Departments of the Continental Army
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In the
Departmental organization
The Continental troops in a department constituted its garrison.[1] If the garrison was sufficiently large, the units might be assembled into a field army. In this case the commander of the territorial department and the commander of the field army would be one and the same officer. Thus, the commanding general of the Northern Department was also commanding general of the Northern Army, and the commanding general of the Southern Department was also commanding general of the Southern Army. Armies did not, however, invariably receive a geographical designation. Because the field army under Washington's personal command contained the majority of Continental Army units it was designated the Main Army. Each department had a semi-autonomous commanding officer, usually a commanding general, under the overall command of Washington as General and Commander-in-Chief. The Continental Congress dealt with and through the department commanders.
Appointment of department commanders
Throughout the war, the
Relations between the departments and the states
The department commanders and their staffs also worked directly with the governments of the states within their department. At first these were the ad hoc provisional governments developed in 1774 and 1775, but the practice continued after 1776 when the states replaced their Provincial Congresses and Conventions with permanent governments operating under written constitutions. Ordinarily departments were commanded by major generals. Washington as a full general[citation needed] was the ranking general officer in the Continental Army throughout the war.
Departments
In general there were seven territorial departments,[2] although their boundaries were subject to change and they were not all in existence throughout the war.
Canadian Department
The establishment of the Canadian Department reflected the aspirations of the
Eastern Department
The Eastern Department was formed around those states that had originally sent troops to support the Siege of Boston, and in that sense it even existed before the Continental Army. This was essentially the New England department, and included the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts (including the present state of Maine), Rhode Island, and Connecticut. For the first year of the war, the field army associated with this department, under the command of General Washington, was variously designated as the Continental Army, Grand Army,[5] or Main Army. The Eastern Department was formally established on April 4, 1776[6] when the Main Army under Washington moved from Boston to New York City. Important operations in this department included the Siege of Boston in 1775–1776 and the Battle of Rhode Island in 1779. The department was discontinued in November 1779.[7]
Northern Department
The predecessor of the Northern Department was the New York Department, which was established on June 25, 1775.
Highlands Department
The Highlands Department was the smallest in area. Strictly speaking, it was part of the Middle Department,
Middle Department
The Middle Department was established on February 27, 1776.[10] Originally it included all of the colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. In April 1776, the Main Army moved from Boston to New York, and became the field army associated with the Middle Department for the remainder of the war. On April 14, 1776 that portion of New York north of the Hudson Highlands, and the present state of Vermont were separated from the Middle Department and organized as the Northern Department. The Middle Department then comprised the Hudson Highlands in the state of New York, the rest of New York south of the Highlands, and the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.[11]
The term Main Army had come into use during the Siege of Boston, because the majority of Continental Army regiments were assigned to it. The term was retained throughout the war. Most units in the Middle Department were assigned to the Main Army, under George Washington, or to the Highlands Department, which was under Washington's close supervision. A few regiments and independent companies were assigned to the Middle Department from time to time, but were not assigned to Washington's army or to the Highlands. These units were simply said to have been assigned to the Middle Department.
Some of the Continental Army's most important campaigns were fought in this department. These included the New York campaign and the New Jersey campaign which ended with the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The Philadelphia campaign was fought in this department, after which the Continental Army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. In 1778 this department was the scene of the Monmouth campaign. After Monmouth, on June 28, 1778, major military operations in the United States shifted to the Southern Department. The department existed until the close of the war. It was the scene of one of the war's last episodes when the British Army evacuated New York City on November 25, 1783.
