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The Last Men Standing: The 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution.

2/25/2025

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{The final price won't be set until it goes to print and may be lower.}
After years of research, the complete history of the 8th Virginia Regiment will finally be published this spring. Gabriel Neville’s book The Last Men Standing: The 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution is scheduled for release on May 31. The book will be the first of its kind, focusing on the actual Revolutionary soldiers from their childhoods to their last days on the frontier. Every identifiable man who served in the regiment is listed.
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​​The 8th Virginia Regiment was unique in the Continental Army, and its story has never been fully told. This is a book that was once thought impossible to write.
​The regiment is famous for its first colonel, the “fighting parson,” Peter Muhlenberg. However, there is much more to the story than the well-known story of Muhlenberg’s final sermon. The 8th Virginia was multi-ethnic, and its very existence tied north with south and east with west in a way that contributed meaningfully to national unity. About 800 men signed up to fight early in 1776. By the end of the war, only a few of them remained.
Their story is different from the usual narrative. They were Western men who cared more about Kentucky and Ohio than the tax on tea. They were the original pioneers, setting cultural precedents that became fixtures in Western movies: fringed shirts, long rifles, migration trails, Conestoga wagons, Indian fighting, dueling, and buffalo hunting. To go west, though, they first had to fight in the east.
George Bancroft called them "one of the most perfect battalions of the American Army." Major General Charles Lee called them “a most excellent regiment” and chose them first for Continental service “in preference to any other.” Two of its men rose from private to general over the course of their full military careers.
"I fought in our Revolutionary War for liberty."
—Sgt. John Vance
The Virginia Convention initially intended the 8th Virginia to be a "German Regiment." It raised several companies in the Shenandoah Valley, where thousands of Germans had migrated along the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania. Thousands of Scotch-Irish immigrants had come the same way, and they enlisted in equal measure. One 8th Virginia man, Sergeant John Vance, declared, "I fought in our Revolutionary War for liberty."
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​Frequently divided and detached, the regiment’s men served almost everywhere: Charleston, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Short Hills, Cooch's Bridge, Brandywine, Saratoga, Germantown, Valley Forge, and Monmouth.  They suffered, and many died from frostbite, malaria, smallpox, malnourishment, musket balls, bayonets, and cruel imprisonment. Their numbers dwindled until only a few remained to help corner Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown. Victorious, those who survived turned west to build the America we know.
 
The Last Men Standing includes over a hundred color and black-and-white illustrations, twenty maps, and an appendix listing every identifiable man who served. It will be published by Helion & Company and is now available for pre-order. It is available at Amazon and other retailers, or from The Fort Plain Museum at a generous discount.
"...one of the most perfect battalions of the American Army."
—George Bancroft
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The Birth of the Longrifle: Martin Meylin's Gun Shop

2/9/2025

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Meylin's gun shop in West Lampeter, Lancaster County, was built about 1718.
All or nearly all the 15 infantry regiments raised by the Old Dominion in 1775, 1776, and 1777 had two or more companies of riflemen. Their weapon is sometimes called the “Kentucky Rifle,” but because the long-barreled design originated in Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania Rifle" is the better term. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York diplomatically calls it the "American Longrifle." It asserts in a display that the weapon was “the first distinctly American art form created by European settlers in North America.” Many of the guns are indeed works of art.
Tradition, supported but not proved by documentary evidence, holds that Martin Meylin of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, made the first longrifle. He was an immigrant from Switzerland and may have produced an early version of his design in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1705 before he built his gun shop or “boring mill” in West Lampeter Township in 1719. An 1844 history records matter-of-factly that Meylin was “the first gun-smith within the limits of Lancaster County; as early as 1719, he erected a boring-mill, on what is known as Meylin’s run.” The building still stands at the intersection of Eshelman Mill Road and Long Rifle Road. There is no archeological evidence to prove or disprove that rifles were made there, and skeptics suspect the site was merely a blacksmith shop. However, two early rifles with “MM” engraved by their maker seem to show, but again do not prove, that Meylin was the earliest creator of the familiar firearm. Even if entirely true, “inventor” might be too strong of a term for him. The longrifle evolved from German hunting guns, which made a separate leap over the Atlantic in 1776 in the hands of Hessian and Anspacher Jägers. The primary innovation was the long barrel, which made the weapons very accurate.
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An ornate Pennsylvania rifle probably made by George Schreyer Sr. (1739–1819) in York County, Pennsylvania ca. 1770. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Though historians debate Meylin’s role, Lancaster County’s central place in the development of the longrifle is undisputed. It was the earliest and most prominent center of rifle production in colonial times. Adjacent York, Berks, and Lebanon counties also had many gunsmiths, and the craft followed settlement on the western and southern path on the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road. By the time of the Revolution, craftsmen made rifles in Shepherdstown, Winchester, Staunton, and other Shenandoah Valley towns. The unique styles of different counties and different artisans can still be discerned by knowledgeable observers. Rifles were essential on the frontier for self-defense, subsistence hunting, and for hunting expeditions supporting the robust transatlantic deerskin trade. By the 1770s, western men in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania had an established reputation for expert marksmanship.
Pennsylvania rifles were used infrequently in the French and Indian War. They demonstrated their military value in Lord Dunmore’s War, the last colonial Indian war, fought in 1774. Virginia’s western militia bested a large Indian army on the banks of the Ohio River in a battle that only barely resembled European tactics. When the Revolution broke out, Virginia’s first contribution to the Continental Army was two companies of riflemen from Berkeley and Frederick counties, led by Hugh Stephenson and Daniel Morgan. When the Old Dominion began to form its own full-time regiments, it incorporated rifle companies in a way that mimicked British use of grenadier and light infantry companies. The rifle companies were recruited in the western counties to “act as light infantry” alongside musket companies from the east side of the Blue Ridge. ​
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Like the nearby state historical marker, a plaque on the building is prickly about the "so-called Kentucky Rifle." The longrifle was developed in Pennsylvania two or three decades before the earliest white settlement of Kentucky.
Virginia’s regiments of “regulars” (full-time troops) began as provincial (or “state” after July 4, 1776) before joining the Continental Army. The 1st and 2nd regiments were created with two rifle companies each. The 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th each had three. The 9th, originally formed for service on Virginia’s eastern shore, had two. Virginia does not seem to have specifically ordered rifle companies for the six newest regiments, but the 11th, 12th, and 13th certainly included riflemen, and the 10th, 14th, and 15th may have as well. Uniquely, the 8th Virginia was raised entirely in the west and carried only rifles.
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It took some time for American commanders to learn how to effectively incorporate rifles into their tactical playbooks. Slow-loading and unable to hold bayonets, they were suited only for skirmishing and harassing from a distance. In close combat they became little more than unwieldy clubs after firing one round. This was tragically illustrated in the opening minutes of the Battle of Princeton. In addition to the 1775 independent companies, Moses Rawlings, Abraham Kirkpatrick, and William Darke, led effective early rifle units in different capacities. Peter Muhlenberg, Colonel of the 8th Virginia, grew frustrated with the high-maintenance weapons and asked that his men be issued muskets. Daniel Morgan, on the other hand, paired himself with Henry Dearborn’s musket-carrying light infantry to form a very effective combined-arms force during the Saratoga campaign.
Rifles played an important role in the Revolution and the conflicts that followed. They were centrally important in Andrew Jackson’s lopsided 1815 victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Many rifles for military use were churned out by gun shops with little ornamentation, but the best ones were custom-made personal possessions that were often highly ornate.
Today, 18th century long rifles are high-prized collectors’ items. Notable collections can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Landis Valley Museum in Pennsylvania, and the Museum of Southern Decorative Arts in North Carolina. Like much that is important in early American history, the longrifle’s story began in Lancaster County, perhaps in Martin Meylin’s gun shop.
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Riding to the Rescue

6/25/2024

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Daniel Morgan commanded men detached from the 8th Virginia during the 1777 Saratoga campaign. He was from Frederick County, which also produced Capt. Thomas Berry's Company. Though in bad physical condition, he came out of retirement to respond to the British invasion of Virginia in 1781.
When General Cornwallis invaded Virginia in 1781, many of the Old Dominion's best men had already done their part. Daniel Morgan, the Continental Army's best tactician, had a damaged spine and what were then called "piles," both of which made it painful to ride a horse. Eighth Virginia veteran Lt. Col. William Darke had just been exchanged after three years as a prisoner of war. Drafting soldiers had grown difficult and getting men to volunteer nearly impossible.

​But when Richmond was burned and Banastre Tarlton's British Legion followed the legislature and Governor Jefferson all the way to Charlottesville, it was clearly time for extraordinary measures. The House of Delegates asked Jefferson to "call for the immediate assistance of Brigadier General Morgan to take command of such Volunteers, Militia, and others as he may be able to speedily embody." Jefferson wrote to the general on June 2nd: "I sincerely wish your health may be so far reestablished as to permit you to take the field." He sent along enough blank commissions for three battalions.
Morgan accepted to assignment and set about trying to raise three troops of light cavalry. He appointed a trio of men to lead and recruit, and sent letters himself urging local leaders to help. He wrote to Taverner Beale, a former 8th Virginia officer and now a local official in Shenandoah County. "Colo. Triplett I have appointed to raise a Brigade below the Ridge in Fauquier and Loudon," he wrote, " Colo. Darke in Berkeley and Hampshire, Colo Smith in Frederick and Shendooe, will you undertake to raise what men you can in your County and join Colo. Smith[?] The matter is just this, if we do not make head and oppose the enemy they will destroy us."
As hard as the officers tried, they had to compete with the wheat harvest, which was just gearing up. Wheat was the primary crop of the Shenandoah Valley, and neglecting the harvest might cost a man most of a year's income. Morgan decided to "call on the best aid I could possibly get," and convened a meeting of the lower Valley's "Gentlemen who I esteem of most influence" to figure out what to do. William Darke, Charles Myn Thruston, Horatio Gates, the county lieutenants (militia commanders), and others met on June 15. They wrote to the General Assembly recommending a "decisive measure" for beefing up enlistment. The legislature acted quickly to create a militia law with teeth. Going forward, anyone who failed to appear for a two-month militia tour would be put into the Continental Army for six months. Penalties were set for local officials who failed to try and punish deserters. The death penalty was applied to deserters who left with public property. 

