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Death came often for the soldiers of the 8th Virginia. Some died in battle, but most often it came in the form of diseases that were still poorly understood and for which there were no cures. Malaria was the number-one killer. All told, 119 8th Virginia soldiers are known to have died while in service--a number almost equal to two entire companies. The real number is higher than that.  The cemetery in Sunbury, Georgia. The 8th Virginia was overwhelmed by malaria in the summer of 1776 and a great many of them died here. There are no markers or monuments for them. (Author) There is no roster of Capt. John Stephenson's company, so we have no way of knowing who most of those men were or what happened to them. Fifteen men were left behind in the Carolinas, too sick to return home. Another seventy were discharged early or dropped from the rolls, usually for unspecified reasons. What percentage of these men died is unknowable, though we know the most senior of them was Maj. Peter Helphenstine. Three men were listed as missing. Thirty men were captured by the enemy, mostly at Germantown. Though some survived and some even escaped, we know that others died in miserable British prisons. At least one man died of smallpox, possibly induced by inoculation. The 8th Virginia saw hard service. It is hard to imagine that the mostly young men who first signed up in the winter of 1775-1776 had any idea what was really in store for them. All of the numbers above add up to about 240 men. Another 90 deserted--many of them when the still technically Provincial regiment was taken out of the province by Maj. Gen. Charles Lee in May of 1776. When the terms of the regiment's original two-year men neared their ends as the snow melted at Valley Forge there were only about fifty of them left. Heroes to be sure. Like all war survivors, though, they would no doubt have ascribed greater heroism to their fallen comrades. Listed below are the names of the 119 men known to have died while in service. Capt. Thomas Berry's Company: 1st Lieut. John Jolliffe, April 6, 1777 Ens. William Mead, Nov. 20, 1776 Sgt. Reese Bowen, Sept. 6, 1776 Pvt. William Buckley, Sept. 16, 1776 Pvt. Hugh Burns, Oct. 21, 1776 Pvt. James Burns, June 10, 1776 Pvt. Jesse Chamblin, Oct. 31, 1776 Pvt. Peter Fletcher, Nov. 10, 1776 Pvt. Thomas Hankins, Nov. 29, 1776 Pvt. Joseph Hickman, May 18, 1777 Pvt. Luke Hines, Nov. 10, 1776 Pvt. Dennis Kingore, Sept. 8, 1776 Pvt. Neil McDade, Nov. 25, 1776 Pvt. Thomas McVay, Oct. 1, 1776 Pvt. Louis Routt, Nov. 10, 1776 Pvt. Garett Trotter, Oct. 19, 1776 Pvt. Peter Vandevourt, Dec. 31, 1776 Capt. Richard Campbell's Company: Lt. Col. Richard Campbell, Sept. 8, 1781 (Eutaw Springs) Sgt. John Bowman, Aug. 19, 1779 Pvt. William Davis, Sept. or Oct., 1777 (Brandywine or Germantown) Pvt. Frederick Long, Sept. or Oct., 1777 (Brandywine or Germantown) Capt. Jonathan Clark's Company Sgt. Maj. John Hoy, Dec. 3, 1776 Sgt. George Parrott, Nov. 6, 1776 Sgt. Humphrey Price, Nov. 24, 1776 Cpl. William Brown, March 30, 1777 Cpl. Mathew Toomey, Dec. 20, 1776 Pvt. Nicholas Bowder, June 13, 1776 Pvt. Nathan Brittain, Oct 17, 1776 Pvt. Thomas Brittain, Sept. 29, 1776 Pvt. Isaac Dent, Nov. 3, 1776 Pvt. Mathias Funk, Dec. 20, 1776 Pvt. Martin Honey, Sept. 20, 1776 Pvt. John Maxwell, Dec. 25, 1776 Pvt. Henry Moore, Sept. or Oct., 1777 (Brandywine or Germantown) Pvt. Isaac Pemberton, Jan. 12, 1778 Pvt. Meredith Price, Jan. 3, 1777 Pvt. Simon Siron, unknown date (left in Georgia) Pvt. Michael Wall, unknown date (before June 13, 1777) Pt. Walter Warner, Oct. 4, 1776 Capt. William Croghan's Company Sgt. John McDoran, Jan. 30, 1777 Cpl. Michael Kelly, Sept. 11, 1777 (Brandywine) Cpl. William Penny, before May 18, 1777 Cpl. James Tucker, Dec. 27, 1776 Drummer Francis Prush, before May 18, 1777 Fifer Gabriel Christy, before April 1777 Pvt. John Brock, March 18 or 25, 1776 Pvt. John Brown, before April 1777 Pvt. William Cochran, before April 1777 Pvt. Robert Cochran, Sept. 1776 Pvt. Philip Cole, Jan. 30, 1777 Pvt. John Donnally, April 14, 1777 Pvt. Nicholas Doran, April 13, 1777 Pvt. William Gaddis March 15, 1777 Pvt. Patrick Garry, Nov. 11, 1776 Pvt. Joseph Gonsley, Feb. 1777 Pvt. William Goodman, before April 1777 Pvt. James Gorwin, Feb. 8, 1777 Pvt. Patrick Hall, ca. Jan. 1, 1777 Pvt. David Hanson, before April 1777 Pvt. Lewis Henry, Nov. 1776 Pvt. John Hinds, Aug. 14, 1776 Pvt. Nathaniel Hosier, before April 1777 Pvt. John James, ca. March 1, 1777 Pvt. Jesse Job, before April 1777 Pvt. Able Levesque, March 17, 1777 Pvt. George Martin, Feb. 1777 Pvt. Michael Martin, Feb. 1777 Pvt. Moses Martin, Feb. 1777 Pvt. Thomas Owens, Sept. 11, 1777 (Brandywine) Pvt. Thomas Ryan, before May 18, 1777 Pvt. Henry Saltsman, Oct. 4, 1777 (Germantown) Pvt. James Smyth, Oct. 19, 1776 Pvt. John Tuck, before April 1777 Pvt. Daniel Viers, March 3, 1777 Capt. William Darke's Company Pvt. Daniel Cameron, Jan. 15, 1777 Pvt. Jonathan Herrin, Dec. 1776 Pvt. Jeremiah Humphreys, Oct. 27, 1776 Pvt. George Ketcher, Oct. 24, 1776 Pvt. William Pingle, Dec. 1, 1776 Pvt. John Polson, Oct. 26, 1776 Pvt. George Pritty, Dec. 1, 1776 Pvt. George Smith, Oct. 11, 1776 Pvt. Samuel Watson, Dec. 8, 1776 Captain Robert Higgins' Company Pvt. Zachariah DeLong, Feb. 1778 (POW) Capt. James Knox's Company Pvt. James Carr, Nov. 20, 1776 Pvt. Charles Carter, Dec. 24, 1776 Pvt. John Vance, Sept. 16, 1776 Pvt. Henry Wallis, Dec. 1776 Pvt. John Wilson, Nov. 8, 1776 Capt. George Slaughter's Company Lt. Philip Huffman, March 15, 1781 (Guilford Courthouse) Sgt. James Newman, in Georgia, 1776 Cpl. Barnett McGinnis, Nov. 25, 1776 Cpl. Cornelius Mershon, Aug 4, 1776 Fifer Henry Clatterbuck, July or Aug. 1776 Pvt. Thomas Abbett, before Feb. 3, 1777 Pvt. William Abbett, before Feb. 3, 1777 Pvt. Edward Abbott, Oct. 19, 1776 Pvt. John Abbott, Oct. 29, 1776 Pvt. William Cabbage, Nov. 24, 1776 Pvt. William Corbin, Dec. 10, 1776 Pvt. Abraham Field, Aug. 6, 1776 Pvt. Bozel Freeman, Nov. 15, 1776 Pvt. Reuben Hollaway, Aug. 3, 1776 Pvt. Utey Jackson, Aug. 20, 1776 Pvt. John Jinkins, Jan. 13 or 15, 1777 Pvt. Joseph Jones, May 6, 1777 Pvt. Edward Kennedy, Dec. 3, 1776 Pvt. Thomas Newman, in Georgia, 1776 Captain David Stephenson No fatalities recorded. Captain John Stephenson No data available. Capt. Abel Westfall's Company Fifer Patrick Callihan, Sept. 25, 1776 Pvt. Joseph Edwards, June 13, 1776 Pvt. James Galloway, Jan. 1777 Pvt. John Haggen, March 15, 1778 Pvt. John Huff, Sept. 15, 1776 Pvt. Moses Johns, May 20, 1778 Pvt. William Kynets, Sept. 26, 1776 Pvt. Hugh Lewis, Oct. 16, 1776 Pvt. William McCormick, Dec. 28, 1776 Pvt. Zachariah Pigman, Feb. 1778 (POW) Pvt. Philip Sanders, March 9, 1777 More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
