EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE US ARMY BIRTHDAY
Alex Hollings | June 14, 2023
Today is the U.S. Army’s birthday. The United States Army technically predates the formation of the country itself, with a birthday tradition that stretches all the way back to 14 June 1775, just about two months after the American Revolutionary War began in earnest.
The call for the establishment of this new fighting force came as a direct result of the onset of fighting between British regulars and Massachusetts militiamen at Lexington and Concord. Militia fighters hailing from four colonies (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) had banded together to surround the city of Boston and place the British troops inside under a state of siege by April of 1775, but it was clear that this loose coalition of colony militias was not enough to stand up to the military might the British. If the war effort were to survive, it would take the combined strength of all 13 American colonies.
ARMY BIRTHDAY
1775 map of the battles and of the siege of Boston.
By 10 May 1775, Ethan Allen and (famed eventual traitor) Benedict Arnold had already secured important victories for the independence effort, capturing forts at Lake Champlain’s Ticonderoga and Crown Point in New York. On that day, the Second Continental Congress convened to discuss their options. Some within the group sought reconciliation with the British and an end to the hostilities, content to return to the status quo as they pursued their grievances diplomatically. The sentiment was not entirely dismissed, but the reality of the military situation was clear. In order to defend their interests and pursue the formation of their own nation, the Continental Congress voted to mass their troops into a new Continental Army. The Second Continental Congress would also vote to ratify the Declaration of Independence.
The Army birthday we now celebrate on 14 June of each year is based on a resolution passed by the Continental Congress on 14 June 1775 that called for the immediate establishment of rifle companies in multiple states to support the fight.
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