The Man Who Saved the American Revolution. Who was Baron Von Steuben?
Baron Von Steuben training the Continental Army at Valley Forge
Picture this: It's the winter of 1777-78 and you are a member of the Continental army. You lose practically every battle and the British just captured your capital city. You never have enough food or clothes and you haven’t been paid in months. You're forced to spend the freezing winter in your army camp where disease and the cold begin whittling down your army. Things look pretty hopeless. Maybe you should just go home and forget about this whole revolution business. But then suddenly, this strange man starts cursing at you in German and begins drilling you. He cleans up your camp’s sanitation so your camp doesn’t smell as much like human waste. Pretty soon your ragtag bunch of farmers looks like a competent fighting force. Morale improves and as the weather begins to warm, you begin to think there is still hope. With this training and hope you will go on to defeat the most powerful military on Earth and successfully create your own country. But what if that funny German man never showed up? What if he didn’t and the Revolution fails. Let us ponder these things as we tell the story of that funny German man. Who was Baron Von Steuben?
Background Start of the American Revolution
The British settled the Thirteen Colonies at various points through the 17th century. The British generally ruled with a soft touch because they often had bigger fish to fry. Under this period of salutary neglect, the colonists were left mostly to themselves, and the British remained lightly involved. But Great Britain wasn’t the only one who had claims to North America. France claimed the vast territories west of the Appalachian Mountains and Canada. Historic animosity between the two nations along with a desire for territorial expansion prompted skirmishes to break out in North America. These events were part of the French and Indian war as it is known in the US and the global Seven Years that encompassed most of the planet. The British won the French and Indian War and conquered all of France’s North American territory but did so at a hefty price. Great Britain teetered on the verge of bankruptcy and sought ways to increase cash flows. This marked the end of Salutary Neglect, as the British now had a vested interest in their North American holdings. The British realized their colonists didn’t pay the same percentage of taxes as those who lived in Great Britain. In need of cash, Great Britain decided it was time for the colonists to pay their fair share. The British attempted to pass several new taxes such as the Stamp Tax Townshend Acts and the Tea Tax. To the colonists, this seemed borderline-tyrannical as they had no say in these taxes. These taxes marked the point where popular support for an uprising against Britain rose. The British stationed many troops in the colonies to keep an eye on things, but this only inflamed tensions. Things reached a boiling point when Great Britain closed Boston Harbor, the hotbed of rebellious sentiment. Soon after the shot heard ‘round the world followed and the Thirteen Colonists met in Philadelphia and declared their independence.
Background British Army
During the late 18th century, it was no question that Great Britain had the most powerful military on earth. With unquestioned naval supremacy, along with well-supplied battle-hardened troops, beating the British would be a formidable task. The British would outnumber and outgun the continental army in almost every battle. Also, King George III hired around 30,000 Germany Mercenaries known as Hessians, to boost his army. The British also relied upon the assistance of loyalists, colonists who remained faithful to the British Crown, to help guide them through unfamiliar turf. Overall, if you were a gambling person, the British were heavy favorites and there were no signs of that changing.
Background Continental Army
The Continental Army was almost the exact opposite of the British. The continental army never saw battle before, had no navy, and was always undersupplied. Furthermore, the army received little training and was often disorganized. Soldiers in the army received pay in theory, but the continental government often failed to do so for months. The Continental Army consisted of mainly militiamen and farmers armed with their muskets and a few pieces of artillery. The Continental army often went long periods without uniforms, shoes, and sometimes food. While guided by a firm belief in their cause, when it came to the battlefield, they were severely outmatched.
Background The Philadelphia Campaign
The British army led by General Howe wanted to cripple the nations’ economic centers and attempt to intimidate the colonists back into line. After making quick work of New York City, Howe turned his attention southwards to Philadelphia, the infant nation's capital. The British and Continental armies met twice in battles for the control of Philadelphia, the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Despite giving it the college try, Washington’s outnumbered and outgunned Continental army lost both battles and were forced to retreat. This left the city of Philadelphia undefined and the British captured it in late 1777. George Washington ordered his army to make winter camp at a place called Valley Forge, outside of Philadelphia.
Life at Valley Forge
Life at Valley Forge was miserable, to say the least. First, the winter of 1777-78 was brutally cold and snowstorms were a common occurrence. Next morale amongst the Continental army was dangerously low. The army kept losing and some began to question whether the revolution was worth fighting for. Then, the army was terribly supplied. Food was inconsistently supplied and the army sometimes went days without food. The Army had no official uniform so soldiers wore whatever they had. Many soldiers wore the same clothes since they started fighting! Also, the majority of the army lacked shoes, and it was said that you could follow the Continental Army by looking for a trail of bloody footprints. Also, due to poor sanitation, many diseases swept through the Army camp further adding to the misery Finally, life at Valley Forge was tedious. Armies rarely fought in the winter and the American Revolution was no exception. At Valley Forge, the Army essentially waited around for warm weather or let Mother nature finish the job. Around 2,000 of the 12,000 soldiers stationed at Valley Forge would perish in the brutal winter.
