WEBVTT - The Drillmaster of Valley Forge 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.600 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:11.040 and Mild from Aaron Mankey listener discretion advised. On the 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:15.720 chilly morning of February twenty fourth, seventeen seventy eight, in 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:18.400 the middle of one of the worst winters of the 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:24.400 American Revolutionary War, a carriage emerged from the Pennsylvanian wilderness 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:28.920 and drove up towards the army's camp. After a long 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:34.680 ride from York, Pennsylvania, Baron Friederic William von Steuben and 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:39.879 his aides de camp finally arrived at Valley Forge. For 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:44.320 our American listeners, that name might ring a bell. Valley 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.960 Forge was the winter camp for the Continental Army during 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:53.520 the thick of the American Revolutionary War, and this particular 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:58.520 winter has gone down in infamy for the horrible conditions 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:03.400 the soldiers faced, But the baron didn't know just yet 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.479 what he had gotten himself into. As the army camp 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:12.119 came into view, the Baron's heart started racing with excitement. 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.759 The noise of the nearly two thousand acre campgrounds grew 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.480 louder as the baron and his men rode in the 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.320 sounds of thousands of soldiers alongside The many women and 0:01:24.480 --> 0:01:28.400 other noncombatants at the camp were so familiar to the baron. 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.760 He had missed the routine and camaraderie of the military 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:38.600 immensely after a decade without military employment of wandering around 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.720 the continent. It felt like he was finally returning home. 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:46.640 He had journeyed all the way from Paris to be here, 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:51.400 a trip that had taken many months of excruciating travel. 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:56.000 With the camp now in sight, he was practically champing 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:58.960 at the bit to get back into the thick of it. 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:04.920 General George Washington rode out to welcome the noble newcomer 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:10.000 and his caravan. After perfunctory pleasantries, the General led the 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:14.400 baron into camp. Their ride together was rather quiet, as 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:18.480 George Washington had much on his mind, but the Baron's 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:24.320 anticipation and excitement buoyed both of their spirits. That excitement 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:29.720 was soon replaced with the sobering realization of what life 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.880 at Valley Forge actually looked like. In a letter written 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:38.840 that winter, Washington described the conditions as quote little less 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.799 than a famine. The supply chains for the camp's food 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:46.919 and clothing had broken down, so there was barely any 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:50.760 clothing to keep people warm. Or food for them to eat. 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.000 For that matter, the little food that did make it 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:58.840 to camp arrived rotted. People were so desperate that they 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:02.920 had taken to boyling whatever leather they could find, just 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:06.919 so they could have something to eat. Soldiers lay around 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:11.799 half dressed on the brink of frostbite, and two thousand 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:17.720 men had already succumbed to hunger, typhoid, or dysentery. One 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:22.519 congressional delegate described the soldiers at Valley Forge as this 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.720 skeleton of an army. Thank god, it wasn't raining or 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:30.760 snowing when the Baron arrived, but there wasn't much else 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:35.520 to redeem the state of the military camp. Upon arriving 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:39.680 at his cabin, the Baron reflected on the work before him. 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.960 He was assigned the monumental task of turning this motley 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:51.280 ragtag army into a trained military machine. Before he let 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:56.360 his worries consume him, he decided that work would begin tomorrow. 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:00.200 He poured himself a glass of whiskey, settled into a 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:04.440 chair by the fire, and relished his return to the military. 