On this episode of Our American Stories, in the winter of 1777, the Continental Army arrived at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, hungry, freezing, and unsure whether the Revolution would survive. Disease spread through the camp, morale collapsed, and even George Washington wondered how much longer his soldiers could endure. Then came a Prussian officer named Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a man who spoke no English but had a gift for turning chaos into order.

His relentless drills, translated by aides as he barked commands across the snow, reshaped a band of volunteers into a real army. By the spring thaw, Washington's men had become disciplined, unified soldiers ready to fight the British on equal terms. Historians Bob Drury and Tom Clavin share the story this turning point in the American Revolution, when perseverance and training at Valley Forge helped lay the foundation for American independence.

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