Continental Army

Forming and Organizing an Army

The militias surrounding Boston had long histories of service. They functioned as pools of semi-trained soldiers for local defense and as sources of volunteers and drafts for provincial regiments serving extended periods away from [Page 190]home. In theory, all free men were enrolled. The reality, however, was different. Substitution, commutation, occupational and personal exemptions, and outright avoidance undercut the universal obligation. Under these circumstances, raising provincial regiments forced colonial authorities to negotiate with would-be soldiers over the terms, conditions, location, length and type of service, pay, bounties, and other important considerations.

Regular officers frequently noted that colonial soldiers tended to be independent and undisciplined. Mutinies, negotiations with authorities over service, or outright refusals to obey orders dumbfounded these officers, who often chalked up provincial behavior to cowardice. The soldiers' behavior, however, reflected their belief in the power, legitimacy, and universal applicability of contracts, including enlistment papers. They were, therefore, insisting upon their legal rights, often asserting their positions by withholding their labor over their employer's breach of contract. Thus, officials who failed to live up to their contractual obligations negated any expectations of obedience from the ranks. The Army adopted and raised in 1775 would face many of these same expectations and would struggle to integrate them within a more conventional regular military structure.

Shortly after appointing Washington, Congress also authorized the senior staff officers, added four major generals and eight brigadier generals, and published the Articles of War, which dictated the nature and style of Army discipline. The chief staff officers, adjutant general, mustermaster general, paymaster general, commissary general, and quartermaster general assisted Washington by performing vital administrative and logistical duties. The appointment of these general officers was both a military and a political necessity. Washington would need senior commanders for the separate field armies and departments, as well as for subordinate formations like divisions and brigades. Politically, the positions served as enticements and rewards: the more troops a colony mustered for service with the Continentals, the greater the likelihood it might win a coveted generalship for one of its own. Two of the major generals hailed from New England, one from New York, while the senior, Charles Lee, was a transplanted Englishman living in Virginia. Seven of the eight brigadiers were New Englanders. Horatio Gates, the new adjutant general, was, like Lee, an English transplant in Virginia. While only three of the generals had extensive military service before the war, most of the others had experience as provincial officers in the French and Indian War or in colonial politics.

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