The Continental Army has been put through…

The Continental Army has been put through a new training program, supervised by Baron von Steuben, introducing the most modern Prussian methods of drilling.

On May 5, 1778, on General Washington's recommendation, Congress appoints Steuben inspector general of the army, with the rank and pay of major general.

Internal administration has been neglected, and no books have been kept either as to supplies, clothing or men.

Steuben has become aware of the "administrative incompetence, graft, war profiteering" that exists.

He enforces the keeping of exact records and strict inspections.

His inspections save the army an estimated loss of five to eight thousand muskets.

Steuben has picked one hundred and twenty men from various regiments, to form an honor guard for General Washington, and has used them to demonstrate military training to the rest of the troops.

These men in turn train other personnel at Regimental and Brigade levels.

Steuben's eccentric personality greatly enhanced his mystique.

In full military dress uniform, he twice a day trains the soldiers who, at this point, are themselves greatly lacking in proper clothing.

As he can only speak and write a small amount of English, Steuben originally writes the drills in the German dialect of Prussian, the military language of Europe at the time.

His secretary, Du Ponceau, then translates the drills from Prussian into French, and a secretary for Washington translates it to English.

They do this every single night so Washington can command his soldiers in the morning.

Colonel Alexander Hamilton and General Nathanael Greene are of great help in assisting Steuben in drafting a training program for the Army.

The Baron's willingness and ability to work with the men, as well as his use of profanity (in several different languages), makes him popular among the soldiers.

It is here he has met his reputed future lover, Captain Benjamin Walker.

Upon meeting Walker for the first time he exclaimed "If I had seen an angel from Heaven I should not have more rejoiced."

Within weeks, Walker was Steuben's aide-de-camp.

Steuben introduced a system of progressive training, beginning with the school of the soldier, with and without arms, and going through the school of the regiment.

This corrects the previous policy of simply assigning personnel to regiments.

Each company commander is made responsible for the training of new men, but actual instruction is done by sergeants specifically selected for being the best obtainable.