List of Continental Army units
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This is a list of units of the Continental Army, the national army of the United States during the American Revolutionary War. Created after the war had already begun, the army was always a work in progress, and was reorganized on several occasions during the war.

The Continental Congress created the Continental Army on 14 June 1775, by adopting the militia forces already conducting the siege of Boston as the first units of the army. Because most enlistments expired at the end of that year, a new army was created in 1776 with units from all of the thirteen states. Most enlistments in this army also expired at the end of the year, and so in 1777 soldiers were enlisted to serve three years or the duration of the war. In 1777, 119 regiments were fielded; thereafter the structure of the army remained basically the same, with units consolidated as needed.

Because of manpower shortages, the Continental Army often worked in conjunction with state-controlled militia units, which were called out for short periods as needed.

Contents

Continental Army of 1775

The Continental Congress created the Continental Army on 14 June 1775, by adopting the militia forces already conducting the siege of Boston as the first units of the army. Upon arrival outside Boston, General George Washington organized this body of more than 22,000 men, known as the Main Army, into three divisions of two brigades each.[1]

The Congress also extended participation in the Main Army beyond New England by authorizing companies of "expert rifleman" from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Pennsylvania frontiersman were so eager to participate that Pennsylvania's quota of companies was increased and organized as a regiment known as the Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment. The 13 rifle companies from these three colonies hurried to Boston.[2]

Meanwhile, a second force in New York under Major General Philip Schuyler was designated the New York Department, later known as the Northern Department. Schuyler's smaller army was created to defend New York, but he was instructed by the Continental Congress to launch an (ultimately disastrous) preemptive invasion of Canada, which began on 31 August 1775.[3]

Main Army

General George Washington

Right Wing
1st (Ward's) Division (Major General Artemas Ward)
1st (Thomas') Brigade (Brigadier General John Thomas).
3d (Spencer's) Brigade (Brigadier General Joseph Spencer).
Left Wing
2d (Lee's) Division (Major General Charles Lee)
5th (Sullivan's) Brigade (Brigadier General John Sullivan).
6th (Greene's) Brigade (Brigadier General Nathanael Greene)
Reserve
3d (Putnam's) Division (Major General Israel Putnam)
2d (Heath's) Brigade (Brigadier General William Heath)
4th Brigade (vacant) (commanded by Putnam because Seth Pomeroy declined his commission)
Main Army infantry units not assigned to a brigade
Main Army artillery units

New York Department

Established 25 June 1775.[4] Merged into Middle Department, 27 February 1776.[5]

Major General Philip Schuyler

New York Department artillery units

Provincial units attached to New York Department

Continental Army of 1776

The enlistments of most soldiers in the Continental Army of 1775 expired on the last day of the year. On 1 January 1776, a new army was established. General Washington had submitted recommendations for reorganization to the Continental Congress almost immediately after accepting the position of Commander-in-Chief, but these took time to consider and implement. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and geographical focus.

Main Army

The bulk of the newly organized Main Army consisted of 27 infantry regiments, numbered in order of the seniority of the colonel of each regiment. These regiments were created by reorganizing existing units and by encouraging soldiers to reenlist for another year. Each new regiment comprised eight companies, which at full strength fielded a total of 728 men. Of these, 640 provided the firepower (privates and corporals with muskets); the remaining were officers and staff, including three field officers (a colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major), a captain for each company, a surgeon, a quartermaster, drummers, etc.[6]

Washington announced a new organization of the Main Army in General Orders, 24 January 1776.[7] The organization was similar to the organization of 1775, but with new regiments.

General George Washington

Right Wing
1st (Ward's) Division (Major General Artemas Ward)
1st (Thomas') Brigade (Brigadier General John Thomas).
3d (Spencer's) Brigade (Brigadier General Joseph Spencer).
Left Wing
2d (Lee's) Division (Major General Charles Lee)
5th (Sullivan's) Brigade (Brigadier General John Sullivan).
6th (Greene's) Brigade (Brigadier General Nathanael Greene)
Reserve
3d (Putnam's) Division (Major General Israel Putnam)
2d (Heath's) Brigade (Brigadier General William Heath).
4th Brigade (vacant) (Brigadier General Joseph Frye, 16 February 1776).[8]
Main Army infantry units not assigned to a brigade
Main Army infantry units not assigned elsewhere in 1776
  • 1st New York Regiment (1775-1776) (Colonel Alexander McDougall; reorganized 24 February-21 May 1776; assigned to the Main Army, 24 April 1776).
  • 1st Maryland Regiment (State regiment assigned to the Main Army, 6 July 1776; placed on the Continental establishment, 17 August 1776).
  • 2nd Maryland Regiment(Separate state companies assigned to the Main Army, 6 July-15 August 1776; placed on the Continental establishment, 17 August 1776).
Main Army cavalry units
Main Army artillery units

Canadian Department

Established 17 January 1776.[9] Discontinued 8 July 1776.[10]

In January 1776, Congress split up the New York Department, designating the force that had invaded Canada as the Canadian Department. Units were consolidated, and a second regiment of Canadians was recruited. After Washington learned of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery's death and defeat at the Battle of Quebec, three New England units intended as militia were instead raised as Continental regiments and sent to Canada.

