The American Northern Theater Army in 1776: The Ruin and Reconstruction of the Continental Force

The American War for Independence was under way before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but the Continental Army didn’t have the force to back up the words. This history explores the army’s early failures in Canada, with desertion and disease common among the ranks, and how new leadership disciplined and reorganized the army and set the stage for a key victory at Saratoga in 1777.

Douglas R. Cubbison is a military historian with the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He writes about social and military history.