Academy1770 to 1775: From Boston to the Continental Army
Congress Builds an Army
This lesson takes 13 minutes.
Objectives
- Date the Second Continental Congress: convened 10 May 1775
- State the 14 June 1775 resolve to raise ten companies of riflemen
- Separate 15 June, when Washington was chosen, from 16 June, when he accepted, and 19 June, when the commission was dated
- Date the Articles of War: 30 June 1775, and name the authority as an elected Congress
Lesson
The Second Continental Congress convened at Philadelphia on 10 May 1775. Blood had already been shed at Lexington and Concord, and the siege of Boston had begun.
Congress was still a meeting of colonial delegates. It was not a king, and it had not declared independence. Independence was more than a year away, on 4 July 1776.
On 14 June 1775 Congress resolved to raise ten companies of riflemen; the Army counts this as its birthday. On 15 June 1775 Congress chose George Washington to command. He accepted on 16 June. His commission is dated 19 June 1775. On 30 June 1775 Congress adopted Articles of War for the government of the army. The authority on the page is the Congress itself. The delegates were elected by their colonies. They were not commissioned by the Crown to raise troops.