Happy Birthday Chaplain Corps! On July 29, 1775, Congress granted George Washington’s request for one chaplain for each regiment in the Continental Army. Receiving a captain’s pay, the chaplains would attend to the well-being of the troops–their spiritual, emotional, and even physical needs. This makes the Chaplaincy Corps even older than the United States and it remains integral to the fabric of our nation, and instrumental to our military’s success…back then and even now.