Baron von Steuben recognized very quickly that the Americans did not defer to anyone simply because he had a noble title and wore epaulettes. He knew that the Americans were there because they wanted to be in the Continental Army, not out of fear of punishment. This meant treating them with respect, making them understand the reasons for orders, and leading by example while sharing their hardships. In a letter to a Prussian officer, Steuben explained the Continental Army: "The genius of the nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. You say to your soldiers, 'Do this' and he doeth it; but I am obliged to say 'This is the reason why you ought to do that,' and then he does it."
Within days of his arrival, working through an interpreter, Steuben had model platoons of ten to twelve men drilling under his command. The soldiers respected him because, as Joseph Martin, a private in the Connecticut line, wrote, "He had more sense than our officers who cared but little about us." The results of the training that winter and spring were evident as the Americans fought the British to a standstill on the Monmouth battlefield.
Congress appointed Steuben a Major-General and the first Inspector General of the Continental Army, which was a disappointment to him because it was a desk job. Encouraged by Washington to take the position, Steuben wrote, in 1779, his famous "Blue Book", the official American military manual until the War of 1812. But in 1781, Steuben won a coveted field command. He was the commander of one of the three American Divisions at Yorktown.
After 1783, Steuben spent his time lobbying Congress for funds. With the help of Alexander Hamilton, he secured an annual pension of $2,500 in 1790. Steuben was in need of the money, as he had decided to stay in America after the war, and he bought a 16,000 acre estate in New York. The mortgage on this was due when the pension came through. He died on his place in 1794 where he lived in a two-room log cabin with a lean-to at the rear. He was buried very simply at home.
His memory lives in the Steubenvilles, Steuben Counties, and Steuben parade. His statue stands today in Valley Forge National Park. He was a founding member of the Cincinnati Society. But, he did not live long enough to see a favorite idea become a reality -- the establishment of the Military Academy at West Point.
Present during the dark days at Valley Forge, he took a ragtag army, taught it the basics of soldiering, and saw the fruits of his labor at Yorktown.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.