The Drillmaster of Valley Forge, Paul Lockhart
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge, Paul Lockhart
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The Drillmaster of Valley Forge
The Baron De Steuben and the Making of the American Army

Author: Paul Lockhart

Narrator: Norman Dietz

Unabridged: 12 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/03/2008


Synopsis

The image of the Baron de Steuben training Washington's ragged, demoralized troops in the snow at Valley Forge is part of the iconography of our Revolutionary heritage, but most history fans know little more about this fascinating figure.

In the first book on Steuben since 1937, Paul Lockhart, an expert on European military history, finally explains the significance of Steuben's military experience in Europe. Steeped in the traditions of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great—the most ruthlessly effective in Europe—he taught the soldiers of the Continental Army how to fight like Europeans. His guiding hand shaped the army that triumphed over the British at Monmouth, Stony Point, and Yorktown. And his influence did not end with the Revolution. Steuben was instrumental in creating West Point and in writing the "Blue Book"—the first official regulations of the American army. His principles have guided the American armed forces to this day.

Steuben's life is also a classic immigrant story. A failure in midlife, he uprooted himself from his native Europe to seek one last chance at glory and fame in the New World. In America he managed to reinvent himself—making his background quite a bit more glamorous than it really was—but redeeming himself by his exceptional service and becoming, in a sense, the man he claimed to be.

About Paul Lockhart

Paul Lockhart is a professor of history specializing in early modern Europe, Scandinavian history, and military history at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He has also taught at the Institut for Historie, Kultur og Samfundsbeskrivelse, Odense Universitet, in Denmark and at the State University of New York/Potsdam College. He is the author of Denmark, 1513–1660: The Rise and Decline of a Renaissance Monarchy and Frederik II and the Protestant Cause: Denmark's Role in the Wars of Religion, 1559–1596. Paul earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Purdue University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tom on July 23, 2013

Very engaging, a fast read. I like that the author doesn't paint Steuben with overly broad strokes and admits some things about the Baron were embellishments and resume-padding, but not all of them, and not always was the Baron solely to blame. The author's very fair in that regard. A surprisingly c......more

Goodreads review by Todd on February 09, 2025

Among the mythos of the American Revolution, Valley Forge is one of the best revered, as a testament to American courage, fortitude, and dedication to “the Cause” of Liberty. Aside from severe privation in frigid winter conditions, lacking adequate food and warm clothing, leaving bloody footprints f......more

Goodreads review by Steve on April 07, 2022

When I was a kid I learned about Baron Friederich Von Steuben from a middle school class documentary on the Revolutionary War wherein he received brief mention. I heard of him perhaps once or twice more. He was Prussian, profane, taught the Continental Troops the basics of drill and was possibly gay......more

Goodreads review by Bill on January 17, 2020

This is an excellent biography of a critical figure in the battle for independence. Baron de Steuben is mostly remembered for the three months he spent raising the morale and training of the patriots in the terrible winter at Valley Forge. But he also wrote "The Blue Book," a manual of army regulati......more