Prussian military officer named Baron von Steuben, who had been recruited in Paris by Benjamin Franklin. Baron von Steuben, who had been a staff
officer in
problems was a lack of standardized training. While the Continental Army had shown plenty of bravery in the previous year’s battles,
it had lost crucial engagements
because it was incapable of the close coordination in combat that characterized professional armies like Great Britain’s. The major problem with the American troops was that soldiers from different states often trained according to different sets of military drills. Some soldiers were trained using British drills, while others were trained using Prus- sian or French drills. As a result, the army had difficulty fighting as a cohesive unit. This, however, was all to change at Valley Forge, and the man who would change it was a
Frederick the Great’s army, arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778 and was shocked by the condition in which he found the American troops. In writing about the Conti- nental Army later he said: “The men were literally naked. . . . I saw officers at a grand parade at Valley Forge mounting guard in a sort of dressing gown made of an old blanket or woolen bed cover.” Nonetheless, he was amazed by the Americans’ spirit, later saying, “[N]o European army could have been kept together under such dreadful deprivations.” Washington made von Steuben acting inspector general
of the army and allowed him to standardize the number of troops within units as well as the weapons each unit used.
Baron von Steuben F PHOTO: ©BETTMANN/CORBIS
OR HIS ROLE IN training the troops at Valley Forge, Fried- rich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben, bet- ter known simply as Baron von Steuben, has become a legendary part of the story of the Revolutionary War in America. Some historians have described von Steuben as an adventurer and a conman who exaggerated his military achievements, changed his name from Steube to von Steuben, lied about having estates in Ger- many, and undeservingly used the title “baron.” Other historians, however, insist that he was, in fact, a noble- man whose family had close ties to the Prussian royal family. Whatever the truth about Baron von Steuben, his value to Washington’s army at Valley Forge can hardly be overestimated.
during his ten years of ser- vice, that von Steuben as- sumed or was given (it is unclear which) the title of “baron.” The circumstances under which he left this post are equally unclear. Some sources simply say that when his royal employer went bankrupt, von Steuben found himself without em- ployment and left. Others say that he and the prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen fled the country as debtors. In any case, von Steuben
Baron von Steuben, shown here mounted on horseback, arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778 and taught the American troops camped there one common set of military drills.
According to recent scholarship, it seems likely that von Steuben, who was born on September 17, 1730, was, in fact, a member of Prussia’s lesser nobility. At the age of sixteen he followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the Prussian Army, and during the Seven Years’ War, which lasted from 1756–1763, he rose to the rank of captain and served on Frederick the Great’s general staff.
After the war, when Frederick the Great decided to downsize his army, von Steuben found himself without a job and went to work as an official in the royal court of the prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. It was there,
56
once again found himself without a source of income. He tried to restart his mili- tary career by moving to Paris, France, and offered his services to the armies of various European nations, but no offers of employment were forthcoming until the French minister of war, who had become a friend of von Steuben’s, introduced him to
Benjamin Franklin. Some historians believe that it was the French minister of war who told Franklin that von Steuben had been a lieutenant general in the Prussian Army. Others insist that von Steuben himself misrepre- sented his former rank, or at the very least, failed to correct the minister’s error. Either way, the rest is, as they say, history. Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778, where he implemented a training program for the troops and helped turn the Continental Army into an effective fighting force that would go on to fight the British to a draw in the next major battle the two armies fought. —JS
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