Baron von Steuben
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben turned the Continental Army into a disciplined force at Valley Forge. Born in Magdeburg in 1730, the son of a Prussian engineer officer, he entered the army at seventeen, served through the Seven Years' War, was wounded twice, and reached the general staff under Frederick the Great — an unusual training in the most professional army in Europe. He was discharged in 1763, served a small German court as chamberlain, and by 1777 was unemployed and in debt, and probably under threat of investigation for homosexuality at Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane recruited him in Paris and, understanding what Congress would find impressive, presented him as a lieutenant general who had served under Frederick — an inflation of a captaincy that he went along with. He reached Valley Forge in February 1778 to find an army that had no uniform drill, kept filthy camps, and had lost thousands of muskets through simple carelessness. He spoke no English. He wrote the drill in German, had it translated into French and then into English, and taught a model company of a hundred men himself, swearing at them in three languages and having an aide translate the profanity — which the troops found delightful. Those men then taught the rest. He standardised the manual of arms, the march, the bayonet charge and the layout of camps and latrines, and wrote the Blue Book that governed the army for thirty years. He served as inspector general and at Yorktown, was given land in New York, and died in 1794.
- Lived: 1730 CE – 1794 CE
- Nationality: Prussian
- Roles: general, military_trainer
