Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2009.31 |
Object Name |
Medallion |
Title |
Medallion with Portrait of Frederick Wilhelm Von Steuben |
Artist |
Schrage |
Artist 2 |
Prevost, Benoit Louis |
Artist 3 |
Du Simitiere, Pierre Eugene |
Date |
1980 |
Description |
White ceramic medallion, matte surface. Inscribed: "Friedrich Wilhelm/von Steuben/1730-1794/Schrage 1980" |
Label |
Frederick Wilhelm, Baron von Steuben, was inspector general of the Continental Army and was elected to the APS in 1780. Born in Germany in 1730, he rose in the ranks in the Prussian Army, where he was trained in Frederick the Great’s military system. In 1777, Steuben travelled to Paris, where he was introduced to U.S. representatives Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane. After coming to America and meeting George Washington, Steuben volunteered to serve in the Continental Army without pay for a trial period. Given the position of Inspector General (and eventually receiving a salary), Steuben instructed soldiers in discipline and drill and wrote "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States," which served as a manual for the Continental Army until the War of 1812. His introduction of European military regulations to the Continental Army turned Washington’s inexperienced recruits into an efficient and successful army and was the beginning of professional military training in the United States. This medallion was given to the APS by the Prussian Cultural Properties Foundation, the German organization responsible for the State Museums of Berlin and other museums and archives. The depiction of Steuben was based on an engraving by Benoît Louis Prévost after an original drawing by Pierre Eugène du Simitière, another member of the APS. |
Medium |
Ceramic |
Dimensions |
Dia-3.125 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of the Foundation for Prussian Cultural Property, 1981. |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century sculpture profile |