Barron von Steuben was a Prussian Army officer, born in Magdeburg, Duchy of Magdeburg, Kingdom of Prussia, now known as the capital of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, who volunteered to come to the American Colonies and serve as inspector general for the Continental Army.
Baron von Steuben was the right man at the right place and time.
In 1778, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben designed the first drill regulation for the Continental Army. Published mid-war by an act of Congress in 1779, it codified for the first time the governance of the army, from the basic drill to the specific duties of each officer rank. Known as the “Blue Book,” it synthesized European and British tactical doctrine and shaped the Continental Army into a professional fighting force.
The Blue Book was used by the U.S. Army until 1814 and affected U.S. drills and tactics until the Mexican–American War of 1846.
Baron von Steuben also served as Washington's chief of staff and one of his most trusted advisors. Following the war, he was made a U.S. citizen and granted a large estate in New York, where he remained until his death on November 28, 1794.