By Patriot Post - On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress directed “six companies of expert riflemen be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia.” Each company consisted of “a captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter and sixty-eight privates.” Finally, “Each company … shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.”... The next day, George Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army, which later became the U.S. Army.