The following is a description of the birth of
the U.S. Army from Robert Wright,
The Continental Army (Washington,
D.C.: Center of Military History, 1983), pp. 23-24:
The June 14 date is when Congress adopted "the American
continental army" after reaching a consensus position in
The Committee of the Whole. This procedure and the desire for
secrecy account for the sparseness of the official journal entries
for the day. The record indicates only that Congress undertook
to raise ten companies of riflemen, approved an enlistment form
for them, and appointed a committee (including Washington and
Schuyler) to draft rules and regulations for the government
of the army. The delegates' correspondence, diaries, and subsequent
actions make it clear that they really did much more. They also
accepted responsibility for the existing New England troops
and forces requested for the defense of the various points in
New York. The former were believed to total 10,000 men; the
latter, both New Yorkers and Connecticut men, another 5,000.
At least some members of Congress assumed from the beginning
that this force would be expanded. That expansion, in the form
of increased troop ceilings at Boston, came very rapidly as
better information arrived regarding the actual numbers of New
England troops. By the third week in June delegates were referring
to 15,000 at Boston. When on 19 June Congress requested the
governments of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire
to forward to Boston "such of the forces as are already
embodied, towards their quotas of the troops agreed to be raised
by the New England Colonies," it gave a clear indication
of its intent to adopt the regional army. Discussions the next
day indicated that Congress was prepared to support a force
at Boston twice the size of the British garrison, and that it
was unwilling to order any existing units to be disbanded. By
the first week in July delegates were referring to a total at
Boston that was edging toward 20.000. Maximum strengths for
the forces both in Massachusetts and New York were finally established
on 21 and 22 July, when solid information was on hand. These
were set, respectively, at 22,000 and 5,000 men, a total nearly
double that envisioned on 14 June.
The "expert riflemen" authorized on 14 June were
the first units raised directly as Continentals. Congress intended
to have the ten companies serve as a light infantry force for
the Boston siege. At the same time it symbolically extended
military participation beyond New England by allocating 6 of
the companies to Pennsylvania, 2 to Maryland, and 2 to Virginia.
Each company would have a captain, 3 lieutenants, 4 sergeants,
4 corporals, a drummer (or horn player), and 68 privates. The
enlistment period was set at one year, the norm for the earlier
Provincials, a period that would expire on 1 July 1776.
Responsibility for recruiting the companies was given to the
three colonies' delegates, who in turn relied on the county
committees of those areas noted for skilled marksmen. The response
in Pennsylvania's western and northern frontier counties was
so great that on 22 June the colony's quota was increased from
six to eight companies, organized as a regiment. On 25 June
the Pennsylvania delegates, with authority from the Pennsylvania
Assembly, appointed field officers for the regiment. Since there
was no staff organization, company officers and volunteers performed
the necessary duties. On 11 July delegate George Read secured
the adoption of a ninth company that his wife's nephew had organized
in Lancaster County. In Virginia Daniel Morgan raised one company
in Frederick County, and Hugh Stephenson raised another in Berkeley
County. Michael Cresap's and Thomas Price's Maryland companies
were both from Frederick County. All thirteen companies were
organized during late June and early July. They then raced to
Boston, where their frontier attitudes created disciplinary
problems.
Selection of Commanders
The inclusion of troops from outside New England gave a continental
flavor to the army at Boston. A desire to broaden the base of
support for the war also led John Adams to work for the appointment
of a southerner as the commander of all the continental forces,
raised, or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty.
On 15 June Congress unanimously chose
George Washington. Washington had been active in the military
planning committees of Congress and by late May had taken to
wearing his old uniform. His colleagues believed that his modesty
and competence qualified him to adjust to the "Temper &
Genius" of the New England troops. Washington was given
the rank of General and Commander in Chief.
Congress clearly respected Washington, for it granted him extensive
powers which combined functions of a regular British commander
with the military responsibilities of a colonial governor. His
instructions on 20 June told him to proceed to Massachusetts,
"take charge of the army of the united colonies,"
and capture or destroy all armed enemies. His was also to prepare
and to send to Congress an accurate strength return of that
army. On the other hand, instructions to keep the army obedient,
diligent, and disciplined were rather vague. The Commander in
Chief's right to make strategic and tactical decisions on purely
military grounds was limited only by a requirement to listen
to the advice of a council of war. Within a set troop maximum,
including volunteers, Washington had the right to determine
how many men to retain, and he had the power to fill temporarily
any vacancies below the rank of colonel. Permanent promotions
and appointments were reserved for the colonial governments
to make.
Although sectional politics were involved in Washington's selection,
in strictly military terms he was in fact the best-qualified
native American. He had begun his military career in 1752 in
the Virginia militia as one of four regional adjutants responsible
for training. During the first phase of the French and Indian
War, he served with gallantry as Edward Braddock's volunteer
aide at the battle of the Monongahela, and later as the commander
of Virginia's two Provincial regiments defending the colony's
frontiers. In 1758 he commanded a brigade composed of Virginia,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania units on John Forbes' expedition
against Fort Duquesne. Washington was the only American in that
war to command so large a force. The experience of these years
taught him the importance of discipline, marksmanship, and professional
study. Exposure to Forbes' ideas on adapting European tactics
to the American wilderness also contributed significantly to
his military education. Above all, he came to the conclusion
that only unyielding commitment to hard work and attention to
administrative detail could keep troops in the field.
