The Problems Surrounding Supplying

the Continental Army of the

Revolutionary War
by
Christian Grundemann
Mr. Clark
Period 5
December 8, 2015

i. Introduction
A. The American Revolution was the most important war for our country, but what problems
did we face during the war?
B. These issues hindered our army from performing at its max potential.
C. The Continental Army from the American Revolution had difficulties maintaining its
troops and supplies, due to lack of organization, economy, and transportation.
ii. Lack of organization plagued the new army from the start.
A. The quartermaster department, or suppliers, were disorganized.
1. Procedures were hastily made, and had flaws.
a. The system in place was at times unrealistic, in proportion to the current
economy in the colonies at that time.
b. Budgets were not managed, causing debts.
2. Coordination between quartermasters and their commanders in different
colonies were slow and difficult.
a.

This caused panicked decisions, due to the slow mailing.

b.

Commanders in the battlefield and city quartermasters were far away,

making it even slower.

c. Enemy territory sometimes controlled mail routes.

3. The quartermaster department could not easily purchase supplies from other
countries.
a. Countries did not respect the revolution.
b. Some countries were allied with England, or afraid of retaliation.

c. Ships with mail from the quartermasters were captured.

B. At the start of the war, army groups were far from organized.
1. Brigades were hastily made, which made the army hard to count and uneven.
a.

Lack of leaders to organize.

b.

Some brigades were large, others were too small to fight.

c.

Some civilians joined the fight when the army passed through a town, with
no record of them, many of those civilians were spies.

2. Almost all the army had to be drilled, but some of the inexperienced
militiamen were thrown into battle with no training. This led to chaos and panic in
battles.
a.

Could not use conventional warfare because lack of training of the

common man in the army.

b.

Often was the first battle for some of the soldiers, causing them to panic
and retreat.

c.

Having to change tactics ended up being a benefit, due to the superiority in

man count in Britains favor.

3. Order and law in the army was not enforced very well.
a. Disciplines were far and in between.
b. Lack of fitting punishment.
c. Lack of trust amongst soldiers (spies).

C.

The early Continental Army was controlled by individual states.

1.

Individual state control led to quarrels among generals.

a. Most generals had egos, and wanted things to be done their way.
b. Each state had its own generals
c. Prior disagreements made some generals not want to work with
others.

2.

Unification was made harder, because each state had its own army. Limited
central government.
a. Early in the war, colonies were basically each a country that could
make decisions for themselves.
b. Civil unrest was at a high.

iii.

The nations economy in the Revolutionary War was extremely lackluster and made the
war effort harder.
A.

The amount of currency in the colonies was very low.

1.

Silver and gold were at an all-time low in the colonies.

a. New Americans sold their jewelry to get paper currency.
b. Silver and gold were the only items that had real value in the current
economy.

2.

Army costs were way too high, causing a post war debt to the citizens.
a. Vehicles were commandeered.

3.

b.

Muskets were borrowed.

c.

Food was made for the soldiers.

Raw materials were controlled by the British most of the war.

a. Could not trade with other countries due to this.
b. Lack of manufacturing factories.
c. Stone quarries, mines, and factories.

B.

Paper currency was useless.

1.

The massive amounts of British money printed caused inflation in the

colonies.
a. Inflation caused the making of a new currency.
b. New currency could not be made during the war.
c. Inflation could have been implanted in the colonies during the war by the
British.

3. Common people, not soldiers, had trouble paying for the basics.
i. Food prices were insanely high due to the inflation.
ii. Farming materials were almost impossible to buy due to the price.
iii. Food shortages were common, as the food was going to the soldiers in
the field.
4. The government could not pay the soldiers.
a. Some soldiers opted to get a salary.
b. Majority of the army lost motivation due to this.
c. Thousands of able bodied soldiers simply left the army and went AWOL.

C. Trade routes were blockaded by British ships or outposts.

1. Ports were blockaded almost the whole war.
a. Prevented ships from crossing Atlantic Ocean to other countries.
b. Ships had to sneak by the patrolling army ships.
c. Trading with other countries was essential to our countries economy.
2. Some ships were seized with U.S. goods on them.
a. If ships got past a blockade or an unknown channel to the ocean, they
were risking being captured by the British.
b. British Navy patrolled the coast line.
c. Some ships had our most valuable resources on them, silver and gold.
3. British outposts on the ground stopped the United States from trading on land.
a. Could not trade with the French in the far North.
b. Trades between states and state quartermasters were hindered by the
checkpoints.
c. British troops would inspect all wagons coming through the outposts
and ask about your whereabouts.
4. No currency or ability to buy guns.
a. Most weapons were extremely old and needed to be replaced.
b. Weapons that were available under British rule were no longer in
control of the colonists.
c. Artillery was at a shortage too.
iv.

