Baron von Steuben Revolutionary War Bounty-Land Surveys — Two Manuscript Plats, Ohio, 1795–1796

An appealing pair of late eighteenth-century manuscript land surveys naming Major General Friedrich Wilhelm, Baron von Steuben, the celebrated Continental Army officer associated with the training of Washington’s troops at Valley Forge.

Both documents concern land claimed under military warrant No. 104 in the Virginia Military District of present-day Ohio, linking Revolutionary War compensation with the mapping and settlement of the early American West.

The first, Survey No. 810, describes 2,000 acres on the waters of Paint Creek and is dated March 20, 1795. Opening “Surveyed for Major General Steuben,” it records compass bearings, distances, neighboring claims, and tree boundary markers, accompanied by a small hand-drawn plat.

Steuben died on November 28, 1794, so both stated survey dates fall after his death. They document land claims in his name, potentially being completed for his estate or successors; they do not establish that he personally commissioned these particular sheets.

An especially interesting supporting detail: a published study quotes Peter Muhlenberg’s 1784 letter identifying 663, 810, and 1037 as Steuben’s land-lottery numbers. Your smaller survey is numbered 810 and explicitly adjoins Steuben’s survey 663—a useful correspondence worth pursuing in the original records.

The second, Survey No. 2697, describes 1,050 acres on the waters of the Little Miami, northwest of the Ohio River. Its larger manuscript plat depicts the tract’s boundaries and a winding watercourse. Bearing dates of June 27 and July 6, 1796, it carries an apparent signature of deputy surveyor John O’Bannon. Extensive handwritten calculations occupy the reverse.

Both surveys postdate Steuben’s death in November 1794 and relate to the administration or completion of land claims in his name. Neither document is signed by Steuben.

Condition: Age toning, scattered spotting and staining, pronounced original folds, splits and small holes at fold intersections, minor edge tears and losses, and later docketing or annotations. The principal text and plats remain substantially legible. Two separate sheets, photographed front and back.

A compelling combination of Revolutionary War association, early Ohio history, and American manuscript cartography.