I Know People Have Already Talked About Von Steuben's Letters And This Might Just Be A Personal Thing

I know people have already talked about Von Steuben's letters and this might just be a personal thing but I don't think you all understand just how sickening, how gut-wrenching, how tear bringing, how absolutely depressing they are because oh my god oh my god how I wish I could have helped that god damn old decaying man because no one else did and nobody was there and his gaggle of 20yro boyfriends practically abandoned him and his last year was without his dog so he was left with nothing ABSOLUTELY nothing worth anything in his life, and he was desperate for company and desperate for all his friends to reach out to him, yet when Hamilton finally did, he denied?? All his post-war letters basically either say "oh North how can you even love me I'm horrible...do you even love me?" OR "hey old buddy I'm financially struggling can I pls get some money to feed my family of 14 who visit sometimes" like???? OMFG this man. I am crying. I will fight for this man. And I would say "why didn't anyone just reach out and help him" but like Hamilton tried but I'm still absolutely depressed for him I love him so much I wish he was doing okay because I can't mentally bare him being sad even though he died like 200 years ago and I swear I was actually gonna ramble about important stuff but I'm rereading this post and it actually looks really stupid and I don't know what point I was trying to make in the first place okay bye

okay okay okay von steuben questions - errrr off the top of my head

he got kicked out of prussia (prussian army) for being gay? i know that's a fact but i don't know details :p

and benjamin franklin... he denied the gay allegations or just graciously ignored them while recommending steuben to washington? i feel like these two facts lack clarity and would love to know more about steuben in the military in general.

i know he was awesome (i read this somewhere, i think it was lafayette's bio - that he would get mad and ask his aides to swear at the soldiers for him lmao)

sorry for the... rambly ask. i'll also definitely be checking out your book recommendations!!!

AAAAAAA YAYAYAYAYAA OKIE!!!!

1. Well, yes and no! He was kicked out of the Prussian army originally because Frederick the Great was cutting down his staff, like, a lot, and Von Steuben initially wasn't KICKED OUT, although he was demoted DRASTICALLY, And was in a regiment he used to command. Count Von Anhalt, who was chief of staff at the time, had beef with Steuben for, like, no reason, and so they allegedly duelled, according to some biographers, though we lack evidence. After the duel, however, Von Anhalt completely removed Steuben from the Prussian army! Thanks to his "very close friend", (wink wink lover) Prince Henry III/ Heinrich III of Prussia, Henry recommended Steuben to a major duchess, and Steuben actually lived in Prussia for 10 more years!! He served a minor role in the court of Hohenzollern-Hechigen, and got Azor during that time! Azor Azor Azor we love Azor. He probably, like, found Azor as a stray or something, and went "oo pretty dawg you're never gonna be hungry again let's get a bedazzled collar on you and now you're a poor aristocrat like me yay" or something like that. That was really off topic actually, continuing. While he served in the court of Hohenzollern-Hechigen, rumors about his sexuality and his relationship with other men spread like wildfire, mostly behind his back. Frederick the Great didn't mind that much, however, being homosexual himself. But the people were incredibly loud about their opinions, and it was clear something had to be done. In the summer of 1777, Von Steuben visited Paris to see his friend, Comte de Saint-Germaine. (Who I think is actually so awesome but that's another story for another time.) While he was visiting Saint-Germaine, Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais and Silas Deane scouted him and we're like "Yoo, you're so cool, wanna get a job with us?" And he was like "nah lol America sounds boring as heck." And then Franklin was like "yo I'm with them and istg it's so cool and I'm like famous so join me" and Von Steuben was like "ERM no I don't wanna hear anything else about this murica I'm going back to Germany" and so he did, and... Uh oh. The second he returns, it turns out while he was gone, an anonymous letter was submitted to the courts, and the princes of Hohenzollern-Hechigen, claiming that Steuben had "taken liberties with young boys", which is an EXTREMELY controversial sentence in the amrev community. They were accusing him of being a p3d0phile, basically, specifically attracted to young boys.... Supposedly? There are many interpretations. I personally believe the letter referred to men around 18 years old, considering Von Steuben's relationship with men around that age later. There has never been any evidence that Von Steuben was a pedophile, though there definitely is evidence he was homosexual, or queer at the very least. Frederick the Great didn't find any evidence he was attracted to children, either, though allegedly did officially exile the baron for charges of homosexuality, which was a federal crime, only 5 days after he returned to Prussia. Von Steuben, now broke and with nowhere to go, returned to Paris and was like "Hey Franklin, about that offer, I could use it right now" and Franklin was like "YEAHHH BOI" And so they met up at a bath house, a place homosexual men commonly met to... H**k up, and a place Von Steuben was DEFINITELY familiar with. Franklin thought everything was looking good, and the group agreed that he'd be a great general for Valley Forge. Right before they sent him, however, they found out that he was attracted to men... THE NEXT PART GOES FOR QUESTION 2 TEEHEE

