The Treaty of Paris disbanded the majority of the Continental Army in 1783
One of the facts about the Continental Army is that the Treaty of Paris disbanded the majority of the Continental Army in 1783. At the behest of a congressional committee commanded by Alexander Hamilton, planning for the transition to a peacetime force began in April 1783. The commander-in-chief met with important officers to address the issue before submitting the army's formal position on May 2. Washington anticipated the militia to serve largely as security for the country at the start of a war until the regular army could expand, as it had done in 1775 and 1776. Steuben and Duportail proposed their own legislation to Congress for consideration.
Although Congress did not decide on the peacekeeping establishment on May 12, it did address the need for some troops to remain on duty until the British withdrew New York City and some border posts. When Steuben's attempt in July to arrange a handover of frontier forts with Major General Frederick Haldimand failed, the British retained possession of them until the 1790s. Because of this failure, as well as the understanding that the majority of the surviving infantrymen's enlistments were set to expire by June 1784, Washington directed Knox, his pick as commander of the peacetime army, to discharge all but 500 infantry and 100 artillerymen before winter set in.
On October 18, 1783, Congress issued a proclamation approving Washington's reductions. On November 2, Washington addressed his Farewell Orders issued to the Armies of the United States of America to the Philadelphia newspapers from Rockingham, near Rocky Hill, New Jersey. On December 4, Washington bid his final farewell to his remaining officers at New York's Fraunces Tavern. On December 23, he returned his commission as commander-in-chief to Congress. On January 14, 1784, Congress declared the War of American Independence over by ratifying the ultimate peace treaty agreed upon in Paris on September 3.
