Von Steuben Cleans up Valley Forge
Steuben's discipline lowered disease rates. He "insisted on reorganization to establish basic hygiene. He demanded that
kitchens and latrines be put on opposite sides of the camp, with
latrines facing a downhill slope. (Just having latrines was novelty to
the Continental troops who were accustomed to living among their own
filth.)"
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/friedrich-von-steuben-arrives-at-valley-forge)
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/friedrich-von-steuben-arrives-at-valley-forge)
Professor Daniel Crosswell, Colonel Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair in Military History, Columbus State University,
talks about how Steuben's discipline improved sanitation.
talks about how Steuben's discipline improved sanitation.
Steuben also required that dead animals and humans be removed. Before, "when an animal died, it was stripped of its meat and the rest was left to rot where it lay." Steuben had the animal buried far from camp.
(http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/steuben.html)
(http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/steuben.html)
Steuben insisted that "when a soldier dies . . . the straw he lay on is to be burnt, and the bedding well washed and aired before another is permitted to use it."
(Steuben 81)
(Steuben 81)
To ensure tents were clean, Steuben ordered daily inspections. When a tent was pitched, a trench was dug to carry away the rain, preventing muddy conditions.
Despite an even harsher winter in 1778-1779, fewer Americans died. The soldiers "knew how to properly set up a winter camp. . . ." Steuben's work gave the Americans a better chance of survival on and off the battlefield.
(http://www.nps.gov/morr/faqs.htm)
(http://www.nps.gov/morr/faqs.htm)
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