Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben
Books: Graphic Novel | Non-Fiction | Queer
Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben
Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben (2023) Josh Trujillo, Levi Hastings
This is a graphic novel biography of Baron von Steuben, the Prussian who became Inspector General for the Continental/American Army and wrote the “Blue Book” that changed the army into a force that was able to defeat the British.
He was also openly gay in a time when homosexuality was a punishable crime in many European states.
This book provides an accessible overview of one of the forgotten military men of the Revolution, and looks at the bad as well as the good, including the ownership of at least one enslaved man, his relentless self-promotion, and his preference for younger men.
But importantly it gives us a look at a man who was central to the success of what would become the American army, and how his sexuality was known by those around him–including George Washington.
The author and illustrator are open about not being historians, which means they have unfortunately failed to give a bibliography, sharing their sources.
This seems like a small thing, but in this day and age sources materials are important not just for sharing where their information came from, but also for allowing people to learn more on their own.
But what they have given us is a glimpse at a man who created the tactics that shaped the American Army, and changed that force from a bunch of rag-tag yokels who almost froze to death due to a unit that was eventually able to defeat one of the strongest military forces in the world at that time.
Publisher: Abrams
Rating: 7.5/10