The Second Continental Congress created the Continental Army in 1775 to fight Britain in the American Revolution.
Congress established the army on June 14, 1775, after fighting had already begun around Boston. It combined militia forces from the colonies into a continental force intended to serve the united cause. Two days later, Congress appointed George Washington as its commander in chief.
The army remained closely tied to individual states. Soldiers enlisted for varying periods, supplies were often scarce, and Congress struggled to provide pay and equipment. Even so, the Continental Army became the central American land force during the war, working alongside state militias and foreign allies.
Its units fought major campaigns from Boston and New York to Saratoga and Yorktown. The Continental Army was not the same institution as today’s United States Army, although the modern army traces its lineage to the force created by Congress in 1775.