(Minute)Man's Best Friend

a blog dedicated to Azor, Friedrich von Steuben's Italian greyhound. Here for amrev and dog facts

[the-real-azor]

List of Resources on Azor

An accumulation of resources on Azor, Friedrich von Steuben’s Italian Greyhound. Please feel free to add more! Most sources talking about von Steuben mention Azor as an italian greyhound who accompanied the Baron when he came to America, but most pages don’t seem to include more than that. For purposes of brevity, articles which simply mention Azor’s existence with no further information are not being listed here

Fiction

https://greytarticles.wordpress.com/fiction/azor-a-fictional-story-based-on-fact/

The Winter of Red Snow (Dear America) by Kristiana Gregory 

in this fictionalized diary of an 11-year old girl in Valley Forge, Azor is depicted as a lovable dog who the main character seems to befriend (I haven’t read the whole thing just snippets to give context)

Non-academic sources:

https://nationalpurebreddogday.com/the-war-of-independence-and-an-iggie-was-there/

note: This page is quite clearly by a group which supports purebred breeding of dogs. This is being saved purely for information and is not an endorsement.

Academic sources and Books

Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times by  Joel Richard Paul

Three mentions, most applicable quoted below

Page 443: “There is some disagreement about Azor's breed, which some sources refer to as an Italian greyhound. However, that seems unlikely since Azor was described as much larger than an Italian greyhound would ordinarily have been”

In Pursuit of Liberty: Coming of Age in the American Revolution by Emmy E. Werner

two mentions, most detailed quoted below

Page 56: “Azor, the baron’s dog, was reputed to have an excellent ear for music. 'Bad singing set him howling and barking, while he listened with apparent pleasure to a good song,' remembered Pierre“

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army by Paul Lockhart 

 “And then there was Azor, the Baron [de Steuben’s] dog, who stayed at his master’s side from Paris until after the end of the War for independence. By all accounts, Azor was a large dog with a gargantuan appetite; Duponceau described him as an 'Italian greyhound.' Steuben loved and indulged Azor without reservation. A few years later, while he and one of his aides traveled by coach down a muddy New York road, Azor–who had been trotting alongside–took advantage of a pause in the journey to leap through the coach’s open window and right onto the laps of the two men. The Baron and his aide were wearing brand-new uniforms that Steuben had just purchased at great expense only a couple of days before. Azor’s huge paws tracked clods of mud all over the Baron’s immaculate white breeches as he nestled himself in the man’s lap. Steuben was fussy about his appearance, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be angry with his dog. Instead, he laughingly tugged on Azor’s ears and called him a ‘damned rascal.’“

Primary sources

Autobiographical Letters of Peter S. Duponceau

“I must not forget the Baron's dog Azor, the only pedestrian among us. He was a beautiful Italian greyhound, who had an excellent ear for music. Bad singing set him howling, and barking; while he listened with apparent pleasure to a good song. He was particularly averse to the gamut which Captain Landais (the Commander of the vessel in which we came over from France,) executed every day, by way of musical exercise, in horrid taste. The dog compelled him at last, to put a stop to his practising.“

[dozydawn]

“Carved amethyst stick pin depicting a greyhound.”

[decoolz]

Need y’all to know about this book. Haven’t read it, just flipped though but it’s going to be fun.

[the-real-azor]

Painting: Rolla and Portia (1805) by Jacques Laurent Agasse (1767–1849)

[Image ID: two Grey hound dogs stand outside, one in front of the other. The dog in front is black while the other is gray. Both dogs appear slender and muscular. The ground is brown like dirt, and in the background is a wooden fence and a building. End Image ID]

[nobrashfestivity]

Joe Brainard, Whippet on a Green Couch (series), 1973

[bloodhaven99]

Washington and one of his many dogs

[artistsanimals]

Title: Hound Coursing a Stag Artist: George Stubbs Origin: England Date: c. 1762 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 39 3/8 x 49 ½ inches Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art Description: “The preeminent painter of animals, George Stubbs elevated what had been the mundane recording of the sports and amusements of the English aristocracy and country gentry to a new artistic and expressive level. The subject of this canvas derives from the grand seventeenth-century hunt paintings of Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders, and prefigures the more emotional themes explored in the nineteenth century by Sir Edwin Landseer. The image itself is horrific: the dog, after a long and exhausting pursuit, has finally succeeded in attaching himself to the stag; the beast, eyes bulging in terror, flings his stately antlers toward his pursuer. Yet what in the nineteenth century would become a dark and moralistic drama is here played out with balletic elegance and complete detachment, the principals placed against a panoramic landscape bathed in a gentle, blond light. Man seems far distant, and something more cosmic and eternal than mere sport is afoot. Joseph J. Rishel, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 181.”