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:09.080 While he could, the familiar sounds of shouted commands and 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:14.440 ringing axes lulled him to sleep. Despite all of the 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:18.599 obstacles in his path and the frankly pathetic state of 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:22.719 the army he had just enlisted in, Baron von Steuben 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:27.760 would practically save the Continental Army and be a major 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:32.479 factor in allowing the colonists to win the American Revolution. 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:37.360 He would turn the Continental Army into a disciplined and 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:43.640 formidable fighting force, build morale amongst the revolutionary forces, remedy 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.960 the supply chain issues that held them back, and write 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:52.760 the military handbook that still influences US military guidelines today. 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:58.000 But Baron von Steuben wasn't just a Prussian noble and 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:01.720 a hero of the American Revolution. He was also a 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:05.600 queer man who had immigrated to the United States in 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:11.520 search of opportunity. His story exemplifies the importance of immigrants 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.400 and queer people to the success of the United States, 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:20.520 even if some people prefer to pretend that they didn't exist. 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:24.520 With this episode, I think it's important to provide a 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:30.320 historical reminder that they always did. I'm Dana Schwartz, and 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:37.080 this is Noble Blood. Despite the United States having never 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.720 been a monarchy. Here on Noble Blood, we find ourselves 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:46.320 occasionally telling stories about Americans who became nobles or nobility 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:50.200 who find their way to America. Take for example, our 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.039 episode on the dollar Princesses of the Gilded Age, or 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:58.840 our more recent episode entitled Count and Cavalry Commander about 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:03.400 Casimir Pulaski. As I mentioned in our episode about Pulaski, 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.719 there were many Europeans who rushed to America to make 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:12.000 their fame and fortune during the Revolutionary War, including some 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:16.120 nobility like the Marquis de Lafayette and the subject of 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:21.480 today's episode, Baron von Steuben. In order to explain how 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.560 the Baron came to be one of the most consequential 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:28.440 figures in the Revolutionary War, we must start with the 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:35.239 Baron's life b a or before America. Everything about Baron 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:39.360 von Steuben's birth and upbringing predisposed him to becoming an 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:45.359 influential military general. Baron von Steuben was born Friedrich Wilhelm 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:51.160 Ludolph Gerhardt Augustine von Steuben, or Steuben as we americanize 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:57.040 it most frequently, on September seventeenth, seventeen thirty in Madgeburg 0:06:57.160 --> 0:07:02.120 in the Kingdom of Prussia, formerly somewhat of a small principality, 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.560 maybe even considered a European backwater. By the time the 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:11.240 baron was born, Prussia was a military superpower, and Von 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:15.880 Steuben was poised perfectly to take advantage of that accomplished 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:20.239 Prussian position. Not only did he descend from a long 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.880 line of military men of the Yunker class or the 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:28.440 Prussian class of minor nobility, but the baron's father had 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:32.360 so distinguished himself in the military that Frederick the Great 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:36.560 had agreed to serve as the young Von Steuben's godfather, 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:42.400 hence the baron's first name Friedrich Wilhelm. Logically, as soon 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:46.160 as he could, at about sixteen, von Steuben enlisted in 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:50.680 the army. He served in the military for over fifteen years, 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:54.600 fighting in the Seven Years War, rising through the ranks 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:59.960 and showing immense promise as a military thinker. Suddenly, though, 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:04.320 Von Steuben's promising career was cut short as he was 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:09.480 discharged from the army in seventeen sixty three. Von Steuben 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:12.880 later admitted that he had gotten on the bad side 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:16.000 of one of his comrades, who was notorious for getting 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:20.280 