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Several histories have appeared in this century that have broken significant new ground in this regard. In The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution, Lengel pulls together a Dream Team of these writers to provide a fresh, top-level overview of the war. Each of the ten authors takes a chapter, providing an authoritative and readable account of a campaign. For those already steeped in the subject matter, the book offers an opportunity to step back from the trees and look again at the forest. For those who are new to the military history of the founding era, it is an excellent primer. Best of all, it is a book filled with good stories. Who doesn’t love the drama of the Ten Crucial Days and King’s Mountain? Admittedly, there is something odd about writers who know so much about their subjects writing so briefly on them. How on Earth, one must ask, did Michael Harris manage to tell the story of Brandywine and Germantown in a mere eighteen pages? Yet, each of them does it quite well: providing very readable narratives that feature new or recent insights and well-colored characters. Some of the contributors ask and answer difficult questions. Washington and Lafayette, two of the war’s great heroes, are brought down a peg. History has been kinder to Benedict Arnold for some time. Now Charles Lee and Philip Schuyler are also given more sympathetic treatments. Continue to The Journal of the American Revolution More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
The Old Dominion’s most influential colonial governor, William Berkeley (1642-1652 and 1660-1677) was “bitterly hostile” to religious nonconformists, especially Puritans and Quakers. A law was enacted under his leadership to “preserve the Established Church’s Unity and purity of doctrine” by punishing any dissenting minister who attempted to preach in Virginia. During the reign of William and Mary, the Toleration Act of 1688 allowed non-Catholic ministers to preach under certain conditions, a change that applied to Virginia. When the Revolution broke out nearly a century later, however, religious dissenters in the colony still hadn’t gained much beyond being tolerated.
The selection of Peter Muhlenberg as colonel of the 8th Virginia was clearly an effort to gain the support of the valley’s Germans for the cause. So too was the selection of Abraham Bowman for lieutenant colonel: he was the grandson of Jost Hite, who had led the first group of German settlers to Virginia from Pennsylvania. Major Peter Helphenstine, the oldest but most junior of the three field officers, had immigrated to the valley from Germany as an adult. As residents of Woodstock, Strasburg, and Winchester, respectively, the three men also covered the geography of the heavily German lower (northern) Shenandoah Valley. Settlers in the upper (southern) Shenandoah Valley; the New and Holston river valleys of southwest Virginia; and the region around Fort Pitt in what is now southwestern Pennsylvania were also recruited for the regiment. Scotch-Irish Presbyterians predominated in these areas and were, at least by reputation, already willing to fight.
On August 16, 1775, several months before the 8th Virginia was authorized, the Third Virginia Convention adopted a resolution offered by Patrick Henry to grant the Baptists’ request to have their own military chaplains and excuse Baptist soldiers from attending Anglican services. The following summer, while the 8th was serving in the Carolinas, the Fifth Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This precursor to both the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights proclaimed that “all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other.”
