How do you create a professional army out of a volunteer militia? How do you fight a war that begins before the creation of your army? How do you fund a professional military without an established sovereign nation? How do you control a professional army before you have a country?
The American Continental Army of the American Revolution was an ever-evolving entity. Beginning as an amalgamation of semi-trained militia units in 1775, the American Army evolved into a professional and apt fighting force to defend the American colonies against the established and experienced British Army.
Creating the Continental Army
Immediately following the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), New England militias mustered to the aid of the Massachusetts militias and minutemen. As the British retreated into Boston, many militias established defensive positions. By the time the delegates of the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, close to 22,000 New England militiamen had rallied to Boston, and an additional 5,000 had moved into defensive positions around New York City.
Militias
A military fighting force usually raised and collected from local civilian populations and utilized to support a regular army, often with limited military training.
Fig. 1 - The painting of Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge. The Continental Army's struggle over the winter of 1777 in Valley Forge may have caused issues such as malnutrition and supply problems. Still, the time at Valley Forge gave Washington and his commanders time to train the army into a continental fighting force.
The Second Continental Congress did not begin with all 55 delegates ready for war. There was a division in the delegation between radical patriots who wanted to raise an army and fight immediately, a moderate group seeking peace but economic separation, and some loyalists who lobbied for a de-escalation of tensions and reaffirmation of allegiance to the King.
After close to a month of debate, the Second Continental Congress voted to establish a military force for the “common defense” of the colonies on June 14, 1775. The resolution created the core of the initial army of the militias already in position around Boston and New York and the creation of ten additional companies. On the next day, June 15, 1775, John Adams nominated George Washington as Commander in Chief of the Army, and the resolution passed unanimously. Just days later, the necessity of the Continental Army would be shown as the Battle of Bunker Hill erupted outside of Boston on June 17, 1775.
Continental Army Leader
As mentioned above, George Washington was unanimously voted as the leader of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. Many delegates felt his military experience from the French and Indian War as a British Officer and his role in the Virginia militia would be vital to the leadership and creation of a continental fighting force.
Washington took over the enormous task of creating an army from only militiamen. In addition, the debate over the use and permanence of the Army continued, even as Washington began to organize his officers, structure, and supply chain for the Army. After years of occupation by a large British military force, many delegates and colonists became wary of a large standing army under the control of a central authority. Because of these differing views and the ever-changing landscape of the war itself, the Continental Army evolved.
Phases of the Continental Army
The table below shows the different phases of the Continental Army until its practical disbandment in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris.
| Phase of Continental Army | Explanation |
| 1775 | The initial army comprised the 22,000 Boston militia and minutemen, the 5,000 militia around New York, and the additional companies created by further New England volunteers as established by the resolution on June 14, 1775. |
| 1776 | Washington immediately began reorganizing the army, changing the command structure, unit structure, and the number of soldiers per unit to turn the original militia and volunteer forces into a more concise organization. The end of enlistment terms also forced changes, as the original soldiers only signed up for one-year enlistments. |
| 1777-1780 | After the escalation of the war following the American victories at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, the British sent reinforcements to the Americas. This prompted the American Congress to request more volunteers to enlist in the Army. The Congress ordered one battalion of soldiers from each colony to support the existing troops. The length of enlistments changed as many learned that a quick end to the war was not a reasonable goal. |
| 1781-1782 | A financial crisis hit the Army of 1781-1782. As Congress did not have the power to tax but could print money, the value of the Continental dollar plummeted as states had financial issues backing the paper currency with their gold. At the same time, many three-year enlistments were expiring, and soldiers began to mutiny when they were not paid appropriately. Washington successfully ended most of the revolts, but Congress decided to end the funding to the army, placing most of the burden on honoring the soldier's pay to the states. |
| 1783 | After the Treaty of Paris and peace with the British, Congress peacefully disbanded most of the Army, and many enlisted men returned to their states. A small core section of the army remained and became the foundation of the modern U.S. Army. |
Enlistment
The act of enrolling or contractually joining a branch of the military.
Funding the Continental Army & Enlistment
Paying soldiers' wages, paying for supplies, uniforms, weapons, ammunition, gunpowder, artillery, and all the means to fight a modern war in the late 1700s became a challenging endeavor for Congress.
Under the Articles of Confederation ratified in 1777, the federal government did not have the power to levy taxes or raise funds for an army. Congress had to ask the states for funds to disperse to the Army for its personnel and supplies.
Did you know? Congress would collect money from the states to reissue the money as Continental currency to conduct trade for weapons and supplies. Rampant inflation became a common occurrence, and the value of that currency would fluctuate. When enlisted men would attempt to convert the coinage to their state's currency, many found the difference far less than they agreed to when they enrolled.
