The Revolutnary War Hero Who Was Openly Gay | HISTORY

Contents:

• THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
• THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY
• HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERAL
• OTED AS GAY, AGG VETERANS ARE BATTLG AGA FOR HONORABLE DISCHARG
• VALLEY FE PARK TALK FOC ON GAY REVOLUTNARY WAR GENERAL
• FRIEDRICH VON STBEN: THE OPENLY GAY WAR HERO WHO WHIPPED THE CONTENTAL ARMY INTO SHAPE
• INSI THE LIFE OF THE US REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS ALSO REVOLUTNARY AND FLAMBOYANTLY GAY

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

Gay men have always been part of the Amerin ary.

THE REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS OPENLY GAY

In an era before gay marriage or open pri, ary men fell love, formed passnate iendships and had same-sex enunters. But the se of one of the ary’s foundg hero, homosexualy was always part of the story. Historians also thk he was homosexual—and served as an openly gay man the ary at a time when sex between men was punished as a crime.

He also downplayed mors that the baron had been dismissed om the Pssian ary for homosexualy.

HISTORY’S GREATT GAY GENERAL

But he was gay, and homosexualy was viewed as a crimal aberratn by many of his peers. ”After the war, von Stben legally adopted both men—a mon practice among gay men an age before same-sex marriage was legal.

OTED AS GAY, AGG VETERANS ARE BATTLG AGA FOR HONORABLE DISCHARG

John Mulligan, who was also gay, served as von Stben’s secretary and is thought to have had a relatnship wh the baron. Durg von Stben’s lifetime, the ncept of gay marriage, gay pri or g out was unthkable and there was no language or open culture of homosexualy. But historil homosexual relatnships were actually don’t mean beg gay was ndoned: Sodomy was a crime lonial Ameri.

We n state why he might be spected of beg gay, but aga, to suggt that he might be out as you know, as blatant has to be he has to be uched properly.

In other words, we don't have enough of a enough of an accurate termology to e or enough of a shared termology for all of as a group to get together, or for strangers to e together ont of a monument and jt hear a term like he's a gay general. I thk both you have, and I, well, sort of a ristance to a very easy label like the "gay general.

VALLEY FE PARK TALK FOC ON GAY REVOLUTNARY WAR GENERAL

In other words, von Stben is beg lled the "gay general, " part to to talk about why queer people today should have rights and should be able to serve the army.

So that if a reference was ma to the fact that others have referred to him as the "gay general, " other words, that's another way of dog then. And so, you know, sometim, rather than focg on you the more physil aspects of the particular relatnships, whether be hetero or whether be heterosexual or homosexual, the general foc should be stead on how they exprs their affectn towards one another and love for one another. In an era before gay marriage or open pri, ary men fell love, formed passnate iendships and had same-sex enunters same-sex enunters.

After the war, von Stben legally adopted both men—a mon practice among gay men an age before same-sex marriage was legal.

FRIEDRICH VON STBEN: THE OPENLY GAY WAR HERO WHO WHIPPED THE CONTENTAL ARMY INTO SHAPE

But historil homosexual relatnships were actually mon. That don’t mean beg gay was ndoned: Sodomy was a crime lonial Ameri. Ary beg officially discrimatg agast people spected to be gay.

He was an famo disciplarian, a thls manr, and a ary was the symbol of Pssian masculy and arism, and he was also most likely gay. Homosexualy is nate — at least is for me — but the social nceptn of what beg gay means has varied over we e the word "orientatn" today, 18th-century wrers would ll a "taste. It was so wily known, the late historian Louis Crompton wrote his book Homosexualy and Civilizatn, that historians had trouble rencilg Frerick's sexualy wh his greatns.

INSI THE LIFE OF THE US REVOLUTNARY WAR HERO WHO WAS ALSO REVOLUTNARY AND FLAMBOYANTLY GAY

Several bgraphi have more than a whiff of his haggraphy of the kg, historian Thomas Carlyle rejected assertns that Frerick was gay as a "thrice-abomable mor" spread by those wh a "solacement to human malice and impertent cursy.

"Add Zimmermann:Voltaire, [the poet Lrent] la Bemelle, the [French foreign mister] De Choisl, numerable Frenchman and Germans, almost all the iends and enemi of Frerick, almost all the prc and great men of Europe, even his servants — even the nfidants and iends of his later years, were of opn that he had loved, as is pretend, Socrat loved even Zimmermann tried to straighten his hero, spng a dub and far-fetched theory that Frerick wasn't gay, he jt wanted other people to thk he was. Beg whout his grap wouldn't f the image of a ary manr, Zimmermann's theory go — though there's no evince Frerick was strated — so he played gay. "Frerick the Great's reputatn as one of the world's most famo homosexuals seems secure.

"This soldier, young, handsome, well ma, and who played the flute, served to enterta the prisoner more than one fashn, " the French wrer and philosopher Voltaire a personal letter, Voltaire would pare Frerick to the gay lover of ancient Bhynian kg Nies IV.