​​There was no way Morgan was going to raise the corps of 2,000 volunteers Jefferson and the legislature had hoped for. But the draft law worked, and Darke (despite his Continental commission) commanded militia through the surrender at Yorktown in October.
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William Darke was a lot like Morgan in temperament and character. Long before the war, they were both part of a group of young men that engaged in fist fights or wrestling matches at the "Battle Town Tavern," where Berryville is now. Both men rose from rough beginnings to a status they were never fully comfortable with.
Below is a letter written by General Morgan on June 26th to Virginia's new governor, Thomas Nelson. Nelson had just written him urging him to hurry up. The original is in the collection of Haverford College. It is transcribed without alteration but annotated at the end of each paragraph in italic text.

Daniel Morgan to Thomas Nelson, June 26, 1781

Sir,

​I recd the letter you did me the honor to write me by Colo Rootes and in compliance therewith shall March with what Volunteers I have in a day or two. I flatter my self you, Sir, will not think my time has been mispent, when I asure You I have been exerting every nerve to get Men into the field who would be of service when there. ◊ "Colo Rootes" may be George Rootes, who represented Frederick County in the First Virginia Convention in 1776. Nelson succeeded Jefferson as governor on June 12th. He wrote to Morgan from Staunton (where the state government had retreated).
 
You, Sir, are well acquainted with the Enemy’s superiority in Cavalry and the absolute necesity there is for as many horse as We can mount; this has induced me to endeavour to raise three troops mounted on the best horses these Counties can produce; such a reasonable supply will be of the utmost consequence, and their remaining three months will give time for a more permanent establishing of Dragoons, the part of an army not to be dispensed with; to attain this desirable purpose, my self with a number of other Gentlemen, have engaged our selves to some people in Frederick Town in Maryland, for such accoutrements as could be hastily furnished, for payment whereof, we make no doubt, provision will be made, when the accounts are rendered; such necessaries are allways greatly wanted, and when the volunteers times have expired, they will remain to equip future Dragoons; The horses will be an acquisition, the Country will find very beneficial. ◊ This appears to be the point of contention between Morgan and the governor. Morgan had invested time and effort into raising cavalry, but Nelson wanted men of any sort to come as soon as possible.
 
You can’t conceive how reluctantly the people leave their homes at this season of the year, and it was the general opinion if I left the Country before they were imbodied, they would not be prevailed upon to March; small parties have been pushed on and a few days, will produce the wished for march of the whole. ◊ Wheat, grown as what is now sometimes called "winter wheat," was planted in the fall and harvested in June and July. After Saratoga and especially Cowpens, Morgan was a hero. The legislature was counting on his reputation and charisma to inspire men to enlist.
 
Give me leave to press the forming magazines at the places mentioned in my last, from whence the army may be supplyd without delay: and I am of opinion too many workmen can not be imployd in making and repairing warlike instruments—many hands may be set at work in this part of the Country. For want of storehouses we are obliged to pick up provisions in such quantities as it can be found, this frequently subjects us to scantiness and is very disgusting to the people, both which, I humbly apprehend, may be obviated by the recommended magazines. I shall immediately march my voluntiers and what Militia are ready, the remainder will follow with the greatest dispatch. ◊ Morgan is being argumentative here. In the close of Nelson's June 20 letter to Morgan, he explicitly said they had no time for devising complex supply schemes, but indicated they might turn to Morgan's ideas later.
 
Had I known my presence in the Army was so immediately expected, I would have joined it on the earliest notice, but I had gone too far in the Voluntier s[c]heme to recede; it was and still is my opinion they will be extremly usefull—many of the officers I have appointed, have seen service, and the rest, Gentlemen who may be depended on.
 
However sanguine some Gentlemen may be in a hasty gathering of the Militia, You, Sir, who have seen service know, so well an appointed Army as the Brittish, Commanded by so experienced an officer as Lord Cornwallis, is not to be beaten but by well furnished troops, especialy with proper arms and well equipped horse. Could I have properly completed my Volunteer corps of two thousand, I flatter my self we should have done honor to our selves, and distinguished services to our Country. ◊ Morgan is apparently inoculating himself from blame, implying that if his recruits did not perform well, insufficient time to recruit, equip, and train them would be the cause. Morgan joined General Lafayette with the men he was able to raise on July 7th, the day after the Battle of Green Spring. He was unable to continue more than a few days and returned home.
 
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedt hum Servt
 
26th June 1781
 
Danl Morgan
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Gen. Daniel Morgan’s sword, made about 1776, has Spanish inscriptions that translate to “Draw me not without reason” on one side and “Sheath me not without honor” on the other. (VMHC)

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A New Stone For An Old Soldier

3/23/2024

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​Jacob Parrett got some help. A year ago, I wrote a post titled “A Little Help for Lt. Jacob Parrot” lamenting the state of his grave site near Harrisonburg, Virginia. The 8th Virginia officer, whose name was spelled various ways, was one of several Swiss-descended soldiers from the Shenandoah Valley. He and his wife are buried next to each other in a rural Lutheran cemetery with matching hand-etched fieldstone markers. Hers is intact, but Jacob’s was broken at the base and seemingly lost for some time. The marker is not lost, but it did need to be repaired or replaced. Indirect descendant Pat Kelly took the initiative. A new Department of Veterans Affairs stone now marks the grave, standing upright where the old stone was positioned for two centuries. Thanks, Pat! Thanks also to Hartman Memorials.

To learn more about Lieutenant Parrett, make sure to read the post from last year.

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Not Worth a Continental Dollar?

1/29/2024

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The Continental Dollar
​Farley Grubb (University of Chicago, 2023)
Economists and historians have been telling us the wrong story about Continental currency for two centuries. Continental money did not lose its value because Congress printed too much of it. In fact, there was less of it in circulation when its value plummeted than there had been before. Most surprising of all, Continental dollars weren’t technically “money” at all. They were bonds, and they worked just fine until Congress blew it in 1779.
Farley Grubb, an economics professor at the University of Delaware, used the pandemic to complete his quest to set the record straight on Continental currency. “For 230 years,” he writes, “traditional historiography has told us that the Continental dollar was a fiat currency — an unbacked paper money.” We have been told, “Congress printed and spent an excessive number of these paper dollars from 1775 through 1780,” driving their value almost to nothing and producing the phrase, “Not worth a Continental.” The old story is appealing in its simplicity, he concedes, but also requires us to believe the Founding Fathers were “either crazy, deceptive, ignorant, evil, or stupid.” Moreover, the old story falls apart under close examination (page 6-7).

Grubb’s book, 
The Continental Dollar: How the American Revolution Was Financed with Paper Money, is an interesting and valuable contribution to our understanding the Revolutionary War. It is an academic work that includes mathematical formulas that will make many readers’ eyes glaze over, but the vast majority of it is easily understood. It should be required reading for any author tempted to repeat the timeworn accusation that the states and Congress refused to give the Continental Army the support it needed. At least when it came to financing, Congress bled itself dry and pushed the states beyond the limit of what they could possibly do.
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The Other 8th Virginia Regiments

12/13/2023

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PictureBattle flag of the "Bloody Eighth," also knows as the "Berkeley Regiment."
The designation “8th Virginia Regiment” was used three times in two wars for non-militia units: twice in the Revolution and once in the Civil War. The existence of three regiments of the same name sometimes causes confusion for researchers and genealogists. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that two of them were recruited in overlapping territory and the third was recruited nearby. This post is intended to make it easy to distinguish among them, and to provide a little bit of service history.

In the French and Indian War, Virginia had one "Virginia Regiment," notably commanded for part of the war by George Washington. The was (briefly) a 2nd Virginia Regiment, as well. In the Revolution, the Old Dominion had 15 numbered regiments. In the Civil War it had 64.

The Original 8th Virginia, 1776-1778

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A recreated "grand division banner" of the 8th Virginia. The original survives in a private collection. This was not the regimental banner, but rather one of a pair of flags used for tactical direction.
This website is dedicated to the history of the original 8th Virginia Regiment. It was authorized in the Virginia Convention’s second authorization of troops in December of 1775, recruited over the winter, and took the field in March and April of 1776.  The 8th Virginia was commanded initially by Col. Peter Muhlenberg, Lt. Col. Abraham Bowman, and Maj. Peter Helphenstine. These field officers were from Woodstock, Strasburg, and Winchester, respectively. Bowman succeeded Muhlenberg as colonel when the latter became a general early in 1777.  The regiment originally had ten companies. For more, see the the "Soldiers" page on this website.
Most of the men in the original regiment signed up for two-year enlistments that ended in the spring of 1778 at Valley Forge. That, combined with casualties and weak recruiting, left the regiment significantly understrength when it marched out of Valley Forge. At the Battle of Monmouth, it was provisionally combined with the 4th and 12th regiments, which were also understrength, as the “4th-8th-12th Virginia Regiment.” The 4th, the 8th, and the 12th had all served together in Charles Scott’s brigade since the spring of 1777.

The “New” 8th Virginia of 1778-1779

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Members of the James Wood II Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, hold a modern flag honoring Col. Wood's leadership of the "new" 8th Virginia Regiment, originally the 12th Virginia Regiment. This photo was taken at the grave of Maj. Gen. Adam Stephen, who commanded both regiments in 1777.
On September 14, 1778, the Virginia line was consolidated from 15 regiments down to 11. As part of this consolidation, Bowman’s 8th Virginia was folded into the 4th Virginia under Col. John Neville and Bowman was released as a supernumerary officer. The original 8th Virginia ceased to exist and the 12th Virginia was renumbered to be the “new” 8th Virginia.

