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The Continental Army

Beginning in June 1775, the Continental Army fought the British under the command of General George Washington. People from all thirteen colonies joined the forces for Revolution.

At the Museum

Lifelike figures of three men, a woman, and a child, behind a placard with text on it

Museum Exhibits

Learn more about the experiences of the Continental Army throughout the Museum's core galleries through tableaus, interactive displays, and artifacts.

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Collection Highlights

Objects and documents in the Museum's collection help tell the stories of soldiers in the Continental Army.

This hanger was given to Jeremiah Keeler by the Marquise de Lafayette.
 
Online Collection

Jeremiah Keeler's Hanger (Sword)

This hanger belonged to Sergeant Jeremiah Keeler, who served at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, and was given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette.
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This image shows a handwritten 18th century document on aged brownish paper that certified the age of a Continental Army soldier.
 
Online Collection

Age Certification for David Clark

This document from May 1780 certified that 17-year-old David Clark was old enough to enlist in the Continental Army.
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Cash Pallentine's Continental Army Discharge
 
Online Collection

Cash Pallentine's Continental Army Discharge

Cash Pallentine, who served in the Continental Army from 1777 through the end of the war, was among hundreds of African Americans who served in Connecticut regiments during the Revolution.
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Image 120220 Collections Continental Army Descriptive List
 
Online Collection

Continental Army Descriptive List

This “descriptive list” for a Continental Army company of the 7th Massachusetts Regiment was taken at West Point, New York, in 1782.
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Stained and creased handwritten document marked with a red wax seal on the left side
 
Online Collection

John Chandler Commission

Connecticut native John Chandler received this military commission in the colonial militia in 1771 and later served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
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Image 092120 Wooden Canteen Ustates Collection 200300 0033 2
 
Online Collection

Wooden Canteen Marked "USTATES"

Take a closer look at an extremely rare wooden soldier’s canteen marked “USTATES,” indicating Continental Army usage.
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Off-Site Experiences

Learn more about the Continental Army around the country with the Museum's first traveling exhibit and the First Oval Office Project.

This image shows a crowd of about a dozen people in a semicircle around a costumed living historian interpreting the baggage and equipment that's part of the replica First Oval Office Project.
 

First Oval Office Project

Learn more about life in the Continental Army with the Museum's handsewn, full-scale replica of General George Washington's mobile Revolutionary War headquarters tents at historic sites across America.

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A detail of a painting with three men in 18th century clothing with white wigs
 
Exhibits

Among His Troops: George Washington and the Citizen-Soldier Tradition

June 12, 2026 - January 2, 2027
Among His Troops, a limited-run special exhibition at the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, shares General Washington’s inspiring story of leadership for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
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Digital Experiences

Discover more about the Continental Army and the people who served with online exhibits and interactives.

Photo of the exterior view of the sleeping marquee of Washington's field headquarters tent
 
Washington's Field Headquarters

Virtual Tour of Washington's Field Headquarters

Explore the Museum's handsewn, full-scale replicas of General George Washington's Revolutionary War sleeping, dining, and baggage tents through 360-degree images in our Virtual Tour of Washington's Field Headquarters.
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A zoomed in section of Verplanck's Point featuring General Washington’s tent perched on a hill overlooking the encampment
 
Virtual Exhibit

Among His Troops

View the exhibit inspired by Continental Army engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant's 1782 watercolor painting depicting the only known wartime image of George Washington's headquarters tent.

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Image 062623 James Davenport Letters Page 250
 
Virtual Exhibit

The Davenport Letters

Read a series of letters written during the Revolutionary War by brothers and Continental Army soldiers James and Isaac How Davenport between 1778-1783.

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Image 120424 16x9 Proof Gerock Header Mobile
 
Virtual Exhibit

Proof of Service

Explore the wartime papers of Continental Army soldier Samuel Gerock, who served at the Second Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton during the 10 Crucial Days.
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The Nation Makers painting which depicts part of the 1777 Battle of Brandywine a
Howard Pyle (1853-1911), The Nation Makers (detail), ca. 1902, oil on canvas, 40 ¼ x 26 in. Brandywine Museum of Art, Purchased through a grant from the Mabel Pew Myrin Trust, 1984. 
Virtual Exhibit

Banners of Liberty

Explore the Museum's Banners of Liberty online exhibit to learn more about rarely seen flags used by the Continental Army and militia in the Revolutionary War.

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Pomp London Document Dsc0270

Patriots of Color Archive: Black and Indigenous Soldiers in the Revolutionary War

Nearly 200 rare documents bearing the names of Black and Native American soldiers who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War are now part of the Museum's collection.

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