As an early America250 milestone, the United States Army was established on June 14, 1775.
The Second Continental Congress created the Continental Army during the opening phase of the Revolutionary War. Congress appointed George Washington as its commander in chief on June 19, five days after establishing the army. The force organized colonial military units into a continental service that could operate under common direction.
The Army’s anniversary is observed annually on June 14. In 2025, a major 250th-anniversary parade in the Washington metropolitan area marked the Army’s founding and served as an early event connected with the broader 2026 semiquincentennial celebrations.
The Continental Army was not exactly the same institution as today’s United States Army in every legal and organizational detail. It was disbanded after the Revolutionary War, and Congress created a smaller regular army in 1784. Nevertheless, the modern Army traces its lineage to the Continental Army established in 1775.