Transportation persisted as one of the main problems plaguing the Continental Army.
A.

The system of transporting supplies to the revolutionaries had many problems.

1. Tracking of supplies was inadequate.
a. Supplies could be raided, or spoiled, and the quartermaster department
would only know of the problem if the receiving side sent a letter, which
would take weeks to get to the department.
b. No checkpoints to check if the supplies were coming as expected.
c. Receiving quartermaster departments sometimes would not write back to

the senders, making it impossible to know if they got the supplies.

2.

Transportation routes were poorly developed and changed too late.

a. Transportation sometimes would go behind enemy lines.
b. Undeveloped roads were used in some of the routes.
c. At times the routes were not changed based on enemy movements and
annexed territory.

3.

Different systems were in place in each state, causing confusion.

a. Not only transportation.
b. Quartermasters were sometimes not equipped with the skills the job
required.
c. Some quartermasters were experienced in finances, and did a pronounced
job.

B.

Civilian wagons had to be commandeered to transport masses of supplies.

1.

Led to debts
a. Wagons would get damaged, and the government would have to
pay for a new wagon.

c. Contracts bound the U.S. to pay.

d. Some citizens allowed the U.S. to take the wagons for free.
3. Ships were also commandeered.
a. Ships were used to travel to other countries and trade.
b. Were sometimes used to smuggle items into a port.
c. Some ships were captured, which led to expensive debts.

v.

Lack of supplies, organization, and transportation caused havoc in the Continental Army,

and almost lost their war against the tyranny of Britain.

The American Revolution was the most important war for our country, but what problems
did we face during the war? The revolution was fought between Great Britain and the newly
formed United States (formerly the thirteen colonies). Great Britains army was the most well
trained, large, and experienced army at that time. Even though outnumbered, the United States
ended up winning the war that the whole world thought they would lose. The American people
were willing to do anything to acquire liberty once and for all.
The speed at which the Revolutionary spirit spread was surprising, even to the founding
fathers who planned the rebellion. The leaders of the succession had trouble managing almost
every aspect of this full on war. Our first great commanders had to hastily ready our army and
micro manage in rapid time. The problems are blamed by circumstance and situation, and not the
leaders. These issues hindered our army from performing at its max potential. The Continental
Army from the American Revolution had problems maintaining its troops and supplies, due to
lack of organization, economy, and transportation.
Organization is the key to a large party succeeding. If the party does not have set systems
in place, anarchy will enter. With organization comes order, which defines civilization. When a
nation loses or has never had organization and order, it will surely collapse. Lack of organization
and order plagued the new army and country from the beginning of the Revolutionary War
(Grizzard 1).

Every army has (or should have) a quartermaster department. A quartermaster, or

supplier, handles the distribution of weaponry, food rations, and ordering of new supplies
(MountVernon 1). Organization is a massive part of the quartermasters job. They must also rely
on the country they are serving, having faith the supplies are available and the budget is high
enough to sustain the army. Critical to the wartime effort, the men to take the job were chosen
carefully, though some inexperienced got hold of the employment. Most were financiers before
the war, and volunteered to help. The quartermaster was one of the most hated positions in the
army from the standpoint of the common soldier. They were often blamed for shortages of food
and poor handling of money, though most of the time it was not their fault. Quartermasters had to
deal with a plethora of problems in our war. Every department formed at the start of the
Revolutionary War was disorganized (MountVernon 1).
As aforementioned, the speed at which our country went into complete war took its toll.
Procedures and budgets for the quartermaster department were hastily made, and had errors. The
system in place was at times unrealistic, in proportion to the current economy in the colonies at
that time. An influx of paper money, or inflation, gave the illusion that American was wealthy.
State officials raised budgets to numbers the state could not pay at the current time. Massive
debts were created, which led to a less wealthy post war United States. Keep in mind the officials
were focusing on the present, not the future.
Food shortages were a normality in the army (Onion 1). Supply runs came so
infrequently that soldiers would ask farmers if they could eat some of their crop (Onion 1). This
demonstrates how supplies were always extremely low, and how urgent the circumstances were.
The morale of troops were deeply affected by the frequent bouts of starvation (Onion 1).