​The 12th Virginia had been authorized by the three-month old Virginia General Assembly in October of 1776 and recruited over the coming months, in part by regimenting formerly independent frontier companies. The original field officers were Col. James Wood of Winchester, Lt. Col. John Neville of Frederick County and West Augusta, and Maj. Charles Simms of Prince William County and later Fairfax County. Its captains were Andrew Waggoner (Augusta County), Benjamin Casey (Hampshire County), Stephen Ashby (Hampshire County), Michael Bowyer (West Augusta District), Matthew Arbuckle (western Botetourt County), William McKee (Rockbridge County), Jonathan Langdon (Dunmore, later known as Shenandoah County), Joseph Mitchell, Rowland Madison, and Thomas Bowyer (Botetourt County). All of these counties except Botetourt had raised companies for the original 8th Virginia.
In October of 1777, after Germantown but before the Valley Forge encampment, George Slaughter was promoted to become the new major of the 12th Virginia. He had, up until that time, been a captain in the original 8th Virginia. He resigned in November to deal with a family emergency. In January, he was succeeded by Jonathan Clark, who likewise had until that time been a captain in the original 8th Virginia.
 
When the 12th was redesignated in September of 1778, it’s field officers were Col. John Neville, Lt. Col. Charles Fleming, and Maj. Jonathan Clark.  It continued in service until 1779 when the line was reorganized again.

The Confederate 8th Virginia 

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Another 8th Virginia Regiment was authorized by the Governor of Virginia in May of 1861 for service in the Confederate Army. It was led by Col. Eppa Hunton, Lt. Col. Charles Tebbs, and Maj. Norborne Berkeley. Major Berkeley was named in honor of Gov. Norborne Berkeley (1718-1770), a popular late-colonial governor. Berkeley, the regiment's best-remembered commander, was a graduate of VMI from Aldie, Loudoun County. Three of his brothers also served as officers in the regiment, leading it to sometimes be called the “Berkeley Regiment.” (It did not recruit in Berkeley County (named for the governor), as is sometimes assumed.) It was also called the “Bloody Eighth” because of its hard service.

The Civil War 8th Virginia’s original companies and captains were Company A, the “Hillsboro Border Guards,” raised in Loudoun County and led by N.R. Heaton; Company B, the “Piedmont Rifles,” raised at Rectortown in Fauquier County and led by Richard Carter; Company C, the “Evergreen Guards,” raised in Prince William County and led by Edmund Berkeley; Company D, “Champe’s Rifles,” raised at Haymarket in Prince William County and led by William Berkeley; Company E, “Hampton’s Company,” raised at Philomont in Loudoun County and led by Mandley Hampton; Company F, the “Blue Mountain Boys,” raised at Bloomfield in Loudoun County and led by Alexander Grayson; G Company, “Thrift’s Company,” recruited at Dranesville in Fairfax County and led by James Thrift; H Company, the “Potomac Grays,” raised at Leesburg in Loudoun County and led by Capt. Morris Wampler; Company I, “Simpson’s Company,” raised at Mount Gilead and North Fork in Loudoun County and led by James Simpson, and Company K, “Scott’s Company,” raised in Fauquier County and led by Robert Scott.
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The origin of this 8th Virginia flag has not be ascertained. It is visibly old, but may be a recreation. It is owned by a collector.
The regiment fought at First Manassas, Ball’s Bluff, the Peninsula Campaign, Gaines’ Mill, and Second Manassas. It suffered a 70 or 80 percent casualties at Gettysburg. Hunton was promoted to general in August of 1863, after which the regiment was led by Col. Norborne Berkeley, Lt. Col. William Berkeley, and Maj. Charles Berkeley, leading to the “Berkeley Regiment” nickname. After Gettysburg it participated in the Overland Campaign, the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, and the Appomattox Campaign. Most of the surviving men were either killed or surrendered at the Battle of Sailor's Creek, shortly before the surrender at Appomattox. A full service record can be found here.
In 1905, Edmund Berkeley wrote a poem to welcome Union veterans to a reunion at the Manassas Battlefield that is notable for the grace shown to men who had fired at him on that very field. It was published by the Society of the Army of the Potomac in the report on its fortieth reunion.

O Lord of love, bless thou to-day
This meeting of the Blue and Gray.
Look down, from Heaven, upon these ones,
Their country's tried and faithful sons.
As brothers, side by side, they stand,
Owning one country and one land.
Here, half a century ago,
Our brothers' blood with ours did flow;
No scanty stream, no stinted tide,
These fields it stained from side to side,
And now to us is proved most plain,
No single drop was shed in vain;
But did its destined purpose fill
Of carrying out our Master's will,
Who did decree, troubles should cease
And his chosen land have peace;
And to achieve this glorious end
We should four years in conflict spend;
Which done the world would plainly see
Both sides had won a victory.
And then this reunited land
In the first place would ever stand
Of all the nations, far and near,
Or East or Western hemisphere.
Brothers, to-day in love we've met,
Let us all bitterness forget,
And with true love and friendship clasp
Each worthy hand in fervent grasp
And in remembrance of this day
Let one and all devoutly pray:
That when our earthly course is run
And we, our final victory won,
Together we'll pass to that blessed shore
That ne'er has heard the cannon's roar;
And where our angel comrades stand
To welcome us to Heaven's bright strand.
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The 8th Virginia Links List

11/17/2023

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Here are links to other great websites relating to Virginia and the Revolutionary War, organized by topic. Readers will also be interested in separate lists of recommended books, specific online content, and "essential" posts from this website.
Battlefields and Historic Sites
  • American Battlefield Trust
  • Brandywine Battlefield
  • Colonial Williamsburg
  • Locust Grove (Louisville, Ky.) - The postwar home Capt. William Croghan.
  • Monmouth Battlefield State Park
  • Princeton Battlefield State Park
  • Thomson Park Revolutionary War Battle Site
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park
  • Wilderness Road - "America's Heritage Migration Route"

History
  • Emerging Revolutionary War Era
  • Journal of the American Revolution
  • New River Notes - The history of the New River Valley in what was Fincastle County.
  • Of Sorts for Provincials - 18th century firearms, the Virginia backcountry, and material culture.
  • Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution

Living History Units​
  • 8th Pennsylvania Regiment (Fort Laurens Detachment)
  • 1st Virginia Regiment
  • 2nd Virginia Regiment
  • 2nd Virginia Regiment (Illinois)
  • 3rd Virginia Regiment
  • 7th Virginia Regiment
  • 8th Virginia Regiment
  • 10th Virginia Regiment
  • 11th Virginia Regiment
  • 13th Virginia Regiment

Museums and Historical Societies
  • 29th Division Museum - The 116th Regiment of the 29th Division is a successor unit to Capt. David Stephenson's Augusta County company.
  • ​American Revolution Museum at Yorktown
  • Augusta County Historical Society
  • Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park (Tazewell, Va.)
  • The Fort Pitt Museum (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
  • The French & Indian War Foundation (Winchester, Va.)
  • Frontier Culture Museum (Staunton, Va.)
  • Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Historical Society
  • Historical Society of Western Virginia (Roanoke, Va.)
  • Historic Germanna (Locust Grove, Va.)
  • Jefferson County Historical Society (Charles Town, W.V.)
  • Jefferson County Museum (Charles Town, W.V.)
  • Museum of the American Revolution (Philadelphia, Pa.)
  • Pencader Heritage Museum (Newark, Del.) - A local history museum adjacent to the Cooch's Bridge battlefield.
  • Shenandoah County Historical Society
  • Strasburg Museum (Strasburg, Va.)
  • Wilderness Road Regional Museum (New River Historical Society, Dublin, Va.)
  • Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society

Patriotic Societies

​Society of the Cincinatti​​
  • Pennsylvania
  • ​Virginia

​Daughters of the American Revolution
  • Kentucky (83 local chapters)
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania (93 local chapters)
  • Virginia (124 local chapters)
​
Sons of the Revolution
  • ​Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Pennsylvania (Lancaster)
  • Virginia

​Sons of the American Revolution
  • Kentucky (23 local chapters)
  • Ohio (23 local chapters)
  • Pennsylvania (23 local chapters)
  • Virginia (30 local chapters)

​Reference
  • Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements and Rosters - Searchable transcriptions for southern states.
  • Western Heritage Mapping - Animated battlefield maps.
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The 8th Virginia Reading List

11/5/2023

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Here are links to recommended articles, videos, and digitized expired-copyright content about Virginia in the Revolution, listed in rough historical order. All content should be free to access, but some  sites such as JSTOR may require you to create an account. Posts from this site are not included, but a list of "essential posts" can be accessed here. There are also lists of recommend books and menu of links to recommended websites. 
—Gabe Neville

Reference and General

  • Bob Ruppert, "The Septennial Act: An Unknown Act that Changed the World," Journal of the American Revolution. How George III and Lord North orchestrated a Tory-dominated Parliament for seven years, which just happened to be the duration of the Revolutionary War.
  • William S. Baker, Itinerary of General Washington, June 15, 1775 to December 23, 1783 (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1892). An old book, but if you want to know where Washington and the main army were on a given day, it is a useful reference.
  • Travis Shaw, "Cavalry in the American Revolution," American Battlefield Trust.
  • Neil L. York, "Pennsylvania Rifle: Revolutionary Weapon in a Convention War?" Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Rifles were specialized weapons that were almost useless in close combat. Every Virginia regiment had two or more companies of riflemen. The 8th Virginia was all-rifles for the first year.
  • Brian Gerring, "La Petite Guerre and American Indian Irregular Warfare: Siblings, but Not Twins," Journal of the American Revolution. Frontier riflemen did not fight "Indian style," but there were similaries.

