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."
Below is the roster of the 1st Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment from April of 1861 through the surrender of Confederate forces at Appomatox Court House in April of 1865. We have compiled these names from two sources, "War History of the Old First Virginia Infantry Regiment", by Charles T. Loehr published in 1884 and " 1st Virginia Infantry" , by Lee Wallace in 1985.
The 1st Virginia Regiment was made up of men from all walks of life. To see a break down of the many occupations represented in the 1st Virginia
Regimental Staff
Fry, William Hugh: Lt. Col.
Fry, William T.: Regtl. Adjt.
Langley, Francis H. Lt. Col.
Mercer, Thomas Hugh: Ordnance Officer
Moore, Patrick Theodore: Col.
Munford, William: Major
Munford, William Preston: Lt. Col.
Pleasants, J. Adair: Paymaster
Skinner, Frederick Gustavus: Colonel
Smith, James B.: 1st Sergeant
Tremmer, William
Surgeons
Butler, Marcus A.
Cullen, John Syng Dorsey
Cunningham, Francis Dean
Grigsby, Alexander
Hinton, John Robert
Mathews, Thomas P.
Maury, Thomas Fayles
Seargeant, Henry H
Non-Commissioned Staff
Harvie, William O., Sergeant-Major
Gronwald, C. E., Quartermaster-Sergeant
Hudgins, E. P., Commissary-Sergeant
Reeve, E. P., Ensign
Chaplains
Alrich, William Augustus
Harrold, James A.
Martin, Joseph Edward
Teeling, John
Band
Smith, James B., Captain, leader
Boucher, H.
Buckley, James
Ellig, John
Emmerson, R.
Fox, Richard
Hirschberg, Joseph
Melton, James M.
Rosenberger, J. A.
Rosenberger, Laurence
Rosenberger, Ph.
Schuman, Charles
Tremer, William
Drum Corps
Pohle, C. R. M., Drum - Major
Berry, Alexander
Bladen, J.
Bolton, W.
Branon, Frank
Burch, George
Doyle, Benjamin
Eubank, George
Harris, Fred
Johnson, James W.
McDonough, Thomas
O'Keefe, James H.
Salomon, H.
Shumaker, Joseph
Strang, J. L. R.
Street, Willis
Sweeny, W. F.
Blackburn's Ford, Virginia: July 18,1861
1st Manassas , Virginia: July 21, 1861
Yorktown Siege, Virginia: April thru May, 1862
Williamsburg, Virginia: May 5, 1862
Seven Pines, Virginia: May 31 thru June 1, 1862
Seven Days Campaign , Virginia: June 25 thru July 1, 1862
Frayser's Farm, Virginia: June 30,1862
2nd Manassas , Virginia: August 28 thru 30, 1862
South Mountain, Maryland: September 14, 1862
Sharpsburg , Maryland: September 17, 1862
Fredericksburg , Virginia: December 13, 1862
Suffolk Campaign, Virginia: April thru May, 1863
Gettysburg , Pennsylvania: July 1 thru 3, 1863
Plymouth, North Carolina: April 17 thru 20, 1864
Drewry's Bluff, Virginia: May 16, 1864
Howlett House, Virginia: May 18, 1864
North Anna , Virginia: May 22 thru 26, 1864
Cold Harbor , Virginia: June 1 thru 3, 1864
Clay Farm, Virginia: June 16, 1864
Siege of Petersburg, Virginia: June 1864 thru April 1865
Dinwiddie Court House, Virginia: March 31, 1865
Five Forks, Virginia: April 1, 1865
Saylor Creek, Virginia: April 6, 1865
Appomattox Court House , Virginia: April 9, 1865
At the beginning of the War for Southern Independence the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment had over 600 men in its ranks. I give below a list of the men who surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse with General Lee : Andrew J. Simpson, Sergeant-Major in command; William H. Dean, Quartermaster-Sergeant; Elias P. Hudgins, Ordnance-Sergeant; James Stagg, John F. Synder, George C. Hancock, George W. Earnest, John N. Johnson, privates, Company B; Thomas A. Howard, John F. Wheeley, Lamuel R. Wingfield, James P. Mahane, privates, Company D; Private John K. Wilkinson, Company G; Private Robert E. Womack, Company H; Martin Oeters, James A. Jordan, H. S. Carter, privates, Company I. In all, seventeen men. These were the last of the "Old First," in the War Between the States.