Again, the German connection here in the USA and in Africa, and indeed world wide,,,,,,,is there, constantly, but hidden............Spain's role in the white Illuminati is also hidden, and so is Portugal's.

Baron (Freiherr) Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben[edit]

General Von Steuben, 1930 Issue

Main article: Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Von Steuben was a onetime member of the elite General Staff of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. No longer in the Prussian Army, indeed without employment of any kind, von Steuben offered his military skills to the patriot cause "without pay or rank,"^[21] until he could prove himself.

Edwin Austin Abbey painting of Baron Steuben drilling American troops at Valley Forge in 1778.

When he arrived at Valley Forge from France on February 23, 1778, he had with himself a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Washington saw great promise in the Prussian and almost immediately assigned him the duties of Acting Inspector General with the task of developing and carrying out an effective training program. He was a drill instructor who was full of energy. Von Steuben taught the soldiers how to aim muskets accurately, charge with bayonets, and maneuver together in compact ranks.^[22]

Numerous obstacles threatened success. No standard American training manuals existed, and von Steuben himself spoke little English (He trained the soldiers using German andFrench, along with some broken English. Secretary and translator Pierre Duponceau translated his orders into English).

Undaunted, he drafted his own manual in French. His aides often worked late into the night, translating his work into English, which was titled: Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States It was more colloquially known as "The Blue Book". The translations were, in turn, copied and passed to the individual regiments and companies that carried out the prescribed drill (or military parade) the following day. "The Blue Book" remained the official American military training guide until the War of 1812.^[23]

Von Steuben shocked many American officers by breaking tradition to work directly with the men. One officer wrote of von Steuben's "peculiar grace" as he took "under his direction a squad of men in the capacity of drill sergeant." From dawn to dusk his familiar voice was heard in camp above the sounds of marching men and shouted commands. Soon companies, regiments, and then brigades moved smartly from line to column, column to line, loaded muskets with precision, and drove imaginary redcoats from the field by skillful charges with the bayonet.

When the Continental Army paraded on May 6, 1778, to celebrate the French alliance with America, von Steuben received the honor of organizing the day's activities. On that day the Grand Parade became a showplace for the united American army. Cannons boomed in salute. Thousands of muskets fired the ceremonial "feu de joie," a running fire that passed up and down the double ranks of infantrymen. Cheers echoed across the fields. The good drilling order and imposing appearance that the troops presented during the Alliance Day ceremonies demonstrated their remarkable progress in improving their abilities as a unified, fighting force capable of standing up to the British Army.

Washington, with heavy aid from von Steuben, had made a professional, disciplined, unified, and efficient army out of the Continental troops.^[16] Von Steuben himself claimed that his "enterprise succeeded better than he had expected." With their French allies, the Americans could now proceed into the battlefield with hopes of winning the war, which would rage on for many years.^[24]