Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

INTR0DUCTI0N.

The subject of military dress worn by Virginia officers and soldiers in the eighteenth century has received very little attention by writers on uniforms of the American Army in general.ⁱ Therefore a study of the materials and clothing supplied the Virginia troops during the years 1775-1780, from the Public Store at Williamsburg,ⁱⁱ should throw additional light on the matter for those years of the Revolutionary War.

Until the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the only standing force in Virginia was the county militia--and acts were passed from time to time by the General Assembly of Virginia, regulating the militia, noting the exemptions, listing the officers, stipulating the arms and accoutrements for officers and men, and times for muster and 1eexercise.1e No mention was made of military dress or uniforms in any of these acts; and it is probable that the soldiers wore their every-day dress when attending muster, and the officers, if they had uniforms, suited their own tastes in that regard. Robert Beverley, the Virginia historian whose The History and Present State of Virginia was first published in London in 1705, commented on the county militia as follows:

"The Militia are the only standing Forces in Virginia. ...They are happy in the enjoyment of an Everlasting Peace, which their Poverty and want of Towns secure to them. They have the Indians round about in Subjection... And for a Foreign Enemy, it can never be worth their while to carry Troops sufficient to conquer the Country;... They fear no other Enemy, but only now and then, an insolent and oppressive Governor,…

The Governor is Lieutenant-General by his Commission, and in each County dots appoint the Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major, who have under them Captains, and other Commissioned, and Subaltern Officers.

Every Freeman (by which Denomination they call all, but ii indented, or bought Servants) from Sixteen, to Sixty years of Age, is listed in the Militia; which by a Law, is to be Mustered in General Muster for each County, once a year; and in single Troops and Companies, three or four times more… The People there are very Skilful in the use of Fire-Arms… This, together with a little exercizeing would soon make the Militia little inferior to Regular Troops…

The Number of Soldiers in each Troop of Light-Horse, and Dragoons, are from Thirty to Forty...and in a Company of Foot about Fifty,…"

An act of the Virginia Assembly of 1705 for "settling the Militia," listed the arms and accoutrements with which each foot-soldier and horse-trooper mast supply himself: "...every foot soldier...a firelock, maskett or fusee well fixed, a good sword and cartouch box, and six charges of powder, and appear constantly with the same at time and place appointed for muster and exercise"; and he must keep two pounds of powder and eight pounds of shot at his place of abode. Every "soldier belonging to the horse" must provide himself "with a good serviceable horse, a good saddle, holsters, brest plate and crouper, a case of good pistolls well fixed, sword and double cartouch box, and twelve charges of powder, and constantly appear with the same" at musters. Each horse soldier must also have at his place of abode, "a well fixed carabine, with belt and swivle, two pounds of powder and eight pounds of short."ⁱⁱ

The following comment on the militia in Virginia, Maryland, and Carolina, by an English visitor ca.1736, mentioned with evident disgust the diversity of dress, etc., at musters he apparently witnessed:

"...Wherever you travel in Maryland (as also in Virginia and Carolina) your Ears are constantly astonished at the Number of Colonels, Majors, and Captains that you hear mentioned: In short, the whole Country seems at first to you a Retreat of Heroes; but, alas! to behold the Musters of their Militia, would induce a Man to nauseate a Sash and hold a Sword for ever in Derision. Diversity of Weapons and Dresses, Unsizeableness of the Men, and Want iii of the least Grain of Discipline in their Officers or them, make the whole Scene little better than Dryden has expressed it-

'And raw in fields, the rude militia swarms; Mouths without hands, maintained at a vast expence,
In peace a charge, in war a weak defence;

…"ⁱ

In 1757 an act was passed by the General Assembly for "the better regulating and disciplining of the militia,"—again with no reference to clothing, but with arms and accoutrements specified for both officers and men. This act included no mention of horse-troops or cavalry. It was continued at intervals, with very,light changes until 1771—at which time it was to be in force until 1773.ⁱⁱ

When Colonel George Washington was recruiting soldiers in 1754 for his Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War, there were no uniforms. In March, 1754, Washington wrote to Virginia's Lieutenant-Governor, Robert Dinwiddie, from Alexandria, stating that most of the recruits were destitute of clothing and were willing to have the cost of uniforms deducted out of their pay.ⁱⁱⁱ Governor Dinwiddie replied that he had "no Objection to the Soldiers being in uniform Dress," as Washington had proposed, but that he thought that there was not time to get them made, unless "to be sent after You." On March 21, 1754, Dinwiddie wrote Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania, that the Virginia Regiment proposed "to be in an uniform, by having a red Coat and Breeches, w'ch they are willing the ch'ge sh'd be stop'd out of their Pay"; and on March 28th, 1754, he wrote Governor Sharpe of Maryland: "In order to have them [the Virginia Regiment] in an Uniform, they allow a deduct'n from their Pay to purchase a Coat and Breeches of red Cloth." On February 8, 1755, Dinwiddie, in a letter to Governor Dobbs of North Carolina wrote, "...Blue turned up with red, I think will make very proper Uniforms."^iv iv Whether this referred to officers only, or to the soldiers too, he did not state; but on September 17 and October 5, 1755, General Orders were issued concerning blue and red uniforms for the officers of the Virginia Regiment:

