250 Years Ago … June 14, 1775, the Continental Army was Formed

America’s Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775 with exchanges of musketry between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord as many delegates were already en route to Philadelphia, where Congress was scheduled to convene on May 10, 1775. When the delegates to the Second Continental Congress convened, they soon learned that armed men commanded by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain in New York.

The New England colonists reacted by raising four separate armies. With remarkable speed, committees of correspondence spread the traumatic news of Lexington and Concord beyond the borders of Massachusetts.

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental 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.

On June 15, Congress unanimously chose George Washington to command. Washington had been active in the military planning committees of Congress and by late May had taken to wearing his old uniform.

The following links lead to a 1-page (SAR-RT) and general summaries about the Continental Army:
Continental Army – SAR-RT (1-page)
Continental Army – Full Summary (PDF)

Video: History of the Continental Army