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Discuss The Challenges Faced By The Continental Army

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There were many challenges facing the continental army during the War for Independence. Even though they lacked organization, supplies, and well trained soldiers, the continental army came out in the end, defeating one of the greatest armies in the world, the British. The continental army’s commitment, drive for freedom, and leadership is what held them together, to gain their freedom from Great Britain. One of the biggest challenges the continental army faced was their lack of organization. The army was full of regular “rag-tag” group of guys, regular citizens, and volunteers, untrained and woefully unequipped. Americans had experienced battle during the French and Indian war as members of British militia; however, this experience had not …show more content…

Solders were barley paid, they had barley any clothing, there were always low rations of food, and they lived in damp shelters, unsanitary conditions, and were always low on ammunition. Supplying the American troops was an extremely difficult task. The money necessary to pay for supplies was issued by the new state governments and the new central government. But this money did not have the trust of the business people and had very little value. Another problem was getting the supplies to the soldiers. When the Continental army was able to get supplies, they had to be shipped great distances, usually by wagon across rugged trails and roads. The wagons were sometimes attacked and taken by enemy troops or by highwaymen—outlaws. Feeding the army was difficult, especially during the winter. There were very low rations of food prepared. Also, mostly all of the soldiers would share eating utensils and …show more content…

Not all American colonists supported the war; some were still loyal to Great Britain. The British army tried to get the loyalists and offered incentives such as freedom to colonial slaves in return for freedom. To remedy this, the Continental Congress passed the Tory Act, which declared that loyalists who worked against the colonial cause should be disarmed and that any who were dangerous should be kept in safe custody. The Continental Congress was clear that the loyalists should not be treated poorly, but anti-loyalist sentiment was extremely high. In some areas, suspected loyalists were imprisoned, physically abused or

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