Which Prussian officer trained the Continental Army at the Valley Forge encampment?

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben trained the Continental Army at the Valley Forge encampment.

Von Steuben was a Prussian military officer who arrived in America in 1777 and joined George Washington’s army during the winter encampment at Valley Forge. Washington appointed him inspector general, giving him responsibility for improving the army’s discipline, organization, and battlefield methods.

Steuben began with a 120-man “Model Company” drawn from the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard. These soldiers learned standardized drills and then taught the methods to other units. Steuben emphasized basic formations, weapon handling, marching, camp sanitation, and bayonet use. His training helped create a more consistent army from units that had previously followed different practices.

During the winter of 1778–1779, Steuben prepared Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States. Known as the “Blue Book,” it became the Continental Army’s official training manual and remained influential in the United States Army into the nineteenth century. Steuben’s work at Valley Forge was therefore important both to the war effort and to the development of the early American military.