An extreme example of food shortages and general shortage of supplies is found in the
winter of 1777-1778, at Valley Forge (Grizzard 1). Valley Forge was a defenders paradise, and
was also twenty miles north of Philadelphia. Coming into the winter, only half the soldiers had
shoes, according to General Washington. Winter clothing was not in abundance too, with soldiers
literally fighting over them to keep warm. About two thousand soldiers died that winter, due to
starvation or frostbite. Though the army lost men, the soldiers that survived the winter were
hardened and well trained by the time spring came (Ellis 118).
Most of the time, quartermasters travelled with the army. This brought its own set of
problems. Coordination between quartermasters and their commanders in different colonies was
slow and difficult. In continental times, a letter took an average of 14 days to get to its intended
destination. At times, a certain supply was in extreme demand, and needed immediately. The
letter could be lost, or even make it to the enemies hands. With the absence of supplies, generals
would make panicked decisions to retreat for food, or because their troops were low on
ammunition. Not to mention the supplies would sometimes take more than 14 days to arrive. The
quartermaster had to take these factors into account, and alert the general, but sometimes that did
not happen.
Getting weapons was an even greater problem for the quartermasters (Grizzard 1). At the
start of the war, volunteers poured out of various places in the colonies, armed with anything
they could get their hands on. Pitchforks, knives, and even homemade guns were the common
weapons taken to war. Could you imagine going to war with no gun? This shows the amount of
motivation in the American people to liberate and rid the land of the tyrannical British.
The new states had no way of manufacturing guns for their armies. This meant we had to
depend on other countries to supply us with weaponry. France, Prussia, and other countries

helped the U.S. get weapons. Supplying the weaponless men was no easy task. Agents from the
countries aforementioned had to smuggle the guns through British navy patrol paths. The help
from other countries considerably helped the American cause.
The army had significant issues with organization too. The large army fielded from the
common population was tough even on the best generals of the day to manage and organize.
Historians are unsure of the exact number of continental troops, but 60,000 is a rough estimate of
the number (MountVernon 1). The amount of organization made (though limited), is truly
amazing.
The grouping and registering of every individual wanting to join the fight for liberty was
the main difficulty organizing the army. Brigades were hastily made, which made the army hard
to count and uneven. Besides the regular continental army, militias (or minutemen) had the
manpower of 400,000, though most of the minutemen never saw battle (MountVernon 1). There
was a lack of leaders to manage the minutemen, as they could have been used more frequently in
the battlefield. Registering 460,000 men in the army could not have been done in the
circumstance the continental army was in. Due to no records of names, join date, and
background, British spies were in the ranks of the army.
Having minutemen had its disadvantages. Almost all the army had to be drilled, but some
of the inexperienced militiamen were thrown into battle with no training. This led to chaos and
panic in battles. The average minuteman only fought in one battle in his life. The lack of stress
training and experience of the men made them erratic in battle. At the sound of gunfire, some
would retreat in a panic. This panic could have a widespread effect on all the soldiers. The
amount of military experts were few and far in between, so drilling all minutemen was an
impossibility. The inexperienced minutemen still ended up being vital to winning the war.

In the regular Continental Army, discipline and order was not enforced well (Ellis, 115).
Thousands of soldiers deserted their posts, unhappy with living conditions (St. Rock 1). The
influx of deserting soldiers that were not disciplined could have led to an even larger figure
leaving their posts. War crimes were common, men massacring British soldiers, or torturing
captured British commanders (St. Rock 1). These acts were committed on both sides of the war,
adding to the already high tension.
At first, the army had trouble unifying. The early Continental Army was controlled by
individual states. This is due to having a weak central government. States held the most power
during the Revolutionary War, but in the years after the war, the U.S. became a federalist country
(strong central government). The government at the time was a confederation, which gives all
power to the states. Each state had its own government and army, which in essence, made it a
stand-alone country. The United States promised to be united, but was not unified in the
revolutionary period.
The non-unification of armies led to internal issues (Legel 201). Most generals of this
time period were egotistical, and always wanted their way. Lower generals were jealous of the
higher ones, and would do anything to get their position. Rival generals, such as Washington and
Charles Lee, would often fight with one another, instead of working together. Leaders focused on
personal vendettas were not needed in the dire situation of America (Legel 203).
Economy in Revolutionary times was tremendously poor. Countries other than Britain, an
example being France, believed that in the off chance the U.S. won the war, the U.S. would
collapse due to economic troubles. The countries were not stretching their opinion in this matter;
the economy was in a dire situation (Office of the Historian 1). The economy of the U.S. made
maintaining the army extremely hard.