"Every Officer of the Virginia Regiment is, as soon as possible, to provide himself with an uniform Dress, which is to be of fine Broad Cloath; The Coat Blue, faced and cuffed with Scarlet, and Trimmed with Silver: the Waistcoat Scarlet, with a plain Silver Lace, (if to be had), the Breeches to be Blue; and every one to provide himself with a Silver-laced Hat, of a Fashionable size."ⁱ

In July, 1756, Washington was still referring to the orders of September 17 (and October 5), 1755, concerning the blue and red uniforms for officers in his Virginia Regiment.ⁱⁱ Concerning the soldiers' clothing, in January, 1757, Washington wrote the Earl of Loudoun:

"Want of clothing may be esteemed another principal grievance, which our soldiers have labored under. In the first twelve months of their service they received no clothing; but in March, 1754 (sic, 1754/5?), they were presented each with a suit made of thin, sleazy cloth, without lining, and flannel waistcoats of an inferior sort. After that no others were sent for (and two pence stoppages drawn from every man's pay, recruits not excepted,) until repeated complaints and remonstrances from me...induced the Committee, to whom those addresses were presented, to send for clothing, &c. These were to have been here by the middle of October, but no advice is received of them yet,..."ⁱⁱⁱ

A Second Virginia Regiment was organized in April, 1758, under the command of Colonel William Byrd, every recruit receiving a bounty of £10 on enlisting. This caused considerable discontent among Washington's First Regiment, as Washington wrote John Blair, of Williamsburg, in May, 1758:

"...the soldiers of the first regiment think their claim upon the country equally good, if not better than that of the second... They have lacked the great bounty...and have had no clothes for near two years,..."ⁱ

On July 3, 1758, he wrote Col. Henry Bouquet:

"My Men are very bare of Cloaths (Regimentals I mean), and I have no prospect of a Supply...if I were left to pursue my own Inclinations I would not only order the Men to adopt the Indian dress, but cause the Officers to do it also, and be the first to set the example myself... 'Tis an unbecoming dress, I confess, for an officer; but convenience rather than shew, I think, should be consulted."ⁱⁱ

Washington succeeded in putting his men into hunting shirts and leggings in 1758, before resigning his commission at the end of that year, to take a seat in the House of Burgesses as a delegate from Frederick County in 1759.ⁱⁱⁱ

In the portrait of Washington painted by Charles Willson Peale at Mount Vernon in 1772 (see page 1-a_ following), Washington is said to be wearing his uniform as Colonel of the Fairfax County Militia.^iv Washington vi attended musters of this militia, which were usually held at Cameron, a few miles west of Alexandria, or at Alexandria.ⁱ In this portrait Washington is wearing a gorget, sash, and shoulder knots (or epaulets), similar to those ordered by him for the Fairfax and Prince William Independent Companies, in January, 1775.

In 1774-1775, a number of independent companies were formed in Virginia. Washington was elected to command the independent companies in Fairfax, Prince William, and Spotsylvania counties.ⁱⁱ He may have worn his uniform as officer of the Fairfax County Militia in reviewing these independent companies; and the officers of these companies may have based their uniforms on Washington's. In any event, on January 23, 1775, Washington wrote William Milner, a Philadelphia merchant, concerning forty muskets which had been ordered (which he felt no letters should be stamped on, but that "it would be an advantage to have them numbered"), and cartouch boxes. He also ordered, for the Prince William Independent Company, at the request of the officers :

"4 Officers Sashes like the one you sent me
4 Gorgets Do Do d'bled. having the Virginia Arms engraved; but some what smaller than the last.
4 Shoulder Knots exactly like the one I had
8 Do Do for the Sergeants and Corporals, also made of Gold; but no so showy, finishing at the point of the Shoulder with a round rose of gold fringe, the rose to be a little broader than the double of the Lace which it is on."

