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The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the [[Second Continental Congress]]<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00235)): Cont'l Cong., Formation of the Continental Army, in 2 ''Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789'' 89–90 (Library of Cong. eds., 1905)].</ref> as a unified army for the colonies to fight [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], with [[George Washington]] appointed as its commander.<ref name="Army_birth"/><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00238)): Cont'l Cong., Commission for General Washington, in 2 ''Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789'' 96–7 (Library of Cong. eds., 1905)].</ref><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00240)): Cont'l Cong., Instructions for General Washington, in 2 ''Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789'' 100–1 (Library of Cong. eds., 1905)].</ref><ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(jc00580)): Cont'l Cong., Resolution Changing "United Colonies" to "United States", in 5 ''Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789'' 747 (Library of Cong. eds., 1905)].</ref> The army was initially led by men who had served in the [[British Army]] or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, [[Early Modern France|French]] aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben]], who taught [[Prussian Army]] tactics and organizational skills.
[[File:Bataille Yorktown.jpg|thumb|left|The storming of Redoubt No. 10 in the [[Siege of Yorktown]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]], as depicted in a [[watercolor
The Army fought numerous pitched battles, and sometimes used [[Fabian strategy]] and [[hit-and-run tactics]] in the South in 1780 and 1781; under Major General [[Nathanael Greene]], it hit where the British were weakest to wear down their forces. Washington led victories against the British at [[Battle of Trenton|Trenton]] and [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton]], but lost a series of battles in the [[New York and New Jersey campaign]] in 1776 and the [[Philadelphia campaign]] in 1777. With a decisive victory at [[siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]] and the help of the French, the Continental Army prevailed against the British.
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