10-16 June 1775

Quartermaster Corps is Born

After the skirmishes as Lexington and Concord and the New England provincial Army had laid siege to the British garrison in Boston, delegates to the Second Continental Congress meeting in the old State House in Philadelphia (later known as Independence Hall) turned their attention toward creating a National Army.

Here, on 16 June 1775, George Washington, “rising in his place,” accepted the commission of his fellow members to become Commander of the Continental Army. Among other actions taken that same day, Congress approved the appointment of a “Quarter-Master-General.” And with that brief act the United States Army Quartermaster Corps was born.

Since that time Quartermaster soldiers have served in every war and in every major campaign throughout our nation’s history, and assisted with humanitarian aid and disaster relief in peacetime as well.

This week the Quartermaster Corps proudly celebrates the anniversary of its founding.

Compiled by Dr. Steven Anders, former Quartermaster School historian.