Some of the independent companies,under command of Patrick Henry, marched towards Williamsburg in April, 1775, on hearing of the removal of the gunpowder from the Magazine there, by order of Lord Dunmore. They demanded and received payment for the powder. In a report prepared by a committee of the House of Burgesses, "appointed to inquire into the Causes of the late vii disturbances and Commotions," presented to the House on June 114, 1775, the independent companies of Norfolk and Williamsburg were mentioned as follows:

"...Benjamin Waller further says that several young Gentlemen of the Town [Williamsburg] and others had formed themselves into a Company by the name of an independent Company to learn the Military exercise and elected the Colonel of the Militia for their Captain and that they usually mustered once a Week. That when his Excellency returned from the Indian Expedition last fall many of the said Company waited upon him in their uniform to congratulate his Lordship on his Return but the said Waller heard they were cooly received....

"...It also appears by the Testimony of John Dixon, Esquire, Mayor of the City of Williamsburg, That in the Opinion of the Inhabitants the Militia of the City being on a different footing and having heard of an independent Company established at Norfolk, were desirous of forming one in Williamsburg. That such a Company was accordingly formed and although he does not know the Governor [Dunmore] was ever present when they were exercised, the said Dixon never heard he disapproved of it,..."ⁱ

It would appear that Williamsburg had an independent company with uniforms by the fall of 17714. We know nothing of the uniforms, unless they were those described by Robert Greenhow many years later in a deposition made before the Mayor of Richmond on October 9, 1833, at which time Robert Greenhow was 73 years of age:

"…at the beginning of the Revolutionary War the youth of Williamsburg, among whom he was one formed themselves into a military corps and chose Henry Nicholson for their captain. That on Dunmores flight from Williamsburg [June, 1775]—they repaired to the magazine, and armed themselves with the blue painted stock guns, kept for the purpose of distribution among the Indians—and equipd as the minute men and volunteers were in military garb—that is to say—with hunting shirts — Trousers — buckstails — cockades and Liberty or Death appended to their breasts as their motto — That they could and did perform all the evolutions of the manuel exercise, far better than the soldiers who were daily arriving from the adjacent counties. That their Captain (Henry Nicholson)—he supposes was then about Fourteen years old — …he knows that two or three years before the close of the War...[Nicholson was serving] as a Cornet in Troops of Horse — commanded, he thinks, by Jno. Nelson…."ⁱⁱ

For data concerning the uniforms of the Virginia minutemen, regulars, and regiments, in the American Revolution, 1775-1780, see the report following.

Brown was the first official color adopted by the Continental Congress, November 1, 1775, for Continental uniforms or regimentals, with facings of different colors to distinguish the regiments.ⁱ There were a few brown coats in the Virginia forces. However, dark blue was more popular with officers and soldiers in the Continental army,ⁱⁱ and Virginia regiments wore blue uniforms faced with red in the infantry, artillery, and cavalry.ⁱⁱⁱ

According to the Leffert book on uniforms, the "rifle dress" or hunting shirt preferred by Washington was:

"...worn by most of the army throughout the war. It was the field dress of almost the entire army. The hunting shirt was made of deer leather, linen, or homespun, dyed in various colors, in the different regiments, such as tan, green, blue, yellow, purple, black or white. They were all of the same pattern, but some had capes and cuffs of different colors. With the hunting shirts were worn long leggings or overalls, also preferred by Washington in place of breeches and stockings. They were made of linen or duck undyed, or of deer leather, and later in the war were furnished in wool for winter. They were shaped to the leg, and fastened at the ankle with four buttons and a strap under the shoe."^iv

Washington had pointed out in General Orders, from New York, July 2)4, 1776, that "No Dress can be had cheaper, nor more convenient, as the Wearer may be cool in warm weather, and warm in cool weather by putting on undercloaths which will not change the outward dress, Winter or Summer."^v

Hunting shirts were supplied by the hundreds to the Virginia troops in 1775-1777.From the Williamsburg Public Store accounts, it would appear that in 1778, and 1779, few hunting shirts and leggings were issued from the Public Store--coats, breeches, vests, waistcoats or jackets, "regimentals," and "suits of clothes," being issued instead. However, on July 6, 1780, the Virginia Council ordered that hunting shirts be issued "to all the Soldiery of ye Virga forces either in continental or State Service." Col. George Gibson, of the 1st Virginia State Regiment, had obtained 600 yards of oznaburg for 150 hunting shirts from the Public Store on June 3, 1780.

The hunting shirts provided by the Williamsburg Public Store (1775-1780) were invariably made of oznaburg, a coarse linen material (sometimes even used for tents); they had capes (or collars) and cuffs--some of red or scarlet woolen materials; and in some regiments, for a time at least, the officers' hunting shirts were fringed and the privates' plain; also the hunting shirts for drummers had dark cuffs, and those for sergeants white cuffs.ⁱⁱ

The leggings worn with the hunting shirts by the Virginia troops were at first the short, gaiter-type leggings, made of various woollen materials (usually blue), and worn with stockings or hose and breeches (rather than the hip-length, overall type of leggings recommended by Washington to be made of the same material as the hunting shirts, and to be worn in place of hose and breeches.ⁱⁱⁱ However, the Virginia forces also used the long leggings—for later in 1776 officers were purchasing large quantities of oznaburg for both hunting shirts and leggings.^iv

As for regimentals or "suits of clothes" (which included coats, breeches, and waistcoats, vests, or jackets), blue trimmed with red seems to have been the most popular combination from 1775 on, when the materials were x available; but there were a number of variations. The clothes probably never reached a point of complete uniformity; but after Washington's order of 1779, concerning the continental uniforms for the various states and regiments, the situation may have become more stabilized.