At Quebec, Major General John Thomas took command of Canadian Department in May 1776. Additional reinforcements from the Main Army led by Brigadier General William Thompson arrived in mid May, but were immediately disabled by an outbreak of smallpox. After General Thomas succumbed on 2 June, Brigadier General John Sullivan, who had arrived with a second group of reinforcements on 31 May, took command of the department. When British Major General John Burgoyne arrived in Quebec with reinforcements, the Americans withdrew to Crown Point by July 1776. Major General Horatio Gates arrived to take command of the Canadian Department, but with no troops in Canada, the department ceased to exist. Gates, under Schuyler's Northern Department, organized 15 Continental units as the "Northern Army" in the Fort Ticonderoga area. The remaining units, some of them in poor shape after service in Canada, were retained by Schuyler as a rear echelon guarding the Mohawk River valley.[11]

Initial units
Continental units authorized after Montgomery's defeat on 31 December 1775
Reinforcements dispatched from New York City on 15 April 1776 under Brigadier General William Thompson
Reinforcements dispatched from New York City on 27 April 1776 under Brigadier General John Sullivan
Additional units raised later in the year

Northern Department

Established from Middle Department, 14 April 1776.[12] Continued to 15 January 1783.[13]

Major General Philip Schuyler

Northern Department artillery units

Eastern Department

Established 4 April 1776.[14] Discontinued November 1779.[15]

Rhode Island Garrison Regiments.

Two regiments of Rhode Island state troops which served with the Continental Army in 1776, but were not placed on the Continental establishment.[16]

Middle Department

Established 27 February 1776.[17] Continued to close of war.[18]

The Middle Department was originally created as a military administrative district embracing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Washington assumed direct command of the department when he established his headquarters in New York City in April 1776. As a result, New York and the Northern Department became practically coextensive.[19] This change also left Washington holding three posts at once: Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, Commanding General of the field army under his immediate command, the Main Army, and Commanding General of the Middle Department.

State units serving with the Main Army in 1776.
  • Pennsylvania State Musketry Battalion (Consolidated with the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment on 30 April 1777 to form the Pennsylvania State Regiment of Foot; allotted to the Continental Army on 12 November 1777 and redesignated the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment).
  • Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment (Consolidated with the Pennsylvania State Musketry Battalion on 30 April 1777 to form the Pennsylvania State Regiment of Foot; allotted to the Continental Army on 12 November 1777 and redesignated the 13th Pennsylvania Regiment).

Southern Department

Established 27 February 1776.[20] Continued to close of war.[21]

Southern Department cavalry units

Continental Army, 1777–1783

The Continental Army of 1777 was a result of several critical reforms and political decisions that came about when it was apparent that the British were sending massive forces to put an end to the Revolution. In order to create a more stable, better trained army that would not cease to exist at the end of each year—the army had nearly collapsed at the end of 1776—men were now enlisted for the duration of the war. Because many men were reluctant to enlist for such an indefinite period, three-year enlistments were allowed.[22]

On 16 September 1776, the Continental Congress passed the "eighty-eight battalion resolve," which called for each state to contribute regiments in proportion to their population. (The terms regiment and battalion were interchangeable at that time.) The quotas ranged from 15 regiments each for Massachusetts and Virginia, down to one each for Delaware and Georgia. Each state was expected to arm, clothe, and equip their regiments. A state's quota of regiments was collectively known as that state's "line", such as the Pennsylvania Line. A state "line" was an administrative designation and not a tactical formation like a brigade or division.[23]

Washington and his generals believed that 88 regiments were insufficient to challenge the British Army, and so on 27 December 1776, Congress gave Washington the authority to raise additional regiments which were placed directly under his control and not under any state. These additional units consisted of 16 infantry regiments, three artillery regiments, a corps of engineers, and 3,000 light horsemen. Including three other regiments previously authorized by Congress (the two Canadian regiments and Seth Warner's regiment of Green Mountain Boys), 110 regiments were authorized for the Continental Army of 1777. Some states exceeded their quotas, and so 119 regiments were actually fielded in 1777.[24]

The decisions implemented in 1777 determined the basic organizational structure of the Continental Army for the duration of the war,[25] although state quotas were adjusted and units were consolidated or disbanded as needed. On 9 March 1779, Congress reduced the quota of regiments in the state lines to 80, and consolidated the additional regiments not assigned to state lines.[26] In 1781, when the three-year enlistments of 1777 expired, the total number of regiments was consolidated to 61.[27]

State lines

The Connecticut Line was assigned a quota of 8 regiments in 1777, reduced to 6 in 1781.

