The 13th Virginia Regiment (1777-1778)
Later Designated the 9th Va. and the 7th Va.
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IN SEPTEMBER 1776, CONGRESS PASSED RESOLUTIONS CALLING FOR AN EXPANSION OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY TO 88 BATTALIONS. Virginia was responsible for raising an additional six.[1] The state took up the matter in the last months of that year and passed “An Act for Raising Six Additional Battalions of Infantry on the Continental Establishment,” a law that authorized the establishment of six new regiments of ten companies each. Unlike the Old Dominion’s other regiments, the 13th Virginia was regimented in a distinctively geographic manner, with five companies raised in Yohogania County, three in Monongalia, and two in Ohio. These counties had just been organized out of the West Augusta District that is now southwest Pennsylvania and neighboring parts of West Virginia. The soldiery was to be enlisted for three years or the duration of the war.[2] While it was initially understood that Colonel William Crawford would lead the regiment,[3] Colonel William Russell, Lieutenant Colonel John Gibson, and Major Charles Simms were placed in its command, having been elected by a joint ballot of the Virginia legislature in accordance with state law.[4] The regiment received orders to join the Main Army under General George Washington in January 1777.[5]
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Col. William Russell is one of very few Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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The receipt of these orders gave rise to intense controversy. Most of the officers and men joined up with the understanding that they would remain in the West Augusta region in order to defend their homes on the frontier.[6] Many of the soldiers deserted rather than marching east, and the men of the single company the regiment left behind at Fort Pitt, Captain David Scott’s, spent the summer rounding up deserters.[7] The rest of the regiment marched east to Philadelphia under the command of Major Charles Simms.[8]
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Philadelphia Campaign. Upon the 13th Virginia’s arrival in the eastern theater in the summer of 1777, it was posted at Trenton.[9] It was brigaded with the 1st, 5th, and 9th Virginia Regiments under the command of Brig. Gen. Peter Muhlenberg of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene’s division.[10] A portion of the men may have seen detached service with Brig. Gen. William Maxwell’s provisional light corps over the summer, alongside their major, Charles Simms, and would have seen active and intense skirmishing during the Philadelphia Campaign.[11] The balance of the regiment, however, only covered the retreat of the army with Greene’s division at the Battle of Brandywine, where it was only lightly engaged, if at all.[12]
The regiment’s experience at Germantown, however, was marked with heavy fighting. Muhlenberg’s brigade formed the army's left wing when it attacked British forces on October 4, 1777. When the attack began to falter, the 13th Virginia, heavily engaged, broke. The entire wing was forced to retreat, a disaster that led to the wholesale destruction of the 9th Virginia Regiment.[13] Among the 13th’s casualties was its sergeant major, John Vance, who was bayoneted through his cheek.[14] |
Officers, 1776-1778Col. William Russell Lt. Col. John Gibson Maj. Charles Simms (to Sept. 1777) Maj. Richard Campbell (ca. Sept. 1777) Capt. Robert Beall Cap. Benjamin Harrison Capt. George McCormick Capt. David Steele Capt. Cope Sullivan Capt. John Lemon (or Lemin) Capt. James Hook Capt. James Neal Capt. Silas Zane Capt. David Scott |
Western Service. The nine companies of the regiment then on duty with the Main Army spent the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge,[15] its numbers drastically reduced by desertion, sickness, and casualties incurred in the campaign. Only 69 men were present in December 1777.[16] Colonel Russell sought to address continuing desertions by taking his men back home to Fort Pitt. He wrote directly to Congress and General Washington to plead his case.[17] Rather than send the regiment back, Washington ordered Russell to Fort Pitt to take command of Captain Scott’s men, recruits, and captured deserters and march them all to Valley Forge.[18] The security situation in the West Augusta region had deteriorated significantly, however, owing to Loyalist activity and a growing war with several Indigenous nations that was expected to expand through 1778.[19] As part of a new approach to stabilizing the western theatre, Brig. Gen. Lachlan McIntosh was appointed commander of the Western Department.[20] The command, centered at Fort Pitt, was to be reinforced by western troops, the 8 th Pennsylvania Regiment and the 13th Virginia among them. The 13th marched with a new commander, Colonel John Gibson, who was chosen for his knowledge of Indigenous languages and customs.[21]
