STEUBEN, Frederic William Augustus, baron von; a distinguished Prussian officer, who attached himself to the American cause in the revolution of 1776. He had been aid-de-camp to Frederic the Great, and had attained the rank of lieutenant-general in his army. Sacrificing his honors and emoluments in Europe, Steuben came to America in 1777, and tendered his services to congress, as a volunteer in their army, without claiming any rank or compensation. He received the thanks of that body, and joined the main army under the commander-inchief at Valley Forge. Baron Steuben soon rendered himself particularly useful to the Americans, by disciplining the forces. On the recommendation of general Washington, congress, in May, 1778, appointed the baron inspector-general of the army, with the rank of major-general. His efforts in this capacity were continued with remarkable diligence, until he had placed the troops in a situation to withstand the enemy. In the estimates of the war office, 5000 extra muskets were generally allowed for waste and destruction in the army; but such was the exact order under the superintendence of Steuben, that in his inspection return, but three muskets were deficient, and those accounted for. A complete scheme of exercise and discipline, which he composed, was adopted in the army by the direction of congress. He possessed the right of command in the line, and at one period was at the head of a separate detachment in Virginia. At the battle of Monmouth, he was engaged as a volunteer. When reviewing the troops, it was his constant custom to reward the disciplined soldier with praise, and to pass se

At

vere censure upon the negligent. Numerous anecdotes are related illustrative of the generosity, purity and kindness of his disposition. After the treacherous defection of Arnold, the baron held his name in the utmost abhorrence. One day, he was inspecting a regiment of light horse, when that name struck his ear. The man was ordered to the front, and presented an excellent appearance. Steuben told him that he was too respectable to bear the name of a traitor; and at his request the soldier adopted that of the baron, whose bounty he afterwards experienced, and brought up a son by the same name. the siege of Yorktown, baron Steuben was in the trenches at the head of a division, where he received the first offer of lord Cornwallis to capitulate. The marquis de la Fayette appeared to relieve him in the morning; but, adhering to the European etiquette, the baron would not quit his post until the surrender was completed or hostilities recommenced. The matter being referred to general Washington, the baron was suffered to remain in the trenches till the enemy's flag was struck. After the capture of Cornwallis, when the superior American officers were paying every attention to their captives, Steuben sold his favorite horse in order to raise money to give an entertainment to the British officers, as the other majorgenerals had previously done. His watch he had previously disposed of to relieve the wants of a sick friend. On another occasion, when he desired to reciprocate the invitations of the French officers, he ordered his people to sell his silver spoons and forks, saying it was anti-republican to make use of such things, and adding, that the gentlemen should have one good dinner if he ate

his meals with a wooden spoon for ever after. Steuben continued in the army till the close of the war, perfecting its discipline. The silence and dexterity of his movements surprised the French allies. He possessed the particular esteem of general Washington, who took every proper opportunity to recommend him to congress; from which body he received several sums of money, that were chiefly expended in acts of charity, or in rewarding the good conduct of the soldiers.

Upon the disbandment of the continental army at Newburgh, many affectionate bonds, formed amidst the danger and hardships of a long and arduous service, were to be broken asunder for ever. At this season of distress, the benevolent Steuben exerted himself to alleviate the forlorn condition of many. He gave his last dollar to a wounded black, to procure him a passage home. Peace being established, the baron retired to a farm in the vicinity of New York, where, in the society of his friends, and the amusements of books and chess, he passed his time as comfortably as his exhausted purse would allow. The state of New Jersey had given him a small farm, and that of New York 16,000 acres of land in the county of Oneida. The exertions of colonel Hamilton and general Washington subsequently procured him an annuity of $2500, from the general government. He built a log house, and cleared 60 acres of his tract of land, a portion of which he partitioned out, on easy terms, to twenty or thirty tenants, and distributed nearly a tenth among his aid-de-camps and servants. In this situation he lived contentedly, until the year 1795, when an apoplectic attack put an end to his life, in his sixty-fifth year. An abstract of his system of military manoeuvres was published in 1779. The year preceding his death, he published a letter on the established militia and military arrangements. (For further information concerning baron Steuben, see Johnson's Life of Greene, Thatcher's Journal, Garden's Anecdotes.)

STEUBENVILLE, a flourishing post-town of Ohio, on Ohio river, is the seat of justice for Jefferson county. It was laid out in 1798, with streets crossing each other at right angles. In 1810, it contained 800 inhabitants; in 1817, 2032; and in 1830, 2937. It is 147 miles east by north from Columbus, and thirty-eight west of Pittsburg; lat. 40° 25′ N.; lon. 80° 35 W. It contains three churches, a markethouse, a woollen factory,-the machinery of which is moved by steam, a steam

paper-mill, and a flour and cotton factory, also moved by steam. There are two printing-offices, an academy, two banks, the county buildings, and many shops for mechanics and traders. The country around it, on the Virginia as well as the Ohio side of the river, is rich and populous.

STEVENS, George Alexander, a whimsical and eccentric character, was born in London, and brought up to a mechanical business, which he quitted to become a strolling player. In 1751, he published a poem entitled Religion, or the Libertine Repentant, which was succeeded, in 1754, by the Birthday of Folly. These were followed by a novel called Tom Fool, and the Dramatic History of Master Edward and Miss Ann. He subsequently invented his entertainment, called a Lecture on Heads, which possessed no small portion of drollery, and became very popular. Several of his songs have also been much admired.