General Orders from "Head Quarters, Moores House" [near West Point, New York], dated October 2, 1779, gave the following instructions:

"The following are the Uniforms that have been determined for the troops of these States respectively as soon as the state of the public supplies will permit their being furnished accordingly, and in the mean time it is recommended to the Officers to endeavor to accommodate their Uniforms to this Standard, that when the men come to be supplied there may be a proper uniformity.

New Hampshire	)
Massachusetts	) Blue faced with White.
Rhode Island.	) Buttons and Lining White.
Connecticut	)
New York	) Blue faced with Buff
New Jersey	) White Linings and Buttons.
Pennsylvania	)
Delaware.	) Blue faced with Red.
Maryland	) Buttons and Linings White.
Virginia	)
North Carolina	) Blue faced with Blue Button holes edged with narrow white lace or tape.
South Carolina	)
Georgia	) Buttons and linings white.
Artillery and Artillery Artificers	) Blue faced with Scarlet, Scarlet Lining, Yellow buttons, Yellow bound hats, Coats edged with narrow lace or tape and button holes bound with the same.
Light Dragoons	) The whole Blue faced with White buttons and linings."

ⁱ

GEORGE WASHINGTON IN UNIFORM OF COLONEL OF VIRGINIA MILITIA.
Painted in 1772 by Charles Willson Peale. (From Photograph of original at Washington & Lee University.) (Note: As described by John Hill Morgan in The Life Portraits of Washington (Lancaster, Pa.: 1931, p. 2h), the dark hat is "usually called the Wolfe hat"; the coat is blue with scarlet facings, gold braid, "bright metal buttons" with number "22" raised on them; the waistcoat and breeches are dark red (the waistcoat also having braid and buttons). Washington wears a silver gorget (see description, page 19, fn. 89 of this report); and a "plum colored sash or scarf" (see page 12 & fn. 58.)] Also see Introduction, pages v & fn.iv, and vi.]

CLOTHING AND ACCOUTREMENTS
OF THE
OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE VIRGINIA FORCES,
1775--1780.
From the RECORDS of the PUBLIC STORE at WILLIAMSBURG.

Until the year 1775, except for the 175-1762 period of the French and Indian War—when a special Virginia Regiment was raised for the defense of 2 the Colony,¹ and recruits were also enlisted for the "Royal American Regiment,"²— the military force of the Virginia Colony consisted of bodies of militia in each county, and in the several cities and boroughs. Numerous acts were passed by the General Assembly of Virginia during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries concerning the recruiting and training of the militia. An act of 1757, for recruiting able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 60, to serve in the militia of each county,³ was still in effect, with a few minor amendments and changes, in 1771, when it was continued for a fourth time.⁴

Neither clothing nor uniforms were mentioned in the act of 1757, nor in the several subsequent acts amending and continuing it (1759, 1762, 1766, 1771),⁵ but accoutrements were specified. Every soldier must be furnished with "a firelock well fixed, a bayonet fitted to the same, a double cartouch-box, and three charges of powder," with which he must always appear at the place appointed for muster and exercise.⁶ The officers were furnished as follows: 2 each "county lieutenant, colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major with a sword; and every captain and lieutenant with a firelock and a sword, and every ensign with a cutting-sword; every corporal and serjeant with a cutting-sword and halbert."⁷

The militia act of 1757 (which was continued in 1771 for two more years) specified that nothing in that act should extend "to the inhabitants of the city of Williamsburg or borough of Norfolk, so as to oblige them to muster or serve in the militia out of the said city or borough," but that such inhabitants should be "inlisted and trained in a manner...directed by the acts of Assembly made in the ninth and twelfth years of the reign of his late majesty king George."⁸ As these acts merely referred to the manner of recruiting, and to exemptions,⁹ the regulations of 1757-1771 as to accoutrements evidently applied to Williamsburg and Norfolk as well as to the counties.