his enemies discharged. Once he earned the rancorps of this 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:25.920 quote implacable enemy, there was no redemption, so forced out 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.679 of the only profession he ever knew. Now without any 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:34.160 sense of purpose, Von Steuben drifted around Europe and kept 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:39.080 himself afloat with a variety of positions, just waiting really 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:43.960 for another opportunity to return to his true passion of 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:48.560 military service. It was actually during this time that he 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:53.199 acquired the title of baron, which is similar to modern knighthood, 0:08:53.520 --> 0:09:00.000 from Princess Friedrika of Wurtemberg in May seventeen seventy seven. 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:04.160 After over a decade of taking whatever positions he could 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:07.240 to get by, the Baron happened to strike up a 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:12.160 conversation with an English cartographer who was an undercover agent 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:17.559 for Benjamin Franklin, the new American ambassador to France. The 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:21.760 Englishman explained the rebellion currently going on in the British 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:26.640 colonies in America and encouraged the Baron to seek enlistment 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:31.000 in the Continental Army. Seeing at last an opportunity to 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:34.200 return to the military and even to achieve a high 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:39.400 ranking position, the Baron set out enthusiastically for Paris to 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:45.160 enlist with the by now famous Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately, for 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:49.040 the Baron, enlisting would not be quite as easy as 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:52.160 he thought it would be. When the Baron arrived in 0:09:52.280 --> 0:09:55.160 Paris to make his case for a commission in the 0:09:55.240 --> 0:10:01.199 Continental Army, Benjamin Franklin refused his request. The baron couldn't 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:05.720 have known, but he was just barely too late. So 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:10.040 many foreign mercenaries had enlisted in the Continental Army that 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:13.840 the colonists were basically getting jealous of their commissions and 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:19.960 growing frustrated. There were simply too many European noblemen trying 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:25.480 to fight in America, thus Franklin's refusal. The baron, however, 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:29.080 didn't know any of that, and was infuriated by the rebuff, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.960 but his spirits were quickly buoyed by news that he 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.079 had been summoned for an open position in the army 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.560 at the court of the Mcgrave of Baden. The Baron 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:44.320 departed for southern Germany promptly, and upon arriving at court, 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:51.120 he discovered, unfortunately, that a vicious rumor preceded him. Whispers 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:55.640 told that while at Prince Joseph's court during his decade 0:10:55.760 --> 0:11:00.679 or so without military employment, the baron had quote take 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:05.439 in familiarities with young boys. In other words, the baron 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:11.920 was rumored to have had same sex sexual interactions. Let 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:15.920 briefly digress from the baron's hectic early life to explain 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:21.480 a bit about sexual mores, particularly as it relates to homosexuality. 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:25.360 During this time period, in the Prussian court of Frederick 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:30.560 the Great, who was openly only interested in men, homosexuality 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:35.240 was acceptable. It was still technically punishable by death, but 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.760 amongst the court and in the military it was permissible 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:43.400 and even sometimes encouraged, as part of the masculine military 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:48.320 machine that Frederick the Great built. Frederick the Great's brother, 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:51.480 Prince Henry, whom the Baron became friends with during his 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:55.280 time in the Prussian military, was also notorious for his 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:59.640 same sex dalliances. So the baron was raised in a 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:04.440 space that encouraged same sex relationships, and I'm sure this 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.800 was much appreciated by the Baron, who, as we will 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:13.240 discuss later, was almost certainly sexually attracted to other men. However, 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.839 in America and most of the rest of Europe, open 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:22.880 homosexuality was very much frowned upon, even in hypermasculine spaces 