Colonial Pennsylvania and Virginia

The Shenandoah Valley and backcountry Virginia had close ties to Pennsylvania. The two colonies even overlapped in the territory around Pittsburgh—a dispute that was not settled until 1780. The vast majority of Virginia's western settlers were Protestant Irish and German immigrants who came via Philadelphia on the Great Wagon Road, either immediately or over the course of one or two generations.
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  • Walter Allen Knittle, Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration. The start of German emigration to the New World.
  • Kenneth W. Keller, "The Origins of Ulster Scots Emigration to America: A Survey of Recent Research," American Presbyterians. A useful overview.
  • Richard MacMaster, "Ulster-Scots in Virginia," Discover Ulster-Scots.  A good overview of Protestant Irish settlement with a focus on Virginia.
  • Warren R. Hofstra, "Land, Ethnicity, and Community at the Opequon Settlement, Virginia, 1730-1800." Virginia History of History and Biography. A readable academic look at early Scotch-Irish settlement in the lower (northern) Shenandoah Valley.
  • Charles E. Kemper, "The Settlement of the Valley," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. More on immigration into western Virginia.
  • Steven K. Friesen, "Martin Mylin, Gunsmith: Fact or Fancy?" Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. The origins of the weapon every 8th Virginia man carried in 1776 and early 1777.
  • Lisa Minardi, "Pastors & Patriots: The Muhlenberg Family of Pennsylvania," Incollect Magazine. Background on the family that loomed large in German (Lutheran) life in the colonies and produced the first colonel of the 8th Virginia.
  • David L. Preston, "Braddock's Defeat," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). The story of the failed campaign that changed Virginia, America, and the world forever.
  • Edward Ingle, "Justices of the Peace of Colonial Virginia,"Bulletin of the Virginia State Library. A look at county governance in the colonial era, which can be confusing for modern readers. County-level authorities were essential to militia, state, and even Continental recruiting in the early war.

Pre-War Political and Indian Conflict

  • ​​Bob Ruppert, "How the Stamp Act Did Not Affect Virginia," Journal of the American Revolution. John Adams said the "revolution" was over before the war ever started. Virginia's reaction to the Stamp Act is part of what he was referring to.
  • Michael Cecere, "Take Them at Their Word: Virginia's Opposition to the Townshend Duties," Journal of the American Revolution. Like the Stamp Act, the Townsend Duties further alienated Virginians from Britain.
  • James Rife, "'So Calamitous a Situation,' The Causes and Course of Dunmore's War, 1744-1774," master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Virginia's 1774 war against the Shawnee was conducted at the same time as the First Continental Congress and served as a dress rehearsal for the much larger war that quickly followed.
  • Mark Wilcox, "'Fight and Be Strong,' the Battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774." Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Jim Glanville, "The Fincastle Resolutions," Smithfield Review.  The sentiments of Virginia in 1774 and 1775 are best understood from the various resolves and resolutions written by county committees of safety. Despite its title, Glanville's essay surveys all of the surviving country resolutions.
  • Donald M. Zweig, "The Virginia Nonimportation Association Broadside of 1770 and Fairfax County: A Study in Local Participation," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. The Virginia Association of 1770 was a precursor to the First Continental Congress's Articles of Association (boycott of British goods).
  • Michael Cecere, "A Posture of Defense: Virginia's Journey from Nonimportation to Armed Resistance," Journal of the American Revolution. Virginia crosses the Rubicon.
  • Alex Colvin, "Religious Liberty in Virginia: How 'Dissenters' Parlayed Oppression into Freedom," Journal of the American Revolution. Baptists and others were treated poorly in Anglican Virginia before the war. Patrick Henry and others persuaded revolutionary leaders to stop discriminating against religious minorities.

New England and Canada (1775-1776)

The first truly Continental soldier were Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania frontier riflemen who were recruited to support the 1775 siege of Boston. Some, including Daniel Morgan, participated in the invasion of Canada.
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  • John Grady, "The Beeline March: The Birth of the American Army." Journal of the American Revolution. The rush to recruit and march to Boston.
  • Hugh T. Harrington, "Patriot Riflemen During the Ammunition Crisis at the Siege of Boston, 1775," AmericanRevolution.org. What they did when they got there.

The Ouster of Lord Dunmore (1775-1776)

  • Jim Bish, "250 Years Ago: Virginia Starts Down the Road to Revolution." Emerging Revolutionary War Era. When the Crown governor dissolved the House of Burgesses for voicing support for Boston, the legislature's members simply went to a tavern and resumed their business.
  • Rob Orrison, "'The Sword is Not Drawn..." The Powder Incident, Lexington and Concord Moves Virginia to Revolution," Emerging Revolutionary War Era. Despite cultural differences and the 600 miles between them, Virginia was strongly supportive of Massachusetts when the war broke out.
  • W.F. Dunaway, Jr., ‘The Virginia Conventions of the Revolution,’ Virginia Law Register. The role of the five revolutionary Virginia Conventions gets glossed over in most histories, despite their very important contributions. The Continental Association, the Association's boycott of British goods, the 1st Continental Congress, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence all had their origins in or were made possible by the conventions' actions.
  • Andrew Lawler, "Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment," Journal of the American Revolution. The last days of Lord Dunmore and his effort to arm slaves in exchange for freedom.
  • Patrick H. Hannum, "Virginia's 1775 Regular Company-Level Military Force Structure," Journal of the American Revolution. A look at early Virginia provincial company organization.
  • Eric Sterner, "The Connolly Plot," Journal of the American Revolution. One-fifth of the 8th Virginia's recruits came from the West Augusta District around Pittsburgh, which was then claimed by Virginia. Eric Sterner provides a look at the political intrigue around the frontier's most important fort in 1775.
  • Robert Guy, "The Westmoreland Rangers and 'The Suffering Fruntears." Journal of the American Revolution. Events in the West Augusta District from a Pennsylvania perspective.
  • Gerald Holland, "The Seizure of the Virginia Gazette, or Norfolk Intelligencer," Journal of the American Revolution.​ The day when the Royal Governor seized a Whig newspapers printing press to suppress criticism.
  • Patrick H. Hannum, "Norfolk, Virginia, Sacked by North Carolina and Virginia Troops," Journal of the American Revolution. It was long believed that Lord Dunmore had Norfolk burned to the ground. Who actually did it was not revealed for decades after the war.
  • Michael Cecere, "Battle of Gwynn's Island: Lord Dunmore's Last Stand in Virginia," Journal of the American Revolution. The final ouster of the royal governor from the Old Dominion.

The 8th Virginia Regiment

  • Gabriel Neville, “A Forty Year Bond: William Darke and George Washington in Politics, Business, and War,” The Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society. 8th Virginia captain and major William Darke served in four different conflicts, rising from private to general.
  • Michael Cecere, "The Fighting Parson's Farewell Sermon," Journal of the American Revolution. 8th Virginia colonel Peter Muhlenberg's farewell sermon drifted over the decades from history to patriotic romance. While the mythology is not far from the facts, this essay provides an important, objective corrective.
  • Joshua Horn, "Peter Muhlenberg: The Pastor Turned Soldier," Journal of the American Revolution. Another look at Colonel Muhlenberg.
  • Gabriel Neville, "The Mighty Oaks of the Forest," Journal of the American Revolution. A review of Gwynn Tuell Potts' dual biography of William Croghan and George Rogers Clark.
  • Gabriel Neville, "Shenandoah Martyr: Richard Campbell at War," Journal of the American Revolution. Campbell, an 8th Virginia veteran, was the second-highest ranking battlefield casualty of the war.
  • George M. Smith, "The Reverend Peter Muhlenberg: A Symbiotic Adventure in Virginia, 1772-1783," The Report: A Journal of German-American History. A substantive and well-researched account of how Lutheran Peter Muhlenberg ended up in Virginia as an Anglican Priest.
  • Gabriel Neville and Michael Cecere, "Muhlenberg & the 8th Virginia," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). A fun conversation about Muhlenberg and the 8th Virginia in the war.
  • Scott Stephenson, "Flags of the American Revolution," C-SPAN (video). A look at the regiment's surviving grand division banner.
  • Samuel W. Thomas, "William Croghan, Sr. [1752-1822]: A Pioneer Kentucky Gentleman," Filson Club Quarterly. A dated but still mostly accurate look at one of the regiment's captains.

Virginia Continentals

  • "Virginia Regiments in the Continental Army" (RevolutionaryWar.US) Basic information on the 15 regiments of the Virginia Continental Line.
  • "Regimental History," 1st Virginia Regiment. An overview of the 1st Virginia's service.
  • "2nd Virginia History," 2nd Virginia Regiment. An overview of the 2nd Virginia's service.
  • John Settle, "The Eastern Shore Battalion: The Story of the 9th Virginia Regiment," Journal of the American Revolution. An overview of the 9th Virginia's service.
  • Tucker F. Hentz, "Unit History of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (1776-1781): Insights from the Service Record of Capt. Adamson Tannehill." Virginia Historical Society. 
  • Jim Gallagher, "Virginia Continental Line Reorganization of 1778 and 1779," 7th Virginia Regiment. — An explanation of the complex and sometimes ad hoc reorganizations of the Virginia Line through the end of the war.
  • John Settle, "Scott's Levies: The Virginia Detachments, 1779-1780." Journal of the American Revolution. Another well-researched essay by John Settle that untangles the service and organizaton of the Virginia Continental Line late in the war.
  • Richard C. Bush III, Pillar of Liberty's Temple: The Life and Times of Col. Thomas Gaskins. A well-researched book-length biography of Col. Thomas Gaskins, including the service of his late-war provisional regiment that included three companies commanded by 8th Virginia veterans.

The First Southern Campaign (1776)

  • Roger Smith, "The Southern Expedition of 1776: The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution," Journal of the American Revolution. Good context for the 8th Virginia's first year of service.
  • Edwin C. Bearss, The Battle of Sullivan's Island (National Park Service). A dated but very detailed account of south's most important early battle, written by a legendary Park Service historian.
  • Doug MacIntyre, "Danger at the Breach," Journal of the American Revolution. The 8th Virginia's first serious action was in Charleston in 1776 at the Battle of Sullivan's Island. Though this excellent essay does not deal with the specifics of the 8th Virginia's participation, it is the first fully-researched account of the combat on the north end of the island and an important corrective to two centuries of incomplete and sometimes incorrect history.

