George Washington sought to discipline, feed, and train a diverse Continental Army to face the experienced British Army. By 1778 he commanded 17,000 soldiers, and in August he created a Light Infantry Corps under General Charles Scott as small, agile strike forces for probing defenses, disrupting supply lines, and conducting reconnaissance. Dragoons, trained to fight with swords from horseback, were also important at the Battle of Edgar's Lane. Drawn from all 13 states, the army included men of varied regional and ethnic backgrounds, though tensions existed among them. Black men, free or enslaved, were barred from service in the Continental Army until February 23, 1778, after which some were promised freedom for enlisting, including in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. Many other Black men joined the British Army after Lord Dunmore offered freedom to enslaved men from the South, and despite both promises falling far short, many Black soldiers fought bravely on both sides. Native Americans, including Sachem Daniel Nimham of the Munsee Nation and the Indian Company, also fought and died for the Patriot cause. Some estimates hold that men of color made up as much as 15% of the Continental Army at different times during the war. During the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge, with help from Baron von Steuben, Washington trained these battered and diverse troops into a unified force capable of facing the British Army.