1930 2c General von Steuben, Carmine Rose

U.S. #689
1930 2¢ General von Steuben
Issue Date: September 17, 1930
First City: New York, NY
Quantity Issued: 66,487,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Flat plate
Perforation: 11
Color: Carmine rose

U.S. Scott #689 is a 2-cent carmine rose commemorative stamp issued on September 17, 1930 — the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben — with the first day ceremony held in New York City.

The design features a profile portrait of von Steuben in military uniform set within an ornate circular frame, with the dates 1730 and 1930 flanking his name — a fitting tribute to one of the most consequential foreign volunteers in American military history. The movement to honor von Steuben on a stamp had been a long effort, with several Postmasters General declining requests before the bicentennial finally provided the occasion.

Baron von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge on February 23, 1778, having been introduced to George Washington through Benjamin Franklin and the French minister of war. He found an army in desperate condition — ill-clothed, underfed, and largely untrained in the formal techniques of 18th-century warfare. Speaking almost no English, von Steuben immediately set to work, training a model company of soldiers himself and then deploying them to train others throughout the Continental Army. He standardized musket drill, introduced the bayonet as a genuine weapon rather than a kitchen implement, taught the men to march in step and maneuver as a unit, and reformed camp sanitation. Within weeks, the transformation was remarkable. When the army marched out of Valley Forge in June 1778, it performed well enough at the Battle of Monmouth to hold its own against British regulars — a result unthinkable just months before.

Von Steuben's written legacy was equally enduring. His training manual, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States — known as the "Blue Book" — became the official military manual of the United States Army and remained in use through the War of 1812. He was appointed Inspector General of the Continental Army by Congress in 1778, served through the final campaigns including Yorktown, and became a naturalized American citizen after the war. He died in 1794 on his farm in upstate New York, land granted to him by the state of New York in recognition of his service.