![]() One of his aides, Pierre-Étienne Du Ponceau, recalls a particularly wild party given at Valley Forge. He was a strict drillmaster, but he also socialized with the troops. When von Steuben arrived in camp, he was appalled by the conditions the soldiers had been fighting under, and immediately set to work drilling soldiers with strict Prussian techniques. “He appears to be much of a gentleman,” he wrote when the baron arrived at camp, “and as far as I have had an opportunity of judging, a man of military knowledge, and acquainted with the world.” Neither did George Washington, who knew of the accusations but welcomed von Steuben to his camp and assigned Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens-both of whom were involved in what some historians have dubbed a “romantic friendship”-as his aides. But he didn’t see von Steuben’s private life as relevant to his military qualifications. Franklin likely knew of the rumors and the reason that von Steuben suddenly accepted an offer he’d turned down so recently.
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