STEVENS, Edward, an officer in the American revolution, was a native of Virginia. At the battle of the great bridge, near Norfolk, he commanded a battalion of riflemen. Soon afterwards, he was made a colonel. At the battle of Brandywine, he was greatly instrumental in saving the American forces, and received the public thanks of the commander-in-chief. He was honored in the same way for his behavior at the battle of Germantown. He was soon afterwards intrusted with the command of a brigade, and despatched to the southern army. He evinced his wonted gallantry in the battle of Camden. In that of Guilford court-house, he received a severe wound in his thigh; but, before quitting the field, he brought off his troops in good order. He closed his military career at the siege of Yorktown. From the foundation of the state constitution until the year 1790, he was a prominent member of the senate of Virginia. He died in August, 1820.

STEWARD. The lord high steward of England was formerly an officer who had the supervision and regulation, next under the king, of all affairs of the realm, both civil and military. The office was hereditary, belonging to the earls of Leicester until forfeited to Henry III. (See Montfort.) The power of this officer was so great, that the office has for a long time only been granted for some particular act, as the trial of a peer on indictment for a capital offence, the solemnization of a coronation, &c. The lord high steward is the first of the nine great officers

not considered a disgrace. In some countries, criminals sentenced to the galleys are branded in a similar way to this day. STILES, Ezra, a president of Yale college, was the son of the reverend Isaac Stiles, of North Haven, Connecticut. He graduated in that institution in 1746, with the reputation of being one of the greatest scholars it had ever produced. He then studied law, but subsequently devoted himself to theology, and settled at Newport, as pastor of the Second church, where he continued from 1755 to 1776. During this and several succeeding years, the enemy were in possession of Newport, and the inhabitants of the town scattered. Doctor Stiles was solicited to preach in several places: he accepted the invitation from the church at Portsmouth, where he was looked up to with great admiration. In 1788, he was chosen president of Yale college, and continued to adorn that station, by his great learning, abilities and piety, until his death, May 12, 1795, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. In person doctor Stiles was small, but well proportioned. His countenance was expressive of benignity and mildness, and his manners were amiable and kind. He had a thorough knowledge of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and French languages; in the Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac and Arabic he had made considerable progress, and had bestowed some attention on the Persian and Coptic. He was well versed in most branches of mathematical knowledge. He had a thorough acquaintance with the rabbinical writings, and with those of the fathers of the Christian church. Sacred literature was his favorite study; and next to it he most delighted in astronomy. As a preacher, he was impressive and eloquent in a high degree: the intrinsic excellence of his sermons was enhanced by the energy of his delivery. He published various discourses, among which was an election sermon, entitled The United States elevated to Glory and Honor, preached May 8, 1783. He also wrote a history of the three judges of Charles I (Whalley, Goffe and Dixwell), and left an unfinished ecclesiastical history of New England, and more thar. forty volumes of manuscripts.

STILICHO; a Vandalic general, in the service of the emperor Theodosius the Great, whose niece Serena he married. Theodosius having bequeathed the empire of the East to his son Arcadius, and that of the West to his second son, Honorius, the former was left under the care

of Rufinus, and the latter under the guardianship of Stilicho. (See Western Empire.) No sooner was Theodosius no more, than Rufinus stirred up an invasion of the Goths in order to procure the sole dominion, which Stilicho put down, and effected the destruction of his rival. After suppressing a revolt in Africa, he marched against Alaric, whom he signally defeated at Pollentia. After this, in 406, he repelled an invasion of barbarians, who penetrated into Italy under Rhadagasius, a Hun or Vandal leader, who formerly accompanied Alaric, and produced the entire destruction both of the force and its leader. Either from motives of policy or state necessity, he then entered into a treaty with Alaric, whose pretensions upon the Roman treasury for a subsidy he warmly supported. This conduct excited suspicion of his treachery on the part of Honorius, who massacred all his friends during his absence. He received intelligence of this fact at the camp of Bologna, whence he was obliged to flee to Ravenna. He took shelter in a church, from which he was inveigled by a solemn oath, that no harm was intended him, and conveyed to immediate execution, which he endured in a manner worthy his great military character. Stilicho was charged with the design of dethroning Honorius, in order to advance his son Eucherius in his place; and the memory of this distinguished captain has been treated by the ecclesiastical historians with great severity. Zosimus, however, although otherwise unfavorable to him, acquits him of the treason which was laid to his charge; and he will live in the poetry of Claudian as the most distinguished commander of his age. (See Gibbon's Decline and Fall, ch. 29 and 30.)

STILL. (See Distillation.)
STILLING. (See Jung.)

STILLINGFLEET, Edward, bishop of Worcester, was born in 1635, and received his education at St. John's college, Cambridge, where he was elected, in 1653, to the first fellowship that became vacant after he had taken his bachelor's degree. His chief work, Origines Sacræ, or a Rational Account of Natural and Revealed Religion, is esteemed for the erudition which it displays. It was followed (1664) by a treatise On the Origin and Nature of Protestantism. Having distinguished himself by the prominent part which he took previous to the revolution, against the establishment of the Romish church in England, he was elevated to the see of Worcester by William III. Besides