On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress took its first bold step toward becoming a nation: it created a national army. Until then, each colony had relied on its own militia. But after the violent clashes at Lexington and Concord, it was clear that isolated efforts wouldn’t be enough. A unified defense would require a unified force.
By mid-June, delegates meeting in Philadelphia resolved “That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four serjeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates.”
That resolution gave birth to the Continental Army. Infantry came first, followed quickly—on June 16—by the formation of the Adjutant General’s Corps, the Finance Corps, and the Quartermaster Corps. Artillery was added in November; Cavalry in December. By the following summer, Congress had authorized a full military structure, including the Army Medical Department, military chaplains, and the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. An army—and the framework of a nation—had been built from scratch.
[RELATED: Ethan Allen Didn’t Fear the Rabble]
On June 15—just one day after authorizing the army—Congress appointed George Washington, planter, soldier, and Virginian, as commander-in-chief. Under his leadership, that fledgling force became capable of frustrating and eventually outlasting the world’s greatest empire—and we can’t forget the crucial French support.
Two years later, on June 14, 1777, Congress adopted a national flag. It was a formal symbol of the unity the colonies had already forged through shared sacrifice. The resolution declared “that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white…[with] thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Before then, each colony had marched under its own banner.
But the order of events is worth remembering: the army came before the country. The country came before the flag.
[RELATED: Liberty’s No Bargain]
Today, June 14 is recognized not for the founding of the army, but for the adoption of the flag.
Like many civic holidays, Flag Day honors a symbol. And symbols matter. But the harder task is to remember what came before them: the decision to act together, to fight before there was a name, and to believe in a future that hadn’t yet been realized.
America’s resolve did not come from a flag, but from men who stood their ground before they had one. Nationhood was not declared into existence with words or symbols alone. It had to be fought for first.
Follow Jared Gould on X, and for more articles on the American Revolution, see our series here.
Art by Beck & Stone
“By mid-June, delegates meeting in Philadelphia resolved “That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four serjeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates.”
That’s a total of 810 men. The New England militia started the June 17,1775 Battle of Bunker Hill with 2,400 with more showing up from the suburbs claiming to have heard the cannons when the British burned Charlestown — we know this because men from these towns 10–15 miles away died in the battle. They had 450 casualties and would have held the hill if they hadn’t run out of gunpowder.
At the initial seige of Boston after the Battles of Lexington & Concord, it’s estimated that they had 15,000 men (New Hampshire 1,200, Rhode Island 1,000, Connecticut 2,300, Massachusetts 11,500) — this was just before planting season and many went home to tend their farms.
Yet when Washington arrived in Cambridge (MA) on July 3, 1775, he found 16,000 poorly disciplined colonial militia — “summer soldiers.”
Discipline and training were real issues, as was supply — and after the British evacuated Boston the following March, the Revolution moved south. But initially it was fought by the local militias.
And the concept of state units would remain through the Civil War, e.g. the 20th Maine and 54th Massachusetts. It wasn’t until WWII that there was a true national Army.