The Mid-Atlantic Campaign (1776-1777)

  • Charles Dewey, "Forts Washington and Lee," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). The twin forts that welcomed Captain Croghan's large detachment of 8th Virginia men into Washington's northern army.
  • Rob Orrison, Dan Welch, and Mark Maloy, "The New York Campaign," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). Captain Croghan's men joined the northern army half way through the New York campaign.
  • John Diaconis, Libby del Greco, and Lynn Briggs, "With Washington at White Plains" Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). The first battle for Captain Croghan's detachment.
  • Mark Maloy, Larry Kidder, Roger Williams, and David Price, "The Ten Crucial Days," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). The grueling campaign that whittled Croghan's Detachment down to just six men.
  • Robert A. Selig, Matthew Harris, and Wade P. Catts, "Battle of Princeton Mapping Project: Report of Military Terrain Analysis and Battle Narrative," John Milner Associates. The report of an important project that changed our understanding of what happened in this battle that saved the Revolution.
  • Mark Maloy and Will Krakow, "The Battle of Princeton," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). An overview and discussion of the battle.

The Philadelphia Campaign (1777)

  • ​Brooke Blades and Wade Catts, "The Short Hills Battlefield Study," John Milner Associates. A careful look at this poorly understood battle.
  • Adam Zielinski, "A Phanton at Middle Brook: Washington in the New Jersey Short Hills," Journal of the American Revolution. The Battle of Short Hills was fought soon after all active companies of the 8th Virginia finally united in New Jersey in the spring of 1777.
  • Gabriel Neville, "The Last Vestige of the Clove Road," Journal of the American Revolution. When the British sailed away from New Jersey in the summer of 1777, the Americans had no idea where they were headed.
  • Gabriel Neville, "The 'B Team' of 1777: Maxwell's Light Infantry," Journal of the American Revolution. About 40 8th Virginia men were detached under Capt. William Darke to this provisional corps of skirmishers for one critical month that included the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, the Battle of the Clouds, and the Battle of Brandywine.
  • Wade Catts, et al. "The Army March'd at Daybreak in Two Columns," Brandywine Terrain Analysis for Chester County Planning Commission. A careful look at the terrain in support of local historic preservation.
  • Gary Ecelbarger, "The Feint That Never Happened: Unheralded Turning Point of the Philadelphia Campaign,"Journal of the American Revolution. An explanation of Washington's decision to let the British take Philadelphia.
  • Michael Harris, "Brandywine," Emerging Revolutionary War  Era (video). An interview with historian Mike Harris.
  • Gary Ecelbarger, "Clement Biddle Partially Clears the Battle of the Clouds," Journal of the American Revolution. A careful reading of one letter changes our understanding of this battle.
  • Michael Harris, "Germantown," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). An interview with historian Mike Harris.
  • Phill Greenwalt, "The Winter the Won the War, Valley Forge," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video). An overview of Valley Forge.
  • Gary Ecelbarger, “The First Four Days at Valley Forge,” Journal of the American Revolution. Most of us have a romantic and two-dimensional view of the Valley Forge encampment. Gary Ecelberger tells us what really happened during the first days of the Army's time there.

The Saratoga Campaign (1777)

About 400 Virginia and Pennsylvania marksmen reinforced the northern army late in the summer of 1777 and participated in the battles at Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights leading to the surrender of British Gen. John Burgoyne.
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  • Eric Schnitzer, "The Battle of Freeman's Farm," National Park Service (Video).
  • Mark Maloy, "The Battle of Bemis Heights," American Battlefield Trust.

The Western War

  • David P. Ervin, "A Choice Body of Men: The Continental Army on the Upper Ohio." Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Gabriel Neville, "Virginia's Independent Frontier Companies, Part One," Journal of the American Revolution. Virginia created five companies of state regulars to protect the frontier in 1775. Many of these men continued on into the 8th Virginia.
  • Gabriel Neville, "Virginia's Independent Frontier Companies, Part Two," Journal of the American Revolution. Virginia's second authorization of independent companies for the frontier. Some of these men continued on into the 12th and 13th Virginia regiments.
  • Thomas Thorliefur Sobol, "Virginia Looking Westward: From Lord Dunmore's War Through the Revolution," Journal of the American Revolution. An overview of war warfare in the west, with a focus on Fort Pitt.
  • Nadia Dean, "A Demand for Blood: The Cherokee War of 1776." American Indian.
  • Jordan Baker, "The Cherokee-American War From the Cherokee Perspective," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Joe Herron, Gabe Neville, and Eric Sterner, "Rev War in the West," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Mark Wilcox, "Simon Kenton: Frontiersman, Soldier, Spy,"Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Phill Greenwalt, "McColloch's Leap," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Eric Sterner, "General Edward Hand: The Squaw Campaign," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Eric Sterner, "The Treaty of Fort Pitt, 1778: The First U.S.-American Indian Treaty," Journal of the American Revolution. Many 8th Virginia soldiers returned home to Pittsburgh in time to witness the first of many treaties between Indian tribes and the United States. This treaty with the Delaware was short-lived, but the signatories were good allies while it lasted.
  • Gabriel Neville, "A Portrait of John Cuppy," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Eric Sterner, "The Siege of Fort Laurens, 1778-1779,"Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Timothy C. Hemmis, "Under the Banner of War: Frontier Militia and Uncontrolled Violence," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Eric Sterner, "George Rogers Clark Recaptures Fort Sackville, Part One," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Eric Sterner, "George Rogers Clark Recaptures Fort Sackville, Part Two," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Eric Sterner, "Moravians in the Middle: The Gnadenhutten Massacre," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Eric Sterner, "The Battle of Upper Sandusky," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Eric Sterner, "Betty Zane and the Siege of Fort Henry, September 1782," Journal of the American Revolution.

The Second Southern Campaign (1780-1781)

  • Mark Maloy, "The Virgians' 800-Mile March to Save Charleston," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Jim Piecuch, "The Battle of Waxhaws (or Buford's Massacre)," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Michael Cecere, "Picking Up the Pieces: Virginia's 'Eighteen-Months Men' of 1780-81," Journal of the American Revolution.​
  • John Settle, "Abraham Buford's Virginia Battalion, 1780-1781," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Travis Shaw and Nathan Stalvey, "Daniel Morgan," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Daniel Davis and Kristopher White, "The Battle of Cowpens," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Andrew Waters on the "Race to the Dan," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Vanessa Smiley and Kristopher White, "The Battle of Guilford Courthouse," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).

The Yorktown Campaign (1781)

  • Mark Wilcox and John Pagano, "Arnold Along the James," Emerging Revolutionary War Era (video).
  • Klaus Wust, "Disaffection in the Rear: German Tories in the West Virginia Mountains," The Report: A Journal of German-American History.
  • Drummond Ball and Michael Cecere, "Virginia's Swamp Fox: Captain Amos Weeks of Princess Anne County,"Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Mark Maloy, "'Madness!' The Battle of Green Spring, 1781," Emerging Revolutionary War Era.
  • Conor Robison, "The Battle of Green Spring: A Footnote on the Road to Yorktown," Journal of the American Revolution.

The Late War (1782-1783)

  • Michael Cecere, "The French Army in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1781-1782," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • John Settle, "The Winter Encampment at Cumberland Old Courthouse," Journal of the American Revolution. — A look at the Virginia line late in the war, with mentions of 8th Virginia veterans captains Reuben Field, William Lewis Lovely, and Abraham Kirkpatrick.

The Constitution and Western Settlement

  • Neal O. Hammon, "Kentucky Pioneer Forts and Stations." Filson History Quarterly.
  • Neal O. Hammon, "Land Acquisition on the Kentucky Frontier," Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.
  • Richard J. Werther, "The Articles of Confederation and Western Expansion," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Jonathan Curran, "Examining Public Opinion During the Whiskey Rebellion," Journal of the American Revolution.
  • Brady J. Crytzer, "How the (First) West Was Won: Federalist Treaties That Reshaped the Frontier," Journal of the American Revolution. Many 8th Virginia soldiers were far more interested in western settlement than trans-Atlantic politics. The Indian wars and the treaties that followed created the opportunities in the west they really cared about.
  • Brian Howard, "Preserving Lafayette's Carriage," C-SPAN. A conservator provides a close look at the barouche (carriage) that Col. Abraham Bowman rode in with the Marquis de Lafayette to Lexington, Ky. in 1825.
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Stories From the Postwar Frontier

10/22/2023

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For American purposes, the best definition of "frontier" is the westward-moving zone of conflict between Indian life and encroaching white settlement. Though gunfights and broken treaties are best remembered, life on the frontier also involved now hard-to-conceive cultural role reversals. White men sometimes dressed like Natives and Indians sometimes dressed like white men. There were Christian Indians and white-skinned Indian warriors. Time, disinterest and fear of political incorrectness have erased most vestiges of Indian influence from mainstream American life, but those influences and interactions were once quite strong and sometimes had tragic consequences. Here, with all of its political incorrectness preserved, are the "reminiscences of a Western traveler" published in the Southern Literary Messenger. Though published anonymously, the author is believed to be Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, a Virginia aristocrat and literary light of the antebellum South who collaborated with Edgar Allen Poe. Tucker lived in the west for a time before returning to Virginia. 

From the Reminiscences of a Western Traveler

​For the Southern Literary Messenger.    

​EXTRACT

"I presume," said I, "that having so long resided in Kentucky, you must have had some acquaintance with Indian warfare."

​"I had no occasion," he replied, "to come to Kentucky to learn that. I may say, that I have had something to do with it all my life, and it had to do with me before I was born."
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Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (Colonial Williamsburg)
The speaker was a tall, handsome man, uncommonly stout, with an appearance of great strength, perfect health, and a quiet good humor, which disposed him to be communicative, merely by way of obliging. Though by no means garrulous, I had discovered that he was ready to tell whatever another might be desirous of hearing. He spoke with that strong accent, and deliberate tone, which characterize the Scotch Irish race, and which always, to my ear, conveys a promise that what is said will be said distinctly and clearly.

Here then was the very man I wanted. I had left the peaceful scenes of the Atlantic coast, expecting, not indeed to "roam through anters vast and deserts wild," in my western tour, (for my maps and gazetteer had taught me better,) but to find some traces of the scenes, which but a few years before, had made it dangerous for a white man to set his foot where we now rode along securely. My eye had eagerly scanned every object which afforded promise of food to my young and eager imagination; but as yet I had found none. The soft beauty and exuberant fertility of the country, need only the touch of civilization to take from it every appearance of wildness, and I could hardly bring myself to believe that it had been so lately the haunt of the prowling savage. My enthusiasm was consequently much damped; but it was not extinguished, and these last words of my companion blew it into a flame. A well directed question soon drew him out.
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Border Settlers in Ohio, Felix Octavius Carr Darley (NYPL)
"I was born," said he, "among the mountains of Virginia. I never saw my father. He was killed at the battle of Point Pleasant, just before I came into the world. That is the reason why I said that Indian fighting had to do with me before I was born. But that was not all; many years before that, the Indians made a break on our settlement, and carried off my oldest brother, and kept him."
"Did you never see him again?"

