| Virginia Militia | |
|---|---|
 A 1772 portrait ofGeorge Washington as colonel of the Virginia Militia. The navy blue regimental coat Washington is wearing was worn by the Virginia Militia during theFrench and Indian War and was later adopted as the national uniform color byUnited States Army. | |
| Founded | 1607 |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch | merged into the currentVirginia Defense Force andVirginia National Guard |
| Type | colonial militia, state militia, statearmy national guard, stateair national guard |
| Role | To protect Virginia and the United States, from all enemies, foreign and domestic |
TheVirginia militia is an armed force composed of allcitizens of theCommonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginiamilitia was established in 1607 as part of theEnglish militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males. The main purpose of the Crown's militia was to repel invasions andinsurrections and to enforce the laws of the colony.
In 1623, the year following the outbreak of the first majorAnglo-Powhatan War in Virginia, theVirginia General Assembly commanded, "that men go not to work in the ground without their arms; That no man go or send abroad without a sufficient partie well armed." In 1661, GovernorWilliam Berkeley stated, "All our freemen are bound to be trained every month in their particular counties." The British county lieutenant system was employed as the population grew; each county had a lieutenant, appointed as the county's chief militia officer.
The militia system was originally used to defend againstNative American tribes in thetidewater area. As the slave population grew in theVirginia Colony, the militia played a role in keepingslaves from running away or from revolting – through the use of militia patrollers.[1] This Virginia militia system was put to the test in 1676 duringBacon's Rebellion.The Crown's militia was victorious overNathaniel Bacon, who tried to seize power.
Virginia militia under the command ofColonel James Patton fought anIroquois war party at theBattle of Galudoghson in December 1742, representing the first military action between Virginia soldiers and Native Americans in western Virginia.[2]
During theFrench and Indian War (1754–1763), a formal act came into effect:
WHEREAS it is necessary, in this time of danger, that the militia of this colony should be well regulated and disciplined...And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every person so as aforesaid inlisted (except freemulattoes, negroes, and Indians) shall be armed in the manner following, that is to say: Every soldier shall be furnished with a firelock well fixed, a bayonet fitted to the same, a double cartouch-box, and three charges of powder, and constantly appear with the same at the time and place appointed for muster and exercise, and shall also keep at his place of abode one pound of powder and four pounds of ball, and bring the same with him into the field when he shall be required...And for the better training and exercising the militia, and rendering them more serviceable, Be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That every captain shall, once in three months, and oftner if thereto required by the lieutenant or chief commanding officer in the county, muster, train, and exercise his company, and the lieutenant or other chief commanding officer in the county shall cause a general muster and exercise of all the companies within his county, to be made in the months of March or April, and September or October, yearly; and if any soldier shall, at any general or private muster, refuse to perform the command of his officer, or behave himself refractorily or mutinously, or misbehave himself at the courts martial to be held in pursuance of this act, as is herein after directed, it shall and may be lawful to and for the chief commanding officer, then present, to cause such offender to be tied neck and heels, for any time not exceeding five minutes, or inflict such corporal punishment as he shall think fit, not exceeding twenty lashes...
— An Act for the better regulating and disciplining the Militia, April 1757[3]
Four companies of Virginia militia participated in theSandy Creek Expedition in February 1756, however the expedition was forced to turn back due to harsh weather and lack of food.[4]
In September 1756, Colonel George Washington was unsuccessful in raising a militia inAugusta County to attack the active Indian warriors on theJackson River.[5] Militia were required to man a series of strategically sitedforts on the Virginia frontier.
In 1774, theAmerican Revolution was at Virginia's doorstep when Royal GovernorLord Dunmore dissolved theVirginia House of Burgesses because of their support of the city of Boston against the closing of the Port of Boston byLord North. On May 15, 1776, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously for independence and to have a declaration of rights drawn up. ColonelGeorge Mason became the principal author of theVirginia Declaration of Rights which was published on June 12, 1776.[6] Mason drew from his own previous writings upon his founding of the Fairfax County Independent Company of Volunteers on September 21, 1774.[7] This company was a paramilitary organization independent of the Crown's militia. Article 13 of theVirginia Declaration of Rights which established the militia clause as a fundamental right was based upon three solid English rights: the right to revolution, the right to group self-preservation and the right to self-defense. Under Article 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights he wrote:
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
Shortly after theRevolutionary War began,Kentucky County, Virginia was organized withGeorge Rogers Clark as head of its local militia. Clark asked Governor Patrick Henry for permission to lead a secret expedition to capture the nearest British posts, which were located in theIllinois country. Governor Henry commissioned Clark as alieutenant colonel and authorized him to raise troops for the expedition.[8] TheIllinois campaign began in July 1778, when Clark and about 175 men crossed theOhio River atFort Massac and marched toKaskaskia, taking it on the night of July 4.[9]Cahokia,Vincennes, and several other villages and forts in British territory were subsequently captured without firing a shot, because most of the French-speaking and American Indian inhabitants were unwilling to take up arms on behalf of the British. To counter Clark's advance,Henry Hamilton reoccupied Vincennes with a small force.[10] In February 1779, Clark returned to Vincennes in a surprise winter expedition and retook the town, capturing Hamilton in the process. The winter expedition was Clark's most significant military achievement.[11]
The Virginia militia system, as a compulsory service composed of the body of the people trained to arms as envisioned byGeorge Mason, remained intact until the end of theAmerican Civil War. During the Civil War, the Virginia militia was the main recruiting body for first theProvisional Army of Virginia and later the Virginia state regiments of theConfederate Army. After the Civil War,Reconstruction governments forced upon Virginia an all-volunteer militia system in opposition to Virginia's Bill of Rights. The militia became statutorily composed of the volunteer and the unorganized militia.
In 1971, the Virginia Bill of Rights under Article I, Section 13, was changed to the following by popular vote[12]
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.
The current Virginia Militia under Virginia Code states
§ 44-1. Composition of militia.The militia of the Commonwealth of Virginia shall consist of all able-bodied residents of the Commonwealth who are citizens of the United States and all other able-bodied persons resident in the Commonwealth who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who are at least 16 years of age and, except as hereinafter provided, not more than 55 years of age. The militia shall be divided into three classes: theNational Guard, which includes theArmy National Guard and theAir National Guard; theVirginia Defense Force; and theunorganized militia.[13]
The Code of Virginia, Section 44-117 states, "The officers of theVirginia Military Institute, theVirginia Women's Institute for Leadership atMary Baldwin College, theFishburne Military School, theMassanutten Military Academy, and the Commandant ofCadets and Assistant Commandants of Cadets of theVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shall be commissioned officers of the Virginia militia, unorganized, and subject to the orders of the Governor and the same rules and regulations as to discipline provided for other commissioned officers of the military organizations of the Commonwealth."[14]
Permanent faculty members of theVirginia Military Institute (VMI) are normally offered commissions in the naval or unorganized militia of Virginia. The Superintendent of VMI is normally a Lieutenant General of the unorganized Virginia militia unless the superintendent is a regular US military officer of higher rank. The corps of cadets also serves as cadet members of the unorganized militia. Staff members of theVirginia Tech Corps of Cadets also may hold officer appointments in the Virginia Militia, unless they hold higher rank as active or retired US military officers. All graduates of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, who complete either a leadership track or ROTC education, are automatically commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Virginia Militia.[15]
