Skip to main content

Secondary sourceSculpture1969 (memorial); photographed 2019

Steuben Memorial Stone, Hechingen

1969 (memorial); photographed 2019

A 1969 memorial stone in Hechingen, Germany, honoring Steuben's time as a court official there before his American military career.

This stone commemorates Steuben's years as a court official in Hechingen before his American military service.

Ask Friedrich von Steuben about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A large, moss-and-lichen-covered grey boulder stands in a shaded garden with green leaves and ivy at its base. A dark metal plaque on its face bears German and English inscriptions commemorating Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, dedicated May 10, 1969.
Steuben memorial stone, Hechingen, dedicated 1969. Photograph 2019.

About this source

What it is

This photograph, taken in 2019, shows a large stone memorial in Hechingen, Germany, dedicated in 1969 during a German-American friendship week. A plaque on the stone commemorates Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben and his service as court official (Hofmarschall) under Prince Joseph of Hohenzollern-Hechingen from 1764 to 1776.

Why it matters

The memorial connects Steuben's earlier European career to his later, more famous role reorganizing the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It shows how a local German town remembers a resident who became internationally significant, and ties into the Steuben Parade still held in New York in his honor.

Look closer

  • Why might a German town choose to commemorate someone best known for his American military career?
  • What does the timing of the dedication, during a friendship week, suggest about its purpose?
  • How does this memorial connect two different chapters of Steuben's life?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Friedrich von Steuben on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Friedrich von Steuben sources

Meet the AI Friedrich von Steuben →
Book

Primary source

Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben · 1779

Oil portrait of an 18th-century man with powdered gray hair, wearing a dark blue coat with gold epaulettes and gold-yellow waistcoat, a red sash and star-shaped order badge, against a dark background.Painting

Primary source

Baron Frederick William von Steuben

Charles Willson Peale · 1780

Large painting of a battlefield scene with a grey, stormy sky. On the left, British redcoat troops stand in lines beside a white flag. On the right, American troops in blue and buff stand beside a striped flag. In the center, a mounted commander on a white horse, with a figure in red uniform walking in front, faces the lines.Painting

Secondary source

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis

John Trumbull · 1819

Oil portrait of an older man with white powdered hair in a dark navy coat with gold epaulettes and tan high-collared lapels and waistcoat. He wears orange-and-red decorations and a star-shaped order on his chest and holds a sword hilt. Behind him are trees and a distant river with sailboats.Painting

Primary source

Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus, Baron von Steuben

Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl · 1786

Handwritten letter in brown ink on aged paper, dated Montpellier 12 March 1773 at top right, addressed 'Monsieur' and written in French in cursive script. It is signed at the bottom right with a closing phrase and the name 'de Steuben'.Letter

Primary source

Letter from Montpellier

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben · 12 March 1773

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Friedrich von Steuben now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions