Steuben, Baron

stu'ben, Baron (1730-1794), a Prussian soldier. He was born at Magdeburg. He was an officer of Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, he came to America and joined Washington. Congress appointed him inspector general. His services in drilling our raw militia were invaluable. Somewhat tardily, Congress gave him an independent command. He commanded the left wing at Monmouth and led forward the trenches to the last at the siege of Yorktown. His name is associated with that of Lafayette as a supporter of the American cause. At the close of the war he retired to a grant of land near Utica, New York, and ended his days there. See Lafayette