The Continental Soldier

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This exceptional piece features an authentic war bond issued as payment for service in the Continental Army, issued between 1777 and 1782. The bond pictured here is from Connecticut. Above the bond, the 1875 chromolithograph by Frank Blackwell Mayer from the Library of Congress entitled “The Continentals” has been digitally enhanced and reprinted on the finest museum quality paper. The documents are housed in a 21½ by 15½ inch solid wood frame with bronze highlights and are double matted on acid free paper. All materials and assembly are from the US. We are including a complete front and back of the war bond. The back of the bonds may have numerous entries on them that you may want to see.

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The colonial solders who sacrificed so much for the cause of liberty were by no means a homogeneous group of men and women. The army reflected not only the diversity of the American population but reflected the spirit of rugged individualism that has become the hallmark of American fighting men and women. The army was made up of a wide variety of Americans from all walks of life - farmers, frontiersmen, tradesmen as well as professionals all came together to fill the ranks of "Continental Regulars" and the thousands of "State and local Militia” who executed the war. With an average age of only 17, the American Army was for the most part a younger, idealistic and to the dismay of its leaders, very often a ruggedly individualistic and independent minded group of men and women. Many of the soldiers were recent immigrants to the United States. Additionally, following a declaration by George Washington and the Continental Congress in 1778 we know that over 15,000 people of color also saw combat as "Continentals".

Over the course of the seven years of struggle as Washington endeavored to shape the Army into a cohesive and disciplined fighting force, the army grew and shrank often in response the changing fortunes of war. Estimates vary widely as to the number of colonists who participated in the Revolution from 100,000 to a high of 250,000, including various state and local militias. It is almost certain that no more than 90,000 colonials were underarms at any one time.

The life of a colonial soldier was indeed a hard one by today standards. Most colonial soldiers went months, sometimes even years without pay or other compensation. Scarcity of decent food and clothing was the norm, inadequate and often time's nonexistent medical care and a chronic lack of housing and shelter made life of the typical soldier and oftentimes their families, a terrible hardship. Over the course of the war it is estimated that over 25,000 revolutionaries lost their lives. Only 8,000 were the result of combat. The remainder, 17,000 were the result of illness and disease including an estimated 10,000 or so that died of starvation and disease during their imprisonment on the British prisoner of war ships anchored in New York harbor.

Through all these hardships, the fighting spirit of the Continental soldier persevered.

American Military Heritage Society, Inc.