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:27.160 like the military. Even though those claims against the baron 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:32.400 were never proven, the insidious rumor ruined the baron's chances 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.520 of any sort of job in that army. The baron 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:40.400 was understandably devastated by this blow to his reputation and career, 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.679 just as he was about to get his long sought 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:47.839 after military commission. However, he could not pout for long, 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.880 as he was summoned back to Paris. Promptly, Knowing the 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:57.319 baron's impressive military pedigree, some French allies of the Americans 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:01.160 decided to do whatever necessary to get Baron von Steuben 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:05.880 to America and enlisted in their army. They embellished his 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:10.079 resume a bit who among us, and framed his desire 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:14.400 to enlist purely in support of the new American Republic 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:18.600 and the ideals it stood for. They covered his expenses 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.480 to sail across the Atlantic, and so in fall of 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:27.520 seventeen seventy seven, Baron von Steuben set sail for America. 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.880 Though he had been squarely shot down by Benjamin Franklin 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.640 in his first attempt to enlist, Baron von Steuben was 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:40.360 received quite favorably by the Continental Congress. Once he got there, 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:44.880 they took little convincing and promptly granted von Steuben the 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:48.800 title of captain and directed him to join the army. 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:53.360 In Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He was charged to be of 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:57.839 use in planning encampments, et cetera, and promoting the discipline 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:01.920 of the army, and that directive could not have come 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:08.920 a moment too soon for the Continental Army. Now we're 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:12.640 back where we started the Baron's arrival at Valley Forge 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:17.040 to recap, conditions are dismal, and the Baron was there 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:21.960 to hopefully remedy everything, a tall task. For the first 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.680 three weeks after Baron von Steuben arrived in Valley Forge, 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.040 he set about observing the camp and noting all of 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:33.640 the things that could be improved upon. General Washington gave 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:37.440 him full reign to roam around, observe, and inquire about 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.840 the state of camp. As he rode around on his horse, 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:45.560 with his dog Azure trotting alongside, he might have appeared 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:51.520 comically pompous, but instead he inspired dumbstruck wonder and awe 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:56.360 amongst the soldiers. Quote, never before or since have I 0:14:56.760 --> 0:15:00.760 had such an impression of the ancient faith pep god 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:04.320 of war as when I looked on the Baron, wrote 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:08.920 a sixteen year old private named Ashville Green. He seemed 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:13.760 to me a perfect personification of mars, the trappings of 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:18.800 his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:24.080 and his strikingly marital aspect all seemed to favor the idea. 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:29.640 To the disorganized and underfed American soldiers, Von Steuben appeared 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:34.480 the ideal of a winning, respected military leader, and that's 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.840 exactly the image the Baron hoped to project, even as 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:43.200 his head was filled with worries about the dramatic odds 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:47.560 he was facing in revamping Valley Forge. At the end 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.600 of his three weeks of observation, the baron showered General 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:55.920 Washington with his takeaways and advice. He had noticed that 0:15:56.000 --> 0:16:00.400 the colonists fought with fury, but lacked the discipline and 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.880 skill to be a proper army. If they couldn't maneuver 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:09.120 and change formation or coordinate concentrated volleys, they would continue 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:13.760 to struggle up against the British Redcoats. They were uncomfortable 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:18.080 wielding bayonets, which some men had just fully removed from 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.880 their rusted muskets, and that's of the men who were 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:27.040 still there. Disorganization was so