Hurry up and wait

The American army was organized into three lines of defense. Here, Continental soldiers in the third line wait for British troops to attack — demonstrating why war is often described as long stretches of boredom punctuated by short bursts of terror. The soldiers are wearing various colors and styles of uniforms, as was common during the Revolution. Although brown was the official color of uniform for soldiers of the Continental Army, officers wore blue, and state regiments and militias often wore their own colors.