As the nation was celebrating the nation's birth, Steuben County residents celebrated the dedication of a monument to the man for whom the county is named, Baron von Steuben, a Prussian general who served along side Gen. George Washington. Steuben is credited with turning the Continental Army into a formidable fighting force that turned the tide of the revolutionary war to the side of the colonists. Steuben County was formed in 1837 by an act of Congress. The new monument, placed in the Steuben County Courthouse lawn, was created by renowned Hoosier artist Lou Ann Lanagan Kjosen, who was raised in Angola and now lives in Indianapolis. The project was the brainchild of Steuben County Commissioner Ron Smith.