Appendix A: U.S. Army Units Dating From the Revolution [Not Included] Appendix B: Department Commanders Department Commander Dates of Command Main Army George Washington Duration of war Eastern Department Artemas Ward 4 Apr 1776-20 Mar 1777 William Heath 20 Mar 1777-7 Nov 1778 Horatio Gates 7 Nov 1778-Nov 1779 Northern Department (initially New …
Perseverance to Victory The first two years of the War of American Independence witnessed the growth of the Continental Army from a nucleus of New England and New York units patterned after the Provincials of earlier wars into a force with men from every state as well as foreign volunteers. Through those volunteers, particularly Steuben …
Professionalism: New Influences From Europe The winter encampment at Valley Forge was an extremely important period in the development of the Continental Army. Despite numerous problems, for the first time in the war the Army enjoyed a winter free from the need to recruit and reorganize most of the regiments. Congress and military leaders used …
An Army for the War: 1777 Most Continental enlistments expired on 31 December 1776. Congress and Washington hoped to avoid a recurrence of the problems of the previous winter by beginning their preparations for reorganizing the Continental Army during the early fall of 1776. Profiting from that earlier experience, they not only started sooner but …
An Army Truly Continental: Expanding Participation While the Continental Army in the north took shape in 1776, the colonies to the south also turned to military preparations. The process began, much as it had in New England, with the formation of forces by revolutionary governments to oppose British threats in the immediate vicinity of each …