One of the most important (yet, strangely, least known) men of the
Revolutionary War was
General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. Von Steuben was born in Magdeburg, Germany on September 17, 1730, and he started his distiguished military career at an early age, when he entered the Prussian army and served with distinction in the
Seven Years War. He later became the aide of
Frederick the Great of
Prussia, who was recognized as the
military genius of his time. During his time with the Prussian Army, Von Steuben became
an expert in the drilling and training of troops.
He'd met
Benjamin Franklin in Europe, who, along with
Count St. Germain (French Minister of War), convinced him to come to the US and teach the
Patriot army how to fight. Von Steuben sailed for
America and arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1778, to aid the young nation in its fight for
indpendence. He offered his services to
General Washington without rank or pay, arriving at
Valley Forge in the late winter of 1777-78.
Over the course of the next few months, he trained the unorganized band of Americans to
bear arms, march, form
columns and to execute
maneuvers with
precision. For some reason, "shooting from behind trees" is a popular image of how the war was fought; it seems to suggest that stuffy
British using
old fashioned tactics were being shown a new way of
war by the inexperienced but
innovative Americans. Sadly, this just isn't true. While early battles of the
Revolutionary War were fought this way, von Steuben essentially taught the Americans to fight
European style, and only after this did the
Patriots begin to succeed.
As "Drill Instructor" of the
Continental Army, von Steuben wrote "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States". Although this
manual has been modified, it still remains in the basic guide for the discipline and drill of the
Army.
Von Steuben was also known for his
generosity, sometimes spending his entire income to purchase
clothing and
rations for his men. After his
discharge from the army on March 24, 1784, he became an American
citizen and was granted 16,000 acres of land in the
Mohawk country by the state of
New York, plus a
pension of $2,500 a year by
Congress. Upon his
death on November 28, 1794, his lands were left to William North and Benjamin Walker, his former aides.
Sources:
http://denbeste.nu/entries/00001468.shtml
http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/steuben.html
http://www.cyberessays.com/History/150.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Bunker/7475/drillmanual.htm