 It was then about 11 o'clock and very pleasant in Medford. I awakened the captain of the Minutemen After that alarmed almost every house till I got to Lexington. Here is 1775 The English colonies in America are a stir with thoughts of rebellion Relations with Britain are strained to the point of breaking 700 British troops are on their way to Concord to seize and destroy American military supply But last night Paul Revere gave no sleep to the citizenry along the way from Boston to Lexington Now at daybreak the Minutemen wait These are farmers merchants craftsmen and lawyers all volunteers trained to become soldiers upon a moment's notice Not a formal army. These men supply much of their own equipment Buried in age background armament and clothing, but united in purpose. They face a professional British army American's lose their lives with others of both sides being wounded The British proceed on to Concord and destroy what supplies they find But by now the alarm is out and an aroused citizenry closes in on the invaders From all directions shots are fired at the British troops Their hurried retreat toward Boston becomes a bloody affair with the persistent Americans sniping from behind stone walls along the road The war has begun and America is without an army Here are 13 colonial settlements more or less united by the common need for survival For years they had found it necessary to require every able-bodied man to own a serviceable musket and to spend some time training in the local militia This provided the bare minimum of protection be it from bandits or wild animals But now the newly formed minute companies have appeared marking a new step toward preparedness King George III declares the colonies to be in a state of rebellion Full-scale war is ordered to bring the Americans into subjection But freedom-minded leaders speak out Is life so dear or peace so sweet as To be purchased at a price of chains and slavery Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take But as for me Give me liberty or Give me death While the British build up their forces at Boston the Continental Congress votes to raise 10 companies of riflemen in Maryland Pennsylvania and Virginia George Washington is appointed as general commander-in-chief of the developing Continental Army And a strange army it is that besieges the British at Boston Farm boys and great-grandfathers joined the disorganized mob of alarm companies men and men and other involved citizens The chaos is only to cease after Washington arrives takes command and begins to organize a truly national army The Continental Army never had enough men all through the war an uncertain supply of manpower plagued the Americans It was a volunteer army and men came or left as their terms expired Enlistment bounties were offered gifts of money land or a new suit and The budding Continental Navy was no better off Against the vastly superior forces of the Royal Navy the Americans could only hope to disrupt shipping and perhaps capture some supplies John Adams had expressed interest in building a small naval force that could do something Largely through the efforts of John Adams Congress formally established the Continental Navy in the latter part of 1775 Olesic Hopkins became the first commander and it said that he looked much like an angel only he swore now and then The first important naval prize was the capture of the British ordnance ship Nancy And eyewitness describes her unloading As the men went about this hurried task Every lift from the hold of the Nancy seemed to bring a military treasure into daylight When he saw her papers Horatio Gates exclaimed that he couldn't have made out a better invoice if he had tried It's been observed that 18 months would have been needed to manufacture in America the materials taken from the Nancy But the American Navy was never to become substantial during the revolution Any gentlemen volunteers who have a mind to take an agreeable voyage in this pleasant season of the year May by entering on board meet with every civility they can possibly expect commanded by John Paul Jones Hmm, why should I join the regular Navy with its discipline and it's poor food and pay When I can share the spoils by privateeering Congress authorized the arming of over 2,000 private vessels to assist the Continental Navy which had less than 50 ships of its own This proved to be a mixed blessing Sailors were attracted to service on the private vessels rather than in the regular Navy because they could personally share the spoils of captured British ships Said Robert Morris the spirit of privateeering as prevailed so eminently that they have Sacrificed every other pursuit to it But behind it all the Americans had a weapon of supreme value a Stand for national independence had been taken and there was no turning back Thomas Payne spoke for many and inspired others when he wrote These are times that try men souls The summer soldier and the sunshine Patriot will in this crisis shrink from service of his country But he that stands it now Deserves the love and thanks of men and women Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered yet We have this consolation with us that the harder the conflict the more Glorious the triumph What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly Tis dearness only that gives everything its value Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods and it would be strange indeed if so Celestial and article-less freedom Should not be highly rated Many Britishers recognized and sympathized with the American situation Late in 1777 William Pitt Earl of Chatham expressed it this way You cannot conquer America if I were an American as I am an Englishman While a foreign troop will landed in my country. I would never lay down my arms never never never And indeed the Americans determination was put to the test the war was to drag on for four more years With the British occupying the colonial capital at Philadelphia the American troops spend the hard winter at Valley Forge But nonetheless the army was becoming more professional Under the stern prodding of the self-titled Baron von Steuben the army learned fighting in the best European tradition They learned to meet the British on their own terms with drawn-up battle lines and bayonet charges Who is your fire locks? cock your fire locks Reveal tef cock your fire locks handle your cartridge prime shot your pans charge with cartridge Throw your rammas Ram down your cartridge Recon your rammers shoulder your fire locks The army became proficient but never independent of the need for help from local militia to bolster its thin ranks Then finally with the aid of France and later Spain and Holland the Americans secured their prized independence The climax was Yorktown Most statesmen feared the possible evils of having a large army and Navy in peacetime So Congress made no provision for a permanent military establishment Immediately after hostilities the army was disbanded with a total of 87 men retained to guard military property In 1785 Congress sold the last warship only the small local militia units continued to function But then the following year Congress set up a three-year enlistment program Shays rebellion in which a disgruntled mob attacked the arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts Proved the wisdom of having some form of continuing military force available In 1787 the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to form a stronger government The subject of a military establishment was hotly debated James Madison acknowledged that while a standing force was dangerous it may at the same time be a necessary provision George Washington who presided at the convention said after our experience I believe that we should all see a need for a professional army The jealousies and evils of a standing army to be feared are I believe remote But the consequence of wanting one is ruin Two years later in 1789 Congress established the War Department and strengthened the army the revival of the Navy however was slower With no force to oppose them. It wasn't long before pirates renewed their attacks upon American shipping In 1794 the US authorized the construction of six frigates to fight the pirates Notable among them was the 44 gun Constitution with its hull of rugged oak timber. It fared well in battle The incredible sight of cannon shot bouncing off its hull soon prompted the famous nickname old Ironside By 1798 we almost went to war again This time with the French who had seized over 300 of our merchant ships That year Congress created a permanent Navy Department under a secretary of the Navy The words of Washington quoted from an earlier letter to Elbridge Jerry were proved valid There is nothing so likely to produce peace As to be well prepared to meet an enemy