List of Continental Army units ( 1776 ) The Continental Army was the army raised by the Second Continental Congress to oppose the British Army during the American Revolutionary War . The army went through three major establishments : the first in 1775 , the second in 1776 , and the third from 1777 until after the end of the war . The 1776 differed in some significant ways from both the 1775 establishment and the 1777 establishment . Second establishment . The Continental Army was established by the Continental Congress on June 14 , 1775 , which is also recognized as the founding date of its successor , the United States Army . On that day , the Continental Congress assumed responsibility for militia regiments that had been raised by the colonies of New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and Connecticut . These units and others authorized by Congress served in the Siege of Boston and the invasion of Quebec launched in September 1775 . With these operations ongoing , Congress voted to authorize a second establishment of the army for 1776 . The enlistments of most soldiers in the Continental Army of 1775 expired on the last day of the year . On January 1 , 1776 , a new army was established . General George Washington had submitted recommendations for reorganization to the Continental Congress almost immediately after accepting the position of Commander - in - Chief , but these took time to consider and implement . Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England , the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and geographical focus . The bulk of the newly organized Main Army ( that commanded by General Washington ) consisted of 27 infantry regiments , which were numbered in order of the seniority of the colonel of each regiment , and styled as " Continental Regiments " . This differed from the regiments in the Southern Department , which retained state designations , some of which were assigned in the 1775 establishment . The Main Army regiments were created by reorganizing existing units and by encouraging soldiers to reenlist for another year . Each new regiment comprised eight companies , which at full strength fielded a total of 728 men . Of these , 640 provided the firepower ( privates and corporals with muskets ) ; the remaining were officers and staff , including three field officers ( a colonel , lieutenant colonel , and major ) , a captain for each company , a surgeon , a quartermaster , drummers , etc . Other units were also authorized . Eastern Department units . Two regiments of Rhode Island state troops which served with the Continental Army in 1776 , but were not placed on the Continental establishment . Middle Department units . The Middle Department was created on February 27 , 1776 , as a military administrative district embracing New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , and Maryland . When the Main Army moved from Boston to New York in April 1776 and Washington opened his headquarters in New York City , he assumed direct command of the department . As a result the Main Army became , for the remainder of the war , the field army associated with the Middle Department . At the same time New York and the Northern Department became practically coextensive ; only the Hudson Highlands and parts of New York to the south remained in the Middle Department . These changes left Washington holding three posts at once : Commander - in - Chief of the Continental Army , Commanding General of the field army under his immediate command , the Main Army , and Commanding General of the Middle Department . Southern Department units . The Continental Congress established the Southern Department on February 27 , 1776 . The department was the organizing unit for regiments raised in Virginia , North and South Carolina , and Georgia .