![\"Stonewall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_01STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\" "\\"Stonewall")
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Stonewall National Museum Executive Director Robert Kesten by the exhibition on Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben’s military legacy.<\/p>\n
Carl Juste<\/p>\n
cjuste@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library did not expect any federal funding after President Donald Trump took office. After all, said LGBTQ museum president and CEO Robert Kesten, staff from a federal agency told him \u201cwe need not apply.\u201d<\/p>\n
But in February, the Fort Lauderdale-based museum got updated communication from the National Endowment of the Arts: if the museum did apply for a federal grant, it should be for a project related to the 250th anniversary of the United States\u2019 independence.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOK, they\u2019re telling us that they\u2019re not interested, but there is Baron von Steuben,\u201d Kesten said. He\u2019s referring to Prussian-born army officer Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben, a pivotal figure in the Revolutionary War considered to be a father of the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n And, many historians believe, he was gay.<\/p>\n The museum staff submitted a proposal for an exhibition highlighting the military leader to the National Endowment of the Humanities. Much to their surprise, the museum received a $25,000 matched grant. The exhibition \u201cVon Steuben: Architect of American Independence\u201d is now a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the acceptance came through, we asked ourselves several times, \u2018Do they know what they\u2019re doing?\u2019\u201d Kesten said. \u201cWe reached out to them, and they said yes. So we were thrilled, truly amazed, and immediately started getting to work on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Now on view until May 15, the exhibition tells the life story and accomplishments of a crucial yet little-known figure in American (and LGBTQ) history. Had it not been for von Steuben, the American army didn\u2019t stand a chance against the British, Kesten said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t know everybody\u2019s story then you really don\u2019t know history,\u201d said Kesten, a historian himself. \u201cIf you don\u2019t know von Steuben\u2019s story, then you don\u2019t know how we won the Revolutionary War.\u201d<\/p>\n From Prussia to Paris to Valley Forge<\/p>\n Valley Forge. Winter. 1778. General George Washington rode out of the encampment on his white stallion to personally greet a volunteer \u2014 a highly unusual thing for him to do. But Baron von Steuben\u2019s reputation preceded him.<\/p>\n \u201cThey couldn\u2019t wait for him to arrive,\u201d Kesten said, gesturing to an image of a snowy Valley Forge at the museum.<\/p>\n One solider, according to U.S. National Park Service<\/a>, said seeing von Steuben at the encampment was like witnessing \u201cthe ancient fabled God of War \u2026 he seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Von Steuben was shocked by what he saw at Valley Forge. Untrained soldiers were shoeless and wore tattered clothes. The latrines were right next to the food. They were more likely to die of starvation and disease than actual war. They didn\u2019t even know how to march.<\/p>\n With his expertise, von Steuben completely reorganized the army and boosted morale. Though Washington is revered today, his position was extremely fragile at the time, Kesten said, gesturing at an image of a painting of von Steuben and Washington. He was losing badly, but von Steuben turned everything around.<\/p>\n Von Steuben managed to do all of this speaking no English. He\u2019d bark orders in French, which an interpreter translated into English.<\/p>\n \u201cThey started to feel like a force to be reckoned with,\u201d Kesten said. \u201cBy the time spring rolled around and they met the British, they were able to defend themselves. They were able to make progress, they were able to chase the British.\u201d<\/p>\n But before he transformed the Continental Army, Kesten said, von Steuben was a man on the run in Europe.<\/p>\n The Stonewall exhibition lays out the twisting tale. Born in 1730 under the reign of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, von Steuben was the son of a prominent military engineer. Though von Steuben wasn\u2019t born into nobility, the king was his godfather and he served with the king\u2019s brother in the military. Eventually, a lesser prince granted him the title of baron.<\/p>\n Von Steuben\u2019s military career, intelligence and connection to the royal family elevated him into elite circles. Though homosexuality was illegal in Europe, members of the aristocracy were free to enjoy homosexual relationships, Kesten said, and von Steuben was no different.<\/p>\n In 1777, he was summoned to Paris to meet with American revolutionaries, including Benjamin Franklin. At first, von Steuben wasn\u2019t interested and left. But someone powerful wanted von Steuben arrested, Kesten said. He was accused of abusing boys, a charge that went unproven but sullied his reputation in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had made some enemies because he made progress and other people did not,\u201d Kesten said. \u201cThere was a lot of confusion as to what his real title was and who he was. Therefore, the jealousy persisted.\u201d<\/p>\n He returned to Paris and met with Franklin, who most likely knew of von Steuben\u2019s rumored homosexuality, historians say. But his war expertise was far more important. The Americans made sure to get von Steuben safely out of Europe.<\/p>\n Kesten curated a cabinet of books on display at the exhibition. Von Steuben wrote the army training manual \u201cRegulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States,\u201d also known as the \u201cblue book.