On 16 June, the day after Washington's appointment, Congress
authorized a variety of other senior officers for its new army.
Details were again settled by the Committee of the Whole. Positions
for five major staff officers were established: an Adjutant
General, a Commissary of Musters, a Paymaster General, a Commissary
General, and a Quartermaster General. These officers were expected
to assist the Commander in Chief with the administration of
the "grand army." The forces allocated to New York
already were considered a separate department and were authorized
their own deputy quartermaster general and deputy paymaster
general. A military secretary and 3 aides for Washington, a
secretary for the separate department, and 6 engineers (3 for
each force) completed the staff. Congress also created the ranks
of major general and brigadier general. The number of generals
remained uncertain for several days as Congress debated. Between
17 and 22 June it finally decided on 4 major generals, each
having 2 aides, and 8 brigadier generals. These totals allowed
each colony raising troops to have a share of the patronage.
Congress then took steps for issuing paper money to finance
the army, and on 30 June it adopted the Articles of War.
Selection of the subordinate generals and senior staff officers
led to political maneuvering as delegates sought appointments
for favorite sons. On 17 June Congress elected Artemas Ward
and Charles Lee as the first and second major generals and Horatio
Gates as the Adjutant General. Ward received seniority because
he was in command at Boston and because Massachusetts had furnished
the largest contingent of troops. Ward was a Harvard graduate
with many years of political experience. After two years of
active duty as a field officer in the French and Indian War,
he had compiled an excellent record as a militia administrator.
Lee and Gates were professional English officers in their forties
who were living in Virginia on the half-pay (inactive) list.
Both had served in the French and Indian War and were associates
of politicians in England and America who opposed British policies.
Lee had also seen service in Portugal and in the Polish Army.
Gates had ended the Seven Years' War as a major in the Caribbean.
His appointment as Adjutant General (with the rank of brigadier
general) reflected Congress' hope that his staff experience
would enable him to provide Washington with strong administrative
assistance.
On 19 June two more major generals were appointed to satisfy
other colonies' contributing large troop contingents. Philip
Schuyler, a New York delegate with close ties to Washington,
was expected to take command of the troops in his colony. A
member of one of New York's leading families, the 42-year-old
Schuyler had been a major in the French and Indian War, specializing
in logistics. His experience, political connections, and extensive
business interests in Albany were particularly valuable in his
new command. Connecticut's delegation could not agree on a nominee
for that colony's major general. In the end Israel Putnam's
status as a folk hero outweighed consideration of seniority,
and he received the appointment. Putnam, at 57, had seen extensive
service in the French and Indian War, rising to the rank of
lieutenant colonel. He had also been an early, vocal leader
of the Connecticut Sons of Liberty. The process of selecting
brigadier generals on 22 June was the product of a compromise.
Congress allotted these appointments in proportion to the number
of men contributed by each colony and followed the recommendations
of the colony's delegates in the actual selection. Congress,
however, created problems by ignoring seniority and status.
When it elected Massachusetts' Seth Pomeroy, William Heath,
and John Thomas as the first, fourth, and sixth brigadier generals,
respectively, Thomas felt he had been slighted. The situation
was resolved when Pomeroy declined the appointment, citing age,
before Washington handed out the commissions. Congress then
made Thomas the first brigadier general, although it did not
fill the vacancy created by Pomeroy's withdrawal. Thomas, a
surgeon militiamen, and former Provincial born in 1724, had
gained combat experience primarily in medical roles. Heath,
thirteen years younger, was strictly a product of the militia.
Richard Montgomery of New York became the second ranking brigadier
general. Born in Ireland in 1738 and educated at Dublin's Trinity
College, he had entered the British Army in 1756. After combat
service in North America and in the Caribbean, he resigned in
1772 when he failed to receive a promotion to major. He moved
to New York, married into the powerful Livingston family, and
in 1775 won election to the New York Provincial Congress. Montgomery's
appointment was intended to complement Schuyler's logistical
and administrative skills with combat experience. David Wooster
and Joseph Spencer of Connecticut became the third and fifth
brigadier generals. Born in 1711 and educated at Yale, Wooster
had served in Connecticut's navy during King George's War. He
later commanded a regiment in the French and Indian War. Spencer,
three years younger, had also served in both wars. The two men
initially refused to serve under Putnam, disputing his seniority,
and had to be coaxed into accepting their commissions. Delegate
John Sullivan of New Hampshire, a 35-yearold lawyer, became
the seventh brigadier general instead of Nathaniel Folsom. Nathanael
Greene of Rhode Island completed the list.
In retrospect, the June 1775 decision of the Continental Congress
to create the Continental Army seems remarkably free from political
strife. Delegates of all shades of opinion supported each step,
and arguments largely concerned technical details. Unanimity
resulted from a conviction that British actions required defensive
measures and from carefully worded compromises. Those individuals
committed to the ideal of the citizen-soldier saw Congress'
adoption of the short-term New England force as an acceptance
of a yeoman army. Others, remembering practical lessons of the
colonial wars, believed that they were forming an army based
on the Provincial model. Officer selection was another area
of compromise; the fact that Washington and Schuyler were given
blank commissions from Congress to distribute to the regimental
officers confirmed local selections while retaining a nominal
national level of appointment.