Western Department
The
Southern Department
The Southern Department was formally established on February 27, 1776.[10] The department included Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia and the western frontiers of those colonies, from which were created the present states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The field army associated with this department was known as the Southern Army. The Southern Department was the most independent of the commands due to geography and the need for year-round operations. Most of the territorial departments to the north of this department suspended offensive operations for the winter and early spring. The Southern Department was also the only one in which the troops assigned were destroyed twice. The first time was at the surrender of Charleston on May 12, 1780. The second was at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780. Despite these two catastrophic defeats, however, this department was the location of the Siege of Yorktown, in 1781, which effectively decided the outcome of the war. Important events in the Southern Department after Yorktown were the evacuation of Savannah and Charleston in July and December 1782.[14] The Southern Department existed until the close of the war.[7]
List of department commanders
Department | Commander | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|
Canadian | Richard Montgomery | December 9, 1775 |
David Wooster | December 31, 1775 (acting) | |
Charles Lee | February 17, 1776 (declined) | |
John Thomas
|
March 6, 1776 | |
John Sullivan | June 1, 1776 | |
Horatio Gates | June 17, 1776 | |
Eastern | George Washington | June 16, 1775 |
Artemas Ward | April 4, 1776 | |
William Heath | March 20, 1777 | |
Horatio Gates | November 7, 1778 | |
Northern | Philip Schuyler | June 25, 1775 |
Horatio Gates | August 19, 1777 | |
John Stark | April 17, 1778 | |
Edward Hand | October 19, 1778 | |
James Clinton | November 20, 1778 | |
John Stark | June 25, 1781 | |
Lord Stirling | October 15, 1781 | |
John Stark | November 21, 1781 | |
Lord Stirling | August 29, 1782 | |
Highlands | William Heath | November 12, 1776 |
Alexander McDougall | December 21, 1776 | |
Israel Putnam | May 12, 1777 | |
Alexander McDougall | March 16, 1778 | |
Horatio Gates | May 20, 1778 | |
Alexander McDougall | November 24, 1778 | |
William Heath | November 27, 1779 | |
Robert Howe | February 21, 1780 (acting) | |
Alexander McDougall | June 21, 1780 | |
Benedict Arnold | August 3, 1780 | |
George Washington | September 25, 1780 (acting) | |
Alexander McDougall | September 28, 1780 | |
Nathanael Greene | October 5, 1780 | |
William Heath | October 17, 1780 | |
John Paterson | May 11, 1781 (acting) | |
Alexander McDougall | June 24, 1781 | |
William Heath | January 18, 1782 | |
Henry Knox | August 24, 1782 | |
Middle | George Washington | February 27, 1776 |
Western | Edward Hand | April 10, 1777 |
Lachlan McIntosh | May 26, 1778 | |
Daniel Brodhead | March 5, 1779 | |
William Irvine
|
September 24, 1781 | |
Southern | Charles Lee | March 1, 1776 |
James Moore[15] | September 9, 1776 | |
Robert Howe[16] | April 15, 1777 | |
Benjamin Lincoln | September 25, 1778 | |
Horatio Gates | June 13, 1780 | |
Nathanael Greene | October 31, 1780 | |
Source: Wright, Robert K. Continental Army, Appendix B, p. 431 (unless otherwise noted) |
Notes
- ^ Wright, Continental Army, 57.
- ^ a b Wright, Continental Army, map, 83.
- ^ a b Wright, Continental Army, 60.
- ^ Wright, Continental Army, 62.
- ^ a b Wright, Continental Army, 26.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Writings, IV:467.
- ^ a b c Wright, Continental Army, Appendix B, 431.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Writings, III:302–304.
- ^ Berg, Encyclopedia, 107.
- ^ a b c Wright, Continental Army, 82.
- ^ a b c Wright, Continental Army, 84.
- ^ Berg, Encyclopedia, 91.
- ^ Wright, Continental Army, 95.
- ^ Wright, Continental Army, 176.
- ^ Rankin 1971, p. 79.
- ^ Rankin 1988, p. 218.
References
- Berg, Fred Anderson Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units: Battalions, Regiments, and Independent Corps. Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1972.
- Fitzpatrick, John C., Editor. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources. Available [1] from the University of Virginia website.
- Rankin, Hugh F. (1971). The North Carolina Continentals (2005 ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-1154-2.
- Rankin, Hugh F. (1988). "Howe, Robert". In Powell, William S (ed.). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Vol. 3 (H-K). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-1918-0.
- Wright, Robert K. The Continental Army. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1983. Available online Archived 2019-10-09 at the Wayback Machine.