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Several other reorganizations and reassignments affected the unit. By the summer of 1778, Lt. Col. Richard Campbell had replaced Gibson, and Maj. Richard Taylor had taken over from Charles Simms.[22] The Continental regiments were reduced to nine companies each, one company of which was on permanent light infantry duty. Regimental staff positions were filled by line officers.[23] Finally, nearly concurrently with the 13th Virginia’s arrival at its new posting at Fort Pitt in September 1778[24] the Virginia Continental Line was consolidated, and the regiment was redesignated the 9th Virginia Regiment.[25]
McIntosh’s force was initially directed to strike the British post at Detroit. Its orders were amended later to give the Western Department commander prerogative in choosing an alternative offensive target, recognizing the lateness of the season.[26] The commander chose to invade the Ohio and construct a post on the Tuscarawas River named Fort Laurens. The men of the 9th under Colonel John Gibson remained behind to garrison the post through the winter of 1778-1779. His troops were besieged for over a month in that post after suffering nearly two dozen killed in an ambush. They were relieved in the spring of 1779, and the fort was abandoned in late summer.[27] |
Officers, 1778-1779Col. John Gibson Lt. Col. Richard Campbell (Feb. 1778) Maj. Richard Taylor (Feb. 1778) Capt Benjamin Biggs (Col’s Co.) Lt. George Berry (Lt Col’s Co.) Unknown (Major’s Co.) Capt Robert Beall Capt Benjamin Harrison Capt Uriah Springer (Light Infantry) Capt Thomas Moore Capt James Neal Capt. Simon Morgan Capt. Robert Vance |
The 9th Virginia primarily conducted garrison duties through the spring of 1779, taking up positions at various fortifications scattered along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, including Fort Pitt, Fort McIntosh, and Holliday’s Cove.[28] Later that year it was reinforced with a number of draftees netted in Virginia’s conscription efforts. These soldiers hailed from Monongalia, Ohio, Yohogania, Frederick, Hampshire, Berkely, Rockingham, and Greenbrier Counties.[29] The next main effort of the Western Department, now commanded by Colonel Daniel Brodhead had the 9th Virginia marching up the Allegheny River in what was to be the southern prong of Sullivan’s expedition against the Six Nations Confederacy. The Allegheny Expedition succeeded in destroying several Seneca towns with minimal friendly casualties.[30]
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The 9th Virginia regiment was reduced to two companies in January 1781 and again renumbered, this time to the 7th Virginia Regiment.[31] The remnants of the unit stuck it out for the Coshocton Expedition in April 1781, accompanied by a reinforcement of militia, an ultimately successful raid that rendered that Delaware town unable to continue any offensive efforts against the frontier.[32] It was the last major operation conducted by the regiment. It was disbanded at Fort Pitt in January 1783.[33]
DAVID ERVIN studied early American history at West Virginia University after serving in the Army. He is an editor, researcher, and writer who has published numerous works. |
Officers, 1781-1783Col. John Gibson Capt. Robert Beall Capt. Callohill Minnis Capt. Tarelton Payne Capt. Robert Vance Capt. Benjamin Biggs Capt. George Berry Capt. Uriah Springer Capt. Holman Minnis Capt. Lieut. Lewis Thomas *Many of these officers may have been carried on the regiment’s rolls for administrative purposes. |
Online
“Shenandoah Martyr: Richard Campbell at War" (Gabriel Neville, JAR). Campbell, an 8th Virginia veteran, was Virginia's second-highest-ranking battlefield casualty of the war.
Museums and Historic Sites
The Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa. A small museum with an excellent collection illustrating events at Fort Pitt and life on the 18th century frontier.
The Fort Laurens Museum, Bolivar, Oh. The site of the regiment's most difficult days is now a park with a small museum.
The Fort Laurens Museum, Bolivar, Oh. The site of the regiment's most difficult days is now a park with a small museum.
Footnotes
[1] Robert K. Wright, The Continental Army (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1983), 91-92, 108-109.
[2] William W. Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619, Vol. 9 (Richmond: J & G Cochran, Printers, 1821), 179-184.
[3] Worthington C. Ford, ed. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 (Washington: US Government Printing Office), 128; Colonel William Crawford to John Hancock, April 22, 1777 in Louise Kellog and Reuben G. Thwaites, eds. The Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 1775-1777. (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1908), 214-216.
[4] H. R. McIlwaine, ed., Journals of the Council of the State of Virginia, Vol. 1 (Richmond: Virginia State Library), 337-339.
