page_title: Army National Guard and Active Regular Army Units with Colonial Roots
section_title: 116th Infantry, VA ARNG (Stonewall Brigade)
hierarchical_section_title: Army National Guard and Active Regular Army Units with Colonial Roots / 116th Infantry, VA ARNG (Stonewall Brigade)
caption_attribution_description: English: Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 116th Infantry (ARNG VA)
context_page_description: Thirty federally recognized units in the U.S. Army have lineages that go back to the colonial era. Twenty-nine are National Guard units; one is a Regular Army Field Artillery battalion. Of the twenty-nine National Guard units, twenty-eight trace their origins to units initially organized in the English colonies; one is derived from militias formed on Puerto Rico when that island was still under Spanish rule.
  The units from the English colonies were formed during three distinct periods. The first eight, formed between 1636 and 1672, were formed for frontier defense shortly after settlements were established in New England and Virginia. The next eight, formed between 1735 and 1756, were raised for a variety of functions, including frontier defense, expansion into new areas further inland from the original settlements, and for actions against native tribes allied with the French, who were challenging the British for the control of North America. The last group of twelve, formed between 1774 and 1778, were raised for their immediate use in the Revolutionary War.
  The units are listed chronologically from oldest to newest.
context_section_description: Revolutionary War Campaigns: Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Charleston, Cowpens, Guilford Court House, Yorktown, Virginia 1775, Virginia 1776, Virginia 1781, North Carolina 1781, South Carolina 1781
  The 116th Infantry had its origins in the Augusta County Regiment of Militia, which was organized on November 3, 1741.
  The Augusta County Regiment was called into service at various times during the French and Indian War and during Lord Dunmore’s War in 1774.  Lord Dunmore’s War was a campaign against the Native tribes west of the Appalachian Mountains, initiated by the Royal Governor of Virginia, John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore.  The war was preceded by growing resistance by the Indians to the expansion of white settlement into what is now Kentucky. The Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III following the conclusion of the French and Indian War, had reserved, at least temporarily, the land between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River for Indian tribes, a restriction that was deeply resented by the colonists as an intrusion by Britain into colonial affairs.  The war ended with the decisive defeat of a force composed largely of Shawnees and Mingos at the Battle of Point Pleasant, near the juncture of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers.  The Battle of Point Pleasant is often called the first battle of the American Revolution, since it was fought in defiance of British desires and also because it cleared Indian tribes that were potential allies of the British from western Virginia.
  During the Revolutionary War the Augusta County Regiment, or its elements, was called into service and provided the following companies to the Continental Army: Fontaine's Company, Stephenson's Company, Hayse's Company, Laird's Company and Syme's Company.
  Captain William Fontaine’s Company was an element of the 2nd Virginia Regiment, which was authorized on August 21, 1775, and organized at Williamsburg on October 21, 1775.  The 2nd Virginia was adopted by the Continental Army on November 1, 1775, and assigned first to the Southern Department and then in 1776 to the Main Army.  It was actively engaged during the defense of Philadelphia in 1777–1778.   Following reassignment to the Southern Department in 1780, the regiment was captured during the surrender of Charleston.
  Captain David Stephenson’s Company was an element of the 8th Virginia Regiment (German Regiment), which was authorized on January 11, 1776, and organized February–April, 1776, at Suffolk County Court House to consist of companies from Frederick, Dunmore (Shenandoah), Berkeley, Augusta, Hampshire, Fincastle and Culpeper Counties and the West Augusta District.  The 8th Virginia Regiment was adopted by the Continental Army on May 25, 1776, serving during 1776 as an element of the Southern Department during 1777–1778 and later as an element of the Main Army.
  Captain John Hayse’s Company was an element of the 9th Virginia Regiment, authorized on January 11, 1776, and organized during February and March, 1776, on the Eastern Shore to consist of companies from Accomac, Northampton, Goochland, Albermarle and Augusta Counties.  The 9th Virginia was adopted by the Continental Army on May 31, 1776, and was present at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown.  Much of the regiment was captured at Germantown.  In 1789 the 9th Virginia was consolidated with the 1st Virginia, with the consolidated unit being designated as the 1st Virginia Regiment. The unit was captured on May 12, 1780, by the British Army during the Siege of Charleston.
  Captains David Laird’s and John Syme’s Companies were elements of the 10th Virginia Regiment, which was authorized on September 16, 1776, and assigned to the Main Army.  It was organized in February 1777 to consist of companies from Augusta, Amherst, Caroline, Culpeper, Cumberland, Fairfax, Fauquier, Orange, Spotsylvania, Stafford and King George Counties.  It served first in the 2nd Virginia Brigade and later in the 3rd Virginia Brigade.  The 10th Virginia was reorganized and redesignated in 1779 as the 6th Virginia Regiment, and reassigned to the Sou
caption: Distinctive Unit Insignia: 116th Inf
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