Continental Army The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America . Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14 , 1775 , it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in their revolt against the rule of Great Britain . The Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and other troops that remained under control of the individual states . General George Washington was the commander - in - chief of the army throughout the war . Most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the war . The 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form the nucleus of the Legion of the United States in 1792 under General Anthony Wayne . This became the foundation of the United States Army in 1796 . Creation . The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies , and after 1776 , from all 13 states . When the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 , the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army . Previously , each colony had relied upon the militia , made up of part - time citizen - soldiers , for local defense , or the raising of temporary " provincial regiments " during specific crises such as the French and Indian War . As tensions with Great Britain increased in the years leading up to the war , colonists began to reform their militia in preparation for the potential conflict . Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 . Colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed creating a national militia force , but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea . The minimum enlistment age was 16 years of age , or 15 with parental consent . On April 23 , 1775 , the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of a colonial army consisting of 26 company regiments , followed shortly by similar but smaller forces raised by New Hampshire , Rhode Island , and Connecticut . On June 14 , 1775 , the Second Continental Congress decided to proceed with the establishment of a Continental Army for purposes of common defense , adopting the forces already in place outside Boston ( 22 , 000 troops ) and New York ( 5 , 000 ) . It also raised the first ten companies of Continental troops on a one - year enlistment , riflemen from Pennsylvania , Maryland , Delaware and Virginia to be used as light infantry , who later became the 1st Continental Regiment in 1776 . On June 15 , the Congress elected George Washington as Commander - in - Chief by unanimous vote . He accepted and served throughout the war without any compensation except for reimbursement of expenses . Four major - generals ( Artemas Ward , Charles Lee , Philip Schuyler , and Israel Putnam ) and eight brigadier - generals ( Seth Pomeroy , Richard Montgomery , David Wooster , William Heath , Joseph Spencer , John Thomas , John Sullivan , and Nathanael Greene ) were appointed in the course of a few days . Pomeroy declined and the position was left unfilled . As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state , the role of the Continental Army was the subject of considerable debate . There was a general aversion to maintaining a standing army among the Americans ; but , on the other hand , the requirements of the war against the British required the discipline and organization of a modern military . As a result , the army went through several distinct phases , characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units . Soldiers in the Continental Army were citizens who had volunteered to serve in the army ( but were paid ) , and at various times during the war , standard enlistment periods lasted from one to three years . Early in the war , the enlistment periods were short , as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army . The army never reached over 17 , 000 men . Turnover was a constant problem , particularly in the winter of 1776 - 77 , and longer enlistments were approved . Broadly speaking , Continental forces consisted of several successive armies , or establishments : In addition to the Continental Army regulars , local militia units , raised and funded by individual colonies / states , participated in battles throughout the war . Sometimes , the militia units operated independently of the Continental Army , but often local militias were called out to support and augment the Continental Army regulars during campaigns . ( The militia troops developed a reputation for being prone to premature retreats , a fact that was integrated into the strategy at the Battle of Cowpens . ) The financial responsibility for providing pay , food , shelter , clothing , arms , and other equipment to specific units was assigned to states as part of the establishment of these units . States differed in how well they lived up these obligations . There were constant funding issues and morale problems as the war continued . This led to the army offering low pay , often rotten food , hard work , cold , heat , poor clothing and shelter , harsh discipline , and a high chance of becoming a casualty . Operations . At the time of the Siege of Boston , the Continental Army at Cambridge , Massachusetts , in June 1775 , is estimated to have numbered from 14 - 16 , 000 men from New England ( though the actual number may have been as low as 11 , 000 because of desertions ) . Until Washington ' s arrival , it remained under the command of Artemas Ward , while John Thomas acted as executive officer and Richard Gridley commanded the artillery corps and was chief engineer . The British force in Boston was increasing by fresh arrivals . It numbered then about 10 , 000 men . Major Generals Howe , Clinton , and Burgoyne , had arrived late in May and joined General Gage in forming and executing plans for dispersing the rebels . Feeling strong with these veteran officers and soldiers around him — and the presence of several ships - of - war under Admiral Graves — the governor issued a proclamation , declaring martial law , branding the entire Continental