"I suppose I have, but I did not know it at the time." As he said this, a gloom came over his countenance, which checked my inquisitiveness, and he rode on, perhaps a mile, in moody silence. At length his brow cleared, and he again spoke, but in a somewhat saddened tone.

​"It is something strange; I am not superstitious, and yet it seems to me, as if at times, when people are in great distress of mind, they are apt to say things that turn out almost like a prophecy. It was a great grief to my mother, the loss of her child, and the longer she lived the more she mourned after him. He was quite small when they took him; and they carried him away over the lakes, so far, that they never heard where he was, until he was almost grown up, a perfect wild man. My mother was a religious woman; and the thought of his being brought up among savages, where the word of God could never reach him, went to her heart. She said, it was always borne upon her mind that he was not dead, and that he would grow up among those vile wretches, to be the death of his own father, and perhaps to die at last by the hand of one of his own brothers. When they raised a party to follow the Indians, she 
would go with them, and all the way, she said, she looked and looked, in hopes to see where they had dashed out her poor child's brains against a tree. It was the only comfort she hoped for, and that was denied her.

"As I told you, they never heard of him till he was near or quite a man; and that was just before Dunmore's war. There was no chance to do any thing towards getting him home at that time, for it was dangerous to go near the Ohio. Indeed, all they knew was, that there was a white man of about his age among the Indians, who answered to his name. It was not until after the peace that we knew certainly all about him.

​"Well! he was at the battle of the Point, fighting among the Shawanees; and there my father was killed. When my mother heard that he had been there, you may be sure her own words came back to her. No body knew who killed my father. But why not he as well as another? Flesh and blood could not have made her believe that it was not he.

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The Cumberland Gap, Samuel Valentine Hunt (LOC)
"Just after that I was born, and then again my mother took it into her head that I had come into the world to revenge my father's death. There was no great comfort in that thought, you may be sure; so as soon as the war was over, they tried all they could to get my brother back. He was told that my father was dead, and had left a good estate; and that he was the heir at law; (for you know that my father died under the old law,) but it all would not do. He was a complete Indian, and had an Indian wife and children that he would not leave. But he had kind feelings for us all, and sent us word to take the estate; for he wanted nothing but his rifle.

"Well! my mother died; and I and a brother a little older than me, sold out and went to Kentucky. Where we settled was a dangerous frontier near the Ohio, and the Indians once or twice every year, would come over and strike at us. Then we would raise a party, and follow them away almost to the lakes; and after we got strong enough, we commonly kept a smart company ranging about on that side of the river. Sometimes we volunteered; sometimes we were drafted; sometimes one went; sometimes another. One year my brother went, and had a fight with the Indians. Afterwards we heard that our wild brother was in that fight, and was badly wounded. The next year I went out, and we had a fight, and my poor brother was there again, and he was killed."

He ceased speaking, and again sunk into a gloomy silence, which none of us were disposed to interrupt. At length he said, in a softened voice, "Thank God! I was spared one thing. I never think of it, that it does not make the cold chills run over me. It was the night before the battle. We had been following hard upon the trail all day, and just before night we came up with them. But we did not let them see us, and lay back till they had camped for the night. We knew we could find them in the dark by their fires. Sure enough we soon saw the light, and crawled towards it. The word was to attack at day light. In the meantime every man was to keep his eye skinned, and his gun in his hand, and not to fire on any account till the word was given. But in this sort of business every man fights, more or less, on his own hook; and if a fellow only kills an Indian, they never blame him. There they were, all dead asleep, around their fire; and we standing looking at them, almost near enough to hear them snore. You may be sure we did not breathe loud. Well! while I was standing off on one flank, watching them with all my eyes, up gets one, and stands right between me and the light. Up came my rifle to my face. It was against orders, but I never had shot at an Indian, and how could I stand it? My hand was on the trigger, when the figure turned, and I saw the breasts of a woman. You may be sure I did not shoot. It was my brother's daughter, as I afterwards learned."

This story required no comment. It admitted of none. The ideas it suggested was such as reason could neither condemn nor justify. We could only muse on it in silence. At length, the other stranger, who, like myself, had listened attentively, said, "I too was once within an ace of shooting a woman."

I started at this, and turned to reconsider the speaker. I had already scrutinized him pretty closely, and had formed a judgment concerning him, which these words quite unsettled. The idea that he had been familiar with scenes, where every man must make his hand guard his head, had never entered my mind. He was indeed formidably armed, carrying a brace of pistols in his belt, and another in his holsters. The handle of a dirk peeped through the ruffle of his shirt, and a rifle on his shoulder completed his armament. I had been of course struck with an equipment so warlike, but attributed it to excess of caution. The mildness and elegance of his manners had fixed him in my mind, as one bred up in the scenes of peaceful and polished life, where, in youth, he had heard so much of the perils of the country he was now traversing, as to suppose it unsafe to visit it without this load of weapons. I certainly had never seen a man of more courteous and gentlemanlike demeanor; and though his countenance gave no token of one "acquainted with cold fear," I had nevertheless, emphatically marked him as a man of peace. He was the oldest man in company, but deferential to all, accommodating, obliging, and, on all occasions, modestly postponing himself, even to such a boy as I was. He seemed now to have spoken from a wish to divert the painful thoughts of our companion, and, in answer to an inquiring look from me, went on with his story.

"It was nearly thirty years ago," said he, "I was travelling from Virginia through the wilderness of Kentucky, then much infested by Indians. I had one companion, an active, spirited young man, and we were both well mounted and well armed. Vigilance alone was necessary to our safety, and as we had both served a regular apprenticeship to Indian warfare, we were not deficient in that. We soon overtook a company of moving families, who had united for safety. The convenience of the axes of the men, in making fires, and of the women in cooking, determined us to join them. We camped together every night; and as we derived great advantage from the association, we tried to requite it by our activity and diligence as scouts and flankers. We commonly rode some distance ahead, so as to give them time to prepare in case of attack; depending on our own diligence and skill to guard against surprise.

"Riding thus one day, a mile or two in advance, we were suddenly startled by an outcry from behind, which was not to be mistaken. We immediately drew up, and presently saw our party hurrying towards us, in great confusion and alarm, whipping up their teams, and only stopping long enough to say that they were pursued. The rear was therefore now our post, and, waiting till they had all passed, we dismounted,—hid our horses, took trees, and awaited the enemy. I did not wait long, until I saw the head and shoulders of a figure above the undergrowth, rushing at full speed towards me. My rifle was at my cheek, and a steady aim at the advancing figure made me sure of my mark, when an opening in the brushwood showed me the dress of a female. She was the wife of one of the wretches who had just passed us, completely spent and sinking with fatigue. Had there been Indians she must have perished. As it was, her appearance showed the alarm to be false; so I took her up behind me, and we went quietly on, in pursuit of her dastard husband, to whose protection I restored her."
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Emigrants on the Ohio River, Albert Bobbett (NYPL)
In speaking these last words, the face of the speaker underwent, for a moment, a change, which told more than his story. The tone of scornful irony too, which accompanied the word protection, gave a new face to his character. As I marked the slight flush of his pale and somewhat withered cheek, the flash of his light blue eye, the curl of his lip, and a peculiar clashing of his eye-teeth as he spoke; I thought I had rarely seen a man, with whom it might not be as safe to trifle.

The day was now far spent; and as the sun descended, we had the satisfaction to observe that he sank behind a grove, that marked the course of a small branch of the Wabash, on the bank of which stood the house where we expected to find food and rest.

None but a western traveller can understand the entire satisfaction with which the daintiest child of luxury learns to look forward to the rude bed and homely fare, which await him, at the end of a hard day's ride, in the infant settlements. There is commonly a cabin of rough unhewn logs, containing one large room, where all the culinary operations of the family are performed, at the huge chimney around which the guests are ranged. The fastidious, who never wait to be hungry, may turn up their noses at the thought of being, for an hour before hand, regaled with the steam of their future meal. But to the weary and sharp set, there is something highly refreshing to the spirits and stimulating to the appetite. The dutch oven, well filled with biscuit, is no sooner discharged of them, than their place is occupied by sundry slices of bacon, which are immediately followed by eggs, broken into the hissing lard. In the mean time, a pot of strong coffee is boiling on a corner of the hearth; the table is covered with a coarse clean cloth; the butter and cream and honey are on it; and supper is ready.

"Then horn for horn they stretch and strive."

It makes me hungry now to think of it; and I am tempted to take back my word and eat something, having just told my wife I wanted no supper. But it will not do. I have not rode fifty miles to-day, and my table is so trim and my room so snug that I have no appetite.

But it is only in the first stage of a settlement, that these things are found. By and by, mine host, having opened a larger farm, builds him a house, of frame-work or brick, the masonry and carpentry of which show the rude handy-work of himself and his sons. He now employs several hands, and the leavings of their dinner will do for the supper of any chance travellers in the evening. A round deep earthen dish, in which a bit of fat pork or lean salt beef, crowns a small mound of cold greens or turnips, with loaf bread baked a month ago, and a tin can of skimmed milk now form the travellers supper. It is vain to expostulate. Our host has no fear of competition. He has now located the whole point of wood land crossed by the road, and no one can come nearer to him, on either hand, than ten miles. Besides, he is now the "squire" of the neighborhood, with "eyes severe," and "fair round belly with fat bacon lined;" and why should not the daily food of a man of his consequence be good enough for a hungry traveller?

It was to a house of this latter description that we now came. No one came out to receive us. Why should they? We took off our own baggage, and found our way into the house as we might.

