Unit Name: | 1st Virginia State Regiment |
Dates: | 1776-1782 |
Country: | United States |
Allegiance: | Commonwealth of Virginia |
Branch: | Infantry |
Type: | Regular state troops |
Role: | Line infantry |
Size: | 10 companies |
Colours: | --> |
Colours Label: | --> |
Battles: | American Revolutionary War |
The 1st Virginia State Regiment was a regiment of regular state troops from Virginia which fought during the American Revolutionary War.
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 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]
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.