“He offered something that the rag-tag Continental Army desperately needed: a uniform system of drill that would enable American soldiers to meet Britain’s redcoats on equal terms.”

By John Danielski

He was the saviour of America’s Continental Army but he looked nothing like a messiah. He was 47 years old, had stubby legs on a portly frame, and his full face displayed incipient jowls. His eyes were lively, his movements energetic, his manner cheerful. His first language was German, he was comfortable with French, but spoke not a word of English. His Prussian uniform was immaculately tailored and, despite the mud and snow of Valley Forge, would be unmarked by stains or blemishes.

Adventurers from Europe were keen to fight in America’s war for independence.Puffed with pride and harbouring outsized feelings of entitlement, they continually badgered George Washington, demanding that he make them commanders in the rebel army. But the future first president sensed that this man from Prussia was somehow different: He sought no commission and would accept no pay. Instead, he offered something that the rag-tag Continental Army desperately needed: a uniform system of drill that would enable American soldiers to meet Britain’s redcoats on equal terms.

His name was Friedrich von Steuben and he was a battle-hardened veteran who had fought alongside Frederick the Great. He was the product of the minor Junker nobility, which furnished Prussia with some of its best officers. But unlike many combat soldiers, he also had experience performing staff work and organizing the paper minutiae of war.

At the time, Prussia’s army was the fourth largest in Europe and widely considered to be the best, largely because of its sterling performance in the Seven Years War. Since its population was relatively small compared with its powerful military, many famously referred to Prussia as “an army with a country.”

Von Steuben had been unjustly dropped from that army because of a trifling protocol offence against a junior member of the royal household, one that had nothing to do with his considerable professional abilities.

In the years since his dismissal, he had served several German principalities with some measure success.But he was a warrior at heart and desperately needed a war to fight. He travelled to France seeking a commission there, but King Louis’ generals thought his talents could be better used aiding the insurrection brewing in America. They referred him to the American commissioners in France: Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin. While he found the cause of rebellion attractive, the prospect of battle excited him much more.

Von Steuben padded his resume at the behest of French sponsors who eventually paid his way to America since he was chronically in debt. His sponsors also encouraged him to represent himself as a lieutenant-general, though in truth his rank had been that of captain.

When von Steuben finally joined Washington’s army at Valley Forge in March, 1778, the troops were in sorry shape. The winter had been difficult and the supply system had broken down. Many of the men were in rags and decent shoes were in short supply; bloodied footprints marked the way to the parade ground. Some had been reduced to eating belt leather for extra nourishment. The army was still a force to contend with, but desertion, disease and exposure had dwindled its ranks.Those that remained were proud and committed to the cause, but lacked the precision, skill and training that would bring success on the battlefield.

At least five separate drill books were in use among units in the Continental Army at the time. The most popular were Thomas Syme’s Manual Exercise As Ordered by His Majesty in 1764, Humphrey Bland’s 1728 Treatise of Military Discipline and Timothy Pickering’s An Easy Plan for a Militia, published in1775. It was up to each commanding officer to choose which book, if any, for their men follow. While these manuals shared many similarities, the discrepancies between them often made it hard for different regiments to work in together in the heat of battle. Each outfit literally marched to its own drum.

And while traditional manuals were thorough, they were far too complicated for Washington’s volunteers.Many featured draconian European-style discipline totally at odds with America’s citizen soldiers. After all, Continental troops typically elected their own company officers, many of whom were often military amateurs, much like the rank-and-file they commanded.

Von Steuben intuitively grasped this in a way many Europeans serving in the American forces did not. The rebels were fighting for egalitarian ideals and bristled against unquestioned obedience.

“With European soldiers, I say ‘do’ and they do,” von Steuben later wrote. “With American soldiers, I must first tell them why they do and only then do they obey.”

Washington was quickly won over by von Steuben’s enthusiasm and knowledge. The Prussian spent long nights formulating a system that could be tried out on a training company of 100 specially chosen men.

Washington assigned him two trusted aides, Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens. Both spoke excellent French and could translate von Steuben’s commands into English. The duo soon became some of the Prussian’s most devoted followers.

Over the weeks that followed, von Steuben simplified the strict Prussian manual of arms into easily learned practical steps that the American troops could understand. The Continentals had already shown pluck and bravery against long odds; he would give them skill.

Von Steuben proved a colourful drillmaster: a consummate showman who understood his audience exactly. He sputtered with pretended rage when he found fault yet was equally effusive with praise when he encountered excellence. He made inspections a personal affair, closely examining the equipment of every man and asking each if he understood what he was being taught.He made it clear to officers that their job was less about displays of personal battlefield gallantry than methodically seeing to the drill and conduct of their men. This was a far cry from the British army, where such matters were often left to non-commissioned officers. While he wanted lieutenants and captains to keep a certain distance from the men, he also encouraged a kindly paternalism that was unknown in most European regiments.

Two words formed the core of his limited English and he used them with enthusiasm and frequency:“Goddamn.” He thundered the curse when the troops proved inadequate. The men found his outbursts endearing rather than offensive and understood that he was working hard to change them from an armed rabble into real soldiers.

He established a special demonstration company that sent representatives to every unit in the army to drill. By May of 1778, the Continental Army were performing complicated maneuvers at the company, battalion, and brigade levels that would have been unthinkable only a year before.

[pullquote]One of the hardest evolutions for an 18^th century army was shifting from column to battle line and then back again quickly and correctly.[/pullquote]

One of the hardest evolutions for an 18^th century army was shifting from column to battle line and then back again quickly and correctly. Von Steuben incorporated ideas from the French military theorist Comte de Guibert and reduced the number of steps needed to execute the movement by a third, giving the Continentals a speed advantage over their British counterparts when forming up to fight.

