On February 23, 1778, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben (1730–1794) rode into George Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge.
To imagine this scene provokes a certain grim comedy of contrasts. Decked out in full military regalia, this newcomer to America with his parade-ground voice and imposing presence immediately commanded the attention of the soldiers around him. Years later, then 16-year-old private Ashbel Green recalled the baron as “the perfect personification of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea.”
