<P> The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies and , after 1776 , from all 13 states . When the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 , the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army . Previously , each colony had relied upon the militia , made up of part - time citizen - soldiers , for local defense , or the raising of temporary `` provincial regiments '' during specific crises such as the French and Indian War of 1754 -- 63 . As tensions with Great Britain increased in the years leading to the war , colonists began to reform their militias in preparation for the perceived potential conflict . Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 . Colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force , but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea . </P>
<P> The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all 13 colonies and , after 1776 , from all 13 states . When the American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 , 1775 , the colonial revolutionaries did not have an army . Previously , each colony had relied upon the militia , made up of part - time citizen - soldiers , for local defense , or the raising of temporary `` provincial regiments '' during specific crises such as the French and Indian War of 1754 -- 63 . As tensions with Great Britain increased in the years leading to the war , colonists began to reform their militias in preparation for the perceived potential conflict . Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 . Colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force , but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea . </P>
who made up the members of the continental army
who made up the members of the continental army
soldiers from all 13 colonies and , after 1776 , from all 13 states
soldiers from all 13 colonies and , after 1776 , from all 13 states