The Delaware Line was assigned a quota of one regiment.

The Georgia Line was assigned a quota of one regiment.

The Maryland Line was assigned a quota of 8 regiments in 1777, reduced to 5 in 1781.

The Massachusetts Line was assigned a quota of 15 regiments in 1777, reduced to 11 in 1781.

The New Hampshire Line was assigned a quota of 3 regiments in 1777, reduced to 2 in 1781.

The New Jersey Line was assigned a quota of 4 regiments in 1777, reduced to 3 in 1779, and reduced to 2 in 1781.

The New York Line was assigned a quota of 4 regiments in 1777, increased to 5 in 1779, and reduced to 3 in 1781.

The North Carolina Line was assigned a quota of 9 regiments in 1777, reduced to 6 in 1779, and reduced to 4 in 1781.

The Pennsylvania Line was assigned a quota of 12 regiments in 1777, reduced to 11 in 1779, and reduced to 9 in 1781.

The Rhode Island Line was assigned a quota of 2 regiments in 1777, reduced to 1 in 1781.

The South Carolina Line was assigned a quota of 6 regiments in 1777, reduced to 2 in 1781.

The Virginia Line was assigned a quota of 15 regiments in 1777, reduced to 11 in 1779.

"Additional" regiments

Units designated "Additional Continental Regiments" were unnumbered infantry regiments authorized in 1777 in addition to the 88 regiments previously authorized by Congress. These units were raised "at large" and not part of any state's quota, although some were later adopted into state lines. Sixteen regiments were authorized, but because of manpower shortages Washington attempted to raise only 15. Two of these 15 were never organized because their colonels declined the position in favor of other commands, leaving 13 "additional" regiments. Congress subsequently authorized one more "additional" regiment, Sheppard's Additional Continental Regiment, but it was absorbed into the weak North Carolina line within a year.[28]

  1. Forman's Additional Continental Regiment (New Jersey & Maryland), consolidated 1779 into Spencer's regiment
  2. Gist's Additional Continental Regiment (Virginia & Maryland), captured 1780, disbanded 1781
  3. Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment (Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware), consolidated 1779 into Gist's regiment
  4. Hartley's Additional Continental Regiment (Pennsylvania, Maryland, & Delaware), allotted to the Pennsylvania Line in 1778
  5. Henley's Additional Continental Regiment, consolidated in 1779 into the 16th Massachusetts
  6. Henry Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment, consolidated in 1779 into the 16th Massachusetts
  7. Lee's Additional Continental Regiment, consolidated in 1779 into the 16th Massachusetts
  8. Malcolm's Additional Continental Regiment (New York & Pennsylvania), broken up in 1779, units sent to the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment and Spencer's regiment
  9. Patton's Additional Continental Regiment (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, & Delaware), consolidated 1779 into Hartley's regiment
  10. Sheppard's Additional Continental Regiment, aka the 10th North Carolina Regiment, disbanded 1778
  11. Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment (Rhode Island & Connecticut), disbanded in 1780
  12. Spencer's Additional Continental Regiment (New Jersey & Pennsylvania), disbanded in 1781
  13. Thruston's Additional Continental Regiment (Virginia), consolidated 1779 into Gist's regiment
  14. Webb's Additional Continental Regiment, adopted 1780 into the Connecticut Line as the 9th Connecticut Regiment

Other infantry units

Certain infantry units existed in the Continental Army in the later years of the war which were neither one of the 88 regiments of infantry of the line authorized by the Continental Congress on 16 September 1776, nor one of the 16 additional regiments which the Congress authorized on 27 December 1776 and which Washington raised early in 1777.

Continental Light Dragoons

The Continental Corps of Light Dragoons was created in 1777 as an element of the third establishment of the Continental Army, raised for the duration of the war. Its first commander was Casimir Pulaski, who was appointed a brigadier general in the Continental Army on 15 September 1777. General Pulaski withdrew from this assignment on 28 March 1778 to organize a partisan corps, Pulaski's Legion, and no Chief of Cavalry was appointed to succeed him.

Continental Artillery

In 1777 the Continenal Artillery was increased from a single regiment to a brigade of four regiments, under Henry Knox. Knox was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 27 December 1776, and to the rank of major general on 15 November 1781. He served as Washington's Chief of Artillery to the close of the war.