\u201d Elements of Steuben\u2019s writings for the army are still used today.<\/p>\n Excerpts of the blue book, images of important battlefields and a replica of a Revolutionary War musket line the walls and bookshelves of the museum. Next to the blue book is a copy of the 2023 graphic novel \u201cWashington\u2019s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben,\u201d written by author Josh Trujillo and illustrated by Levi Hastings.<\/p>\n Trujillo, a writer who works on comic book franchises, said the novel has taken on \u201ca second life as part of this American 250th celebration.\u201d A few years ago, as he was promoting a fictional Revolutionary War-era romance he wrote with Hastings, fans encouraged them to write a comic about von Steuben, who he had never heard of.<\/p>\n While researching von Steuben for the book, Trujillo said he was struck by the \u201clittle bits of personality\u201d he found. Von Steuben was obsessed with his dog Azor, had a \u201cflair for style\u201d and even insisted on having his own military medals made. Martha Washington once described von Steuben as \u201cfamily,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even know if it was an open secret. As I say in the book, our concept of romance and marriage and love are so different now than they were about 250 years ago, it\u2019s impossible to put some of our labels onto these characters,\u201d Trujillo said. \u201cBut if you look at him with a queer lens, he\u2019s unmistakably one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Von Steuben never married or had children. Instead, he legally adopted young men he had close relationships with,<\/a> which meant they inherited his belongings when he died. At the exhibition, images of his tomb in New York and a statue of him in Washington D.C. are on display.<\/p>\n \u201cHe died without very much, but there are bridges, there are roadways, there are counties, there are schools, there are many, many things named after him, and yet most people don\u2019t know why,\u201d Kesten said. \u201cWhich is too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n An immigrant story<\/p>\n Kesten acknowledges that the exhibitions\u2019 themes may ruffle feathers of the anti-DEI White House.<\/p>\n Early last year, NPR reported,<\/a> the National Endowment for the Arts, the NEH\u2019s sister agency, announced on its website that it was eliminating a DEI funding program and prioritizing projects celebrating the 250th anniversary. Trump\u2019s push against DEI trickled down to the private-sector, as corporate sponsors pulled support from local LGBTQ organizations,<\/a> including Stonewall. And in 2024, arts and culture organizations across Florida struggled to stay afloat after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all state art grants.<\/a><\/p>\n When asked how he thinks the Trump administration would feel about federal money funding the Stonewall museum\u2019s exhibition, Kesten shrugged. He pointed to an image on display at the museum of an ICE agent arresting someone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe they would be happy about that picture,\u201d Kesten said. \u201cBut it is important to point out that if von Steuben came today, it is very likely he could be met with that, and that would be a tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n The exhibition, which certainly celebrates America\u2019s independence from tyranny, aims to connect von Steuben\u2019s immigration story to the story of immigrants in the U.S. today. And after a short stint in Fort Lauderdale, Kesten said the exhibition will travel to other parts of the country. The Stonewall museum is in talks museums and institutions in Atlanta, San Francisco, North Carolina and Philadelphia to share Steuben\u2019s story with more Americans.<\/p>\n \u201cHere you have a gay man coming from overseas who spoke no English and basically had no money when he arrived here,\u201d Kesten said. \u201cWhat would happen to him today if he arrived on America\u2019s shores?\u201d<\/p>\n One sign at the exhibition acknowledges the National Endowment for the Humanities funding. It reads: \u201cAny views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u201d<\/p>\n If you go<\/p>\n What: \u201cVon Steuben: Architect of American Independence\u201d<\/p>\n When: On view until May 15<\/p>\n Where: Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, 1300 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale<\/p>\n![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_04STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\" "\\"MIA_04STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\\"")
In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Stonewall National Museum in Fort Lauderdale debuts an exhibition on Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a gay general who helped reform the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Books](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_02STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\" "\\"MIA_02STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\\"")
Books written by Baron von Steuben and others are in display at the new exhibition on Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a gay general who helped reform the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com \u2018Unmistakably one of us\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Stonewall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_03STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\" "\\"MIA_03STONEWALLVONSTEUBENEXHIBITION.JPG\\"")
Stonewall National Museum Executive Director Robert Kesten among one of the many displays that is part of the exhibition on Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben’s military legacy. Many historians believe that von Steuben was gay. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n