The First Virginia Regiment is dedicated to inspiring patriotism, educating the public, and portraying with reasonable accuracy the soldiers and civilians of the Continental Army.
The Original 1st:
The First Virginia Regiment was authorized by the Virginia Convention of July 17, 1775, as a provincial defense unit composed of six musket and two rifle companies under the command of Patrick Henry. Each company was to consist of 68 enlisted men, with officers to include a captain, lieutenant and ensign (second lieutenant). On December 28, 1775, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia recommended that each regiment should have 10 companies, and the First Virginia soon raised two more musket companies.
Over the course of the war, the 1VA Reg’t saw action in the following locations:
Hampton
Jamestown
Norfolk
Great Bridge
Harlem Heights
Trenton, Princeton
Brandywine
Germantown
Valley Forge (winter of 1777-1778)
Monmouth
Stony Point
Charleston
Yorktown
The Modern Unit:
Recreated First Virginia Regiment
The recreated First Virginia Regiment is a Revolutionary War living history and reenactment group that was formed in 1975 and is a founding member of the Continental Line. We portray Continental Army troops from the State of Virginia from 1775 through 1783. The group consists of soldiers who portray the Musket Company, the Artillery Crew, Musick, or the civilians who followed and supported the Army.
The key goals of the Regiment are:
To further the education of the members and the public about American history by way of following as closely as possible the actual conditions prevailing at the time of the American Revolution and immediately thereafter
To rekindle the flames of patriotism and otherwise seek to inspire the involvement and appreciation of all Virginians and Americans in the celebration of America’s independence
To better understand the conditions, attitudes, and experiences of those soldiers and civilians of that period who so wholly dedicated themselves to the causes of freedom
Full Regimental History
1775
The First Virginia Regiment was authorized by the Virginia Convention of July 17, 1775 as a provincial defense unit composed of six musket and two rifle companies under the command of Patrick Henry. Each company was to consist of 68 enlisted men, with officers to include a captain, lieutenant, and ensign (second lieutenant). Six of the companies were armed with muskets and two with rifles.
In September the companies began arriving in Williamsburg from the surrounding counties where each was recruited. The regiment encamped behind the College of William and Mary where the men were trained in military drill and maneuvers. On December 28, 1775 the Continental Congress in Philadelphia recommended that each regiment should have 10 companies, and the First Virginia soon raised two more musket companies.
The First, along with the Second Regiment saw service in the Tidewater area fighting the troops of Virginia’s Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore. Dunmore raised two Loyalist regiments and a small unit made up of runaway slaves to reclaim the wayward government of the colony. Two British Grenadier companies soon augmented his force. Members of the First Virginia engaged Dunmore’s troops at Hampton, Jamestown and Norfolk. On December 9th, 1775 three companies from the First joined the Second Virginia Regiment in defeating Dunmore’s troops at the Battle of Great Bridge near Norfolk. Dunmore made several more attempts to gain a stronghold on the colony but in August 1776 he abandoned Virginia.