Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How many militia troops were included in the original Continental Army around Boston?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
United States Army
American soldiers during the Korean War.
The original Continental Army was organized by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, and it comprised the 22,000 militia troops who were then besieging Boston, along with an additional 5,000 militiamen stationed in New York.1
Other historical accounts note that by June 1775, approximately 15,000 of these colonial troops surrounded the British forces in Boston. These early forces were characterized as raw, undisciplined, and ill-equipped volunteers.23