So... Yeah! Details! Yeah, he was pretty much kicked out for being gay :c

2. FRANKLIN'S RESPONSE WJOWJSJSJS

Franklin, Deane, and Beaumarchais... Honestly didn't care. Beaumarchais himself was pansexual, Deane was an ally and honestly indifferent, and Franklin was a MAJOR ally, some sites even saying he was queer himself, though I, as always, lack evidence. The group actually rushed to send him to America quicker, after finding out that... By law, Von Steuben was to be prosecuted wherever he went, as long as they could find him, and he was still in Europe. That was a thing... Yup... So they basically rushed him over so he wasn't hung or something, yay!! Franklin then wrote a flowery letter to George Washington basically saying "hey man I'm sending this really cool Prussian, he was a general, an aide to the king, and allat." Von Steuben was NOT a general in Prussia, and that was likely something Franklin made up to try to make up for the damage done to Von Steuben's reputation. From what we know, it was likely that Washington actually knew Von Steuben was homosexual before he arrived, but also couldn't care less.

So, that probably makes sense, but if it doesn't, I'm 100% here to clarify, I'm so sorry I ramble a lot.

(as a wise redditor once said, "he doesn't have to BE straight, he just has to shoot straight" man, I love military redditors during pride month.)

3. Yup yup!

Von Steuben actually didn't know much English! He DEFINITELY got, like, scarily and aggressively angry, and would call over his aides, mostly his lovers actually, because his lovers served as his aides-de-camps as Frederick taught him to do, okay I'm rambling sorry, but he would say "My dear Du Ponceau/Walker, please come swear for me in English. These fellows won't do what I bid them to!"

Von Steuben would get, like, ANGRY angry, and they'd usually have to calm him down after a while :P

Du Ponceau, aide and (lover?) to the baron, said that the soldiers would laugh out loud when they heard Du Ponceau translate all these scandalous words in his calm and reserved voice.

... I'm an extremely hardcore Steuponceau shipper btw so I hope this isn't biased but it might be😬

Von Steuben also had an extremely eclectic personality and was a genuinely funny guy, even when he was simultaneously being a big scary drillmaster/inspector general.

OKAY SO UH FIRST OFF TYSMMMM FOR THE QUESTIONS AAAA I LOVE YAPPING, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AN EVEN MORE RAMBLY ANSWER!!! IF YOU NEED ME TO DO A SECOND ONE ON SPECIFICALLY THE COOL STUFF HE DID IN AMERICA, I 100% WILL, OR IF YOU NEED ME TO CLARIFY ANYTHING OR MAKE IT CLEARER, I 1000000% WILL!

Also EEEEEEEEEEE THE BOOK RECS YAYAYAYAY :OOOO TY!?!?!! (I wasn't loved as a child in case it wasn't obvious :>>>>>)

Hey hey! (Fellow?) Stutterer here! I 100% agree, but I will add, block stutters aren't

"L-ike this"

It's more of... And I'm dead serious,

". L- kind of- s-SIMILAR TO THIS!"

:>

how would you properly write dialogue for a character with a stutter? ranging from a barely noticeable one to a very extreme one. thanks!

How to Write Dialogue for a Stuttering Character

@brynwrites made an excellent post about this that I found while researching and it can be found here. It's a long post but it goes way more in depth than I did.

Types of Stutters:

Repetition of certain sounds: “Li-li-like this” or “Like-like-like this.”

Prolongations: “Llllllllike this.”

Blocks: “L—ike this.”

Rules for Stuttering: (This is mostly for block stuttering, but many apply to other types of stuttering as well. provided by this article)

Stuttering occurs on the first sound of the word. It will not occur mid word or on the first full syllable. (s...s-ample. NOT sam...sam-ple)

Do not write a stutter more than once in a single sentence or three times in a single paragraph. If the scene is a high-stress situation, you might be able to get away with it, but your readers do not want to read block paragraphs of stuttering.

Choose 3-7 sounds for your character to struggle with. People tend to get blocks on particular sounds. For example, b, p, k, w, g...)

Use another synonym for the word they are struggling with. Example: "You look g...g... really pretty."

Don't have your character stutter in every conversation. Under high stress, the stutter will be more frequent, under low stress they may not stutter at all.

If you use the dialogue tag, "he stuttered," do not write the stutter in the quote. If the character is stuttering in their sentence, you don't need to write out the fact that they were stuttering.

Do not write a stutter in thoughts. People with a stutter do not stutter in their thoughts. Just don't do this. It's unrealistic and insulting.

If you like what I do and want to support me, please consider donating! I also offer editing services and other writing advice on my Ko-fi!

😰

thinking back to when this textbook in a chapter about 18th century Prussia and Frederick the Great described the Hans Katte incident (the red underlining and everything preceding), while referring to Hans Katte as his friend, then wrote "This incident, however, did not change the future monarch's preferences" (purple underlining). The ruler was also considered a master of blowing the flute (green underlining)".

Amazing first thing to see when I opened Tumblr