Originally posted by Toad
The idea that miltiamen didn't enlist in and make up a large part of the Continental army is delusional.
On June 14 the Continental Congress essentially “adopted” these 20-odd thousand New England colonial milita forces around Boston and created “the American continental army".
Yeah, they required more training to fight in the "conventional" 18th Century manner... stand in lines and get your bellybutton shot off.... but they fought quite well unconventionally. It's one of the lessons Washington himself learned as a Virginia militia man fighting with the British against the Native Americans.
The evidence is there and you look pretty uninformed in your denials.
LOL please quote me where I said "NO miltia were in the Continental army" You didnt because I didnt say it. Nice try strawman.
I am talking militia units, which I maintain were next to worthless, Not Continental Army units. You do know the difference correct???
I have already said that CA did recruit out of the Militia. The CA was no formidable force by any means.
As for the New England Militia Here is what GW said about them
"New Englanders strike me as exceedingly dirty and nasty people characterized by an unaccountable kind of stupidity and lack of discipline"
Hey since your history is so good, why don't you tell me what happened to that 20,000 strong militia? I already know but maybe you dont.
"While establishing discipline in the existing army, Washington had at the same time to form a new one enlisted directly in the Continental service. Out of conferences with a Congressional committee that visited camp in September 1775 emerged a plan for such an army, composed of 26 regiments of infantry of 728 men each, plus one regiment of riflemen and one of artillery, 20,372 men in all, to be uniformly paid, supplied, and administered by the Continental Congress and enlisted to the end of the year 1776. Except for the short term of enlistment, it was an excellent plan on paper, but Washington soon found he could not carry it out. Both officers and men resisted a reorganization that cut across the lines of the locally organized units in which they were accustomed to serve. The men saw as their first obligation their families and farms at home, and they were reluctant to re-enlist for another year's service. On December10, despite pressures and patriotic appeals, most of the Connecticut men went home and militia from New Hampshire and Massachusetts had to be brought in to fill their places in the line. Others, who had jeered and hooted when the Connecticut men left, also went home when their enlistment expired only three weeks later. On January 1, 1776, when the army became "Continental in every respect," Washington found that he had only slightly more than 8,000 enlistments instead of the 20,000 planned"
8000 instead of 20000. That is a huge difference. Like I said militia couldn't be counted on for anything and the French are more responsible for the creation of this country than the militia are.