[grayghostofthenorth]

Artist Johanne Mangi “Drifter” (Oil on Panel)

[thetghguy]

Denzil and Libby.

[antiqueanimals]

Lord Lurgan's Greyhound, Master M'Grath. Samuel John Carter (1835-1892)

[antiqueanimals]

Paul de Vos (1591/92-1678)

[the-real-azor]

https://www.facebook.com/vonSteubenandAzor/ Page on FB dedicated to trying to get a statue of Steuben and Azor in Steubenville, OH

[nordleuchten]

Allow me, sir, to congratulate you on being so near General Washington. This great man has no enemies but those of his own country, and yet every noble and sensitive soul must love the excellent qualities of his heart. I think I know him as well as anyone, and that is precisely the idea I have of him. His honesty, his candor, his sensitivity, his virtue in the full sense of the word are above all praise. It is not for me to judge his military abilities, but as far as my feeble judgment can discern, his opinion in the council always seemed to me to be the best, though his modesty sometimes kept him from sustaining it, and his predictions have always been fulfilled. In all sincerity, it has been a pleasure for me to give you some idea of the character of my friend, because some people would have tried perhaps to deceive you in this matter.

The Marquis de La Fayette in a letter to the Baron von Steuben, March 12, 1778.

It is a well-known fact that La Fayette greatly admired George Washington and he was not somebody who kept his opinions to himself. His letters to Washington were sometimes overly enthusiastic, but he also praised Washington greatly in front of others.

[juuls]

How A Gay Prussian Who Spoke No English Became A Hero Of The American Revolution

If there was ever an outfit in need of an emotional lift, it was the Continental Army in the Valley Forge winter of 1778. Enter the fabulous

I read this quite a few months ago but it popped up again in my aggregate daily history email today and I think this is SO important.

Also, this Dude was such a Dude that I’m pretty sure he created the concept of being so weird that he’s cool. He arrived in a fully decked out sleigh for one and that’s just the start. The yelling of random Prussian swear words is wonderful too. And his sartorial style and boy toys (well, men) acting as his secretaries! o m g. And there’s so much more!!!

The fabulous Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, my friends. *genuflects* Self-described Baron Von Steuben because he’s just that cool.

Yay Cool Gay History!!!!!!

[the-reynolds-pamphlet]

me, at baron von steuben's pantless flaming shots party: so... no breeches??

[amphibious-thing]

I think when people think of queer erasure they mostly think of historical documents (or parts of historical documents) being permanently destroyed, and certainly thats something that has happened. However queer erasure, especially modern queer erasure, often looks like historians simply leaving evidence out or presenting it in a misleading way, rather than permanently destroying it.

It’s Gregory Massey quoting the opening line to Hamilton’s April 1779 letter to Laurens as “I wish, my Dear Laurens … to convince you that I love you,” when it reads in full “Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you.” Conveniently he leaves out “by action rather than words”.

It’s Paul Lockhart presenting a unverifiable story of Steuben owning a picture of a women and the large amount of evidence that Steuben was romantically attracted to and involved with men, as equally strong evidence. He presents the story of the picture practically in full, yet skirts over the evidence of Steuben’s attraction to and relationships with men.

It’s Thomas Fleming writing a book on the Valley Forge encampment that doesn’t mention what it was like for queer people even though there is surviving information on the topic.

It’s Amanda Foreman referring to Georgiana Cavendish and Elizabeth Foster as “ferociously heterosexual” even after acknowledging their romantic relationship, completely ignoring the existence of bisexuality.

It’s numerous historians ignoring the evidence that d’Eon was trans in favour of conspiracy theories.

[bannedgirl]

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was just 18th century queer eye for the American army