Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben was born on 17 September 1730 in Magdeburg, Prussia. He grew up in a noble and military family and, true to form, joined the army as a soldier at age 16. During the Seven Years War of 1756-1763, he attained the rank of captain in the Prussian army, which was well-known for being one of the most well-disciplined armies in the world. In fact, he served with the general staff of Frederick II the Great, perhaps the most army-dedicated ruler of Prussia ever.

Following the war, Steuben retired from the Prussian army and became a chamberlain in the court of the prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Here he remained until 1777, when it was rumored that he was forced to leave the court on account of "unsavoury conduct."

In 1777, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, who were in France at the time, heard of Steuben’s availability. They believed that he could strengthen America’s chances in the Revolutionary War, and thus wrote a letter presenting Steuben to George Washington. In the letter, they claimed that Steuben was "fired with zeal for our cause" and that he was a Lieutenant General under the king of Prussia. It is difficult to tell whether or not the first statement was true; the second certainly was not. But fired with zeal or not, Steuben arrived in New Hampshire on December 1, 1777. Almost immediately upon his arrival, he departed for Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where the Continental Army was wintering.

His experience with the American troops at first seems to have been one of annoyance: on their side because he could not speak English, and on his side because of the lack of discipline. He did not bother to remedy the first problem, but the second he set about rectifying immediately. Throughout 1778 he was engaged in developing drill maneuvers for the army, and began to write a drill manual as well, adapting the procedures from those he had learned in the Prussian army. This manual, called the "Regulation for Order and Discipline, etc", became the standard drill book and was used by the American army until 1812.

In May of 1778, Washington appointed him the inspector general of the army, and gave him the rank of major general. Although he would have liked to participate more actively in the war, there were still some strained feelings due to his inability in English, so he satisfied himself with developing a disciplined army away from the front.

In 1780, he was finally given a field command and was present at the siege of Yorktown, after which the British finally admitted defeat. Following the war, he was granted some money and land in Pennsylvania by the Continental Congress. However, due to his extreme generosity in inviting friends to share meals with him, among other things, this did not last long, and he was soon in debt again. Finally, in 1790, Congress granted him a yearly pension of $2500 and another tract of land near Remsen, New York. Here he lived, on a farm, until his death in November 1794.

Despite his eccentricities, rumored sexual preferences, and lavish lifestyle, Baron von Steuben certainly made a great contribution to America winning the Revolutionary War. Without him, the American troops would have been no match for the well-trained British soldiers. So, Headley rightly describes him, though not for the battles he fought, as having conferred "the real benefit" of discipline and order in the army.

Today, the Steuben Parade in New York celebrates not only the contributions of one of the country's first noted German-Americans, but also the cultural connection of Germany and America throughout America's history.

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