List of Continental Army Units - Second Establishment, 1776

Second Establishment, 1776

At the end of 1775 the Siege of Boston was no nearer to resolution than it had been in April, and the attempt to capture Quebec had received a significant setback with the loss of the Battle of Quebec. To continue the war the Continental Congress voted to reraise the army at Boston and to maintain Continental units elsewhere. Before the Siege of Boston ended in March 1776 the Continental Congress was supporting troops from every colony except Maryland. The new units were to serve from January 1 to December 31, 1776. British troops withdrew from Boston in March 1776, after which commander in chief George Washington sent most of them to New York City where the British were expected to attack. The invasion of Quebec ended with an ignominious retreat to Fort Ticonderoga in July, and Continental troops participated in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, and in North Carolina at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.

Washington commanded forces moved from Boston and Ticonderoga in the failed defense of New York, losing at Long Island, White Plains and most seriously at Fort Washington, where nearly 3,000 soldiers were captured. Forced to retreat all the way across New Jersey to Pennsylvania, Washington closed the campaign season with major victories in the battles of Trenton and Princeton at the close of the year and early in 1777. The fact that his army was disbanding at the critical moment between Trenton and Princeton was the result of the unfortunate fact that its one-year term of service was then expiring, but Washington convinced a significant number of soldiers to overstay their enlistments.