By 1774 the situation between the British-American colonies and the Mother Country was reaching a crisis. In May, 1774, Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, dissolved the General Assembly for passing resolutions protesting the British decision to close the Port of Boston with an armed force. Delegates to this Assembly (members of the House of Burgesses which, with the Governor's Council, formed the legislative and executive branches of government) immediately reassembled at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, and signed a non-importation association, and passed resolutions calling for committees of correspondence; and a general congress of delegates from all the colonies.¹⁰

A General Congress met in Philadelphia in September, 1774, and elected Peyton Randolph of Williamsburg its first President.¹¹ Congress met again in 1775, and in the spring and summer of this year took steps to protect the colonies against British attack. On May 26, 1775, hostilities having been "actually commenced in the Massachusetts bay, by the British troops," it was unanimously resolved that the "colonies be immediately put into a state of defence."¹² On 3 June 14th, the Congress resolved that "six companies of expert rifflemen be immediately raised in Pensylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four serjeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates." As soon as completed, the companies were to march to join "the army near Boston, there to be employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army." The pay of these soldiers was established by Congress, and they were "to find their own arms and cloaths."¹³ On the two following days, George Washington was unanimously elected, and accepted, the appointment to be "general and com[mander] in chief to take the supreme sand of the forces raised and to be raised, in defence of American liberty."¹⁴

In Virginia, in August 1774, a Convention of Delegates had met in Williamsburg to elect and instruct the Virginia delegates to the General Congress. Subsequent Conventions of Delegates, with the help of the Committee of Safety which was appointed, continued to regulate the affairs of the colony for the next two years, meeting several times, in either Richmond or Williamsburg, during 1775 and 1776. Meeting at St. John's Church in Richmond in March, 1775, the Convention passed a bill to put the colony "into a Posture of Defence," by preparing "a Plan for the Embodying, Arming, and Disciplining such a Number of Men as may be sufficient for that Purpose." Patrick Henry, whose "Is Life so dear, or Peace so sweet..." speech was made to this Conventionn5was the first named on a committee of twelve gentlemen to prepare this plan.¹⁵ In April, 1775, Lord Dunmore ordered the removal of the Colony's "small stock of gunpowder from the public magazine" at Williamsburg, and the "stripping of their locks a great number of public arms."¹⁶ The Virginians;. reaction to this order resulted in Dunmore's flight, in June, 1775, from the Palace in Williamsburg, to an armed British warship in York River, and his subsequent war upon the colonists he had governed.¹⁷

In 1775-1776, Virginia Conventions of Delegates passed ordinances to raise regular troops, minute-men, militia, troops of horse, etc., and established 4 a general Committee of Safety (there were also county committees) to aid in directing these matters, and in establishing a commissary of stores and a publf8 store, a gun manufactory, shipyard, salt works, military hospitals, etc.¹⁸ The last convention which met from May 6 through July 5, 1776, drew up a Declaration of Rights,¹⁹ a plan of government, or constitution, for the State of Virginia, elected Patrick Henry its 2rst governor,²⁰ and decided upon a seal for the Commonwealth of Virginia.²¹ Then the government of Virginia passed again to a General Assembly, this time composed of a House of Delegates and a Senate, both described in the new constitution. The Convention of Delegates also appointed a Privy Council consisting of eight men,²² to replace the old Governor's Council.

Our concern in this report being the troops raised in Virginia in 1775-1776 and their clothing and accoutrements—which were supplied from the Public Store in Williamsburg for the first several years of the war--we will briefly summarize the acts or ordinances of the Virginia Conventions of Delegates which dealt with those matters.

1775: The Virginia Convention of Delegates which met in Richmond from July 17-August 26, 1775, passed as its first ordinance "An Ordinance for raising and embodying a sufficient force for the defence and protection of this Colony."²³ This ordinance directed the immediate enlisting of "two regiments complete, to consist of one thousand and twenty privates rank and file." The First Regiment was to be made up of 544 privates, under "the command of a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and a major, eight captains, sixteen lieutenants, eight ensigns, twenty four serjeants, eight drummers, and eight fifers." The Second Regiment 5 was to consist of 1476 privates, under similar command, with one less captain, ensign, drummer and fifer, two less lieutenants, and three less serjeants. Each regiment was to be allowed a chaplain, paymaster, adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon, two surgeons mates, and a serjeant-major.²⁴ The colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major of each regiment was elected by the Convention, and the pay of officers and soldiers established.²⁵ Each enlisted soldier in these two regiments was to be supplied at public expense with "one good musket and bayonet, cartouch box, or pouch, and canteen"; but until such muskets could be provided, each should bring with him "the best gun, of any other sort," those acting as riflemen to bring rifles, that could be procured, for which he would be allowed twenty shillings a year. Each common soldier "not already sufficiently provided, in the opinion of his commanding officer," was to be "furnished with sufcient clothing, at the expense of the publick, to be deducted out of his pay."²⁶ Every commissioned and staff officer was to be allowed a tent, and every two serjeants, and every two corporals a tent. Every six privates were to be allowed "a proper and sufficient tent" and each company was to be provided with "one bell tent," at public expense.²⁷

