STORIES OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIERS

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William Augustus, Baron de Steuben

" William Augustus, Baron de Steuben commenced his noble life in Prussia in 1733. He became perfect master of military tactics at an early age in the Prussian Army. He was an Aid to Frederic the great with the rank of Lieutenant General and was in constant service in his native land until he embarked for America. He landed in New Hampshire in 1777 and was soon after appointed Inspector General of the American Army with the rank of Major General. With untiring industry and great energy he rapidly introduced an effective system of discipline, tactics and evolutions, that essentially improved the whole Army and rendered it much more efficient in the field. He participated in the battle of Monmouth and had charge of the entrenchments at the siege of Yorktown. At the conclusion of peace his valuable services were partially rewarded in the grant of a farm by the state of New Jersey and 16,000 acres of land in Oneida County New York granted by that state. He died on his farm near New York city November 28th 1794."

Source: The Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution by L. Carroll Judson