Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no use restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Militia Lists of the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts, 1779-1782. Accession APA 225, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession APA 225, Transferred prior to 1905.

Biographical Information

Although the Virginia militia was organized officially by Governor Thomas Dale in 1611, in reality the colonists had been organized for their mutual defense against hostile Indians and Europeans since establishing Jamestown in 1607. As the colony grew and counties   were formed, the House of Burgesses refined the organization of the militia, which was under the authority of the governor. By the time the revolutionary war began, the militia had been structured along English lines, with regiments in each county   commanded by a county   lieutenant holding the rank of colonel.

To ensure "conformity in their exercise and evolutions, so that when the different battalions join in brigades there may be no mistake or confusion," the third revolutionary convention passed an ordinance at its session begun on July 17, 1775, establishing the Office of the Adjutant General. Both the office and the trend toward uniformity continued after the war. The Civil War marked the end of the militia system of 250 years.

Scope and Content

This series consists of a collection of revolutionary war militia lists. These payroll lists generally include the name of the company and county  , and record the names of the men in the militia, number of days in service and/or amount of pay, and may also include remarks. Militia lists for Henry County   (List of recruits) and Loudoun   County   also record the soldiers' occupations, heights, and place of residence. Also includes commissioner's accounts, lists of recruits and lists of classes (with amount of tax).

Lists are included for the following counties  : Albemarle, Amelia, Amherst, Caroline, Essex, Fauquier, Fredrick, Gloucester, Henry, King George, Loudoun  , New Kent, Prince William, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Washington, and Westmoreland.

Arrangement

Arranged in alphabetical order by county  .