The Role of Gay's in America's War for Independence

UPDATED:  If you're interested in learning more about The United States's queer past, check out LGBT lecturer Michael Bronski's "Queer History of the United States of America."  It sells for $20.55 on Amazon.com.

For the last fourteen month's I have been writing an LGBT issues column in the print issue of Veer Magazine, a local alternative magazine that covers news, arts, entertainment, dining and cultural events.  Like this blog, my monthly column topics range from political issues to LGBT history.  The July, 2012, column (the print version of Veer hits the newsstands on the 15th of each month) will address the often forgotten role that gays played in winning America's war for independence (the boyfriend came up with the idea).  It is an aspect of American history that for too long has been hidden from the public eye and consciousness. Thus, it's an appropriate topic this 4th of July.  The following are excerpts from the upcoming July, 2012, column - locals can pick up a copy of Veer for the whole piece - followed by additional thoughts:

[M]any of us have heard familiar stories about the Declaration of Independence and the Founding Fathers.  What we have not heard due to revisionist history and a sanitizing of reputations of many of the nation’s early leaders is the vital role that gays played in winning the United Sates’ independence from Great Britain.  Legislation recently enacted in California seeks to remedy this silence by requiring the inclusion of the contributions of LGBT individuals in the history curriculum.

However, until more progress is made on this front, most Americans remain ignorant of the critical roles played by some individuals who would likely be labeled as gays under today’s understanding of sexual orientation is literally non-existent.  .  .  .  .  Who am I talking about?  Four individuals immediately spring to mind: Major. Gen. Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Prussian military genius and chief of staff to George Washington, his young French assistant, Pierre Etienne Duponceau, Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens.

Yes, it’s true that at the time of the Revolutionary War the terms “homosexual” or “gay” had yet been coined.   But looking at historical accounts and existing correspondence, the major loves of these men’s lives involved those of the same sex.  And what’s even more significant is the fact that Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were well aware of the romantic inclinations of these significant contributors to the nation’s war for independence.  

Perhaps the greatest role was played by Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben.  Some maintain that the United States and its formidable military might not exist but for the contributions of this brilliant homosexual soldier from Prussia (modern-day Germany).  Von Steuben was recruited to the American military cause by Benjamin Franklin while he was in France.   For his part, von Steuben jumped at the opportunity since things were becoming too hot for him in Europe due to his many affairs with young men,  

As for von Steuben’s sexual orientation, historian Victoria A. Brownworth has noted that:

That Washington looked the other way with same-sex couples is most obvious in his dealings with Maj. Gen. Frederich Wilhelm von Steuben   .   .  .  Benjamin Franklin who provided the letters of recommendation to Washington, but Franklin was aware that von Steuben had been implicated in relationships with boys and young men and had been expelled from the court of Frederick the Great for homosexual behavior and was on the verge of being prosecuted when he left Germany for France.  .  .  .  Von Steuben’s relationship with Washington was close and there were no conflicts with Washington over von Steuben’s sleeping arrangements at Valley Forge with his young Frenchman, Duponceau.

There's considerably more in the column about Hamilton, Laurens, and Deborah Sampson, who served in the Continental Army disguised as a man under the name Robert Shurtlieff, but readers will get the drift of the column's .   More on von Steuben's many contributions can be found in a piece in the Washington Blade that was written for the gay history project last year.  Here's a sampling from the Blade article:

February 1778: Arrives at Valley Forge to serve under Washington, having informed Congress of his desire for paid service after an initial volunteer trial period, with which request Washington concurs.

March 1778: Begins tenure as inspector general, drilling troops according to established European military precepts.

1778-79: Writes “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States,” which becomes a fundamental guide for the Continental Army and remains in active use through the War of 1812, being published in over 70 editions.

1780-81: Senior military officer in charge of troop and supply mobilization in Virginia.

1781: Replaced by Marquis de Lafayette as commander in Virginia.

1781-83: Continues to serve as Washington’s inspector general, and is active in improving discipline and streamlining administration in the army.

Spring 1783: Assists in formulating plans for the postwar American military.

Washington rewarded Von Steuben with a house at Valley Forge (still in existence and open for visits) which he shared with his aide-de-camps Capt. William North and Gen. Benjamin Walker. Walker lived with him through the remainder of his life, and von Steuben, who neither married nor denied any of the allegations of homosexuality, left his estate to North and Walker. His last will and testament, which includes the line “extraordinarily intense emotional relationship,” has been described as a love letter to Walker.

The nation that von Steuben helped found has memorialized him with numerous statues, including those at Lafayette Square near the White House and at Valley Forge and Utica, N.Y. (where he is buried) and German Americans celebrate his birthday each year on Sept. 17, hosting parades in New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago.

If George Washington was the father of the nation, then von Steuben, a gay man, was the father of the United States military.

Wikipedia also has this:

Steuben was the surname of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794), a Prussian officer who aided the colonials in the American Revolutionary War.  Places in the United States of America named after Steuben include:  Steuben, Maine; Steuben, New York; Steuben, Wisconsin; Steuben County, Indiana; Steuben County, New York;Steubenville, Indiana;Steubenville, Ohio

It is far past time that American citizens learn the real history of  the contributions of LGBT individuals to this nation.  Will the Christiansts scream and throw a fit?  Most definitely - one only need look at their opposition to the LGBT history law in California.  The fact that bigots and demagogues don't like the truth doesn't make it any less the truth.  This country needs to know the truth, not just disingenuous Christianist lies and anti-gay propaganda.