On entering, I was struck with the appearance of the party, as their figures glimmered through the mingled lights of a dull window and a dim fire. Each individual, though seated, (and no man moved or bad us welcome) wore his hat, of shadowy dimensions; a sort of family resemblance, both in cut and color, ran through the dresses of all; and a like resemblance in complexion and cast of countenance marked all but one. This one, as we afterwards found, was the master of the mansion, a man of massive frame, and fat withal, but whose full cheeks, instead of the ruddy glow of health, were overcast with an ashy, dusky, money-loving hue. In the appearance of all the rest there was something ascetic and mortified. But landlord and guest wore all one common expression of ostentatious humility and ill-disguised self-complacency, which so often characterizes those new sects, that think they have just made some important discoveries in religion. Mine host was, as it proved, the Gaius of such a church, and his guests were preachers of the same denomination. I have forgotten the name; but they were not Quakers. I have been since reminded of them, on reading the description of the company Julian Peveril found at Bridgnorth's.

When we entered, our landlord was talking in a dull, plodding strain, and in a sort of solemn protecting tone, to his respectfully attentive guests. Our appearance made no interruption in his discourse; and he went on, addressing himself mainly to a raw looking youth, whose wrists and ankles seemed to have grown out of his sleeves and pantaloons since they were made. Where the light, which this young man was now thought worthy to diffuse, had broken in upon his own mind, I did not learn, but I presently discovered that he came from "a little east of sunrise," and had a curiosity as lively as my own, concerning the legends of the country.

"I guess brother P——," said he, "you have been so long in these parts, that it must have been right scary times when you first came here."

"Well! I cannot say," replied the other, "that there has been much danger in this country, since I came here. But if there was, it was nothing new to me. I was used to all that in Old Kentuck, thirty years ago."
"I should like," said the youth, "to hear something of your early adventures. I marvel that we should find any satisfaction in turning from the contemplation of God's peace, to listen to tales of blood and slaughter. But so it is. The old Adam will have a hankering after the things of this world."

"Well!" replied our host, "I have nothing very particular to tell. The scalping of three Indians, is all I have to brag of. And as to danger; except having the bark knocked off of my tree into my eyes, by a bullet, I do not know that I was ever in any mighty danger, but once."

"And when was that?"

"Well! It was when we were moving out along the wilderness road. You see it was mighty ticklish times; so a dozen families of us started together, and we had regular guards, and scouts, and flankers, just like an army. The second day after we left Cumberland river, a couple of young fellows joined us, one by the name of Jones, and I do not remember the other's name. I suppose they had been living somewhere in Old Virginia, where they had plenty of slaves to wait on them; and it went hard with them to make their own fires, and cook their own victuals; so they were glad enough to fall in with us, and have us and our women to work and cook for them. But a man was a cash article there; and they both had fine horses and good guns; and, to hear them talk, (especially that fellow Jones,) you would have thought, two or three Indians before breakfast, would not have been a mouthful to them. We did not think much of them, but we told them, if they would take their turn in scouting and guarding, they were welcome to join us."

At this moment, our landlady, who was busy in a sort of shed, which adjoined the room we sat in, and served as a kitchen, entered, and stopping for a moment, heard what was passing. She was a good-looking woman, of about forty-five, with a meek subdued and broken hearted cast of countenance. I saw her look at her husband, and as she listened, her face assumed an expression of timid expostulation, mixed with that sort of wonderment, with which we regard a thing utterly unaccountable, but which use has rendered familiar.

Her lord and master caught the look, and bending his shaggy brow, said, "I guess the men will want their supper, by the time they get it."

She understood the hint, and stole away rebuked; uttering unconsciously, in a loud sigh, the long hoarded breath which she had held all the time she listened. Her manner was not intended to attract notice; but there was something in it, which disposed me to receive her husband's tale with some grains of allowance. He went on thus:

"The day we expected to get to the crab-orchard, it was their turn to bring up the rear. By good rights, they ought to have been a quarter of a mile or so behind us; and I suppose they were; when, all of a sudden, we heard the crack of a rifle, and here they come, right through us, and away they went. I looked round for my woman and I could not see her. The poor creature was a little behind, and thought there was no danger, because we all depended on them two fire eaters in the rear, to take care of stragglers. But when they ran off, you see, there was nobody between her and the Indians; and the first thing I saw, was her, running for dear life, and they after her. I set my triggers, and fixed myself to stop one of them; and just then, her foot caught in a grape vine, and down she came. I let drive at the foremost, and dropped him; but the other one ran right on. My gun was empty; and I had no chance but to put in, and try the butt of it. But I was not quite fast enough. He was upon her, and had his hand in her hair; and it was a mercy of God, he did not tomahawk her at once. He had plenty of time for that;—but he was too keen after the scalp; and, just as he was getting hold of his knife, I fetched him a clip that settled him. Just then, I heard a crack or two, and a ball whistled mighty near me; but, by this time, some of our party had rallied, and took trees; and that brought the Indians to a stand. So I put my wife behind a tree, and got one more crack at them; and then they broke and run. That was the only time I ever thought myself in any real danger, and that was all along of that Jones and the other fellow. But they made tracks for the settlement."

"Have you never seen Jones since?" said the mild voice of the courteous gentleman I have mentioned.
"No; I never have; and it's well for him; though, bless the Lord! I hope I could find in my heart now to forgive him. But if I had ever come across him, before I met with you, brother B——;" (addressing a grave senior of the party who received the compliment with impenetrable gravity;) "I guess it would not have been so well for him."

"Do you think you would know him again, if you were to see him?" said my companion.

"It's a long time ago," said he, "but I think I should. He was a mighty fierce little fellow, and had a monstrous blustering way of talking."

"Was he any thing like me?" said the stranger, in a low but hissing tone.

The man started, and so did we all, and gazed on the querist. In my life, I never saw such a change in any human face. The pale cheek was flushed, the calm eye glowed with intolerable fierceness, and every feature worked with loathing. But he commanded his voice, though the curl of his lip disclosed the full length of one eye tooth, and he again said, "look at me. Am not I the man?"

"I do not know that you are," replied the other doggedly, and trying in vain to lift his eye to that which glared upon him. "I do not know that you are?" muttered he.

"Where is he? where is he," screamed a female voice; "let me see him. I'll know him, bless his heart! I'll know him any where in the world."

Saying this, our landlady rushed into the circle, and stood among us, while we all rose to our feet. She looked eagerly around. Her eye rested a moment on the stranger's face; and in the next instant her arms were about his neck, and her head on his bosom, where she shed a torrent of tears.

I need not add, that the subject of the Landlord's tale, was the very incident which my companion had related on the road. He soon made his escape, cowed and chop-fallen; and the poor woman bustled about, to give us the best the house afforded, occasionally wiping her eyes, or stopping for a moment to gaze mutely and sadly on the generous stranger, who had protected her when deserted by him who lay in her bosom.
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The grave brethren looked, as became them, quite scandalized, at this strange scene. It was therefore promptly explained to them; but the explanation dissipated nothing of the gloom of their countenances. Their manner to the poor woman was still cold and displeased, and they seemed to forget her husband's fault, in their horror at having seen her throw herself into the arms of a stranger. For my part, I thought the case of the good Samaritan in point, and could not help believing, that he who had decided that, would pronounce that her grateful affection had been bestowed where it was due.

Originally Published in the Southern Literary Messenger, 1:7 (1835), pp.336-340.

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The 8th Virginia Book List

10/10/2023

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Here is a list of printed works that will help you learn more about Virginia in the Revolutionary War. A separate list of recommended free online content is available here. Essays originating on this website are not included, but a list of "essential posts" (in historical order) is provided at the top as a separate item.

The list below has an intentional focus on Virginia and the places where the 8th Virginia served, but exceptional works such as the autobiography of Joseph Plumb Martin and Robert Wright's The Continental Army are also included. Some selections are unique in their category while others represent just one of dozens of works on a subject. In most cases the listed items represent the most recent work on a subject. All researchers stands on the shoulders of the historians who preceded them. No disparagement is meant toward the many excellent works not included here. Books should be in print unless otherwise noted. This list will be updated as new items appear or when older works come to my attention. Merchant links are intentionally not provided.
--Gabe Neville

Essential Posts

  • What Were They Thinking?
  • The Stamp Act and Captain Berry
  • The Dunmore and Frederick Resolves
  • ​Three Germans: The Regiment's Field Officers
  • The Counties of the 8th Virginia
  • A First-Person History of the Regiment
  • The Fourth of July in Soldiers Eyes
  • Death by Mosquito
  • The 8th Virginia at Fort Lee in 1776
  • Pittsburgh Men at the Battle of Trenton
  • The Battle of Drake's Farm
  • The Cost of Fog and Drunkenness
  • Monmouth and the End of the 8th Virginia
  • David Stephenson Quits
  • The Murder of Joseph Carman
  • Darkesville: A Name Born of Tragedy

Introductions to the Revolutionary War

  • Michael Cecere, March to Independence: the Revolutionary War in the Southern Colonies, 1775-1776 (Yardley: Westholme, 2021). This is an important corrective to the traditional Boston- and Philadelphia-centric narrative of the war's early days, providing overviews of events in each of the southern colonies including East Florida, which did not join the rebellion.
  • Edward G. Lengel (ed.), The 10 Key Campaigns of the American Revolution (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2020). Though not a history of the whole war, this is an excellent introduction for anyone who wants to get right to the good parts of the story. This is a ten-chapter book featuring ten short accounts of the ten most important campaigns of the war written by ten of the best Revolutionary War historians writing today. It is good history and a fun read.
  • Joseph Plumb Martin, Diary of a Revolutionary War Soldier (various editions). This is the only book on the list that has nothing to do with Virginia, but it is so good and so valuable it needs to be recommended anyway. It is the sole full-length autobiography written by an enlisted soldier. It is a delightful book that should be required reading in every high school. Used editions may be titled Private Yankee Doodle.
  • Robert K. Wright, Jr., The Continental Army, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1983). This is a well-researched, matter-of-fact study of the evolution of the Continental Army with attention to unit origination, state-level contributions, training, and changes over time. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to really understand the Continental Army. It was produced by the U.S. Army's Center for Military History after the Bicentennial. It is still available from the Government Printing Office but may be easier to find used.
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Late Colonial Virginia