States also had issues upholding their obligations to Congress and their soldiers. Congress expected that the states would provide adequate funding to equip the Army. George Washington found that inflation and logistical issues intensified the funding issues to vendors and suppliers of the army. Though he navigated several mutinies during the war, the problem of paying soldiers would persist after the peace with England and aid in exposing the inherent weaknesses of the government under the Articles of Confederation, especially after the events of Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts.
Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787)
This event involved a rebellion of farmers, mostly former soldiers of the Continental Army, in Massachusetts. After the Army disbanded, the volunteer soldiers returned home, many without the full salary expected by enlisting with the army. Upon their return to their homes in Massachusetts, they discovered that their taxes had been increased for the State to pay off debts. Many farmers could not afford to pay off their debts and had their lands seized and were put in debtors' prisons.
1,200 former soldiers and farmers rebelled and marched toward the capital. After an intense and violent encounter with a raised state militia, the group, led by Daniel Shays, disbanded, but not after sending shockwaves through the American states. The rebellion showed that the government of the Articles of Confederation did not have the authority to intervene. For many, this event marked the end of the Articles of Confederation and exemplified a need for a new form of government.
Enlistment lengths only exacerbated the funding issues. Early enlisted men signed short contracts as the debate over the size and longevity of the Army was still hotly debated in Congress. Once a long conflict came to fruition, Congress allotted extended enlistment periods. This created a cycle of new enlistments entering the Army, enlistments ending, and soldiers re-enlisting under new terms that would plague the Army until 1783.
The Continental Army Soldier
Many officers and higher-ranked leaders in the Army came from the wealthier planters and merchant class in the Americas. The enlisted men were made up of the poorer, working-class members of society. Tenant farmers, yeoman workers, and minorities made up the bulk of the Army infantry. These men were volunteers; even as Congress requested new regiments and battalions from the States, volunteers filled those units.
Most enlisted men were recruited due to the promise of decent wage pay, clothing, food, and health care. As it was up to the states to pay the salary obligations of the soldiers, some states even offered land grants in return for their service.
The Integration of the Continental Army
Due to the need for soldiers and disrupting the wealthy loyalists to England, the Continental Army utilized a policy of racial integration. In exchange for military service, enslaved African Americans were promised freedom in an American victory.
One should note that the British Army used a similar policy to entice enslaved Africans to fight for their cause. Though some soldiers of color were granted freedom, many returned to bondage following the war. The Army would remain segregated until 1948.
Continental Army Ranks
The following tables show the hierarchy of ranks in the Continental Army:
Commander-in-Chief (George Washington) |
General Officers |
Major General | Brigadier General |
Field Officers |
Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Major |
Junior Officers |
Captain | Subaltern |
Non-Commissioned Officers |
Sergeant Major | Sergeant | Corporal |
Continental Army Uniform
As the army became more professional, so did the required uniform. Before 1779, many units and soldiers did not have a standardized uniform as most enlisted from militia groups or volunteered, arriving with the clothes they owned. Supply issues also delayed the creation and distribution of a standard uniform. By 1779, Washington had established orders for a standardized uniform.
Fig. 2 - Infantry: Continental Army, 1779-1783, by Henry Alexander Ogden, IV, depicts uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution.
The uniform consisted of a blue-length coat and white waistcoats and allowed facings to vary in color to identify unit and state. For example, units from Delaware would have red facings lined in white, while soldiers from South Carolina would have blue facings lined in white.
Continental Army Flag
Congress approved the official flag of the Continental Army on June 14, 1777.
Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.1
Fig. 3 - The United States Continental Army flag was used from June 14, 1777, to May 1, 1795.
The Continental Army Summary
Following the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army moved to disband, but not without issue. George Washington proposed a plan to slowly disband the army until a suitable peacetime force could be established; the slow withdrawal of troops would help enforce the orders of the Treaty of Paris, hold the frontier lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, and police the remaining British troops.
However, Washington's plan was initially rejected as many delegates to the congress of the Articles of Confederation were wary of a large standing army during peacetime. Eventually, the delegates agreed to a small permanent fighting force of fewer than 1,000 men; this small group would become the First American Regiment in what would be called The Legion of the United States in 1791 and rebranded as the United States Army in 1796.
Residual issues of soldier salaries, state and national debt, and a collapsing economy following the war would test the Congressional decision to keep such a small force. Incidents such as Shays' Rebellion (1786) would exemplify the need for a military force within the nation and continued conflicts along the frontier with indigenous tribes. Eventually, the need for a more potent fighting force and a stronger central government would lead to the collapse of the Articles of Confederation and the establishment of the U.S. Constitution, in which the nation would fund and support a national Army and Navy.
These fighting forces would be called into action in several conflicts over the next century, whose origins can be traced to the Continental Army, which would take up arms against foreign enemies (the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War) and domestic, as the nation divided itself in the American Civil War in 1861.
The Continental Army - Key takeaways
References
- Saturday, June 14, 1777. In Journals of the Continental Congress. p. 464. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
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