rampant that Von Steuben warned 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.360 Washington that if they had to mobilize the army. Then 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.680 in there he might be commanding a third of the 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:37.480 men he thought he had. Luckily, though, the Baron had 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:42.000 suggestions on how to make the infantry an effective weapon, 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:48.480 how to bolster camp security, how to improve valley forges fortifications, 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:54.479 how they might tighten up supply management. Washington was sufficiently 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.640 impressed with the Baron's assessment and ordered him to start 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:05.080 making changes a meetly as the unofficial Inspector General. During 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.560 those first few weeks, the baron found solace in a 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:13.720 friendship with two young men, John Lawrence and Broadway's favorite 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:19.160 Alexander Hamilton. Von Steuben couldn't speak English, but Lawrence and 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:24.040 Hamilton both spoke French and could therefore act as interpreters 0:17:24.119 --> 0:17:28.679 and aides. Plus, the baron appreciated the young men's eagerness 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.520 at his stories of his time in the Prussian Army. 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:35.959 Hamilton and Lawrence weren't the only friends von Stuben made. 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.920 In fact, he became a fast favorite in camp, not 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:44.480 only by asking regular infantrymen about their experience during the day, 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:48.199 but also by inviting them to parties in his cabin 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:52.720 in the evenings. And they sure did party. The baron 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:59.120 served the men salamanders, cheap whiskey set on fire. Despite 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:03.320 his lesson instellar general assessment of the army, the Baron 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.920 began to develop a deep appreciation for his new American comrades. 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:12.679 He recognized that they were different from soldiers in European armies, 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:17.520 not serfs or subjects, but citizens with a stake in 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:21.240 this upstart country. In a letter to a Prussian friend, 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:25.280 Von Stuben observed, you say to your soldier, do this, 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.199 and he do with it. But I am obliged to 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:31.720 say to the American soldier, this is the reason why 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:33.960 you ought to do that, and then he does it. 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.879 Recognizing this unique feature of American soldiers would be a 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:43.040 boon to the Baron as he undertook reshaping the army. 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:48.119 On the morning of March nineteenth, seventeen seventy eight, the 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:52.600 Baron began implementing his reforms. He started with what he 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:58.280 viewed as the most essential aspect of military success, uniformity, 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:02.959 but teaching the entire army to march in sink before 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:08.280 spring was essentially impossible. Instead of trying to train all 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.080 of the men at Valley Forge at the same time, 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.320 he pulled together a group of one hundred veteran soldiers 0:19:15.680 --> 0:19:19.760 and taught them. Once they mastered the drills, like how 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.680 to walk seventy five steps a minute in formation, these 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:28.000 veterans became drill sergeants and taught their own regiments the 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:32.360 necessary skills. The baron taught his drill sergeants, who then 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:36.159 taught their fellow soldiers how to reload their muskets quickly 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.800 after firing, how to charge with a bayonet, and how 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:44.680 to march in compact columns instead of miles long lines. 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:49.320 Learning about the American ethos, and becoming friendly with the 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:53.000 men in his first few weeks were crucial when training them. 0:19:53.480 --> 0:19:57.200 These new skills weren't easy to learn, especially for men 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:01.920 who were underfed, barely clothed, and trying to learn from 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.480 a man who didn't really speak any English. But the 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:12.000 baron's outward display of confidence and his congeniality fostered goodwill 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:16.160 amongst the soldiers, and even when the baron did get 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:20.480 frustrated because the men weren't executing their new maneuvers properly, 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:25.880 his slightly over the top expressions of profanity made him 