Already after the first clashes in the war, in 1775, the number of enlisted soldiers coming from all Colonies increased dramatically, and they gradually replaced the volunteers. 27 infantry regiments were mustered into the backbone of the continental army. The most important battles in the American War of Independence, fought by George Washington’s continental army, were the ones at Saratoga and Yorktown. In 1784, the continental army was dissolved and absorbed into the newborn United States army.