Continental+Army

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According to Washington's aide Alexander Hamilton, the military strategy the General would pursue throughout the Revolutionary War was as follows: "our hopes are not placed in any particular city, or spot of ground, but in preserving a good army . . . to take advantage of favorable opportunities, and waste and defeat the enemy by piecemeal."

In order to "preserve a good army," one had to be created in the first place. It was a long and difficult road from the Continental Congress's edict designating the militia around Boston as a Continental Army and creating such an army in fact. Although many colonials had had some military experience in the French and Indian War, most had served in militia units, a far cry from service in a regular European-style army. The latter, Washington believed, was what the Continental Army needed to become if the colonies were to stand up to the British army.

As Washington put the matter shortly after he arrived in Boston to take command of the "army": "The course of human affairs forbids an expectation that troops formed under such circumstances [militia] should at once possess the order, regularity, and discipline of veterans." Washington rather optimistically added, "Whatever deficiencies there may be, will, I doubt not, soon be made up by the activity and zeal of the officers, and the docility and obedience of the men. These qualities, united with their native bravery and spirit, will afford a happy presage of success. . . ." How this opinion would soon change!

When Washington assumed his duties in Boston, he saw no end to problems. "The abuses [problems] in this army, I fear, are considerable, and the new modelling of it [reorganization], in the face of an enemy, from whom we every hour expect an attack, is exceedingly difficult and dangerous." Although often dismayed by his charge, Washington set out to create an army that could stand up in the field to the best army in the world at that time. The documents included here will give you a sense of some of the problems and issues. These and other problems continued to plague Washington and his army throughout the conflict. Over time, Washington would come to believe that only the creation of a permanent standing army could save the revolution.

For additional documents related to these topics, search American Memory using such key words as Continental Army, militia, and recruitment. Browse Washington's General Orders and his letters to the Presidents of the Continental Congress by dates (of specific battles, for example), and the terms found in the documents to the right of the page.

DOCUMENTS:

1. Washington Accepts His Appointment as Commander of Continental Army, June 16, 1775

On June 15, 1775, the Continental Congress "elected" George Washington as commander of the yet-to-be-created Continental Army: "Resolved, That a General be appointed to command all the continental forces, raised, or to be raised, for the defence of American liberty. That five hundred dollars, per month, be allowed for his pay and expences. The Congress then proceeded to the choice of a general, by ballot, when George Washington, Esq. was unanimously elected." In the following brief speech George Washington made to the Congress, how does Washington respond to the appointment? How would you describe the tone of Washington's acceptance? Why did Washington decline to be paid for his service?

2. The Continental Congress Drafts Washington's Commission, June 17, 1775

The day after Washington's "election" as commander of the Continental Army, the Continental Congress drafted his commission. In the following document, how does the Continental Congress describe his role as commander? What powers does the Congress give Washington?

3. George Washington to New York Legislature, June 26, 1775

Washington's contemporaries--and most historians since--have praised his unerring judgment concerning the relationship of the military and civilian authority. In a period in which most Americans feared tyranny and the power of standing armies to support such tyranny, his was no small accomplishment. What fears are implied by the letter from the New York Legislature to Washington? How does Washington try to placate these fears?

4. The Continental Congress Establishes Articles of War, June 30, 1775

The Continental Congress debated for several days the Articles of War governing the conduct of the Continental Army. Altogether, these Rules and Regulations comprised sixty-nine separate articles. In the first twelve of the articles below, what kinds of behaviors were addressed and what kinds of punishments were to be meted out to violators?

5. Commander Washington's General Orders, July 4, 1775

Creating an army from scratch was no easy matter, especially when the ragtag force Washington inherited faced an enemy whose intentions were nearly impossible to fathom. As soon as Washington arrived in Boston, virtually everything related to the "Continental Army" crossed his desk. Washington's General Orders comprised rules and procedures to guide his officers and soldiers. They provide insights into the day-to-day workings of the army and into Washington as a commander. In the following example of Washington's General Orders, what are the primary concerns he discusses? What difficulties do these concerns suggest with respect to the "Continental Army"?

6. Commander Washington's General Orders, July 5, 1775

Few of the colonists who began to take up arms in the conflict with the British had much, if any, organized military experience. Many of Washington's General Orders, as a consequence, were intended to provide his troops and officers with military lessons of various kinds. In the following General Orders from Commander Washington, what issues does Washington address? How does he justify his reasoning regarding to respect of civilian property?

7. Commander Washington's General Orders, July 7, 1775

Trying to create order and discipline in his new "army" was among Washington's most important priorities. In the following excerpt from Washington's General Orders, what issues does Washington discuss? What notions of order and discipline are in evidence?

8. General Washington to the President of the Continental Congress, July 10, 1775

Washington arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 3, 1775. He immediately busied himself with myriad matters relating to the army. A week later, he found time to report to the Continental Congress. In the following excerpts from Washington's letter to the President of the Continental Congress, what issues does Washington address? What is Washington's position with respect to recruitment specifically?

9. General Washington to the President of the Continental Congress, September 2, 1776

Washington wrote the following letter to the President of the Continental Congress several days after the Battle of Long Island. In that battle, Washington and his army were lucky to have escaped an even more devastating defeat than the one they suffered. In the aftermath of this battle, what is Washington's attitude toward militia forces? To what does he attribute the difficulties of using militia effectively? What arguments does Washington set forth for a standing army?

10. The Continental Congress Grants Washington Greater Powers, December 27, 1776

The victory of the Continental Army at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas night 1776 provided Washington with important prestige. He was now in a better position to use the powers Congress had already granted him as well as the power it would grant him in the following resolution. In response to this resolution, Lord George Germaine said in a speech to the House of Commons that the Continental Congress had made Washington the "dictator of America." What powers did Congress bestow on Washington? Why did Congress bestow these powers? How could Lord Germaine have seen these as "dictatorial powers"?

11. Continental Congress Resolve on the Principal Supplies of the Army, December 10, 1777

Feeding, clothing, and housing the Continental Army were chronic problems throughout the War for Independence. In the following resolution of the Continental Congress, how does the Congress propose that Washington feed the army? What criticism of Washington does the resolution include? How does the action taken by the Continental Congress illustrate the desperate conditions in the army?

12. General Washington Deals with Day-to-Day Issues in the Continental Army, 1775-1777

General George Washington was intimately involved in virtually everything that concerned the Continental Army. According to the following excerpts from Washington's General Orders to his troops, what are some of the day-to-day issues with which he had to deal? Did any of these issues come as a surprise to you? Why does Washington want the inoculation against smallpox to be kept secret?

13. George Washington to John Armstrong, May 18, 1779

The problems faced by the Continental Army and its commander early in the war would become chronic, as the following letter from Washington to John Armstrong, a delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania, shows. In this letter, what problems does Washington describe? What does Washington hope to accomplish by sending this letter to a friend in Congress? What does his overall opinion of the Continental Congress appear to be at this time?

14. George Washington to John Matthews and John Cadawalader, October 1780

Certainly by late 1780, Washington had grown increasingly frustrated with the Continental Congress's policies toward the army. Problems of recruitment and supply had proven to be chronic. In the following letters from George Washington to John Matthews and John Cadawalader, how does Washington describe these problems? What is Washington's view of creating a permanent standing army?