Army and supporters as " rebels " and " parricides of the Constitution . " Amnesty was offered to those who gave up their allegiance to the Continental Army and Congress in favor of the British authorities , though Samuel Adams and John Hancock were still wanted for high treason . This proclamation only served to strengthen the resolve of the Congress and Army . After the British evacuation of Boston ( prompted by the placement of Continental artillery overlooking the city in March 1776 ) , the Continental Army relocated to New York . For the next five years , the main bodies of the Continental and British armies campaigned against one another in New York , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania . These campaigns included the notable battles of Trenton , Princeton , Brandywine , Germantown , and Morristown , among many others . The Continental Army was racially integrated , a condition the United States Army would not see again until the Korean War . African American slaves were promised freedom in exchange for military service in New England , and made up one fifth of the Northern Continental Army . Throughout its existence , the Army was troubled by poor logistics , inadequate training , short - term enlistments , interstate rivalries , and Congress ' s inability to compel the states to provide food , money or supplies . In the beginning , soldiers enlisted for a year , largely motivated by patriotism ; but as the war dragged on , bounties and other incentives became more commonplace . Two major mutinies late in the war drastically diminished the reliability of two of the main units , and there were constant discipline problems . The army increased its effectiveness and success rate through a series of trials and errors , often at great human cost . General Washington and other distinguished officers were instrumental leaders in preserving unity , learning and adapting , and ensuring discipline throughout the eight years of war . In the winter of 1777 - 1778 , with the addition of Baron von Steuben , of Prussia n origin , the training and discipline of the Continental Army began to vastly improve . ( This was the infamous winter at Valley Forge . ) Washington always viewed the Army as a temporary measure and strove to maintain civilian control of the military , as did the Continental Congress , though there were minor disagreements about how this was carried out . Near the end of the war , the Continental Army was augmented by a French expeditionary force ( under General Rochambeau ) and a squadron of the French navy ( under the Comte de Barras ) , and in the late summer of 1781 the main body of the army travelled south to Virginia to rendezvous with the French West Indies fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse . This resulted in the Siege of Yorktown , the decisive Battle of the Chesapeake , and the surrender of the British southern army . This essentially marked the end of the land war in America , although the Continental Army returned to blockade the British northern army in New York until the peace treaty went into effect two years later , and battles took place elsewhere between British forces and those of France and its allies . Demobilization . A small residual force remained at West Point and some frontier outposts until Congress created the United States Army by their resolution of June 3 , 1784 . Planning for the transition to a peacetime force had begun in April 1783 at the request of a congressional committee chaired by Alexander Hamilton . The commander - in - chief discussed the problem with key officers before submitting the army ' s official views on 2 May . Significantly , there was a broad consensus of the basic framework among the officers . Washington ' s proposal called for four components : a small regular army , a uniformly trained and organized militia , a system of arsenals , and a military academy to train the army ' s artillery and engineer officers . He wanted four infantry regiments , each assigned to a specific sector of the frontier , plus an artillery regiment . His proposed regimental organizations followed Continental Army patterns but had a provision for increased strength in the event of war . Washington expected the militia primarily to provide security for the country at the start of a war until the regular army could expand — the same role it had carried out in 1775 and 1776 . Steuben and Duportail submitted their own proposals to Congress for consideration . Although Congress declined on 12 May to make a decision on the peace establishment , it did address the need for some troops to remain on duty until the British evacuated New York City and several frontier posts . The delegates told Washington to use men enlisted for fixed terms as temporary garrisons . A detachment of those men from West Point reoccupied New York without incident on November 25 . When Steuben ' s effort in July to negotiate a transfer of frontier forts with Major General Frederick Haldimand collapsed , however , the British maintained control over them , as they would into the 1790s . That failure and the realization that most of the remaining infantrymen ' s enlistments were due to expire by June 1784 led Washington to order Knox , his choice as the commander of the peacetime army , to discharge all but 500 infantry and 100 artillerymen before winter set in . The former regrouped as Jackson ' s Continental Regiment under Colonel Henry Jackson of Massachusetts . The single artillery company , New Yorkers under John Doughty , came from remnants of the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment . Congress issued a proclamation on October 18 , 1783 which approved Washington ' s reductions . On November 2 Washington then released his Farewell Order to the Philadelphia newspapers for nationwide distribution to the furloughed men . In the message he thanked the officers and men for their assistance and reminded them that " the singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such , as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving ; while the unparalleled perseverance of the Armies of the United States , through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years , was little short of a standing miracle . " Washington believed that the blending of persons from every colony into " one patriotic band of Brothers " had been a major accomplishment , and he urged the veterans to continue this devotion in civilian life . Washington said farewell to his remaining officers on December 4 at Fraunces Tavern in New York City . On December 23 he appeared in Congress , then sitting at Annapolis , and returned his commission as commander - in - chief : " Having now finished the work assigned me , I retire from the great theatre of Action ; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted , I here offer my Commission , and take my leave of all the employments of public life . " Congress ended the War of American Independence on January 14 , 1784 by ratifying the definitive peace treaty that had been signed in Paris on September 3 . Congress had again rejected Washington ' s concept for a peacetime force in October 1783 . When moderate delegates then offered an alternative in April 1784 which scaled the projected army down to 900 men in one artillery and three infantry battalions , Congress rejected it as well , in part because New York feared that men retained from Massachusetts might take sides in a land dispute between the two states . Another proposal to retain 350 men and raise 700 new recruits also failed . On June 2 Congress ordered the discharge of all remaining men except twenty - five caretakers at Fort Pitt and fifty - five at West Point . The next day it created a peace establishment acceptable to all interests . The plan required four states to raise 700 men for one year ' s service . Congress instructed the Secretary at War to form the troops into eight infantry and two artillery companies . Pennsylvania , with a quota of 260 men , had the power to nominate a lieutenant colonel , who would be the senior officer . New York and Connecticut each were to raise 165 men and nominate a major ; the remaining 110 men came from New Jersey . Economy was the watchword of this proposal , for each major served as a company commander , and line officers performed all staff duties except those of chaplain , surgeon , and surgeon ' s mate . Under Josiah Harmar , the First American Regiment slowly organized and achieved permanent status as an infantry regiment of the new Regular Army . The lineage of the First American Regiment is carried on by the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment ( The Old Guard ) . However the United States military realised it needed a well - trained standing army following St . Clair ' s Defeat on November 4 , 1791 , when a force led by General Arthur St . Clair was almost entirely wiped out by the Western Confederacy near Fort Recovery , Ohio . The plans , which were supported by U . S . President George Washington and Henry Knox , Secretary of War , led to the disbandment of the Continental Army and the creation of the Legion of the United States . The command would be based on the 18th - century military works of Henry Bouquet , a professional Swiss soldier who served as a colonel in the British army , and French Marshal Maurice de Saxe . In 1792 Anthony Wayne , a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War , was encouraged to leave retirement and return to active service as Commander - in - Chief of the Legion with the rank of Major General . The legion was recruited and raised in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . It was formed into four sub - legions . These were created from elements of the 1st and 2nd Regiment s from the Continental Army . These units then became the First and Second Sub - Legion s . The Third and Fourth Sub - Legions were raised from further recruits . From June 1792 to November 1792 , the Legion remained cantoned at Fort LaFayette in Pittsburgh . Throughout the winter of 1792 - 93 , existing troops along with new recruits were drilled in military skills , tactics and discipline at Legionville on the banks of the Ohio River near present - day Baden , Pennsylvania . The following Spring the newly named Legion of the United States left Legionville for the Northwest Indian War , a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy in the area south of the Ohio River . The overwhelmingly successful campaign was concluded with the decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20 , 1794 , Maj . Gen . Anthony Wayne applied the techniques of wilderness operations perfected by Sullivan ' s 1779 expedition against the Iroquois . The training the troops received at Legionville was also seen as an instrumental to this overwhelming victory . Nevertheless Steuben ' s Blue Book remained the official manual for the legion , as well as for the militia of most states , until Winfield Scott in 1835 adapted the 1791 French Army Regulations for American use . The integration of ex - Continentals into the militia , coupled with the passage in 1792 of a national militia bill , and the establishment of the first basic training center at Legionville , all helped to improve the military of the United States . In 1796 , the United States Army was raised following the discontinuation with the legion of the United States . This coincided with the graduation of the first cadets from United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , which had been established in 1794 . Rank Insignia . During the American Revolution , the Continental Army initially wore cockades of various colors as an " ad hoc " form of rank insignia , as General George Washington wrote : Later on in the war , the Continental Army established its own uniform with a black cockade ( as used in much of the British Army ) among all ranks and the following insignia :