The birth of the U.S. Army Published June 11, 2013 By John R. Maass U.S. Army Center of Military History GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Army 344th Military Intelligence Battalion hosts the annual Army Ball at the McNease Convention Center, June 14. The Army Ball dates back to the American Revolutionary War and is held yearly to celebrate the Army's birthday. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the original 13 colonies did not have a shared army, but instead, a collection of independent colonial militias. Following the Battles of Lexington and Concord, thousands of militia members under the leadership of Artemas Ward of Massachusetts had besieged the city of Boston. Just weeks after hostilities began in Massachusetts, the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia. On the agenda: creating a common army to defend the colonies. On June 14, 1775, Congress approved the creation of an army, the Continental Army. The new force was made of those militiamen already gathered outside Boston plus those in New York, equating to more than 27,000 members. The following day, Congress named Virginian George Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and named Ward his second in command the following day. Congress authorized the formation of 10 companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, which were directed to march to Boston to support the New England militia. These were the first troops Congress agreed to pay from its own funds, and the units later became the 1st Continental Regiment. Today the U.S. Army numbers more than 500,000 soldiers and organizes the Army Ball every year at installations around the world to celebrate the day of its birth.