This act also ordered the enlisting of other forces in the Colony: two companies were to be raised "consisting each of one captain, three lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, two drummers, and two fifers, a one hundred men rank and file" to protect the inhabitants on the frontiers. The Colony was divided into sixteen districts, and it was further ordered that there be enlisted out of the regular county militia of the Colony, sixteen battalions of minute-men, to be "more strictly trained to proper discipline than hath been hitherto customary."²⁹ Except for the counties of Accomack and Northampton, whose battalion of minute-men was to be larger, the other fifteen districts were each to enlist "five hundred men rank and file, from the age of sixteen to fifty, to be divided into ten companies of fifty men each, who are to be under command of a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major, ten captains, ten lieutenants, ten ensigns, and twenty serjeants"; each company to be allowed a drummer and fifer, and each battalion a chaplain, adjutant, quarter-master, 6 surgeon, two surgeons mates, and a serjeant-major. The district which included the City of Williamsburg was made up as follows: "...the counties of Culpeper, York, James City, the city of Williamsburg, and the counties of Charles City and. New-Kent."³⁰ The minute men were to be furnished with "proper arms at publick expense," and until Such could be provided each must bring with him the best gun he could procure, for which he was to be allowed twenty shillings a year. Each minute man not already furnished, was to be provided at public expense with "one hunting shirt and pair of leggins." As in the case of the two regular regiments, tents were to be provided: one for each "commissioned and staff officer, one for every two serjeants, one for a drummer and fifer," one for every six privates, and a "bell tent" for every company.³¹

The county militia law having expired, the ordinance further directed that "the remainder of the militia not included in the minute-men should be armed, accoutred, trained, and disciplined, in the best manner the circumstances of the country will admit of"; every militia man was to "furnish himself with a good rifle, if to be had, or otherwise with a tomahawk, common firelock, bayonet, pouch, or cartouch box, three charges of powder and ball" and to appear with the same at the place and time appointed for mustering.³²

The ordinance further directed that "the exercise to be performed throughout the several battalions and companies shall be that recommended by his majesty in the year 1764."³³ The Williamsburg printers, John Dixon and William Hunter) soon announced that "THE MANUAL EXERCISE, As ordered by His Majesty in the Year 1764…" would be printed; and in July 1775, announcement was made that it was "Just Published—Price one Shilling."

The Convention of Delegates gave further details for enlisting, training, etc.,the troops to be raised in Virginia by this first ordinance, and also in a second ordinance "...for the better government of the forces to 7 be raised..."³⁵ In a third ordinance the Convention appointed a Committee of Safety to help carry out the problems of defence; and in a sixth, directed that "a manufactory of arms be erected near Fredericksburg…"³⁰

Events began to move rapidly before the meeting of the next Convention of Delegates. The convention had appointed Patrick Henry colonel of the First Regiment of Regulars, and also "commander in chief of all the forces to be raised for the protection and defence of this colony."³⁷ Henry arrived in Williamsburg in September, 1775, to "make choice of a proper spot for an encampment" of the forces which would "begin to assemble in a very short time."³⁸ On September 29th the Gazette gave notice that a "camp is now marked out, behind the college; tents, and other camp equipage, are getting ready with the utmost expedition; and the troops, from the different counties, are on their march for this city."³⁹ On October 7, 1775, the Gazette stated that "...Of regulars, there are now five companies here, viz. Captain Markham's from Amelia district, Captain Johnson's from Prince William, Captain Sears's, from Gloucester, Captain Green's (all riflmen) from Culpeper, and Captain Nicholas's, of the Elizabeth City district."⁴⁰

The ordinance of this July-August 1775 Convention of Delegates which concerned the raising of two regiments of regulars and of minute-men, and the regulating of the county militia, also directed that the Committee of Safety appointed by the Convention should select "…some fit person, or persons, to provide arms and accoutrements, clothes, waggons, tents, and bedding, upon the best and cheapest terms, and also to appoint one or more commissaries or contractors; who are hereby required to use all possible despatch in purchasing such provisions as shall be necessary for the army, and in laying of the same in such convenient place, or places, as may best suit their different stations and marches." ⁴¹

William Aylett became the commissary of supplies, with the principal 8 Public Store located in Williamsburg, where it remained until the Virginia seat of government moved to Richmond in 1780.⁴² On October 7, 1775, William Aylett advertised as follows in The Virginia Gazette:

