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On the march, the Continental soldier carried 45 to 60 pounds of gear, including musket, bayonet, knapsack, haversack, ammunition, blanket, and other mission-critical items.

Continental Army uniforms varied by state and branch of service. In 1779, the Continental Congress established the blue uniform coat as the color for the Army, but shortages of dye meant that many regiments wore brown or green coats until the end of the war.

The weapons of this period consisted of firelocks for infantry; pistols, firelocks, and sabers for mounted troops; and cannons for artillery.

Firelocks included flintlock muskets, carbines, fusils, rifles, and a few other, less common arms. The musket, by far the most common arm, was loaded using a paper cartridge containing a 1-ounce ball and black powder rammed down the barrel.

A musket required thirteen steps to load and fire. A good soldier could manage about three shots per minute and reliably hit a target within 100 yards. Rifles were accurate out to about 300 yards but took up to a minute to load. The spent black powder created enough white smoke to obscure a battlefield in a matter of minutes.

Armies often closed to less than 50 yards before firing and used the bayonet to decide the outcome of the battle. Mounted troops, called dragoons or light horse, scouted for the army, delivered messages, and sometimes closed in with sabers to follow up a bayonet charge. Artillery softened up the enemy line or fortifications or knocked out enemy cannons.

All of these weapons required sophisticated tactics to maneuver the lines of highly disciplined troops into range to use their weapons effectively. Infantry soldiers of all ranks had to learn and understand the complex movements explained in works such as British army Lt. Col. Humphrey Bland’s Treatise of Military Discipline; The Manual Exercise, as Ordered by His Majesty in 1764; and later General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben’s Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, or the Blue Book.

By maintaining tightly ordered ranks, soldiers could concentrate their fire or bayonets to maximum effect. Mastery of these intricate maneuvers gave the Army of the United States the tactical proficiency to prevail on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War.

The Continental Army waged war using linear tactics. It fought in closely formed lines or ranks of soldiers, usually two but sometimes three deep. The soldier in the front rank and the soldier in the rank behind him formed a file. Soldiers typically stood between 18 inches and 4 or 5 feet apart, depending on the type of combat.

If facing enemy infantry or mounted troops in an open field, they might form at closer order to better concentrate their fire. If fighting in woods or if facing artillery, they might open their files—increasing the distance between soldiers—in order to get around trees and bushes or to make themselves less of a target. Commanders sometimes ordered independent fire by files, with each pair of soldiers shooting in turn. Light infantry troops often practiced this tactic.

When firing as part of a platoon or battalion, officers gave the command to march, load, and fire. To communicate information over the noise of the battle, drummers used different drumbeats that conveyed commands and enabled soldiers to fire in near-perfect unison.

Any missed step or unheard command could put soldiers in the wrong place and open them up to severe injury or death. Commanders therefore demanded strict discipline to execute linear tactics. Corporals ensured that privates knew and understood their drill and kept order within the ranks. Sergeants kept the ranks and files together on the battlefield, protected the officers, and helped them to evacuate the wounded and resupply ammunition.

Both corporals and sergeants wore an epaulette or strip of cloth on their right shoulder to show rank. Those of the corporals were green, those of the sergeants were red. After 1779, the epaulettes were white cloth, one for corporals, and two for sergeants. Sergeants usually carried swords in addition to muskets, and early in the war sometimes carried a polearm known as a halberd.

Drummers, who also played fifes, often wore uniforms of opposite colors so that their officers could find them in the heat of battle. Officers wore uniforms in the color of their regiments, with a sword, sash, and epaulettes to denote rank, or a long polearm called a spontoon. Immediate recognition was critical in the heat of battle, and armies of the day often wore brightly colored uniforms, if they were available, to distinguish friend from foe.
 

At other times, soldiers wore simple linen hunting shirts. Few thought about the need for camouflage, as the capabilities of the weapons that soldiers carried meant that most battles were fought in the open at relatively close range.

Thousands of women and children followed the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The exact number is not known, but official records, letters, and diaries note the presence of these “camp followers.” Most of the women were family members or wives of soldiers, although some were refugees, single women, and enslaved women.

Camp followers provided important services such as nursing, laboring, laundering, and other logistics functions for the Army. These women sometimes received wages and rations for their work.

Less wealthy women and families often lived in tents and huts outside the camps. These women had to adhere to strict military protocol and could be “drummed out” of camp for disobeying rules.

When traveling with the Army, women and children carried their personal belongings in baskets. However, when possible, they did take advantage of wagons and animals to carry their goods.

Wives and family members of officers tended to stay in homes close to camp. Affluent wives of Army officers hosted socials for officers and local people to improve morale.

Women at home raised funds for supplies for soldiers, served as messengers for the Army, and operated as spies to convey intelligence to their chosen sides.

Women and children ran family businesses and farms during their husbands’ and fathers’ absences while they fought in the war.

In battles, women brought buckets of water for drinking and for cooling down cannons. On more than one occasion, women even took up weapons to replace husbands who had been injured or killed in battle. Women were injured on the battlefields, sometimes severely.

Some Black women followed their soldier husbands. Others were servants of Army officers. Many enslaved women had no choice but to follow their soldier enslavers, while Free Black women also worked as servants, earning wages for their labor.

Native American women supported the Continental and state armies in many different roles. Tyonajanegan (Oneida), or Two Kettles, fought alongside her husband during the Saratoga Campaign. She also performed other vital services for the Army.

Children of soldiers often helped the Continental Army. Boys served as servants and messengers, or relayed commands as drummers and fifers.