What he’s wrought
This gay fella named Fred created the US Armed Forces that we know today.
Lemme back up a bit.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben – let’s just call him “Freddie,” for obvs reasons – arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 1, 1777, with:
-
- is young aide-de-camp, Louis de Pontière
- his military secretary, Pierre-Étienne du Ponceau
- two other dudes, and
- his doggie, Azor – an Italian Greyhound, which he, reportedly, took with him everywhere.
When he arrived, there was no real American “army.” This fact is reflected in our own Constitution which talks about a “well regulated Militia.”
Yes, the Continental “Army” existed but in name only – it was really a buncha militias tossed together.
Enter Von Steuben.
According to Wikipedia:
He arrived at Valley Forge on February 23, 1778, and reported for duty as a volunteer. One soldier’s first impression of the Baron was “of the ancient fabled God of War … 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. He turned the volunteers into a great army.”
How?
Basic stuff.
From establishing “standards of sanitation and camp layouts that would still be standard a century and a half later” to enforcing “the keeping of exact records and strict inspections,” to prevent graft and profiteering.
He also set up a training program to train soldiers on HOW to be soldiers.
To be clear: The historical bad-assery of the US Army would not have existed but for Baron Von Steuben.
Note that it was a pretty open secret that he was as gay as a unicorn in a glitter factory during Pride Week.
That’s probably why he was slumming it with the colonists instead of fighting battles and having afternoon tea back in Prussia.
Plus, he never married but had several young male “friends,” that kept him company throughout the years; in fact he settled in Manhattan with a fella named William North for a while.
So, yeah, as gay as a rainbow wearing another rainbow.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
In any case, wonder if Freddie would be proud or ashamed of what he’s wrought.
What’s the point of this entry?
It seems to me that it’s always the people draft-dodging, fat fucks with bone spurs that have only ever experienced violence from the safety of a movie seat or a living room couch that have strong preconceived notions as to what constitutes actual strength or violence capacity.
In fact, violence and the ability to inflict violence really only comes down to two things: How good are you at violence and the ability to inflict violence.
Everything else – if someone is gay or straight, likes to wear slacks or a dress, is black or white, is male or female – is really just mental masturbation.
Those things are really only important to someone that cares about something besides violence itself.
Speaking of violence itself, anyone that’s experienced either the giving or receiving of it, it’s not something you take lightly or without a clear plan for finishing.
In Scenic Fights, we’re always talking about finishing the fight.
Because, in the end, that’s really the main thing, isn’t it?
Good thing no one is quite so stupid as to embark on something so dangerous on a global scale without these things clearly at the forefront.
Location: home, reading the new
Mood: incredulous
Music: you talk about death and everything in between like it’s nothing (Spotify)
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