Baron Von Steuben: Father of the American Infantry

Baron Von Steuben: Father of the American Infantry. . , Early Training , Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard August von Steuben is perhaps best known in this country for turning a motley assortment of untrained American colonists into an effective fighting force capable of defeating the powerful British army on 1783. Born in Magdeburg, Prussia, in 1730, Steuben began his military career by enlisting in the Prussian army at age 16. By 1760, Frederick the Great chose Steuben for his general staff. Discharged in 1763 at the end of the European Seven Years’ War, Steuben held various appointments in Prussia’s principalities before volunteering his military talents to the Continental Army and the American Revolution., Creating a Professional Army , In the winter of 1777-1778, Steuben reported to General Washington at Valley Forge where he found a demoralized army without supplies and near starvation. Under Steuben’s direction, using a modified Prussian training exercise, the Continental recruits became disciplined, professional soldiers who grew to appreciate his genuine concern for their welfare. Impressed with Steuben’s accomplishments, Washington created the position of Army Inspector General and appointed Steuben to this new responsibility with the rank of Major General. On October 19, 1781, having been awarded his own field command, Steuben was one of three division commanders at Yorktown when British General Lord Cornwallis offered to surrender.