The Drillmaster of Valley Forge by Paul Lockhart
The Baron De Steuben and the Making of the American Army: A Review
Nov 14, 2008
The American Army in its infancy during the American Revolution had never yet seen the kind of despair that hung over the winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. There would be worse weather ahead and larger shortages of food in the winter of 1780 but there would never again be such a deficit in spirit. While there was good news to the north with the surrender of General “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne’s 7000 man British army at Saratoga, the capitol of the brand new country, Philadelphia was lost. European “Wanna Be” war heroes had deluged the Continental Congress, proclaiming themselves the Savior of the Continental Army. Confidence was at an all time low as starvation and disease wiped out almost three quarters of the beleaguered troops.
Hero or Fraud
Into this fray stepped one more unemployed military man from Prussia who offered his own expertise to the American cause. Would he be any different than the string of mostly pompous marionettes who had made their way across the Atlantic in search of martial glory? The answer is “No” and also a resounding “Yes!” He definitely fit the description of being unemployed and with the help of Silas Deane, Ben Franklin and Pierre de Beaumarchais he was “promoted” from a Captain in the Prussian Army to “Lt. General” who attended the King of Prussia for twenty years in all his campaigns”. He was also "given the honor" to have served as Quartermaster General and as Aide de Camp to the King himself.
The Truth About Baron Von Steuben
Down through the years, this exaggeration of his credentials has cause more than one respected historian to doubt all of his claims. Lockhart points out that several of his accomplishments were actually legitimate. For instance, the title of Baron was accurate. It was roughly translated from the title Freiherr which was bestowed on him, along with the Order of Fidelity, by the Margrave of Baden-Durlach in Wilbad in June 1769. It is also interesting to learn that Steuben, himself, from almost the beginning of his Valley Forge contribution, began to play down his accomplishments to John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton. Apparently he began to realize that he might have painted too bright a picture and didn't want that to hinder his work.
Accomplishments
However, after just a few weeks the body of work that he rendered at Valley Forge as a miracle working drill master of troops, cemented his reputation with the entire Continental Army who were mostly willing to forgive any excessive salesmanship. This rag tag group, either recovering from military hospital stays or newly minted recruits, was transformed into an army that rivaled the European style experts from Britain in just three months! Lockhart also reveals Baron Steuben’s vital input after a little known battle in New Jersey called the Baylor Massacre. This striking contribution to American military history is a mostly forgotten work entitled “The Blue Book”, written in 1778, which “would survive as the official regulations of the U.S. Army through the War of 1812”. He also contributed greatly to the documented philosophical ideas that were the birth if the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Baron even added his military leadership to the defense of Virginia toward the end of the war in face of intense political opposition. His finest achievement there was the saving of Virginia’s militia in another little known conflict that the author describes for us called the Battle of Blandford.
The Author
Paul Lockhart is the Director of the Graduate Program of History at Wright State University. He did his undergraduate work at SUNY Potsdam and earned his Masters and Ph. D. from Purdue University.
Source
The Drillmaster at Valley Forge: The Baron De Steuben and the Making of the American Army by Paul Lockhart, 2008, HarperCollins
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