"WANTED IMMEDIATELY,
FOR THE ARMY,
CAMP KETTLES, either Tin or Brass, to hold about three Gallons; a large Quantity of DUCKING, or RUSSIA DRAB, for Tents; OSNABRUGS, for Hunting-Shirts; CHECKS, coarse white LINEN, or Country made LINEN, for under Shirts; also BLANKETS and coarse STOCKINGS. Any Person who has any of the above Articles for Sale will be pleased to inform me by Letter, per Post, directed to be lodged at the Post Office, Aylettts.--CANTEENS are also much wanted, and it is requested of the respective Committees [of Safety in the counties] to make immediate Inquiry after those taken from the Magazine, and contrive them to the Head Quarters; not omitting those that are damaged, which may be repaired.--I will also give ready Money for any Quantity of SALTPETRE, SULPHUR, or LEAD.
WILLIAM AYLETT, Contractor.
SPADES, SHOVELS, and JATTOCKS, are also wanted. Those who have them will apply as above."

There were changes made in the sixteen districts as outlined by the Virginia Convention of Delegates during their May 6-July 5, 1775 meeting. As noted, the Convention divided the colony into sixteen districts for the purpose of raising regular forces, and battalions of minutemen; and the city of Williamsburg was included by the Convention in one district with Culpeper, York, James City, Charles City, and New Kent counties [see page 6 and ^{note 30}.] By September, 1775, the district including the city of Williamsburg had dropped Culpeper County, and added Elizabeth City and Warwick counties: it consisted of Elizabeth City, Warwick, York, James City, Charles City, and New Kent counties, and the city of Williamsburg. On September 11 and 12, 1775, deputies from these last-named counties and from Williamsburg met at the courthouse in Williamsburg, appointed Robert Carter Nicholas of Williamsburg (treasurer of the Virginia Colony) chairman of the district, and William Russell, of Williamsburg, clerk of the meeting. The deputies then proceeded to appoint officers in the regular service for the district, who were to proceed to enlist regulars to rendezvous in Williamsburg; and also stipulated the number of men to be supplied as the minute-men from each county, and from Williamsburg, in the district; and named the battalion and company officers. An account of the resolutions of this September 11-12 meeting of the deputies appeared in The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, Dixon & Hunter, eds.) for September 16, 1775:

Then the committee proceeded to the choice of officers in the regular service for this district, and nominated the following Gentlemen:
George Nicholas, Esq; Captain; Mr. Beverley Dickson, 1st Lieutenant; Mr. Thomas Russell, 2d Lieutenant; and Mr. Merritt Moore, Ensign.
Resolved, that it be recommended to the officers so appointed to proceed with the utmost expedition to inlist within this destrict [sic] one company of regulars, to consist of 68 men, rank and file; that they rendezvous with the said company in the city of Williamsburg, when enlisted, until further orders of the committee of safety.
Tuesday, Sept. 12, 1775.
The committee proceeded to take under their consideration the proper arrangement of minute men, to be enlisted in this district, pursuant to an ordinance of the General Convention, and came to the following resolution.
Resolved, that there be enlisted, in the county of Elizabeth City one company of 50 men, rank and file; in the county of Warwick one other company of 50; in the county of York two companies of 50 each; in the county of James City one company of 50; in the county of New Kent two companies of 50 each; in the county of Charles City two companies of 50 each; and in the city of Williamsburg one company of 50, to be commanded by their proper officers. The following Gentlemen were then appointed officers.
Champion Travis, Esq; Colonel of the battalion; Hugh Nelson, Esq; Lieutenant Colonel; and Samuel Harwood, Esq; Major. Mr. John Cary, Captain of the company to be raised in Elizabeth City; Mr. John King, Lieutenant; and Mr. Joseph 8b Selden, jun. Ensign. Mr. Richard Cary, Captain of the company to be raised in Warwick county; Mr. Thomas Haynes, Lieutenant; and Mr. Josiah Massenburg, Ensign. Mr. William S. Sclater, Captain of one of the companies to be raised in York county; Mr. Callohill Minnis, jun. Lieutenant; and Mr. Edward Howard, Ensign. Mr. William Goosley, Captain of the other company to be raised in York county; Mr. Thomas Harwood, Lieutenant; and Mr. Frederick Bryan, Ensign. Mr. John Walker, Captain of the company to be raised in James City; Mr. William Johnson, Lieutenant; and Mr. Henry Brown, Ensign. Mr. Furnea Southall, Captain of one of the companies to be raised in Charles City; Mr. Edward Marrable, Lieutenant; and Mr. John Bell, Ensign. John Tyler, Esq.; Captain of the other company for Charles City; Mr. Stith Hardyman, Lieutenant; and Peter Dunn, Ensign. Mr. Thomas Massie, Captain of one of the companies to be raised in New Kent; Mr. Henry Finch, Lieutenant; and Mr. Samuel Manning, Ensign. Mr. Andrew Anderson, Captain of the other company to be raised in New Kent; Mr. Walter Hopkins, Lieutenant; and Mr. William Armistead, jun. Ensign. Mr. Robert Anderson, Captain of the company to be raised in the city of Williamsburg; Mr. Humphrey Harwood, Lieutenant; and Mr. William Rowsay, Ensign.
Resolved, that James Bray Johnson, Gentleman, be appointed Commissary of Musters for this district. Resolved, that the place of general rendezvous for the battalion of this district be in the neighbourhood of the city of Williamsburg.
Resolved, that public notice be given, to such persons as may be willing to contract for supplying the battalion of this district with necessary provisions, to give in their proposals to the Chairman of this committee, in writing; and that the said Chairman, together with members of James City, York, and Williamsburg, or any six of them, do, in the mean time, as occasion may require, contract with proper persons to supply any company or detachment of minute men, who may, upon any emergency, be called out to actual service.
It being represented to this committee, that a number of field-pieces have been lately brought to the city of Williamsburg; and the committee being of opinion, that it is necessary the same should be properly mounted and taken care of, offer it, as their opinion, to the Committee of Safety, that a proper person be appointed for that purpose; and take the liberty of recommending Mr. William Finnie, as a Gentleman who hath distinguished himself by his activity and zeal in the cause of the country."

