Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was born on September 17, 1730 in Magdeburg, Prussia. For most of Friedrich’s life as a kid he lived in Russia, but when he was 10, he moved to Germany. Von Steuben was schooled in Breslau by Jesuits. He was born into a military family and became involved involved in war a very young age.

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben had many careers leading up to the Revolutionary War. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben better know as the military engineer, became a Prussian officer at 17 years old. Von Steuben then became a member of an infantry unit and a staff officer in the French and Indian War. Von Steuben did so well that he was promoted from a member of an infantry unit to King …show more content…
He trained large amounts of soldiers at Valley Forge. Friedrich used very unique training methods while he was working for the army. He trained them by being very strict and usually while he was training the men, he yelled and cursed. On occasion, the men he was training would speak a different language than him, so during training sessions he hired a translator. In addition, he developed a new firing system that was not used in any other armies. The foreign armies were not familiar with the new system and this resulted in more victories for the Patriots. The great amount of leadership and experience that Von Steuben possessed really showed when he defeated General Lee and his troops at the Battle of Monmouth. The patriot army forced him to take a sick leave, but he got back in time for the final campaign in Yorktown. At Yorktown he was commander of one of Washington’s three troops. He helped Washington in demobilizing the in 1783 . He also helped in the defense plan of the new …show more content…
He made standards of sanitation and layouts that helped keep the camps he managed in order. The layout outlined set places for the soldiers tents, the toilets. In addition, the standards described that once animals were killed and the meat was cooked the carcass was not to be left to rot in or around camp. Also, his regulations for training and how to use weapons were massively printed in Philadelphia. Friedrich was appointed Inspector General by General George Washington. Once he was appointed he worked in Washington’s headquarters. In the winter of 1778-1779, he made the book “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troop of the United States” this book is also known as “Blue Book”. The book was the basic plan he made at Valley Forge. “These inspections saved the army an estimated 5 to 8 million muskets and saved the nation $600,000 dollars.”

You can argue that Von Steuben was the most influential person in the Revolutionary War. Von Steuben's drill manual more advanced, than any european armies. Let alone any Patriot army. Von Steuben made the American soldiers work on their hygiene. The rules that he enforced helped protect the Patriots from disease. Friedrich trained hundreds of soldiers and educated them on proper war techniques. In return those soldiers taught other brigades the wisdom of Von Steuben. The strategy that Von Steuben used not only affected The Revolutionary War, but wars