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:30.320 that much more relatable and likable, and the barons slight 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:35.720 the atricks impacted more than just the Model Regiment. Every 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:39.119 day a crowd would gather at the parade ground to 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:43.880 watch the Baron's training. These soldiers, who would soon come 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.040 to learn these skills, got a taste of what was 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:50.480 to come, and they began to respect the Baron as well. 0:20:52.840 --> 0:20:56.280 Just one week after the Baron began training the Model 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:01.440 regiment of new drill sergeants, General Washington ordered that everyone 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:06.160 begin learning Baron von Steuben's drills. The drill sergeants returned 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:09.639 to their regiments and led the training of the thousands 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:13.360 of soldiers at Valley Forge. The soldiers took to their 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:18.640 lessons fabulously, and in turn, their success built their confidence 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:23.400 and pride After a series of military losses followed by 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:29.399 the absolutely brutal winter, This intangible growth was just short 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:34.760 of miraculous and absolutely crucial to the Army's success going forward. 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:39.400 Just over a month after von Steuben began his training program, 0:21:39.640 --> 0:21:44.560 multiple pieces of fantastic news came to Valley Forge. First, 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:48.360 France had officially pledged to enter the war on the 0:21:48.400 --> 0:21:52.359 side of the colonies. This new partnership was a huge 0:21:52.480 --> 0:21:57.399 bolster to the Americans. Secondly, General Washington was finally able 0:21:57.480 --> 0:22:01.119 to make Baron von Steuben the official intea General of 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:04.280 the army, but he held on to this second piece 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:08.359 of news for the time being. Washington ordered the Baron 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:13.080 to organize a demonstration of the army's newly acquired skills 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:17.760 to celebrate their French allies. In just a few days, 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:22.719 the baron organized seven thousand soldiers to perform an impressive 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:27.480 display of maneuvers, followed by a faux degois, a ceremonial 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:31.680 rifle salute in which each soldier in a line fires 0:22:31.680 --> 0:22:36.399 in sequence. According to the Baron's aid John Lorens, the 0:22:36.480 --> 0:22:41.640 plan as formed by Baron von Stuben, succeeded in every particular. 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:47.240 It was a resounding success and demonstrated to everyone there 0:22:47.359 --> 0:22:50.959 that day just how far they had come thanks to 0:22:51.000 --> 0:22:56.280 the Baron's efforts during these celebrations. After that morning's demonstration, 0:22:56.960 --> 0:23:01.160 Washington revealed his secrets and announced there that the Baron 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:05.800 was officially the Inspector General. This title put the baron 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:09.760 at the rank of major general and entitled him to 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:15.040 a significant stipend and pension. This moment was everything the 0:23:15.080 --> 0:23:18.240 baron had worked for over the entirety of his career. 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:21.600 It hadn't been easy, and it hadn't come the way 0:23:21.640 --> 0:23:25.800 he expected. But now the Baron had achieved the highest 0:23:25.920 --> 0:23:29.879 rank one could hold beside general of an entire army, 0:23:30.400 --> 0:23:34.280 and more than that, he was the recipient of massive 0:23:34.400 --> 0:23:38.080 praise and accolades for the way he had turned an 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:43.439 army around, or at least hopefully so. The Continental Army 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:46.879 may have been able to now march in unison, but 0:23:46.960 --> 0:23:51.520 only time would tell they could actually win battles because 0:23:51.560 --> 0:23:56.160 of it. Luckily for the Baron, it didn't take long 0:23:56.240 --> 0:23:59.600 for his hard work as drill master of Valley Forge 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:04.520 to sh dividends. Just two weeks after the impressive celebration, 0:24:04.760 --> 0:24:09.200 Von Stuben orchestrated the Marquis de Lafayette led an expedition 0:24:09.680 --> 0:24:13.800 that was almost captured by the British. Their narrow escape 0:24:13.840 --> 0:24:18.080 was only possible because of the regiment's newfound maneuver abilities 0:24:18.520 --> 0:24:24.240 taught by von Steuben. Despite the near humiliation of that expedition, 0:24:24.720 --> 0:24:28.600 the Baron and General Washington saw their escape as an 0:24:28.600 --> 0:24:32.600 indication that there was actually hope for the Continental Army now. 0:24:32.920 --> 0:24:37.080 Later that summer, in June seventeen seventy eight, the Continental 0:24:37.200 --> 0:24:41.600 Army showed immense fortitude and discipline at the Battle of Monmouth. 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:45.280 With their victory in that battle, the Baron was officially 0:24:45.440 --> 0:24:52.160 vindicated as a superior military organizer as the official Inspector. General. 