[Cronos]

Why DID von Steuben help us out??

[Cannoneer No. 4]

At the age of 33, in 1763, Steuben was discharged as a captain from the army, for reasons that are only speculative. The following year he received his "Baron" title when he became chamberlain at the Petty Court of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. He was the only courtier to accompany his incognito prince to France in 1771, hoping to borrow money. Failing to find funds, they returned to Germany in 1775, deeply in debt. Looking for work to reverse his fortunes, von Steuben tried employment in several foreign armies including Austria, Baden and France. He discovered that Benjmin Franklin was in Paris and that possibly, he could find work with the Continental Army in America.

[SunkenCiv]

Dunno. I'd heard of this before, but hadn't given it a second thought. :') Looks like he was quite handy to have around; wrote the book on army discipline used for 30 years in the US. The British employed Hessian mercenaries here and there, and the barracks in Germany where they billeted was later (in the 20th century) used for US troops for NATO. :')

George W. Bush will win reelection by a margin of at least ten per cent.