1
Jan
1776
Springfield as Continental Supply Route
Springfield, MA· year date
The Story
Springfield's location on the Connecticut River made it a key node in the Continental Army's supply network. Provisions, munitions, and equipment moved through the town between New England and the middle colonies.
The town's merchants and farmers supplied the army with food, clothing, and raw materials. The economic disruption was significant — wartime inflation and currency depreciation hit inland communities hard — but Springfield's contributions to the supply chain were essential to sustaining military operations.
Sources for Springfield
Library of Congress, Papers of the Continental Congress
General Henry Knox's Orders Establishing the Springfield Arsenal, 1777
National Archives and Records AdministrationMassachusetts State Archives
National Park Service
The Armory at Springfield: A History of the Springfield Armory, 1794-1968
American Rifleman / NRA Foundation (James B. Whisker)founders.archives.gov
hamilton.gilderlehrman.org
www.gilderlehrman.org
www.masshist.org
Joel Barlow's American Vision: War, Commerce, and the Making of a Republic
Harvard University Press (Richard Buel Jr.)National Park Service
Shays' Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection
University of Massachusetts Press (David P. Szatmary)Springfield History Library and Archives (City of Springfield)
The History of the Non-Importation Movement in Colonial Springfield
New England Historical and Genealogical RegisterGreater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau