The Virginia Regiment was formed in 1754 by Virginia's Royal Governor

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 ...

, as a provincial corps. The regiment served in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, with members participating in actions at Jumonville Glen and

Fort Necessity Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a National Battlefield in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, which preserves the site of the Battle of Fort Necessity. The battle, which took place on July 3, 1754, was an early battle of the ...

in 1754, the Braddock expedition in 1755, and the

Forbes expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...

in 1758. Small detachments of the regiment were involved in numerous minor actions along Virginia's extensive wilderness frontier.

History

The conflict over the Ohio country led to raising of the first provincial regiment in Virginia. In 1754, the General Assembly of Virginia voted to raise a regiment of 300 men and send it to the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. After the

battle of Fort Necessity The Battle of Fort Necessity, also known as the Battle of the Great Meadows, took place on July 3, 1754, in what is now Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement, along with the May 28 skirmish known as the Battle of Jumonvill ...

, the Assembly voted to increase the size of the regiment from five companies to ten. The Virginian provincial troops who participated in the Braddock Expedition of 1755 and suffered defeat at the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, e ...

were unregimented: at the behest of

General Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...

, they had been organized into two companies of carpenters, six companies of rangers, and one troop of mounted rangers, about 450 men in all. The remaining 350 men from the original ten companies of the Virginia Regiment had been allocated to the two regular regiments of the expedition. After Braddock's defeat, the Virginia Regiment was immediately reformed, with the Assembly voting in 1755 to increase its size again, to 1,500 men organized in 16 companies. The actual strength of the Regiment in 1756 was 1,400 men, but in 1757 it was reduced to 1,000 men. In 1758, Virginia raised two additional regiments of a thousand men each for the

Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...

. The enlistment period for the first regiment expired in May 1759, and for the second in December 1758. After the fall of

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

, the Assembly voted in 1759 to fill the one regiment still in service, and to raise a force of another 500 men that would remain in the province for its immediate defense. The regiment would remain in service until May 1760. With the outbreak of the Cherokee War, the Assembly prolonged the Regiment's service, adding 300 men in three companies as frontier guards. It remained on the Cherokee frontier until early 1762, when the governor disbanded it. When, later in 1762, the British government wished Virginia to raise a regiment which would be put on the regular British establishment, the General Assembly instead voted to re-raise the Virginia Regiment. This re-raised Regiment was finally disbanded in May 1763, just before the outbreak of

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–17 ...

, as the province could not maintain it without a supply of paper money, which the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

had disallowed.

Recruitment

Most recruits were characterized by Washington as "loose, Idle Persons ... quite destitute of House, and Home.""Letter to Robert Dinwiddie 9 March 1754." Washington 1834, p. 2. Hampered by frequent desertions because of poor supplies, extremely low pay and hazardous duty, Virginia Regiment recruiters went to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

for men. Washington said of them, " and not a few... have Scarce a Coat, or Waistcoat, to their Backs ..." Later drafts pulled only those who could not provide a substitute or pay the £10 exemption fee, ensuring that only Virginia's poor would be drafted. White males between 16 and 50 were permitted to serve, although the regiment's size rolls report men as young as 15 and as old as 60 in the ranks, along with references to a small number of drafts with partial African and Native American ancestry.

Legacy

The First Virginia Regiment is memorialized in a statue in Meadow Park, a triangular park in Richmond’s (VA) Fan District by sculptor Ferruccio Legnaioli. Dedicated on 1 May 1930, to commemorate the regiment for fighting in seven American Wars, including the Civil War when they served in the Confederate Army. The statue is a seven foot high bronze standing figure of a colonial infantryman that lists the founding date of the Regiment (1754) at its base. The figure is mounted on a pedestal eight feet high which is lined with bronze plaques describing the history and service of the Regiment through seven wars. The statue was pulled down from its pedestal during the night of 19–20 June 2020. It was the fifth statue toppled in Richmond during a series of civil rights protests.

Colonels

* 1754 Colonel

Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...

* 1754 Colonel

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. * 1755-1757 Colonel George Washington. * 1758: First Virginia Regiment, Colonel George Washington; Second Virginia Regiment, Colonel William Byrd III. * 1759-1762 Colonel William Byrd III. * 1762-1763 Colonel

Adam Stephen Adam Stephen ( – 16 July 1791) was a Scottish-born American doctor and military officer who helped found what became Martinsburg, West Virginia. He emigrated to North America, where he served in the Province of Virginia's militia under Georg ...

Uniforms

Source:"Virginia Provincials." ''Kronoskaf.''
2017-04-14.

Successors

* When the Colony of Virginia ordered the creation of multiple regiments in 1775 with the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, these were called the Virginia Line. *

West Virginia Army National Guard The West Virginia National Guard is a part of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. It comprises the West Virginia Army National Guard and the West Virginia Air National Guard. Unlike some states, West Virginia does ...

201st Field Artillery Regiment The 201st Field Artillery Regiment ("First West Virginia") is a West Virginia Army National Guard regiment. It currently perpetuates the Virginia elements of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, which fought in the American Revolution. Org ...

can trace its origins to the Virginia Regiment. * The 1st Virginia Regiment of the

Virginia Defense Force The Virginia Defense Force (VDF) is the official state defense force of Virginia, one of the three components of Virginia's state military along with the Virginia National Guard which includes the Virginia Army National Guard, the Virginia Air ...

is considered the present-day successor to the original Virginia Regiment.

References

Notes

Cited literature

* Bruce, Philip Alexander (1924). ''History of Virginia. Vol. I.'' Chicago: The American Historical Society. * Crozier, William Armstrong (1954). ''Virginia Colonial Militia.'' Baltimore: Southern Book Co. * Eckenrode, Hamilton James (1913). ''List of the Colonial Soldiers of Virginia.'' Clearfield. * Nichols, Franklin Thayer (1947). "The Organization of Braddock's Army", ''The William and Mary Quarterly'' 4(2): 125–147. * Washington, George (1834). ''The Writings of George Washington, volume II.'' J.Sparks (ed.) Boston: Russel, Odiorne, and Metcalf, and Hilliard, Gray, and Co.

External links

The Virginians Who Fought in the Revolutionary War - Virginia Places

Recreated Waggener's Company of the Virginia Regiment, French and Indian War reenactors
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 1754 Military units and formations of the French and Indian War British colonial regiments George Washington Military units and formations in Virginia Military units and formations in West Virginia 1754 establishments in Virginia Military history of West Virginia