STEUBEN. stieben, Ger. pron. stoi'ben, FRIED RICH WiLnELlt VON. Baron (1730-94). A German American soldier, born at Magdeburg, Prus sia. lie was educated at the Jesuit col leges of Neisse and Breslau. and at the age of fourteen served as a volunteer under his father at the siege of Prague. In 1747 he was appoint ed cadet of infantry, and in 1758, after several promotions, became an adjnta»t-general with the rank of captain. He fought with distinction in the Seven Years' War, at the close of which he was appointed grand marshal of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, in which position lie re mained until about 1774. While in Paris in 1777 he was induced by Saint Germain to go to Amer ica and arrived at Portsmouth, N. H., on De cember 1st. He immediately offered his services as a volunteer to Congress, and was directed to join the army at Valley Forge. This he did February 23, 177S. and in May, 177S, lie was ap pointed instructor-general of the Continental army with the rank of Major-general. He de voted himself to the task of reorganizing the army on the European model. drilling the awk ward and untrained soldiers and or der and system. lie increased enormously the
general efficiency of the army and thus contrib uted in no small degree to the success of ensuing campaigns. At Monmouth he rendered valuable service, and in 1780 he was sent with a separate command to cooperate with General Greene in Virginia, where he opposed the marauding expe dition of Benedict Arnold, and finally took an active part in the siege of Yorktown. In 1780 he prepared a manual for the army entitled Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which came into general use. After the war he received grants of land from several States, and finally Congress voted him a tardy pension of $2400. For several years he lived in New York City and then re moved to the tract of land (Steuben Township) granted to him by New York, where he lived in a rude log cabin (near the site of the present Utica) until his death, November 28, 1794. Friedrich Kapp has written the most trust worthy biography (New York, 1859).