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1787 General BARON FRIEDRICH Von STEUBEN Rents His New York City Estate

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:1,800.00 USD Estimated At:2,400.00 - 3,200.00 USD
1787 General BARON FRIEDRICH Von STEUBEN Rents His New York City Estate
Autographs
General Baron Friedrich Von Steuben Rents his NYC Estate
BARON FRIEDRICH WILHELM AUGUST HEINRICH FERDINAND von STEUBEN (1730-1794). Major General of the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War; one of the Fathers of the Continental Army; wrote “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.”
March 3, 1787-Dated, Manuscript Document Signed, “Steuben”, measuring 7.5” x 12.75”, 4 pages, no place, Choice Very Fine. This nicely written Document is relating to the General’s finances which had reached a low ebb that year. It is an indenture between Von Steuben and “John Conradt Kimmel” in which the General Von Steuben rents lands at his farm “Louvre” in Manhattan “…bounded on the East by the East River on the West by the High Road leading to Kings Bridge… excepting the enclosed Garden and adjoining Mansion house…” (Von Steuben was constantly in debt, and obviously needed this rent to provide needed cash for his day to day expenses.) Other clauses concern hay and fruit to be made available to Von Steuben, rights of access, etc. Nicely Signed on the final page by both parties along with their affixed paper and wax offical seals. Louvre, was a rather run-down but spacious estate, occupied the land later utilized by New York Hospital, of Cornell University. It ultimately had to be surrendered by Steuben due to his poverty.
FRIEDRICH WILHELM LUDOLF GERHARD AUGUSTIN von STEUBEN, (1730-1794). Famous as a Prussian-born American Revolutionary War Soldier. Came to America in 1777, recommended to General George Washington by Benjamin Franklin. Baron von Steuben reported to Washington at Valley Forge Camp on February 23, 1778, and was designated Inspector General of the Continental Army, invested with the task of training the Continental Army.

Successful in his reorganization of the army, he was Commissioned a Major General and engaged the British at Monmouth and Yorktown. Von Steuben became Washington's trusted adviser. After an honorable discharge from the army after the Revolutionary War, he was one of the Founders of the “Society of the Cincinnati “(1784), which was open to all former officers who served honorably during the American Revolution. Other Co-founders included: Henry Knox (1750-1806) and Jedidiah Huntington (1743-1818). He became a naturalized American citizen (Pennsylvania, 1783; New York, 1786), and settled in New York State (1784-94).