[5] Ford, ed., Journals of Continental Congress, Vol. 7, 18-23.
[6] Col. William Russell to General George Washington, February 24, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-13-02-0559]; David P. Ervin, “The War is Here: The Politics of the Disposition of the Continental Army on the Upper Ohio,” Journal of the American Revolution [forthcoming, 2025].
[7] Pension application of John Dent, W4663 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/w4663.pdf].
[8] Pension application of John Harges, S35382 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/s35382.pdf]; Pension application of George Fitzgerald, S39523 in Ibid., [revwarapps.org/s39523.pdf].
[9] See editor’s note, Thomas Wharton to George Washington, August 8, 1777 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-10-02-0553]; Pennsylvania Evening Post, August 3, 1777 [newspapers.com].
[10] General Orders, May 22, 1777 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Varick Transcripts, 1775-1785, Subseries 3G, General Orders, Letterbook 2: October 1, 1776 – December 31, 1777. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [loc.gov/resource/mgw3g.002], 177-179.
[11] Gabriel Neville, “The B Team of 1777: Maxwell’s Light Infantry,” Journal of the American Revolution (April 2018) [allthingsliberty.com/2018/04/the-b-team-of-1777-maxwells-light-infantry/].
[12] Christopher Ward, The War for the Revolution, Vol. 1 (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952), 353.
[13] Thomas McGuire, The Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. 2: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2007), 50, 114-116.
[14] Pension application of John Vance, W6338 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/w6338.pdf].
[15] Valley Forge Muster Roll – A Legacy Project of the Valley Forge Alliance [https://valleyforgemusterroll.org/13th-virginia-regiment/].
[16] Charles Lesser, ed., The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Returns of the Continental Army (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), 54-55.
[17] Colonel William Russell to General George Washington, February 24, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-13-02-0559].
[18] General George Washington to Colonel William Russell, March 30, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-14-02-0334].
[19] Henry Laurens to General George Washington, May 3, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-15-02-0076].
[20] General George Washington to Henry Laurens, May 12, 1778 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries 3A, Continental Congress, 1775-1785: Letterbook 3: September 1, 1777 – August 31, 1778. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [loc.gov/resource/mgw3a.003], 208-210.
[21] General George Washington to Timothy Pickering, May 23, 1778 in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916), 57.
[22] E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra, A Guide to Virginia Military Organization in the American Revolution, 1774-1787 (Westminster: Willow Bend Books, 1978), 54, 60-61, 68-70.
[23] General Orders, June 7, 1778 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries 3G, General Orders, Varick Transcripts, Letterbook 3, January 1, 1778 to December 31, 1778. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [http://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw3g.003].
[24] General Orders, September 14, 1778 in Louise P. Kellog, ed. Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916), 431-432.
[25] “Arrangement of Commissioned Officers of the Virginia Continental Line, White Plains, NY 14 SEP 1778” in Southern Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/b138.pdf].
[26] Resolutions of June 11, 1778 and July 25, 1778 in Worthington C. Force, ed., Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Vol. 11 (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1908), 587-589, 719-721.
[27] David P. Ervin, “A Choice Body of Men: An Overview of the Continental Army on the Upper Ohio, 1775-1783,” Journal of the American Revolution (May 2021) [allthingsliberty.com/2021/05/a-choice-body-of-men-the-continental-army-on-the-upper-ohio/].
[28] “A Return of troops in West Dept under commd of Col. Dl Brodhead, Pittsburg Apl 17, 1779” in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916),
[29] Thomas Jefferson to General George Washington, June 19, 1779 in H.R. McIlwaine, ed., Official Letters of the Governors of Virginia, Volume 2: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1928), 13-14.
[30] Glenn F. Williams, Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois (Yardley: Westholme Publishing, 2005), 253-254, 293.
[31] Robert K. Wright, The Continental Army (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1983), 291.
[32] “C. W. Butterfield’s Narrative of Brodhead’s Coshocton Expedition” in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1917), 376-382.
[33] Robert K. Wright, The Continental Army (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1983), 291.
[2] William W. Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large: Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the Legislature in the Year 1619, Vol. 9 (Richmond: J & G Cochran, Printers, 1821), 179-184.
[3] Worthington C. Ford, ed. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 (Washington: US Government Printing Office), 128; Colonel William Crawford to John Hancock, April 22, 1777 in Louise Kellog and Reuben G. Thwaites, eds. The Revolution on the Upper Ohio, 1775-1777. (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1908), 214-216.
