In the first book on Steuben since 1937, Paul Lockhart, an expert in European Military history, finally explains the significance of Steuben's military experience in Europe. Steeped in the traditions of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great the most ruthlessly effective in Europe he taught the soldiers of the Continental Army how to fight like Europeans.
His guiding hand shaped the army that triumphed over the British at Monmouth, Stony Point, and Yorktown. And his influence did not end with the Revolution. Steuben was instrumental in creating West Point, and in writing the "Blue Book" the first official regulations of the American army. His principles have guided the American armed forces to this day.
Steuben's life is also a classic immigrant story. A failure in midlife, he uprooted himself from his native Europe to seek one last chance at glory and fame in the New World. In America he managed to reinvent himself making his background quite a bit more glamorous than was the reality but redeeming himself by his exceptional service and becoming, in a sense, the man he claimed to be.
Background Information
The United States Military Academy has been established at West Point on the Hudson River to train officers for the U.S. Army for more than two centuries. The Yorktown campaign allowed the French and American forces to combat the British on land and sea and eventually force the surrender of General Cornwallis in 1781. The Continental Army was a poorly paid, under-equipped force that fought the British and gained American independence during the Revolution. George Washington quartered his Continental Army troops at Valley Forge in miserable conditions during the winter of 1777-1778. The Continental Army was disbanded after the American Revolution and, after a short interval, the United States Army was created to be the country's principal defense on land.