Baron von Steuben

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Baron von Steuben, known as Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben in America, and as Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand, was born in Magdeburg fortress in 1730. The author states that, in February 1778, Baron von Steuben reached York, Pennsylvania, volunteered his services free to the Americans, and teamed up with Alexander Hamilton and Nathaniel Greene to develop an army training program, which remained the basis for many similar training programs for many the years to come. The paper relates that von Steuben's method of training included simplified drills, which were repeated numerous times until the soldier became quite proficient, and officers who demonstrated a mutual respect and love in dealings with their men.

From the Paper:

"In order to understand the extent of the achievement of Baron von Steuben, the condition and the working of the soldiers during a war or battle in the eighteenth century must be understood. Warfare in those days was a general free-for-all wherein the emphasis was on firing as quickly as possible, and at the closest ranges possible. It was, in fact, a mass fire combat, where the soldier on one side would find it of utmost importance to fire before the soldier on the opposite side could; he would always try to get the first shot across, before the other could. The rules and regulations for the soldiers were dealt primarily with drill, and firing arms. The sole emphasis was on the conduction of drills for the soldiers whereby they would become more and more proficient at handling the arms, and it would finally become nothing that would take up any sort of effort of concentration; the process of loading and firing a firearm would become totally automatic."

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