Trump Highlights Cleaning of von Steuben Revolutionary War Statue
Trump relays a National Park Service report that its crews cleaned and waxed the 116-year-old bronze monument to the Prussian drillmaster in Lafayette Park.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump on Truth Social relayed a report that the National Park Service cleaned and waxed the bronze statue of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben in Lafayette Park, the seven-acre square directly north of the White House.
The statue, dedicated in 1910 during a ceremony attended by President William Howard Taft, stands 10 feet tall atop a 15-foot granite pedestal. It depicts von Steuben inspecting American troops at Valley Forge in 1778 during the American Revolution.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “From Greg Wischer at the United States Department of the Interior: “The statue of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben in Lafayette Park was cleaned and waxed by the National Park Service. Dedicated in 1910 in a ceremony attended by President William Howard Taft, the 10-foot-tall bronze statue atop a 15-foot granite pedestal depicts von Steuben inspecting American troops at Valley Forge in 1778 during the American Revolution. Drawing on his experience as a Prussian army officer and former aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great, von Steuben brought discipline, organization, and professionalism to the Continental Army. His 1779 training manual, known as the ”Blue Book,“ became the Army’s first standardized training manual. Later in the war, he contributed to the Southern Campaign and commanded one of George Washington’s divisions during the Siege of Yorktown.”” on August 3, 2026 at 4:32 PM ET.
This is Trump’s 13th message released today, and the last post was seven minutes ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 24 of his 448 posts over the last 30 days classified as Culture posts.
The man credited with the report, Gregory Wischer, is a consultant in the critical minerals sector who was picked for the Interior Department’s deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management in February 2025, according to propublica.org. His financial disclosure lists prior roles at metal-refining firm Westwin Elements and at Dei Gratia Minerals, a company he founded, according to propublica.org.
Drawing on his experience as a Prussian army officer and former aide-de-camp to Frederick the Great, von Steuben brought discipline and organization to the Continental Army, the post said. His 1779 training manual, known as the “Blue Book,” became the Army’s first standardized training manual. He later contributed to the Southern Campaign and commanded one of George Washington’s divisions during the Siege of Yorktown.
The Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben statue was cleaned and waxed at Lafayette Park on 08/03/2026. This routine maintenance protects the bronze monument from corrosion, extending the life of the taxpayer-funded statue.
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The upkeep matters to the average reader because the National Park Service maintains hundreds of monuments and memorials in Washington that draw millions of visitors each year. Routine cleaning and waxing protects bronze from corrosion, extending the life of statues that taxpayers own and fund.
This has happened before. The Park Service regularly conserves the statues that anchor the four corners of Lafayette Park, which honor foreign officers who aided the Revolution, including the Marquis de Lafayette, for whom the square is named. Such conservation cycles recur across the National Mall and surrounding parks.
The Interior Department has not announced a date for further conservation work on the monument. Decisions on maintenance of Lafayette Park statuary rest with the National Park Service, which oversees the site.
Honoring von Steuben in bronze isn’t the first time the nation has marked his service. Congress and later German-American groups pressed for recognition of the drillmaster for more than a century after his death on November 28, 1794, in New York. A companion statue stands in Valley Forge, and cities from Utica to Milwaukee host annual Steuben Day parades. The officer who arrived at Valley Forge speaking little English left the war as a naturalized American citizen and a major general.
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