One reason the economy was so low is found in jewelry. Precious metals, such as gold
and silver, were at an all-time rarity in the states (Ppettengell 1). The metals were the only item
of interest to some, due to the market value at the time, for reasons that will be stated later.
Mining was inefficient during this time, which made both the chemical elements rare.
Salaries were the motivation for most soldiers in the later years of the war. Once again,
soldiers would go AWOL (Absence without Leave) due to not getting their salary (St. Rock 7).
The salary of the common army man was low since the beginning, but the soldiers were happy
with whatever they could get. Money made them feel as if they were in a normal peaceful society
again. Minutemen, on the other hand, were happy to sacrifice themselves for liberty.
As mentioned before, debts added up in the war (Office of the Historian 1). Farmers were
another addition to the national debt. Wagons, weapons, houses, and ships were taken and rented
in the masses. Some citizens, who were patriots, let the army take whatever they needed free of
charge. Having a debt to pay actually had an advantage. Paying off the debt to the American
people after the war told other countries we are a strong unified nation (Office of the Historian
1).
The last problem that afflicted American economy is inflation (Ppettengell 1). America
was swimming in British currency (Ppettengell 1). That was not a good thing. Inflation made
buying a loaf of bread disproportionally expensive. Paper currency in America was effectively
useless. The U.S. had to make its own currency system for the economy to stabilize once again.
Transportation persisted as one of the main problems plaguing the Continental Army.
How efficient a nation can transport goods is especially important in wartimes. Supplying your
army fast can win key battles, but if you do not supply effectively, you can lose a won battle. An

example in recent history is found in World War 2. Germany advanced on Russia in the cold of
winter. Nazi transportation to the front line was almost non-existent. German tanks, armored
technicals, and motorcycles ran out of gas. Food was scarce especially for German soldiers. This
shows the importance of having organized, set transportation paths. The Continental Army made
the same mistakes as Germany, except it didnt cost them the war.
Land supply routes were unorganized and not in decent quality. Routes were not adjusted
based on enemy activity, and sometimes would lead straight into newly occupied British
territory. Wagons broke down on the poor roads, and thousands of soldiers would starve as a
result. The British had better supply lines than the U.S., even though they came from the other
side of the world.
Control and use of the sea helped the British in supplying their massive army. The
British control of the sea was a huge disadvantage to the United States, as the sea is a faster
alterative to a caravan of wagons (Ellis, 122). Ships could also carry more supplies, and were
safer.
The problems aforementioned were widespread. They were not isolated to one quantity of
the army, but were common in every part of it. The importance of supply was realized in the war,
and leaders learned from their mistakes.
Lack of supplies, organization, and transportation caused havoc in the Continental Army,
and almost lost their war against the tyranny of Britain. Though we had rough patches, this
country was formed by competent leaders who understood liberty and freedom was a necessity.
We should not dwell on the negatives of the war too much, because the positives outweigh them.

This countries story of revolution changed the world, causing freedom to spread everywhere
darkness thrived.

Works cited

Gizzard, Frank E., Jr. "Supply Problems Plagued the Continental Army from the Start." The
American Revolution--Journal. MSU, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

Ppettengell. What Challenges Did the Continental Army Face (n.d.): n. pag. Historyisfun. Web. 7
Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

Kladky, William P., Ph.D. "Continental Army." George Washington's Mount Vernon. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

Onion, Rebecca. "The Delicious Rations Promised to Prospective Soldiers of the Continental
Army." Slate. Slate, 14 June 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

Ellis, Joseph J., 138. His Excellency: George Washington. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Rock, Joe St. "Breaking Points: Mutiny in the Continental Army." UCONN. N.p., 1 May 2008.
Web. 7 Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

Legel, Edward G. A Companion to George Washington. Chichester, West Sussex: WileyBlackwell, 2012. Print. 3

Uses

"U.S. Debt and Foreign Loans, 17751795 - 17841800 - Milestones - Office of the Historian."
U.S. Debt and Foreign Loans, 17751795 - 17841800 - Milestones - Office of the
Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. 3

Uses

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