U. S. Army 250th Birthday!

June 14, 1775 – 2025

On 14 June 1775, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the New England Army of Observation, making it a “continental” army — a united fighting force — that could represent all 13 colonies with the addition of the troops from the three middle colonies. The Continental Army thus became America’s first national institution.

Revolutionary War
The fighting at Lexington and Concord on April 19,
1775, united the 13 colonies in a war for liberty. Within
weeks, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia.
On June 14, it adopted the New England army around
Boston, placed George Washington in command, and
authorized ten rifle companies from Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia. The Army proved its mettle at
Bunker Hill, and Washington soon began turning
veteran militia and new recruits into Continental
soldiers. The Army suffered many reverses in the years
that followed, but victories at places like Trenton,
Princeton and Saratoga slowly turned the tide and
brought the French into the war. The Valley Forge winter
transformed the Army into a more professional force.
Defenses such as those at West Point checked the
British, while Continentals and militia in the south drew a
British army to Yorktown where it surrendered to
Washington in 1781. Two years later, the war ended,
and the United States won independence.