I've read multiple books recently regarding the American Revolution. And one thing that I've often noticed is Washington's insistence on having one large standing army to prove the nation is organized and can effectively combat the British. However throughout the war it appears there were actually multiple continental armies? Including Gates forces at Saratoga, Lincoln's forces at Charleston, and Washington's army.
Were these forces all part of the one large continental army and Washington divided the forces based on needs? Or were there multiple armies and Washington only commanded his specific forces? I was just confused on the organization of the army.
The Continental Army was the name given to the various forces raised at the request of the Continental Congress and under the overall command of George Washington. However, America is a BIG place - Boston is as far from Savannah as London is from Vienna - and there was no one one central force could defend everywhere at once. To that end, the thirteen states were divided into different departments. The most notable of these was the Northern Department, initially commanded by Major General Philip Schuyler, and the Southern Department. These independent commands still followed orders from Washington, but operated independently of the main body of the Continental Army (under Washington's personal command), which spent most of the war between New York and Philadelphia.
It's the same way that a modern American soldier is in the US Army, but is under the regional command of CENTCOM or PACCOM or somesuch.
Source: Martin and Lender, A Respectable Army