These two warriors were among the Founding Fathers of the American military. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben of Prussia, a veteran of European warfare, came to America to join the Patriot cause, becoming Inspector General and completely revamping Continental drilling and training techniques during the winter encampment at Valley Forge.
Not only were his contributions a tremendous morale booster for the Army and the Americans fought the British to a draw at Monmouth soon after Valley Forge, von Steuben’s methods became the foundation of U.S. military discipline. Samuel Nicholas of Pennsylvania was the first commissioned officer of the U.S. Continental Marines, is considered the U.S. Marine Corps first commandant and commanded the first Marine amphibious landing in American history. Von Steuben was among other foreign-born Patriots — including the Marquis de Lafayette, Casimir Pulaski, Johann de Kalb and Tadeusz Kosciuszko — and Nicholas was among a handful of successful American warriors — including Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, Daniel Morgan and John Paul Jones — who all ultimately led the Patriots to victory and America to her independence.
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
• Seven Year’s War veteran
• Continental Inspector General
• Wrote "Regulations of for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States"
• Division commander in Southern Army
• Veteran of Monmouth, Yorktown
• Von Steuben Day is celebrated in September in the United States, and three naval vessels, Steuben Field at Hamilton College and Steuben County in Indiana and New York are named in his honor. Statues of von Steuben stand at Valley Forge, at Monmouth Battlefield State Park and in Washington, D.C.
Samuel Nicholas
• First commissioned officer of U.S. Continental Marines
• First commandant of U.S. Marine Corps
• Commanded first Marine amphibious landing in U.S. history
• Veteran of Nassau, Trenton and Princeton
• Naval Muster Master
• Three U.S. Naval ships have been named in his honor
FORGOTTEN FOUNDING FATHERS TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Washington Bracket
1. George Mason 68%
- Caesar Rodney 32%
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4. John Witherspoon 64%
- Casimir Pulaski 36%
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- Daniel Morgan 38%
6. Frederick Muhlenberg 62%
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2. William Penn 80%
- William Blount 20%
Jefferson Bracket
1. Nathanael Greene 60%
- Robert R. Livingston 40%
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- William Paterson 42%
5. Edmund Randolph 58%
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3. John Carroll 67%
- Henry Muhlenberg 33%
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2. Richard Henry Lee 70%
- John Trumbull 30%
Madison Bracket
1. Roger Williams 77%
- David Rittenhouse 23%
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4. Isaac Shelby 52%
- Joseph Warren 48%
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3. Henry Knox 50%
- George Wythe 50%
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2. Roger Sherman 75%
- George Clinton 25%
Franklin Bracket
1. John Jay 89%
- Pierre Charles L’Enfant 11%
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- James Otis 47%
5. John Dickinson 53%
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3. John Paul Jones 73%
- Abraham Baldwin 27%
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- Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben
- Samuel Nicholas
FFFs and match-ups are determined by my interpretation of who I believe were the 32 greatest FFFs. Personal politics, favoritism and reader response was NOT a factor in selection or seeding. As for the tournament itself: each match-up will be conducted every 24 hours with a synopsis written by yours truly and readers can determine using the poll function who the winner should be for that match-up; there is no #1 overall seed; FFFs retain their seeds throughout; the winner of the Washington bracket will face the winner of the Jefferson bracket, and the winner of the Madison bracket will face the winner of the Franklin bracket; after having the first tie, I've decided the higher seed will win ties. I am not voting nor will I pick sides in discussion. I wish I could somehow do a more rigid time duration period for each round but there’s no guarantee I’ll be on a computer or awake at that time so I’m gonna say polling lasts until I post the next match-up, or roughly 24 hours later. Readers may choose whichever FFF contestant they wish, but the point of the tournament is to select the greatest Forgotten Founding Father — the most influential, most important, most impactful, who contributed the most to the Revolution and/or seeds of American liberty. Have fun!