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was drafted in 1777 by Thomas Jefferson and enacted into law in 1786, formally disestablishing the Church of England (known thereafter as the Episcopal Church). Massachusetts was the last state to disestablish its state church, a predecessor of today’s United Church of Christ, in 1833. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom [Drafted 1777, Enacted 1786] Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free; That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and therefore are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord, both of body and mind yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do, That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time; That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions, which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical; That even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the Ministry those temporary rewards, which, proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; That our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions in physics or geometry, That therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence, by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages, to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right, That it tends only to corrupt the principles of that very Religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments those who will externally profess and conform to it; That though indeed, these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; That to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy which at once destroys all religious liberty because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; That it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; And finally, that Truth is great, and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them: Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities. And though we well know that this Assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of Legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding Assemblies constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare that the rights hereby asserted, are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present or to narrow its operation, such act will be an infringement of natural right. More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
He is best-known as the rector of a Shenandoah Valley (Anglican) parish and colonel of the 8th Virginia Regiment, which was raised on the frontier and initially intended to be a “German” regiment. The famous but poorly-documented farewell sermon he delivered in Woodstock, Virginia, in the spring of 1776 has been the subject of epic poetry and modern political debate. After a tour of the southern theater under Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, he was made a brigadier general. His brigade of Virginians was in Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s division at Brandywine and Germantown. He was at Monmouth and remained in the army to the end of the war. He played an important role in the Virginia campaign leading up to Yorktown. ...continue to The Journal of the American Revolution More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
Mosquitos are nothing new to South Carolina. In 1774 a resident called them “devils in miniature.” In 1776, Col. Peter Muhlenberg's soldiers had to contend with them and didn't have the option of going indoors. In May of that year, the regiment rushed south from Virginia to help defend Charleston. They were part of a small army led by the strict and sardonic Maj. Gen. Charles Lee. On their arrival, Capt. Jonathan Clark spent much of the first week staying at the home of Christopher Gadsden. Gadsden was a prominent South Carolina Patriot and an early champion of Independence. Clark initially camped in Gadsden’s garden, but recorded that upon the “arr[ival] of [the] Moschetto” he got up and moved “in the House.” Enlisted men didn't have the option.
Though they fended off the British, many of them lost their battle with the mosquitos. Unlike the mosquitos bothering Tony Melton in 2015, the mosquitos of 1776 were active malaria vectors. By the start of August, nearly one hundred and fifty 8th Virginia men were too sick to continue south with General Lee into Georgia for a planned attack on West Florida. Most of the men who did continue were soon also sick. The army stopped its march in Sunbury, Georgia. South Carolina's Col. William Moultrie recorded that several men were buried there each day. The mosquitos paid no attention to rank. Colonel Muhlenberg got it and would never fully recover. Major Peter Helphinstine got it and was so sick he was forced to resign his commission and died a slow death at home in Virginia. The regiment was ordered back to Virginia in the fall, significantly depleted.
Malaria was endemic to South Carolina and neighboring states until the 1950s. Its eradication is something of a mystery but may be connected to the invention of air conditioning, which prompted people to spend more time inside during the summer. Still, it continues to kill millions every year in Africa and other developing parts of the world. (Based on an earlier post.) More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
Philadelphia's recently defaced Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not a memorial for George Washington (though it is located in Washington Square). It is a memorial for the two or maybe three thousand penniless soldiers who are buried there in mass graves. Each was fighting for freedom at a time when a better understanding of freedom and equality was only just dawning on humanity. The evident majority who died of smallpox suffered more than most modern people can comprehend. They died for the principle that "all men are created equal" (the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776) and so that we might have the right "peaceably to assemble" and to "petition the Government for redress of grievances" (the 1st Amendment, written in 1791). "Black lives matter" has essentially the same meaning as "all men are created equal." Both are true statements. The newer slogan, however, is also a Declaration that the "arc of history" has farther to bend until it achieves justice. That is also true. Ask any member of "Mother Emanuel" AME Church in Charleston or the families of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. We have a better understanding of freedom and equality today than America's founding generation had. But you have to walk before you can run, and the men buried in Washington Square were among the very first common people on Earth to walk upright and proudly in defense of human and civil rights. Today, most of the world is still trying to catch up. We can't let up now, however. We have farther to go. Read More: "The Tragedy of Henry Laurens" (August 1, 2019) More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
