Question

How did the Continental Army fare in the early battles of the war?

Answer 1

The Continental Army did poorly in the early battles of the war.

The Continental Army was unorganized and had few resources for war. The members of the army were ill trained and unorganized resulting in massive loss in the early battles.

It took until 1777, the second year of the war, for the Patriots to win a battle. Saratoga was the first battle won by the Patriots and would result in the French creating alliance with the Patriots. Until the French came to help, the Army remained untrained and without resources. The leadership experienced soldiers leaving and attempting to overthrow leadership. Militia forces were often hard to control and until leadership could show progress, the forces struggled.

Answer 2

The Continental Army did not inflict major defeats or gain the upper hand with the British necessarily, however, the early battles were important in terms of the political impact they had on increasing support for the revolution and breaking the seal by initiating all out conflict against the British. The early battles led to increased recruitment of soldiers for the army and helped to propel the revolutionary movement and the military activities forwards.