13. The disparate units became an army at Valley Forge
During the winter of 1778-79 the Continental Army in name became an army in standing through the intercession of Baron Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer of questionable past sent by Benjamin Franklin to Washington’s staff. Von Steuben wrote a new manual of arms, several steps shorter than that of the British which had theretofore been practiced by the Americans. He then presented it to a temporarily created unit of non-commissioned officers, who in turn presented it to their units. By late winter the Continental Army could load and fire their muskets at a speed which exceeded that of British regulars, and could march and countermarch with military precision.
Von Steuben could speak little English, and he relied on both German and French interpreters to deliver his messages to the troops, often directing his interpreters to swear at the men for him. Von Steuben installed even stricter discipline upon the troops, though he took the unusual step of explaining why it was necessary, and the troops responded with a willingness to learn. The volunteers and militiamen became, for the first time in the Continental Army, soldiers who could understand and follow orders with alacrity. By the time the army was ready to depart Valley Forge in the spring of 1779, von Steuben had created an army which could stand firmly against the British, as it did at the Battle of Monmouth in June, 1779, the last major battle of the northern campaign during the Revolutionary War.