The 9th Virginia Regiment was authorized in the Virginia State Troops on January 11, 1776. It was subsequently organized between February 5 and March 16, 1776, and comprised seven companies of troops from easternmost Virginia. The unit was adopted into the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
on May 31, 1776. The regiment participated in the
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...
and the
Battle of Germantown
The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...
. At Germantown, under the command of Colonel
George Mathews, the unit penetrated so deeply into the British lines that it was isolated from the remainder of General
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
's division and over 400 men were taken prisoner by the British.
Four retreating companies of the 1st British Light Infantry Battalion found themselves in the rear of the Virginians and attacked. Surprised, the 9th was driven farther into the British camp where it was beset by the brigade of
Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey, (circa 23 October 1729 – 14 November 1807) was a British Army general in the 18th century and a scion of the noble House of Grey. He was a distinguished soldier in a generation of exceptionally capable military an ...
and the 2nd British Light Infantry Battalion. After being attacked on all sides and Mathews wounded, the regiment surrendered near Kelly's Hill together with part of the
6th Virginia Regiment
The 6th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Williamsburg, Virginia, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown ...
.
[McGuire, 114-116] The unit was consolidated with the
1st Virginia Regiment
The 1st Virginia Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Virginia Line that served with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
History Origins
The regiment originated from the Charles City-Henrico County Regiment of M ...
on May 12, 1779, and the consolidated unit was designated as the 1st Virginia Regiment. The unit was captured on May 12, 1780, by the British Army at the
Siege of Charleston
The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The Britis ...
and was disbanded on November 15, 1783.
References
;Bibliography
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External links
Bibliography of the Continental Army in Virginiacompiled by the
United States Army Center of Military History
The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
Virginia regiments of the Continental Army
Military units and formations established in 1775
Military units and formations disestablished in 1779
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