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The Continental
Army
The Continental Army had no
money, and had bad soldiers (few soldiers). The Continental
Congress raised eight companies of soldiers, each numbering 120
men. These companies were made up entirely of cripples, invalids,
blind men, and men missing arms and legs. But, they were fighting on
there own land, for their own land, and for freedom. And, they had a
great leader. They got supplies by stealing them from the British.
(Fort Ticonderoga)
George
Washington lamented that the Continental Army had "very
little discipline, order or government" at the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. As the war progressed, his soldiers learned
European military drill, and combined it with their determination and
frontier know-how to defeat the redcoats, one of the world's
best-trained and best-equiped armies.
Continental Army soldier shown loading
a rifle.
The rifle took a long time to
load, compared to the musket. By the time a soldier forced his rifle
ball down the barrel, the enemy could get him with a bayonet. Their
rifles had no bayonet, a necessity for fighting at close range, or in
damp weather when wet flints and gunpowder made firearms useless.
Because of these disadvantages, the musket remained the primary weapon
used during the Revolutionary War.
England had good soldiers and
lots of money. But, they didn't care, and England was fighting several
other wars at the same time. (There was a Palm tree fort in
Charleston. The English stopped several times when they got close to
ending it, crossing the Delaware to attack drunk Hessians.) |