  • Warren R. Hofstra, The Planting of New Virginia: Settlement and Landscape in the Shenandoah Valley (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2004). This is the best history of the settlement, economy, and culture of the Shenandoah Valley in the 18th century. Half of the 8th Virginia's ten companies came from the Shenandoah Valley.
  • Klaus Wust, The Virginia Germans (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1969). Like the Scotch-Irish, large numbers of Germans emigrated down the Wagon Road from Pennsylvania to the Shenandoah Valley and many of their sons became soldiers in the 8th Virginia Regiment. This is their story.
  • Parke Rouse, Jr., The Great Wagon Road: from Philadelphia to the South (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973). The vast majority of Shenandoah Valley and south-Appalachian settlers came down the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia after immigrating from Ireland and Germany. The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road extended all the way to Georgia, and the Wilderness Road Branched off of it through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. That makes it at least as important as the Oregon Trail. It is also important here because it ran right through most of the counties that raised companies for the 8th Virginia.​
  • David Preston, Braddock’s Defeat: The Battle of Monongahela and the Road to Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). This is the most recent study of the event that reverberated for decades in the west and deeply impacted the lives of many 8th Virginia soldiers even though few if any were there for it.
  • Patrick Spero, Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West (New York: W.W. Norton, 2018). This might be the best work to date when it comes to correcting the Boston-centric account of the war's beginning we all learned in school. If armed resistance to the King's soldiers constitutes rebellion, the Revolution started in western Pennsylvania in 1769. Two of the 8th Virginia's companies were raised in Western Pennsylvania, which was claimed by Virginia at the time.
  • Brady J. Crytzer, Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America (Yardley: Westholme, 2013). An excellent explanation of Native politics and diplomacy in the Ohio Valley on the eve of the Revolution.
  • Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier (New York: W.W. Norton, 2024). Like the Francis Ford Coppola did in Apocalypse Now, Parkinson adapts elements of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to investigate imperialism and savagery on the early American frontier, mostly through the eyes of Michael Cresap.
  • Glenn F. Williams, Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era (Yardley, Pa: Westholme, 2012). Dunmore's War was the last colonial Indian war and was personally led by Virginia's last royal governor. A large number of 8th Virginia soldiers saw their first large-scale combat experience in this conflict and it explains a lot about their mindset and attitudes. This well-researched book, along with James Rife's master's thesis on the same subject, are important background for Virginia - especially western Virginia - in the Revolution.
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Virginia in the Revolution

  • Michael A. McDonnell, The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 2007). More up-to-date and a bit more academic than Selby's Revolutionary Virginia, this book satisfies modern academia's fascination with race and class while also producing very good history.
  • John E. Selby, The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783 (Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, 1988). Selby's book is still regarded as the standard history of Virginia in the Revolutionary War.​ It provides a straightforward narrative of the war.
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The War in 1776

  • Edwin C. Bearss, The Battle of Sullivan's Island and the Capture of Fort Moultrie (National Park Service, 1968). This is an older work, authored by legendary National Park Service historian Ed Bearss for the Park Service. Though dated in some ways, it still provides a good narrative. Readers may want to pair it with Mark Maloy's book on Charleston listed below.
  • William L. Kidder, Ten Crucial Days: Washington’s Vision for Victory Unfolds (Lawrence Twp., NJ: Knox Press, 2018). Published 14 years after David Hackett Fischer's Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington's Crossing, Kidder's book has the benefit not only of Fischer's research but also of the work done by the Battle of Princeton Mapping Project. 
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The War in 1777

  • ​Michael C. Harris, Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle that Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777 (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2014). Building on important earlier works by Tom McGuire and others, this is the most recent full treatment of the Battle of Brandywine.
  • ​Michael C. Harris, Germantown: A Military History of the Battle for Philadelphia, October 4, 1777 (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2020). Like his book on Brandywine, Michael Harris's book on Germantown is the latest full treatment and includes some important corrections to our understanding of what happened there.
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The War in 1778

  • Mark Edward Lender and Gary Wheeler Stone, Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017). The Battle of Monmouth was the 8th Virginia's last engagement before being folded into the 4th Virginia and ceasing to exist. Though some believe it is too kind to Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, this remains the fullest and best treatment of the most important battle of 1778.​​
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The Later War and the Western Theater

  • Colin G. Calloway, The Shawnees and the War for America (New York: Penguin, 2007). The Shawnee were for decades the primary nemeses of settlers living on Virginia's northwest frontier.
  • Eric Sterner, Till the Extinction of This Rebellion: George Rogers Clark, Frontier Warfare, and the Illinois Campaign of 1778-1779 (Westholme, 2024). For Virginia, the Revolution was a two-front war. At its end, the Unite States extended to the Mississippi because of the events in this book.
  • Hammon, Neal and Richard Taylor, Virginia’s Western War, 1775-1786 (Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 2002). The war in the west did not end in 1783. This book provides an overview of Kentucky settlement and the war in the west through 1786. It has been criticized for some small inaccuracies.
  • Eric Sterner, Anatomy of a Massacre: The Destruction of Gnadenhutten (Westholme, 2020). Perhaps the ugliest event of the Revolutionary War had nothing to do with American independence.
  • Eric Sterner, The Battle of Upper Sandusky, 1782 (Westholme, 2023). The last American campaign of the Revolution was far from familiar ground and did not end well.
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Officer Biographies

  • Michael Cecere, A Brave, Active and Intrepid Soldier: Lieutenant Colonel Richard Campbell of the Virginia Continental Line (Berwyn Heights, MD: Heritage Books, 2020). 8th Virginia captain Richard Campbell continued on in service, was promoted twice, and died in battle in 1781. He was Virginia's second-highest-ranking officer to die in combat.
  • Michael Cecere, Peter Muhlenberg, A Virginia Officer of the Continental Line (Yardley, Pa: Westholme Publishing, 2020). The most recent biography of the 8th Virginia's first colonel celebrates his real achievements and corrects some mythology.
  • Michael Cecere, Second to No Man But the Commander in Chief, Hugh Mercer (Berwyn Heights, Md: Heritage Books, 2015). From his immigration from Scotland to the French and Indian War and his final service at Princeton, Gen. Hugh Mercer's career parallels the lives of several 8th Virginia men. Mercer was a leading martyr in the American cause and should be better remembered.​
  • Harry M. Ward, Adam Stephen and the Cause of American Liberty (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1989). Not only did Adam Stephen command the 8th Virginia as a major general at Brandywine and Germantown, he was also a neighbor to many of its men in the Shenandoah Valley. (Out of print.)
  • Harry M. Ward, Charles Scott and the ‘Spirit of ’76’ (Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia, 1988). Another Virginian who rose from private to general, and then to governor of Kentucky, Scott was the 8th Virginia's brigadier general in 1777 and 1778. (Out of print.)
  • John W. Wayland, The Bowmans: A Pioneering Family of Virginia, Kentucky, and the Northwest Territory (1943; repr. Harrisonburg: C.J. Carrier, 1974). 8th Virginia lieutenant colonel and lieutenant colonel Abraham Bowman is remembered in this book about his service and that of his three equally notable brothers. (Out of print.)
  • Albert Louis Zambone, Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life (Yardley: Westholme, 2018). Several 8th Virginia men were detached to serve in Morgan's Rifles in 1777. Like Adam Stephen, Morgan lived in the Shenandoah Valley and many 8th Virginia men knew him very well as a neighbor.
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After the War

  • Brady J. Crytzer, The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis (Yardley: Westholme, 2023). Alexander Hamilton's unfair whiskey tax prompted a western tax rebellion that quickly spun out of control. Many Virginia veterans were involved...on both sides.
  • Gwynne Tuell Potts, George Rogers Clark and William Croghan (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2020). 8th Virginia captain William Croghan married the sister of George Rogers Clark and they lived and the two men worked closely together in Kentucky after the war.
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Battlefield Guides

  • Phillip S. Greenwalt, The Winter That Won the War: The Winter Encampment at Valley Forge, 1777-1778 (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2021). The enlistments of the 8th Virginia's original volunteers expired near the end of the Valley Forge encampment. New recruits and those who reenlisted continued on. Part of the Emerging Revolutionary War series.
  • William R. Griffith IV, A Handsome Flogging: The Battle Monmouth, June 28, 1778 (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2020). Monmouth was the last engagement for the original 8th Virginia regiment. Part of the Emerging Revolutionary War series.
  • Mark Maloy, To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782​ (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2023). Charleston was the site of many 8th Virginia soldiers' first and last major engagements: the Battle of Sullivan's Island in 1776 and the Siege of Charleston in 1780. Part of the Emerging Revolutionary War series.
  • Mark Maloy: Victory or Death, the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, December 25, 1776-January 3, 1777 (El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2018). About 100 men from the 8th Virginia participated in the Ten Crucial Days as part of detachment serving with the 1st Virginia Regiment. Part of the Emerging Revolutionary War series.​
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Reference

  • John H. Gwathmey, Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution (Richmond: Dietz Press, 1938). This book comes close to achieving the impossible job of creating a comprehensive list of all Virginians known to have fought in the Revolution. It wisely makes no attempt to reconcile duplicate or similar names, necessarily resulting in individual men being listed repeatedly. It gives only very basic information: names, ranks, units and dates. The book is best for Continental and State soldiers for whom rosters were kept and for whom postwar benefits were available. Minute and militia service are spotty at best. The work is available as a two-volume reprint, but is not worth the expense for researchers interested in individual soldiers. Genealogists should look for it in a library.
  • E.M. Sanchez-Saavedra, Guide to Virginia Military Organizations in the Revolution, 1774-1787 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1978). Though it contains some errors and omissions, this book produced during the Bicentennial remains the best reference for Virginia military units in the war, covering Continental, State, minute, volunteer, and militia. It includes lists of offers (captains and above) and very brief unit histories.
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    Gabriel Neville

    is researching the history of the Revolutionary War's 8th Virginia Regiment. Its ten companies formed near the frontier, from the Cumberland Gap to Pittsburgh.

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