On what date did the Second Continental Congress create the Continental Army?

The Second Continental Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775.

Congress acted after fighting had begun around Boston in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The new army was intended to coordinate military forces from the colonies rather than leave the war effort entirely to separate local militias.

George Washington was selected as commander in chief during the following debate and formally took command near Boston on July 3, 1775. His appointment helped give the army a unified leader from Virginia, balancing the predominantly New England setting of the early conflict.

The Continental Army served throughout the American Revolutionary War, but it depended heavily on state governments, militia units, and congressional funding. Its soldiers faced shortages of clothing, food, weapons, and pay. The army was eventually disbanded after the war, with a small peacetime force replacing it.