1st Virginia State Regiment

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1st Virginia State Regiment
Active1776-1782
Country Betsy Ross flag.svg United States
Allegiance Flag of Virginia.svg Commonwealth of Virginia
BranchInfantry
TypeRegular state troops
Role Line infantry
Size10 companies
EngagementsAmerican Revolutionary War

The 1st Virginia State Regiment was a regiment of regular state troops from Virginia which fought during the American Revolutionary War.

Contents

Formation

The regiment was authorized by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia in December 1776 as a force of regular troops for the Commonwealth's defense.

In the Contintenal Army

In 1777, Virginia had difficulty meeting its quota for the regular line of the Continental Army. As a result, in July 1777 under the command of Colonel George Gibson, the regiment began a march North to temporarily join the Continental Army in the Philadelphia Campaign. [1] [2] In January 1778, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act directing that the 1st Virginia State Regiment "now in Continental service, be continued in said service instead of the Ninth Virginia Regiment, made prisoners by the enemy in the Battle of Germantown." [3] [4] The regiment camped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78 and at Middlebrook in the winter of 1778-79 and participated in the Battle of Monmouth. The regiment remained in the service of the Continental Army until late 1779 when redeployed Virginia. [5] [3]

Organization

Unlike the standard division of eight found in the regular line regiments of the Continental Army, the 1st Virginia State Regiment consisted of ten companies including one of light infantry.

Field Officers

Company Commanders

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References

  1. Flagg, C.A. and Waters, W.O.(1913). "Virginia Soldier's in the Revolution." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 21, No. 4. pp. 337-346.
  2. Wright, Robert K. The Continental Army. Center of Military History, United States Army, 1983. p. 147
  3. 1 2 Flagg (1913) pp. 337-346.
  4. Shelby, John E. The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783. University of Virginia Press, 1988. p. 135.
  5. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M246). Roll Box Nos. 93 and 94.