I’ve been reading quite a bit about the American Revolution, it’s one of my favorite parts of history. I’ve been trying to find good resources explaining how the Continental Army was organized, like ranks and what made up a company/regiment, what made up the army in general. I don’t expect anyone to know everything about it so even a small fact would be appreciated. Thanks!
I would highly recommend Robert K. Wright's The Continental Army. If your interested in the organization, lineage, etc. of each regiment it is a fantastic resource and might be what you're looking for.
Now as for the organization of Continental Army I'll give a rough breakdown for the infantry regiments which formed the nucleus of the Continental Army that surrounded Boston in 1776.
Infantry Regiment 1776
Headquarters: 1 Colonel, 1 Lt Colonel, 1 Major
Regimental Staff: 1 Surgeon, 1 Surgeon's Mate, 1 Adjunct, 1 Quartermaster, 1 Paymaster, 1 Sqt Major, 1 Quartermaster Sergeant, 1 Drum Major, 1 Fife Major, 1 Chaplin
Infantry Company x 8: 1 Captain, 1 1st Lieutenant, 1 2nd Lieutenant, 4 Sergeants, 4 Corporals, 1 Drummer, 1 Fifer, 76 Privates
Each regiment consisted of 1 battalion of 8 companies with each company were further organized into 4 squads consisting of 1 Sergeant, 1 Corporal, and 19 Privates.
Each standard infantry regiment would field 728 men of which 640 (88%) served as musketmen.
The 1776 Infantry Regiment was the product of an October 1775 war council in which Washington and his officers decided on the size and organization of the army. Ideally it was to consist of 20,000 men organized into 26 infantry regiments with separate regiments for riflemen and artillery respectively. The reorganization would almost exclusively use the New England regiments that surrounded Boston. This proposal was approved by Congress in November 1775 and the reorganization officially began on January 1, 1776. By March 1776 the reorganization was effectively complete with the army around Boston organized into 26 infantry regiments, 1 rifle regiment, and 1 regiment of artillery. Its worth noting that the army around Boston never really reached its full authorized manpower quota and had to be heavily reinforced with militia to fill its ranks.
Number of Infantry Regiments by State
NH: 3
RI: 2
CT: 5 (with another 3 dispatched to Canada)
MA: 16
Other Formations by State
MA and RI: 1 Regiment of artillery consisting of Gridley's regiment of artillery from Massachusetts and 4 companies of artillery from Rhode Island
PA: 1 Regiment of riflemen (designated 1st Continental Regiment)
VA and MD: 4 Companies of riflemen
The riflemen operated largely as a reserve force or in independent companies.