By Mary O’KEEFE

On Saturday the U.S. Army celebrated its 250th anniversary. Locally members of American Legion Post 288 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614, with community members, enjoyed breakfast at the Verdugo Hills Memorial Hall. This month the breakfast included a celebration of the anniversary of the Army.

The Continental Army was first established on June 14, 1775; the name was changed to the Army of the United States once the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.  And although the Continental Army/U.S. Army was celebrated on Flag Day, June 14, it was actually established two years prior to the U.S. flag being adopted. 

Prior to the Continental Army’s creation, skirmishes often occurred between British-ruled soldiers in the colonies. 

“The militia system, which was based on medieval precedent, was transplanted from England to the colonies as a way to train and prepare colonists to react to emergencies. Many of the colonies adopted a compulsory militia model where men were required to appear for a certain number of training days a year,” according to the National Museum United States Army (NMUSA).  

These men were required to pay for their own weapons and ammunition. They were not exactly organized or disciplined, which was the exact opposite of the British Army soldier.

Colonists had enough of the heavy-handed British rule, which included  taxation without representation and being helpless when British military entered any colonist home or business through the use of Writs of Assistance, which was issued by the British American courts and allowed soldiers to search without just cause. The Sons of Liberty was formed in resistance to British rule. Then came the “shot that was heard around the world,” known as the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Within two months the Continental Congress voted to create the Continental Army. 

This newly formed Army consisted of 10 companies of riflemen and was led by Commander in Chief General George Washington.

“The Continental Army engaged a better organized, determined and professional British enemy, but American tactics, self-reliance and courage ultimately secured colonial independence. George Washington drew from the war – a belief that there stands an inherent need to maintain a well-regulated militia that is trained and organized under a uniform national system. This belief is the basis on which the United States Army is organized today. The Revolution also helped to create a uniquely American ideology of a people fighting for a cause, an ideology seen time and time again on battlefields at home and abroad. The United States Army of today is rich in military tradition and honors those who fell in the name of the American ideal of freedom,” according the NMUSA. 

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Army.