His training gave Washington’s army a new-found confidence, one that would soon be put to the test.

In June 1778, the British general Sir Henry Clinton evacuated Philadelphia and began a slow march back to New York. The blazing summer heat sapped the life from his marching redcoats whose columns were further slowed by a heavy baggage train that included numerous civilians.

Washington pursued, looking for a chance to strike the British rearguard and, if possibly, nip it off from the main body and destroy it. If he succeeded, his next step would be to engage Clinton’s entire force. Such an opportunity came at Monmouth Court House, New Jersey on June 28, 1778.

One of Washington’s generals, the French-born Marquis de Lafayette, had initially been assigned to lead the opening attack.But he was replaced at the last minute by the more senior but reluctant Charles Lee. The onetime British officer had no faith that the Continentals could stand up to redcoats open battle and instead placed his faith in a Fabian strategy of wearing the enemy down through guerrilla-style raids.

When he did attack the British rearguard, it was a clumsy and halfhearted effort. Although the Americans fought well, the poor tactics and dithering of their commander soon saw the Continentals in full retreat. And yet, because of von Steuben, that retreat never became a rout. It was orderly and disciplined: the men seemed more confused than scared.

Washington galloped up and demanded an explanation from Lee. His lame excuses sent the normally stoic Washington into a rage that startled the Continental soldiers who witnessed the exchange. He loudly excoriated Lee with a string of stinging expletives, the kindest of which was “damned poltroon.”

As Lee slunk from the battlefield, Washington personally took charge. Although von Steuben had no formal command, accompanying Washington as the army’s Inspector General, once the engagement was underway, he appeared to be everywhere at once, inspiring troops, reforming lines, and doing his utmost to repair Lee’s faulty dispositions. His efforts were met with loud cheers from the men, as he hazarded himself freely and proved that he was as able on the battlefield as he was on the parade ground.

The Americans pitched into the British lines with an uncommon fury. Yet it was no mindless assault; the soldiers were disciplined, focused and well led. The King’s forces threw everything they had against the rebels, but von Steuben’s training shone bright and gave the redcoats a nasty surprise. The Continentals broke the 42^nd Royal Highlanders, famously known as “the Black Watch,” and sent a detachment of Coldstream Guards reeling back in disarray. The punishing heat waylaid almost as many men as bullets as the mercury soared above 100 degrees. The battle finally petered out at nightfall; both sides as exhausted by the humidity as combat.

The Battle of Monmouth was the largest engagement of the war in terms of numbers of troops involved. More than 14,000 Continentals took on an estimated 17,000 British soldiers. Although a stalemate, thanks to Lee’s ineptitude, it still represented a spectacular personal victory for von Steuben’s training. The Americans stood fast against the best of British soldiery and in dozens of regimental encounters, beat the enemy at its own game. The success of von Steuben’s training meant that it would soon become standard for all other American forces in the field.

Von Steuben formalized his ideas in Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States published in June of 1779. Known simply as “the Blue Book” because of its indigo covers, the 150-page work became a must-have for officers into the 19^th century. The ideas it promulgated soon become standard operating procedure for American armies. Among them were strict standards of cleanliness, exact accounting for all equipment and ammunition, and enshrining the notion that officers should always lead from the front. And within in its pages was one overarching theme: What officers and NCO’s did to prepare their men for battle was just as important as what they did in battle.

Paradoxically, von Steuben’s success as a trainer of men denied him the one thing he coveted above all else: a field command. He accompanied General Nathaniel Greene to the Carolinas in 1780 and helped organize the defence of Virginia, but his organizational skills made him more valuable behind the front lines than on them.He was present for the last major engagement of the war, the Battle of Yorktown.

After the war, von Steuben’s fortunes declined. He had many talents, but financial acumen was not among them. He had always lived well beyond his means and had a particular penchant for fine clothing.The post-war Continental Congress proved stingy in reimbursing officers for their expenses and so it was with von Steuben. A frequent investor in various get-rich-quick schemes, the Prussian squandered much of what money he had. Although his wealthy friends were often there to bail him out, he died largely broke in a small cabin in upstate New York in 1794. But before his demise at the age of 64, he managed to pen a tome that would serve as the basis for creation of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. in 1802.

Rumours spread after his death that he was homosexual; the evidence of this is ambiguous at best. He did serve on the staff of a Prussian prince famous for his gay proclivities, but it is more likely von Steuben was chosen for his military abilities; “handsome” was never a word applied to him. Throughout his career, he did surround himself with promising young proteges, but that was common in many armies of the era. Junior officers frequently hitched their careers to rising superiors.In fact, von Steuben was known to enjoy the company of women, most of whom found him charming. It seems safest to say that for all of his easy affability, he was a man with a deeply private core who let few get close to him.

Von Steuben was a fighting soldier at heart, yet is chiefly remembered for his organizational abilities. Though he never held a large field command, it is no exaggeration to say that he more than any other man was the spiritual godfather of today’s United States Army. His Prussian passion for exactitude, coupled with his appreciation of the rough-hewn merits of American citizen soldiers, made him a man uniquely fitted to match the best of the old world with the merits of the new. The U.S. Army may glory in the achievements of a Grant or a Patton, but it was the steady, unglamorous actions of a portly Prussian who made them possible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Danielski is the author of the Tom Pennywhistle series of novels about a Royal Marine officer in the Napoleonic Wars. Book five of the series, Bellerophon’s Champion: Pennywhistle at Trafalgar was published by Penmore Press in May. For more, visit: www.tompennywhistle.com or check him out on Amazon.