Page 41 - ASM Book 9/2020

Continental Soldiers
The Continental Army at the Beginning
35
The men who enlisted in the Continental Army after Lexington and Concord were mostly farmers. When Washington took command in Boston, the Continental Army was not an army. It was a loose, unorganized band of citizen-soldiers and militiamen under the command of local militia leaders.
His first task was to establish military authority and to organize the men into a viable fighting force. Proper procedures to acquire and distribute food and supplies were also essential.
The new Continental soldiers were poorly armed, poorly clothed, poorly fed, poorly paid and woefully unequipped. They ranged in
age from young boys to old men. The
majority were 18-24.
When volunteers signed up for an enlistment period they were promised a monthly salary: privates $6, sergeants $8 and captains $20. They had to provide their own uniforms, gear and weapons.
Despite the many problems and disadvantages that developed, they were committed to winning independence from Great Britain. They endured hardships that can only be imagined.
Slaves and free blacks served in the Continental and British armies.
It is estimated that more than 5,000 served on the American side. Peter Salem fought at Lexington and Concord. Salem Poor fought at Bunker Hill. James
Lafayette was an American spy.
The freed slaves freely volunteered to serve the
American cause, but the enslaved ones did not
volunteer. Their masters gave them to the recruiting
officers instead of volunteering themselves. A small
percentage of slaves received their freedom when
the war ended. The majority, however, remained the
property of their masters.
The British enticed slaves to volunteer by promising freedom and land to those who would join. When the war ended, many slaves received freedom, but a large number did not. Some 20,000 slaves served the British military.
American soldiers
often went weeks
and months
without pay
Slaves Fought for the Americans and the British