In this special Fourth of the July episode, Thomas tells us about the larger than life character of General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who was a key figure in the American War of Independence. The questions are: was he queer, and what kind of evidence should we demand? Thomas takes us through the available evidence, and talks about the double standards in historical research when it comes to queerness. Check us out across the web! website pixelfed bsky insta patreon Content Warning: This episode discusses accusations of pedophilia. Sources: Anon. “Steuben Whitewash of Hitler Stirs Anger of Jewish Members.” Jewish Daily Bulletin. 12.12.1934. Anon. “LGBT History Month: Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben: Gen. Washington’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Case.” Philadelphia Gay News. Online Edition. 25.10.2012. Ausness, Richard C. “Planned Parenthood: Adult Adoption and the Right of Adoptees to Inherit.” ACTEC Law Journal 41, nr. 2 (2015): 241-305. Benemann, William. Male-Male Intimacy in Early America:Beyond Romantic Friendship. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2014. (First edition published by Harrington Park Press in 2006). Delaney, Anthony. Queer Georgians. A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers and Homemakers. London: Penguin Books, 2026. Gates, Gary J. and Jody L. Herman. “Transgender MilitaryService in the United States.” Report. The Williams Institute, 2014. Gereben Schaefer, Agnes, Radha Iyengar, Srikanth Kadiyala,Jennifer Kavanagh, Charles C. Engel, Kayla M. Williams, and Amil M. Kress. Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2016. (Study commissioned by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.) Grissom, Andrew. “Transgender Individuals and MilitaryService Bibliography.” Finding aid. The American Library Association, 2019. Kapp, Freidrich. The Life of Frederick William VonSteuben, Major General in the Revolutionary Army. New York: Mason Brothers, 1859. (Second edition). Lockhart, Paul. The Drillmaster of Valley Forge. The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Pritchett, Morgan H. and Edith Von Zemenszky. “The ThreeWills of Baron von Steuben.” The Report. A Journal of German-American History 35 (1972): 19-26. Quinn, Michael. Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1966. Trujillo, Josh and Levi Hastings (Illustrator), Washington’sGay General. The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben. New York: Abrams Books, 2023. Tulchin, Allan A. “Same-Sex Couples Creating Households inOld Regime France: The Uses of the Affrerement.” The Journal of Modern History 79, nr. 3 (2007): 613-647. von Steuben, Frederich to William North. 23.2.1780.Transcribed in Kapp, Freidrich. The Life of Frederick William Von Steuben, Major General in the Revolutionary Army. New York: Mason Brothers, 1859. (Second edition), pp. 616-617. von Steuben, Friedrich to William North. 27.10.1786. HamiltonCollege Library, Digital Collections, Baron Friedrich von Steuben Collection. von Steuben, Friedrich to William North. 18.9.1788. TheGilder Lehrman Institue of American History. Correspondence of the North Family. Inv. nr. GLC02542.12. von Steuben, Friedrich to William North. 10.10.1788.Hamilton College Library, Digital Collections, Baron Friedrich von Steuben Collection. von Steuben, Friedrich to William North. 14.4.1789. HamiltonCollege Library, Digital Collections, Baron Friedrich von Steuben Collection. LEGAL NO THESE OLD QUEERS CONTENT MAY BE USED FOR TRAINING, TESTING, OR DEVELOPING MACHINE LEARNING OR AI SYSTEMS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION - TO SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE OF ASKING: WE WON'T GIVE IT TO YOU ANYWAY.