments OF most heroes, but that 10 just
as Steuben wished Il. When death was near ho
gave directions for his burial. He was living
then on tho stretch Of land, 10000 acres, given
him by the Land Commissioner under legislative
enactment, and his income was the $4,000 an.
nuity appropriated by Congress. His mansion
was a big log house In q woody wilderness, and
his company consisted OF the few domestlcs no
carried with him into his Oneida county soli-
tudo. To these he gave instructions for his In.
terment and tho guardianship Of his grave. He
was to BIO buried in tho woods, in q secluded
spot, and the trees wcro to be allowed to lie as
they fell. Not even storm.strown branches were
to be removed. Above ground there was to be q
symbol of the decay that there was beneath the
surface. SO Steuben was buried in the forest,
far from any human habitation, and there no
lay In solitude for nearly half n century. His
grave was in tho centre Of n fve-acre lot, and It
was marked. by a plain little hoadstone and
FENCED in with a common paling.
that part OF Oneida county had been progress
Ing, and. late in the sixties they demanded n
new highway, which convenience and topo-
graphical necessities required should pass oyer
Steuben's grave, At about the same time that
the demand for the road was made interest In q
monument for Stcuben was revived. The LcRis-
lature, during Horatio Seymour's first term,
had appropriated $500 toward n fund for such a
monument. and in New York city there was a
military organization. called the Stcubon Sch0t-
zen, which was raising money by bale and fairs
for the same object. In ls!0the StoVben Schnt:
gen. had accumulated $1,000, and the $500 of
Legislative money was added to it. A design
Was decided upon and u monument ordered.
Then the Utica Manncrchor took active manage
nent OF. affairs on the ground. and the re-
mains OF Steuben wero disinterred and. rein
tered on q knoll about half a milo from the old
grave. This knoll WAS wooded, and the new plot
was made to be of five acres. as tho old ono was.
In the foundations of the monument the coffin
was placed and the headstono of the old grave
was made the cap Of the mass OF cement in which
dread OF grave robbers even then. The renter
ment on June l, 1870. WINS made q great occasion.
The Utica Citizens Cops and the Steuben
Sch0tZen gave 1t u military air. and Horatio
Seymour went from his Deerleld home. a dozen
miles away as the crow flies. to make the ora
ton. In November. 1872, the monument was
unveiled and formally dedicated. and this was
made another great occasion.
| The monument Is a square pilo Of masonry,
non balls placed about 1t. On the masonry rests
a marble block, on the front OF which was carved
a wreath, with e Steuben." in raised letters,
within IL. On the back WAS carved n crown.
with the baron's name and title in German.
The knoll which this tomb crowns Is in n Sc
cludod spot. four or Ave miles from the village
of Remscn. and although a road runs close by. II
is seldom visited. This has not, however, pre-
vented its being found by vandals, who have
defaced IL seriously TO secure relics. Tho letters
OF the "Steuben," both rear and front. have
been Clipped Off. and corners which presented q
good mark for the relic hunter with u hammer
have suffered.