Virginia

 Virginia in the civil war

May 1,1851: Governor John B. Floyd used his authority under General Order #1 to cause the formation of the 1st Regiment of Virginia Volunteer Infantry.
This happened after the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the formation of volunteer companies,and directed the organization of a regiment to be formed from the volunteer militia companies of the City of Richmond and it's neighboring counties of Henrico and Chesterfield.

During the following ten years of peace, the Volunteers occupied themselves by attending public events, ceremonies, and galas in addition to regular training and drilling. Unlike the regular volunteer militia, a duty required of healthy men between the ages of 18 and 45, The 1st Regiment of Virginia Volunteer Infantry sported grey uniforms. When President Millard Fillmore visited Richmond on June 27,1851, it was the 1st Virginia Infantry who greeted and escorted the President to the Capital. Participating in the Fourth of July celebration, the biggest civil-military celebration of the year, The 1st Virignia, in their freshly brushed uniforms, paraded into the capitol square where spectators delighted in watching the firing of salutes at noon.

April 17,1861: The orders from Governor Letcher went out for immediate mobilization within hours after the State Convention voted for succession. The next few weeks saw numerous changes to the organization of the 1st Virginia Infantry. The first company to be removed from the regiment was the Howitzer's who mobilized at the Apotswood Hotel on April 19. Reporting shortly after to the Richmond College Artillery barracks with 225 men and six Dahlgren Howitzers. Applications to join increased so rapidly, it was pulled from the 1st Virginia and formed into a Battalion of three companies.

Company "F" and the Richmond Light Infantry Blues were removed from the 1st Virginia not long after they were sent to Fredericksburg following news that Union forces were landing at Aquia Creek, which later proved to be false. They established Camp Mercer on the town's fairgrounds. Although their separation from the 1st Virginia Regiment was intended to be temporary, they never returned, voting unanimously on April 23 to attach themselves "To some new regiment to be placed under the command of a former United States Officer who is a tactician and disciplinarian."