Staats House (South Bound Brook, New Jersey)

The Staats House, also known as the General Baron von Steuben Headquarters, is a historic building located at 17 Von Steuben Lane in South Bound Brook, Somerset County, New Jersey. Constructed c. 1740, it is now known as the Abraham Staats House after its second owner. In 1779, during the second Middlebrook encampment of the American Revolutionary War, it served as the headquarters for Prussian-American General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 2002, and noted as representing "one of the finest remaining buildings from the second phase of Dutch immigration and settlement in the Raritan Valley".[3]

Staats House
Abraham Staats House, 2013
Staats House
Staats House
Staats House
Location17 Von Steuben Lane, South Bound Brook, New Jersey
Coordinates40°33′6″N 74°31′16″W
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
Builtc. 1740
Architectural styleColonial, Federal
NRHP reference No.02001483[1]
NJRHP No.256[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 4, 2002
Designated NJRHPAugust 29, 2002

History

In 1740, Hendrick Staats was granted the farm from his father, Peter Staats, who was from Brooklyn. In 1769, Hendrick gave the property to his brother John Staats (1713–1781). John then transferred it to his son Abraham Staats (1743–1821) in November 1770. After Abraham and his wife died, the property was divided between their son Issac Staats and his five sisters.[3][4]

Revolutionary War

At the Battle of Bound Brook, on April 13, 1777, private property was taken during the raid by British forces. Staats filed a detail report in 1782, which included several animals, wheat, and clothing.[5]

Von Steuben, who had been appointed Inspector General of the Continental Army by Congress on May 5, 1778, arrived at the Staats House on March 26, 1779, during the second Middlebrook encampment.[3] During the Valley Forge encampment, he had begun work on the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which was approved by Congress on March 29.[6]

On May 2, 1779, a review of the army was held to honor the French minister Conrad Alexandre Gérard de Rayneval and the Spanish diplomat Juan de Miralles. Led by General William Smallwood, four battalions performed precise military formations to demonstrate their mastery of von Steuben's training.[7] After the review, about sixty generals and colonels attended a dinner hosted by von Steuben in a large tent near the house. Here Gérard told General George Washington that Comte d'Estaing's fleet would assist him in the war and that supplies from France would be increased.[3]

See also
Other houses used as headquarters during the second Middlebrook encampment (1778–79):

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Somerset County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. May 28, 2014. p. 13.
  3. Greiff, Constance M. (December 4, 2002). "NRHP Nomination: Staats House". National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) "Accompanying 14 photos, from 2001". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Bailey, Rosalie Fellows (1936). "House of Hendrick and Abraham Staats; Steuben's Headquarters". Pre-Revolutionary Dutch Houses and Families in Northern New Jersey and Southern New York. New York: William Morrow & Company. pp. 450–458.
  5. Davis, T. E. (1895). "Appendix A". The Battle of Bound Brook. Washington Campground Association. pp. 25–26.
  6. Carter, George H., ed. (1913). "Proceedings in Congress". Proceedings Upon the Unveiling of the Statue of Baron von Steuben, Major General and Inspector General in the Continental Army During the Revolutionary War, in Washington, D.C., December 7, 1910. pp. 87–93.
  7. Washington, George (May 2, 1779). "General Orders, 2 May 1779". Founders Online, National Archives. Notes.
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