on Steuben was born in Magdeburg, Germany. He attended Jesuit schools in Breslau, entered the Prussian army's officer corps, and served in the Seven Years War. He then joined Frederick the Great's military staff. Later, he was appointed chamberlain to the Prussian court of Hohenzollern Hechingen. In 1777, Von Steuben went to Paris to meet America's foreign commissioners, Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, and offer them his military services. The Continental Congress, much impressed by Von Steuben's title and his refusal to accept any salary while in service, immediately sent him to George Washington at Valley Forge.

lthough he spoke no English, Von Steuben systematically trained the amateur American troops in military discipline and battle-readiness. This rigorous training saved the troops from complete defeat during the Battle of Monmouth. In 1779, Von Steuben prepared his Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which remained America's official military manual for over three decades.

ater in the war, Von Steuben commanded the Army supply center in Virginia and fought at Yorktown. Afterward, Washington employed him in a variety of duties from the creation of a plan to demobilize the wartime army to the acceptance of Britain's surrendered Canadian forts. Von Steuben helped to found the Society of the Cincinnati, and then resigned his American commission in 1784. After the war, the New York legislature granted Von Steuben an estate. He received a small pension from the United States government, but relied on friends like Alexander Hamilton to settle his mounting debts. Von Steuben died on November 28, 1794.