Virginia Regiment

The Virginia Regiment was an infantry unit of the Virginia Provincial Forces raised in 1754 by the Virginia General Assembly and Governor Robert Dinwiddie for service in the French and Indian War. The only provincial regiment raised by the Colony of Virginia during the conflict, it initially consisted of about 300 men under Colonel Joshua Fry, with Lieutenant Colonel George Washington assuming command after Fry's death during the campaign. The regiment fought at the Battle of Jumonville Glen and the Battle of Fort Necessity, after which the General Assembly voted to double its strength. It later participated in the failed Braddock expedition against Fort Duquesne.

Under orders from General Edward Braddock, the regiment was reorganized into two carpenter companies, six ranger companies, and one troop of mounted rangers, serving at the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755. It was later expanded into two regiments for the Forbes expedition of 1758. Following the outbreak of the Anglo-Cherokee War, the regiment remained on Virginia's frontier beyond the end of major operations against the French before being disbanded by Governor Francis Fauquier. Although Washington resigned from the regiment in 1758 after being denied a regular commission in the British Army, his service with the Virginia Regiment provided valuable military experience that later influenced his leadership during the American Revolutionary War.

El conflicto anglo-francés por el territorio de Ohio llevó a la formación del primer regimiento provincial en la colonia británica de Virginia . En 1754, la Asamblea General de Virginia votó a favor de formar un regimiento de 300 hombres y enviarlo a la confluencia de los ríos Alleghany y Monongahela. Tras la batalla de Fort Necessity , la Asamblea General votó a favor de aumentar el tamaño del regimiento de cinco compañías a diez. ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]} Las tropas provinciales de Virginia que participaron en la Expedición de Braddock de 1755 y sufrieron la derrota en la Batalla del Monongahela no estaban organizadas en regimientos: a petición del general Edward Braddock , se habían organizado en dos compañías de carpinteros, seis compañías de exploradores y una tropa de exploradores montados, unos 450 hombres en total. Los 350 hombres restantes de las diez compañías originales del Regimiento de Virginia se habían asignado a los dos regimientos regulares de la expedición. ^{[ 3 ] [ 4 ]}

Tras la derrota de la expedición, el Regimiento de Virginia fue reformado de inmediato, y la Asamblea General votó en 1755 para aumentar nuevamente su tamaño a 1500 hombres organizados en 16 compañías. La fuerza real del Regimiento en 1756 era de 1400 hombres, pero en 1757 se redujo a 1000. En 1758, Virginia reclutó dos regimientos adicionales de mil hombres cada uno para la Expedición de Forbes . El período de alistamiento para el primer regimiento expiró en mayo de 1759, y para el segundo en diciembre de 1758. Tras la caída de Fort Duquesne , la Asamblea General votó en 1759 para completar el único regimiento que aún estaba en servicio y para reclutar una fuerza de otros 500 hombres que permanecerían en la provincia para su defensa inmediata. El regimiento permanecería en servicio hasta mayo de 1760. ^{[ 5 ] [ 6 ]}

Con el estallido de la Guerra Anglo-Cherokee , la Asamblea General prolongó el servicio del Regimiento, añadiendo 300 hombres en tres compañías como guardias fronterizos. Permaneció en la frontera Cherokee hasta principios de 1762, cuando el gobernador Francis Fauquier lo disolvió. Más tarde, en 1762, cuando el gobierno británico manifestó su deseo de que Virginia formara un regimiento que se integraría al ejército británico, la Asamblea General votó en cambio a favor de reconstituir el Regimiento de Virginia. Este regimiento reconstituido fue finalmente disuelto en mayo de 1763, justo antes del estallido de la Guerra de Pontiac , ya que la provincia no podía mantenerlo sin un suministro de papel moneda, que la Junta de Comercio había denegado. ^{[ 7 ]}

Most recruits were characterized by Washington as "loose, Idle Persons ... quite destitute of House, and Home."^[8] Hampered by frequent desertions because of poor supplies, extremely low pay and hazardous duty, Virginia Regiment recruiters went to Pennsylvania and Maryland for men. Washington said of them, " and not a few... have Scarce a Coat, or Waistcoat, to their Backs ..."^[8] 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.

The First Virginia Regiment is memorialized in a statue in Meadow Park, a triangular park in Richmond’s 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.^[9] 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 the George Floyd protests in the United States.^[10]

• 1754 Colonel Joshua Fry
• 1754 Colonel George Washington.^[11]
• 1755–1757 Colonel George Washington.^[12]
• 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.^[13]

Source:^[14]

• When the Colony of Virginia ordered the creation of multiple regiments in 1775 with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, these were called the Virginia Line.
• Virginia Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion (United States) "First Virginia" can trace its origins to the Virginia Regiment.^[15]
• West Virginia Army National Guard's 201st Field Artillery Regiment can trace its origins to the Virginia Regiment.^[16]
• The 1st Virginia Regiment of the Virginia Defense Force is considered the present-day successor to the original Virginia Regiment.

• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
• Virginia militia
• 1st Virginia Regiment
• Virginia Defense Force

• Los virginianos que lucharon en la Guerra de Independencia - Lugares de Virginia
• Uniforme del Regimiento de Virginia 1754-62
• Recreación de la Compañía de Waggener del Regimiento de Virginia, recreadores de la Guerra Francesa e India.