Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was born in Prussia on September 17, 1730. A baron and former Prussian military officer, he came to the United States as a volunteer in 1777. In 1778 he became the Inspector General of the Continental Army and trained the army in proper formations and military tactics while they wintered at Valley Forge. He participated in the war's Southern Campaign from 1780 to 1781, and it is likely that John Edwards misremembered the year he met von Steuben in his pension application. Von Steuben died in Oneida County, New York on November 28, 1794.