Rare Book: Baron von Steuben's "Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States, Part I"

The Continental Army encamped near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania was in danger of disintegrating during the winter of 1778. British forces occupied Philadelphia, twenty miles to the southeast. Many Continental Army soldiers lacked pants, shoes, and blankets, and sufficient food. The army’s inability to transport its meager supplies from far-flung depots caused the 12,000 soldiers at Valley Forge to suffer greatly.

Shortly after Baron von Steuben’s arrival at the Valley Forge encampment on February 24, 1778, he spent time observing its layout, defenses, the conditions of the Continental Army troops, and how the soldiers drilled. In a series of blunt reports. Von Steuben noted how the camp defenses could be improved and provided recommendations how the army leaders could improve the speed and efficiency how they maneuvered their soldiers.

General Washington appreciated the candor in the reports and discussed the baron’s recommendations frequently over dinner. Officers in the Prussian army came up through the ranks having served as enlisted men. This appreciation of the soldiers’ conditions and needs, as well as understanding the foundational skills needed to defeat a European army on the battlefield, enabled Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben to formulate a training plan for the Continental Army. His training notes guided a model company who then trained their peers, transforming a disheartened force into a disciplined combat-effective force in less than ninety days. The Continental Army, many of which were new recruits untested in battle, flawlessly incorporated the new drills in their maneuvers and advance at the Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778. Brigadier General Sir William Erskine, commander of the British light infantry at the battle of Monmouth, described the action, “I call it a handsome flogging. We have not received such a one in America.”

Please join us Wednesday, April 14 at 12:00 p.m. Central for a Rare Book webinar as Museum & Library staff discuss and show our first edition copy of Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States, Part I, written by Baron von Steuben, and illustrated by Pierre Charles L’Enfant, engineer, architect, and future nation’s new capital. The manual formalized U.S. Army training and was in use from 1779 to the War of 1812. We will highlight aspects of this first training manual that are still in use by the U.S. military today.