Massachusetts bears the brunt of the war effort throughout the spring and summer of 1775. Thousands of militiamen from New England travel to Boston in late April and remain encamped around the town, effectively cutting it off from the countryside. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress attempts to organize this impromptu military force by creating the Massachusetts Army. In Philadelphia, Massachusetts delegates urge Congress to assume management of the troops and create a continental army. Congress hesitates, in part because several delegates from the southern and middle colonies are wary of a continental army led by New Englanders. On 14 June, John Adams offers a compromise: the adoption of the Massachusetts Army under the command of George Washington, a southern general. Congress agrees and Washington assumes command of the new continental army. His first task: creating a series of rules and articles to govern the troops.