Von Steuben’s Background
Baron Von Steuben was born in the then-Prussian city of Magdeburg and his father worked as an engineer for the Prussian army. This gave a young Von Steuben opportunities to see how a military functioned and Von Steuben saw his first action as a volunteer for his father at the age of 14 in the war of the Austrian Succession. Von Steuben served in the Seven Years War and later served in Russia. In 1763, Von Steuben was discharged from the Prussian Army for unknown reasons, but more than likely it was dishonorable. Later Von Steuben served as an administrative official in a small Germany Principality. In 1771, he traveled to France seeking to borrow some cash. He returned to Germany in 1775 empty-handed. Although the exact circumstances are unknown, life was not going particularly well for Von Steuben. However, Von Steuben’s fortunes were about to change. After seeking mercenary work in foreign armies, he returned to France because he heard through the grapevine that Benjamin Franklin, the thirteen colonies’ then chief diplomat, was there. Von Steuben was referred to George Washington by the French Minister of War and Washington jumped at the chance to have someone from the world-renowned Prussian army at his disposal. Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge on Feb. 32 1778 and the rest is history.
Von Steuben gets to work
Von Steuben received the arduous task of training and disciplining the ragtag Continental Army into a traditional European-style fighting force. Von Steuben also sought to improve some of the abysmal conditions at Valley Forge. However, a language barrier made communications difficult. Von Steuben spoke German and French while almost everyone in the Continental Army spoke English. Luckily, some of George Washington’s aides spoke French which helped dramatically. Von Steuben would give his orders in French and Washington’s aides translated French into English for the army. Von Steuben began training small segments of the army and then expanding to include more troops. Von Steuben’s chosen method of training was to curse wildly and intimidate the soldiers into understanding. Slowly but surely, more soldiers received training, and progress was made. Despite his unconventional methods, Von Steuben got through to the members of the Continental Army.
Von Steuben’s effect on the Army
It’s truly hard to describe just how vital Von Steuben was for the Continental Army and the American Revolution. Before Von Steuben, the Continental Army, especially the division led by George Washington, lost most of their battles and morale plummeted. The Army was poorly trained and this often undermined many attempts to resist British onslaughts. As the effects of Valley Forges’s terrible conditions set in, the question of continuing the Revolution was one to be seriously considered. It seemed as if the fever dream of a successful overthrow of their British rulers would remain just a dream. But luckily for them, a miracle would come. And that miracle came in the form of an out of work German Military Officer who liked to shout things. Baron Von Steuben transformed the ragtag Continental Army into a well-trained and well-disciplined army capable of giving the British a challenge, Von Steuben taught the army how to use artillery, how to fire in volleys, and how to march in formation. Von Steuben also redesigned the camp’s sanitation setup and outbreaks of diseases were partially mitigated. These changes helped raise dangerously low morale among the Continental Army. Baron Von Steuben’s changes created a sense of unity and optimism among the army. From now on, the Continental Army would be a true threat to the British Army and the winner of the American Revolution didn’t appear as obvious. Von Steuben had changed the tide of the Continental Army and the American Revolution.
End Results
Following the brutal winter at Valley Forge and Von Steuben’s training, the continental Army held their own with the British. The British and Continental armies took turns winning battles with nothing particularly decisive. But remember, the Continental Army had the true motivation for fighting, while the British not so much. Great Britain would like to keep the colonies, but they could always colonize elsewhere, and financially supporting a war 3,000 miles away was an expensive proposition. The British would move to the south of the colonies to try and use the support of loyalists and had some success. However, this planted the seeds of the end of the American Revolution. George Washington moved his army south to try and engage Charles Cornwallis’ British forces. Cornwallis stationed his army with his backs to the Atlantic Ocean on the Yorktown Peninsula because the British could rely on naval support. Until they couldn’t. A French naval fleet arrived and blocked the British path to naval supply and potential retreat. The Continental Army advanced and blocked the British path to a land retreat. Cornwallis backed himself into an inescapable siege. Cornwallis eventually surrendered in what is known as the Siege of Yorktown and ended the American Revolution with an American victory. America became an independent and influential country that shaped history following its inception. This outstanding result would likely not have happened without Baron Von Steuben’s training of the Continental Army. Baron Von Steuben deserves a reputation as the man who saved the American Revolution and altered the course of this planet’s history.
