As Americans watch their military might, in every one of its branches, be purposely eroded year after year for the past seven years, it is natural to become reflective and contemplate when we were truly the greatest military force in the world.
How, one wonders, did we become that way?
It started, as did everything for the United States of America, in the latter half of the 18th century in the original 13 colonies. Quite a few of the residents of these colonies wanted to be free of the yoke of British rule, but to make this happen it had become clear that we had to fight a war to achieve this end, and to fight this war we needed an army. We had the men, we had the General, we had the organization to outfit our army, and we certainly had the will – but our army did not have the training, nor the right person to provide this training. So our brilliant leaders set out to remedy this situation.
George Washington asked Benjamin Franklin, who was at the time stationed in Paris to help procure money, uniforms, and everything else, for that matter, from the French king and his court, to find someone who could train the rather ragtag bunch who constituted the American military. Franklin, who could never resist a challenge, came up with a Prussian Baron named Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben, who had been described to Franklin as “a brilliant Prussian military genius,” who had had a “string of (military) successes across Germanic Europe.” The Baron rather surprisingly also turned out to be available for this colonial gig.
There was only one problem – his Lordship was on the verge of being arrested both in Prussia and France. The charge? – having manifested his “affections for members of his own sex.” These allegations were thought to be proven by von Steuben’s close ties to Frederick the Great, the ruler of Prussia at the time, and his brother, Prince Henry, who were both “widely rumored to be homosexual.”
Franklin decided that von Steuben’s expertise was much more important to the colonial enterprise than his sexuality, so he recommended that he be taken on as the trainer for the American army. This also needed to be done as soon as possible, as the Baron was about to be arrested by French authorities. Thus by September, 1777, von Steuben was on his way to the colonies, and arrived in Valley Forge in February, 1778, to meet General George Washington and to begin training the American troops.
He, at this time, did not speak a word of English. Despite this obvious communications’ difficulty (he initially trained the troops by speaking in French to two American officers {Alexander Hamilton and Nathaniel Greene} who translated for him into English). By late 1778, von Steuben had become so proficient, and so thoroughly American, that he wrote and had published a brochure entitled “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States,” also known as “The Blue Book.” This became “a fundamental guide for the Continental Army and remained in active use through the War of 1812;” it would also be published in over 70 editions.
Von Steuben’s method of training was to begin with a “model company,” in the American army’s case, a group of 100 chosen men who were trained and then “successively worked outward into each brigade.” He trained the soldiers while he was in full military dress uniform, “swearing and yelling at them up and down in German and French,” later assigning a French speaking military aide to translate the curses into English for the soldiers. Von Steuben introduced a system of progressive training, “beginning with the school of the soldier, with and without arms, and going through the school of the regiment.”
Warfare in the 18th century was a relatively simple matter, once the “battle was joined,” as “combat was at close range, massed-fire melee, where rapidity of firing was of primary importance.” Speed of firing could only be achieved by “drilling men in the handling of their firearms until the motions of loading and firing were mechanical.”
Von Steuben’s new firing regulations were much simpler than those used by every other army, and “they speeded up considerably,” for the American troops. The results of his training of the Continental army became clear in the battles of Barren Hill and then at Monmouth, in May, 1778 and June, 1778, respectively. Following these events, Washington recommended to the Continental Congress that von Steuben be appointed as Inspector General, which the Congress approved.
Though widely regarded as “aloof,” and “pompous, cold and theatrical,” von Steuben was well respected by his American peers for his military skill and abilities. He was also known for his profligacy and extravagant spending, especially for uniforms, which were often “emblazoned with epaulettes and medals of his own design.”
Nonetheless, von Steuben’s ability to create a great military force out of American farmers and merchants was so successful that not only was the faith Washington and Franklin had in him totally justified, but the American military he trained earned worldwide accolades for defeating the British military, the most formidable fighting force in the world at that time. General Washington, in particular, thought so highly of Baron von Steuben that he made his last official act as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army to write a letter to the Baron in December of 1783, saying:
“My dear Baron:
Altho’ I have taken frequent opportunities, both in public and private, of acknowledging your great zeal, attention and abilities in performing the duties of your office; yet I wish to make use of this last moment of my public life, to signifie (sic) in the strongest terms my entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense of the obligations the public is under to you, and for your faithful and meritorious services.
I beg you will be convinced, my dear sir, that I should rejoice if it could ever be in my power to serve you more essentially than by expressions of regard and affection, but in the meantime, I am persuaded you will not be displeased with this farewell token of my sincere friendship and esteem for you.
This is the last letter I shall every write while I continue in the service of my country; the hour of my resignation is fixed at 12 this day, after which I shall become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomack (sic), where I shall be glad to embrace you, and to testify the great esteem and consideration with which I am, etc.”
It should be noted that not only did von Steuben create a significant military force, he also advocated for the creation of military academies, for a standing army, and for the creation of veteran organizations. He also established a standard of “sanitation and camp layouts” that would remain the standard for a century and a half.
Baron von Steuben, who came to quite love his adopted homeland, became an American citizen in March, 1784, and eventually established residency in New York. He died a bachelor in 1794, leaving his New York property (16,000 acres at the time) to his former aides, William North and Benjamin Walker.
In part due to the great legacy of this formidable character, our military eventually developed into the greatest fighting force on earth. Were we able to reinstill Baron von Steuben’s strength and determination in those who command the American military in 2016, we might be able to recapture the fighting spirit von Steuben bequeathed to us.
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Susan Smith brings an international perspective to her writing by having lived primarily in western Europe, mainly in Paris, France, and the U.S., primarily in Washington, D.C. She authored a weekly column for Human Events on politics with historical aspects.. She also served as the Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children, Family, Drugs and Alcoholism, and Special Assistant to the first Ambassador of Afghanistan following the initial fall of the Taliban. Ms. Smith is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University and Georgetown University, as well as the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, France, where she obtained her French language certification. Ms. Smith now makes her home in McLean, Va.