[4] H. R. McIlwaine, ed., Journals of the Council of the State of Virginia, Vol. 1 (Richmond: Virginia State Library), 337-339.
[5] Ford, ed., Journals of Continental Congress, Vol. 7, 18-23.
[6] Col. William Russell to General George Washington, February 24, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-13-02-0559]; David P. Ervin, “The War is Here: The Politics of the Disposition of the Continental Army on the Upper Ohio,” Journal of the American Revolution [forthcoming, 2025].
[7] Pension application of John Dent, W4663 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/w4663.pdf].
[8] Pension application of John Harges, S35382 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/s35382.pdf]; Pension application of George Fitzgerald, S39523 in Ibid., [revwarapps.org/s39523.pdf].
[9] See editor’s note, Thomas Wharton to George Washington, August 8, 1777 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-10-02-0553]; Pennsylvania Evening Post, August 3, 1777 [newspapers.com].
[10] General Orders, May 22, 1777 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Varick Transcripts, 1775-1785, Subseries 3G, General Orders, Letterbook 2: October 1, 1776 – December 31, 1777. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [loc.gov/resource/mgw3g.002], 177-179.
[11] Gabriel Neville, “The B Team of 1777: Maxwell’s Light Infantry,” Journal of the American Revolution (April 2018) [allthingsliberty.com/2018/04/the-b-team-of-1777-maxwells-light-infantry/].
[12] Christopher Ward, The War for the Revolution, Vol. 1 (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952), 353.
[13] Thomas McGuire, The Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. 2: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2007), 50, 114-116.
[14] Pension application of John Vance, W6338 in Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/w6338.pdf].
[15] Valley Forge Muster Roll – A Legacy Project of the Valley Forge Alliance [https://valleyforgemusterroll.org/13th-virginia-regiment/].
[16] Charles Lesser, ed., The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Returns of the Continental Army (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), 54-55.
[17] Colonel William Russell to General George Washington, February 24, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-13-02-0559].
[18] General George Washington to Colonel William Russell, March 30, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-14-02-0334].
[19] Henry Laurens to General George Washington, May 3, 1778 in Founders Online, National Archives [founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-15-02-0076].
[20] General George Washington to Henry Laurens, May 12, 1778 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries 3A, Continental Congress, 1775-1785: Letterbook 3: September 1, 1777 – August 31, 1778. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [loc.gov/resource/mgw3a.003], 208-210.
[21] General George Washington to Timothy Pickering, May 23, 1778 in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916), 57.
[22] E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra, A Guide to Virginia Military Organization in the American Revolution, 1774-1787 (Westminster: Willow Bend Books, 1978), 54, 60-61, 68-70.
[23] General Orders, June 7, 1778 in George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries 3G, General Orders, Varick Transcripts, Letterbook 3, January 1, 1778 to December 31, 1778. Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material [http://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw3g.003].
[24] General Orders, September 14, 1778 in Louise P. Kellog, ed. Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916), 431-432.
[25] “Arrangement of Commissioned Officers of the Virginia Continental Line, White Plains, NY 14 SEP 1778” in Southern Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters [revwarapps.org/b138.pdf].
[26] Resolutions of June 11, 1778 and July 25, 1778 in Worthington C. Force, ed., Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Vol. 11 (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1908), 587-589, 719-721.
[27] David P. Ervin, “A Choice Body of Men: An Overview of the Continental Army on the Upper Ohio, 1775-1783,” Journal of the American Revolution (May 2021) [allthingsliberty.com/2021/05/a-choice-body-of-men-the-continental-army-on-the-upper-ohio/].
[28] “A Return of troops in West Dept under commd of Col. Dl Brodhead, Pittsburg Apl 17, 1779” in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916),
[29] Thomas Jefferson to General George Washington, June 19, 1779 in H.R. McIlwaine, ed., Official Letters of the Governors of Virginia, Volume 2: The Letters of Thomas Jefferson (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1928), 13-14.
[30] Glenn F. Williams, Year of the Hangman: George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois (Yardley: Westholme Publishing, 2005), 253-254, 293.
[31] Robert K. Wright, The Continental Army (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1983), 291.
[32] “C. W. Butterfield’s Narrative of Brodhead’s Coshocton Expedition” in Louise P. Kellog, ed., Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1917), 376-382.
[33] Robert K. Wright, The Continental Army (Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1983), 291.