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Secondary sourcePainting1895

Washington, Lafayette and Steuben

J.L.G. Ferris · 1895

An 1895 print showing Steuben with Washington and Lafayette, created long after their lifetimes as a later tribute to their partnership.

Steuben is depicted alongside Washington and Lafayette in this later commemorative print.

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Black-and-white reproduction of an 1895 illustration by J.L.G. Ferris showing a snowy scene. Two mounted men in dark coats and tricorn hats ride white and dark horses; one raises his hat. A standing officer in a uniform with epaulettes gestures toward them beside a log building. Caption below reads Washington, Lafayette and Steuben.
J.L.G. Ferris, Washington, Lafayette and Steuben, 1895 print.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white print from 1895 based on an illustration by J.L.G. Ferris. It shows a snowy scene with two mounted men, one raising his hat, and a standing officer in uniform gesturing toward them near a log building. The caption identifies the figures as Washington, Lafayette and Steuben.

Why it matters

Made more than a century after the events it depicts, this print reflects how Americans in the late 1800s remembered the Revolutionary War and the foreign officers, including the Prussian-born Steuben, who helped train and organize the Continental Army. It shows how these men became symbols of international cooperation in the fight for independence.

Look closer

  • What details suggest this is an imagined scene rather than an eyewitness record?
  • Why might an artist in 1895 choose to depict this moment?
  • What does the choice to include Steuben alongside Washington and Lafayette suggest about his importance to later generations?

This painting 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.

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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

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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

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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

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