0:24:52.520 --> 0:24:55.959 Von Steuben would serve for the remaining five years of 0:24:56.000 --> 0:25:01.080 the Revolutionary War. During this time, he created import infrastructure 0:25:01.160 --> 0:25:05.560 for what would become the American military. During the winter 0:25:05.720 --> 0:25:09.399 of seventeen seventy eight to seventeen seventy nine, the first 0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:13.919 winter after his successful training program at Valley Forge, the 0:25:13.960 --> 0:25:18.240 Baron wrote Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the 0:25:18.280 --> 0:25:22.560 Troops of the United States, commonly known as the Blue Book. 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:26.120 The Blue Book outlined the training program which he had 0:25:26.119 --> 0:25:30.120 developed in Valley Forge that first winter. In a very 0:25:30.280 --> 0:25:34.560 forward thinking moment, every night at Valley Forge, the Baron 0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:39.360 had written down all of the drills, exercises, and regulations 0:25:39.600 --> 0:25:43.159 that he would teach the next day. He then used 0:25:43.240 --> 0:25:46.480 these notes a year later to construct the Blue Book. 0:25:47.000 --> 0:25:49.639 This book would go on to be the basis for 0:25:49.760 --> 0:25:54.640 American Army operations and discipline until the War of eighteen twelve, 0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:57.960 and portions of the Blue Book are still used in 0:25:58.040 --> 0:26:03.160 the Army's manual today, Creating the first American military Handbook 0:26:03.520 --> 0:26:07.520 and turning around the American War for Independence talk about 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:11.840 a pretty big impact, and indeed thinks in large part 0:26:12.080 --> 0:26:17.200 to the Continental Army's new discipline and skills, the Revolutionary 0:26:17.240 --> 0:26:22.200 War would turn in the colonists favor. After acting as 0:26:22.320 --> 0:26:26.000 one of the three commanding generals at the last battle 0:26:26.040 --> 0:26:29.239 of the war, the Battle of Yorktown, and after the 0:26:29.280 --> 0:26:34.040 Colonists had officially won the war, von Steuben was honorably 0:26:34.200 --> 0:26:38.240 discharged from the army. Very much a bolster to the 0:26:38.280 --> 0:26:43.280 Prussian's ego, few failed to recognize the Baron's contributions to 0:26:43.359 --> 0:26:48.159 the new nation's success. The same Washington, who received the 0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:52.120 baron with little fanfare back in seventeen seventy eight, would 0:26:52.160 --> 0:26:56.359 address his last letter as commander of the Continental Army 0:26:56.680 --> 0:26:59.960 to the Baron to commend him for changing the court 0:27:00.320 --> 0:27:04.920 of the war. Quote. Although I have taken frequent opportunities, 0:27:05.200 --> 0:27:09.760 both in public and private, of acknowledging your zeal, attention, 0:27:09.960 --> 0:27:13.879 and abilities in performing the duties of your office, yet 0:27:14.000 --> 0:27:17.520 I wish to make use of this last moment of 0:27:17.560 --> 0:27:22.159 my public life to signify in the strongest terms my 0:27:22.520 --> 0:27:26.479 entire approbation of your conduct, and to express my sense 0:27:26.600 --> 0:27:30.760 of the obligations the public is under to you for 0:27:30.880 --> 0:27:37.160 your faithful and meritorious services. After the baron's discharge from 0:27:37.160 --> 0:27:41.360 the military, he settled in Manhattan and later in upstate 0:27:41.440 --> 0:27:46.240 New York. Now we've been relatively quiet so far on 0:27:46.320 --> 0:27:50.359 the baron's sexuality, but his life after the war offers 0:27:50.440 --> 0:27:53.800 us a pretty good glimpse into that aspect of his life. 0:27:54.160 --> 0:27:57.800 The baron was never married and instead lived with a 0:27:57.920 --> 0:28:04.480 variety of male companions. These companions weren't just good friends 0:28:04.600 --> 0:28:08.840 or roommates of the barons. They were almost certainly also 0:28:09.000 --> 0:28:13.360 engaged in some sort of sexual or romantic relationship with him. 0:28:14.000 --> 0:28:17.960 The vast majority of American history scholars would agree that 0:28:18.080 --> 0:28:21.840 von Steuben was gay, although it's important to remember that 0:28:21.840 --> 0:28:24.680 that is a more modern term and not one that 0:28:24.720 --> 0:28:28.679 he would have identified with, and their consensus is founded 0:28:28.760 --> 0:28:33.439 upon letters between the baron and his various companions that 0:28:33.640 --> 0:28:38.520 reveal the nature of those relationships. The two most important 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:43.600 companions in the baron's life were Benjamin Walker and William North. 0:28:44.080 --> 0:28:47.000 He met both of these much younger men during his 0:28:47.120 --> 0:28:50.560 first winter in the Continental Army, and they would go 0:28:50.640 --> 0:28:54.000 on to be his aides to camp during the Revolutionary War, 0:28:54.920 --> 0:28:57.880 the two young men each developed with the Baron a 0:28:58.200 --> 0:29:03.840 romantic mentorship, As historian William E. Benneman describes it, a 0:29:04.040 --> 0:29:09.040 quote close affectionate relationship between two men with a substantial 0:29:09.160 --> 0:29:13.360 age gap, though sometimes between men of similar age but 0:29:13.480 --> 0:29:19.880 of differing socioeconomic status. There wasn't necessarily a sexual component 0:29:20.000 --> 0:29:24.960 of a romantic mentorship, but there certainly could be. For example, 0:29:25.000 --> 0:29:28.960 the Baron likely did not have a sexual relationship with Walker, 0:29:29.360 --> 0:29:34.440 but according to Beneman, likely did with North. This relationship 0:29:34.520 --> 0:29:38.600 is just one example of the types of homosexual relationships 0:29:38.840 --> 0:29:43.480 that occurred during this era. Another type developed between Walker 0:29:43.600 --> 0:29:49.760 and North, a romantic friendship aka a close affectionate relationship 0:29:49.960 --> 0:29:55.000 between two men who were social equals. Oftentimes, but not always, 0:29:55.080 --> 0:30:00.360 romantic friendships did involve a sexual element. Historians believe it 0:30:00.440 --> 0:30:05.600 is very likely that Walker and North's relationship did involve 0:30:05.760 --> 0:30:10.600 sexual intimacy. You might be wondering was it common knowledge 0:30:10.720 --> 0:30:14.640