Soldiers of Misfortune

 the history of mercenaries
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730-1794)

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was a Prussian officer and as a second lieutenant during the Seven Years' War. Like many other officers he found himself unemployed after the war. He began looking for a government appointment at the courts of different German princes. He searched for positions in the British, French, and Austrian armies to no avail. In 1777, he traveled to France because he heard of the possibilities in the American Revolution. He met Benjamin Franklin but no one could not promise von Steuben rank or pay. Without any alternatives he accepted finanally. His voyage was paid by the French who were secretly supporting the American revolutionaries. Before sending him to America the French promoted him quickly to General (before he was a captain).

In America he couldn't get a contract. So he went on his own to General George Washington at his headquarters in Valley Forge February, 1778. Because there was no military command available Washington appointed von Steuben as the temporary Inspector General. His had to observe the American soldiers, equipment, skills, and living conditions. He developed methods of drills for the entire army. He established a "model company". He worked with the troops directly and delivered the drills in a quick and simple manner.

His "Regulation for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States" better known as the "Blue Book" was used by the US-Army until 1814 and influenced drills and tactics until the Mexican–American War of 1846.

Von Steuben returned in April 1779 to the Continental Army and served for the rest of the war as General Greene's instructor and supply officer and was present in the final campaign at Yorktown. He died in New York on November 28, 1794.