VIRGINIANS IN THE CONTINENTAL LINE
Two companies of Virginia riflemen under Hugh Stephenson and Daniel Morgan were recruited in the summer of 1775 and taken directly into Continental service. Maryland and Pennsylvania raised Continental rifle companies at the same time. Though they were the first Virginians in Continental service, they were (because they were raised directly by Congress) not technically part of the Virginia Line. A year later, Congress raised more rifle companies and created the Maryland & Virginia Rifle Regiment, also not part of either state's line. Later, General Washington was authorized to raise 16 "additional" companies directly into Continental service, three of which came entirely or largely from Virginia: Grayson's, Thruston's, and Gist's (commanded by a Marylander).
Daniel Morgan's and Hugh Stephenson's 1775 Independent Rifle Companies
“America's First Company Commanders” (Patrick H. Hannum, Infantry, p.12)
“The Maryland and Virginia Rifle Companies of 1775” (Travis Shaw, Lovettsville Historical Society & Museum)
“The Beeline March: The Birth of the American Army." (John Grady, JAR) The rush to recruit and march to Boston.
“The Beeline March Begins 250 Years Ago” (Kevin Pawlak, ERW)
“Patriot Riflemen During the Ammunition Crisis at the Siege of Boston, 1775," (Hugh T. Harrington, AmericanRevolution.org) What the riflemen did when they got to Boston.
The Maryland & Virginia Rifle Regiment (AKA Hugh Stephenson's Rifles or Rawlings' Regiment)
The 1775 companies' enlistments were for one year. When that time was up, three of them were asked to reenlist for two years, while enough additional rifle companies were authorized to form a Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment. (Morgan's company had been captured at Quebec and the Pennsylvania's companies formed their own rifle regiment). Most of the new regiment's men (six companies) were captured at the fall of Fort Washington in November 1776. Those who evaded capture were attached to the 11th Virginia, Morgan's Rifles, and the 4th Maryland. Though reconstituted after a prisoner exchange in 1778, it struggled to continue in western service under Maryland's Lt. Col. Moses Rawlings.
“Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (1776–1781): Insights from the Service Record of Capt. Adamson Tannehill" (Tucker F. Hentz, VMHC) A good analysis of the rifle companies from Maryland and Virginia from their origins as independent units through their later service in the Maryland & Virginia Rifle Regiment and Daniel Morgan's Provisional Rifle Corps.
"Vanishing Ranks: Rawling's Rifle Regiment and the Struggle to Recruit for the Frontier" (Tucker F. Hentz, JAR)
"Lt. Elijah Evans of Maryland: Unresolved Promotion in an Extra Continental Regiment" (Tucker F. Hentz, JAR) Though mostly about a Virginia officer, this article complements Hentz's earlier essay on Rawling's Regiment, and the fate of the early Independent rifle companies.
The Additional Continental Regiments
In December 1776, George Washington was authorized to raise 16 "additional" regiments directly into Continental service. Three of these regiments included Virginia men, though none was strictly part of the Virginia Line.
Gist's Additional Continental Regiment
"Recovering the Service of William Tiller" (Michael Sheehan, JAR) - Col. Nathaniel Gist's Additional Continental Regiment of rangers was divided, detached, and then reconstituted by absorbing Thruston's and Grayson's "additionals." Sheehan closely examines one veteran's account to reconstruct the career of this regiment with a focus on Capt. Samuel Lapsley's company.
William Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment
Thruston's Additional Continental Regiment