What was the relative importance of the militia and the Continental Army in securing rebel victories in the War for Independence?

In the early days, the militias of the various colonies formed the basis for the fight against the British. Some of those unites formed the core of the Continental Army, but as the war went on, the Continental Army acquired more significance. As the army held together and learned discipline through the winter of Valley Forge, it became the central corps to take the fight to the enemy, with various militia units joining in as time and proximity allowed. Eventually it was the Continental Army which forced the surrender of the British forces, with the help of the French expeditionary forces.