1775-1776: The next Virginia Convention of Delegates met in Richmond on December 1, 1775, but adjourned to reconvene at the Capitol in Williamsburg on December 5, 1775. It sat through January 15, 1776, concerning itself chiefly with increasing the forces, because of Lord Dunmore's "many hostile attacks upon the good people of this colony, and attempts to infringe their rights and liberties, by his proclamation declaring freedom to our servants and slaves, and arming them against us,..." This statement was made in "An Ordinance for raising additional number of forces for the defence and protection of this colony,…"⁴⁴ The two regiments formerly raised were to be "augmented, by the addition of three hundred and eighty two men, to be divided into five companies, consisting of sixty men each rank and file," two of these companies to be added to the First Regiment, and three to the Second Regiment. Six other complete regiments were to be raised, composed of ten companies of sixty-eight men each rank and file (three of which companies in each regiment to consist of riflemen, to act as light infantry); each company was to have a captain, two lieutenants, an ensign, four serjeants, and a drummer and fifer--all under the command of a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major.⁴⁵ Further instructions and directions were given in the ordinance concerning the battalions of minute-men, and the companies guarding the frontiers,⁴⁶ and the following instructions were given as to clothing and accoutrements:

"...the soldiers to be enlisted, and the several serjeants appointed...shall, at the expense of the publick, be furnished each with one good musket and bayonet, cartouch box, or pouch and canteen; and until such musket can be provided that they bring with them the best gun of any other sort that they can procure; and that they also bring with them (if to be had) one blanket each, and that such as are to act as riflemen bring with them one good rifle and tomahawk, each to be approved by their captain, for the use of which guns they shall be allowed as follows, to wit: For the smoothbores, or muskets, after the rate of 20s. and for the rifles and tomahawks after the same rate by the year, and for the blanket so much as by the judgment of any field-officer of his regiment the same shall be considered worth at the time it is produced. That each common soldier, not already sufficiently provided, in the opinion of his commanding-officer, shall be provided with sufficient clothing, at the expense of the publick, to be deducted out of his pay, and also be allowed by the publick a hunting shirt, a pair of leggins, and binding for his hat. "⁴⁷

This ordinance also ordered that "one company of artillery be forthwith raised…"; and that the Committee of Safety should also provide as many armed vessels as they might judge necessary for the protection of "the several rivers in this colony."⁴⁸

1776: We have already mentioned the principal activities of the last Convention of Delegates, which met in Williamsburg May 6--July 5, 1776, and produced a "Declaration of Rights," a Constitution for the new State of Virginia, elected Patrick Henry its first governor, and appointed his Privy Council.⁴⁹

Patrick Henry resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Virginia troops. It was announced in the Gazette for March 1, 1776, that he, being about to leave the troops in Williamsburg, "...the whole went into deep mourning, and, being under arms, waited on him at his lodgings," where an address was made to him, to which he replied. After this he joined the officers for dinner at the Raleigh Tavern, before departing from Williamsburg.⁵⁰ The Gazette for April 5, 1776, announced the arrival of his successor at Headquarters in Williamsburg: "On Wednesday last brigadier-general ANDREW LEWIS arrived at head-quarters in this city."⁵¹

An "Orderly Book of that Portion of the American Army Stationed at or near Williamsburg, Va., under the command of General Andrew Lewis," (covering the period from March 18-August 28, 1776) has survived, which gives some information on the dress and accoutrements of the Virginia troops, and their officers, at the outset of the war.⁵²