The United States won its independence from Britain through the efforts of George Washington’s Continental Army.

This institution is often considered to have been fundamentally different from other 18th-century military forces, including the British Army. But was this really the case?

In this exciting talk, Dr Jon Chandler will discuss the influence of Europe on the strategy, tactics and culture of the Continental Army.

Drawing on the letters and diaries of the officers and men who served in the Continental Army, he will show how they considered themselves members of a military community which traversed national and institutional boundaries.

He will also examine the idea that, far from unique, the Continental Army operated as a transatlantic extension of ‘Military Europe’.

Dr Jon Chandler is an Associate Professor of History at University College London. His historical research focuses on war and its impact on politics, societies and economies in British North America and the broader Atlantic World in the 18th century, with a particular interest in the American Revolution. His publications include War, Patriotism, and Identity in Revolutionary North America and The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution.

The Continental Army and 'Military Europe'