William Croghan has never been famous, but his life illustrates the aspirations and achievements of America’s early frontiersmen. He fought for national expansion and then played an important role in that expansion by moving to Kentucky and running the office that parceled out bounty land to veterans. This was a lucrative position. Croghan prospered and built a stately home, which he called Locust Grove. ...continue to The Journal of the American Revolution. More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
Dutch spends his free time studying local history and conducting archeology. He has made some important finds, including a string of frontier forts along what was once the “far” side of the Oconee. He’s pretty sure that Drury’s burial in that spot is an important clue to his life in the years following the Revolutionary War. From there, however, things get complicated. ...continue to Emerging Revolutionary War Era. More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
There seems to be another connection, as well. Among the first recruits for the Corps of Discovery were privates Reuben and Joseph Field. They signed up in Kentucky (where the entire extended Clark family now lived) but were—according to various sources—born in Culpeper County, Virginia. Meriwether Lewis said the brothers were “two of the most active and enterprising young men who accompanied us. It was their peculiar fate to have been engaged in all the most dangerous and difficult scenes of the voyage, in which they uniformly acquited themselves with much honor.” Three decades earlier, five men with the same last name enlisted in Capt. George Slaughter’s Culpeper County company of the 8th Virginia: Abraham, Henry, William, Larkin, and Reuben. This Reuben Field cannot be the Reuben Field from the Corps of Discovery, but there is every reason to believe they were closely related—perhaps first cousins or an uncle and a nephew. Genealogies posted on the internet show a large extended family that frequently used certain given names—Abraham, William, Reuben, Henry, and others—in many generations and collateral lines. They are consequently difficult to navigate. Captain Slaughter was himself married to Mary Ann Field, the daughter of Culpeper County’s Col. John Field (who fought at Braddock’s Defeat and died at the Battle of Point Pleasant). Mary Ann’s mother mother is identified as Anna Rogers Clark, who has been erroneously identified as the sister of the regiment’s Jonathan and John. Another genealogy seems to indicate that she was the aunt of the Corps of Discovery’s Reuben and Joseph. Colonial Virginia was a small place, genealogically speaking. It is entirely possible that Mary Ann was related to the famous Clarks. The 8th Virginia's Reuben appears to be the son of William Feld and Hanna Roberts Field. Genealogists state Reuben’s birth date as November 11, 1757 and the month of his death as April, 1815. This aligns with Virginia veterans records. This Reuben had a unique career in the war. He enlisted as a private early in 1776 but soon managed to get appointed as a cadet (an officer in training), still with the 8th Virginia. He was commissioned an ensign in March of 1777 and was a lieutenant by the Battle of Germantown, where he was captured. He was later exchanged, promoted to captain, and served nearly to the end of the war. Abraham Field was among the many 8th Virginia men to succumb to malaria during their southern campaign of 1776. He died on August 6 of that year. The same Virginia records indicate that he was Reuben’s elder brother. The 8th Virginia’s Henry Field, the original 1st lieutenant of Slaughter’s company, also contracted malaria. He went home on an extended furlough and died in 1778, probably from complications caused by malaria. He, however, does not appear to be our Reuben’s brother (though our Reuben had a brother of the same name). Almost certainly a cousin. This is all very confusing. Obvious errors in online genealogies confuse the matter further. I have made a point of avoiding genealogical investigations in this project, leaving that to the descendants of the men. Family relationships, however, were a major factor in the life of the 8th Virginia. Officers were given recruitment quotas in 1776 and looked first to those closest to them. Those who were not related before the war became related, in many instances, in the years after it. If anyone knows of an authoritative genealogy of the Fields family and can help connect the five soldiers of the 8th Virginia with the two brothers of the Corps of Discovery, I will be very grateful. Read More: "George Slaughter: Louisville's Forgotten Founder." More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
Their new home was on the South Branch of the Potomac River near the town of Romney, which is now in West Virginia. About forty miles west of the Shenandoah Valley, this was the very edged of settled Virginia territory. John was just fourteen years old when the war began—too young to be a candidate for service when Hampshire was directed to raise a rifle company in July of 1775. He was still too young when Dutch-descended Capt. Abel Westfall recruited a company there that winter for Col. Peter Muhlenberg’s new 8thVirginia Regiment. ...continue to Emerging Revolutionary War Era. More from The 8th Virginia Regiment
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Gabe Nevilleis researching the history of the Revolutionary War's 8th Virginia Regiment. Its ten companies formed on the frontier, from the Cumberland Gap to Pittsburgh. Categories
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