Virginia Line The Virginia Line was a formation within the Continental Army . The term " Virginia Line " referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Virginia at various times by the Continental Congress . These , together with similar contingents from the other twelve states , formed the Continental Line . The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers . Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state . Not all Continental infantry regiments raised in a state were part of a state quota , however . On December 27 , 1776 , the Continental Congress gave Washington temporary control over certain military decisions that the Congress ordinarily regarded as its own prerogative . These “ dictatorial powers ” included the authority to raise sixteen additional Continental infantry regiments at large . Early in 1777 , Washington offered command of one of these additional regiments to Nathaniel Gist of Virginia , who accepted . He also offered command of an additional regiment to William Grayson of Virginia , who accepted . In 1776 , Grayson had served as one of Washington ’ s personal aides . Finally , Washington offered command of an additional regiment to Charles Mynn Thruston of Virginia , who accepted . Still other Continental infantry regiments and smaller units , also unrelated to a state quota , were raised as needed for special or temporary service . The independent companies raised by Virginia in 1777 to garrison Fort Pitt and Fort Randolph were examples of such “ extra ” units . Virginia Provincial Regiments , 1775 . In August 1775 the Virginia Convention voted to raise fifteen companies to serve one year . The companies were raised in the fall of 1775 and organized into two regiments . The Continental Congress resolved , on November 1 , 1775 , to place these two regiments on the Continental establishment . The regiments were designated the 1st and 2d Virginia Regiments . Virginia Line , 1776 . On December 28 , 1775 , the Continental Congress voted to raise four more regiments in Virginia . The Virginia Convention concurred on January 11 , 1776 . The Convention ordered that an additional 72 companies be raised and that the term of service of the original fifteen companies be extended . The 87 companies were to be organized into nine regiments of ten companies each ( the 9th Virginia Regiment having at first only seven companies ) . The new force was to serve for not exceeding two and a half years . The 1st and 2d Virginia Regiments were reconstituted ; the 3d through 6th Virginia Regiments were raised as Continental regiments ; and the 7th through 9th Virginia Regiments were raised as state troops . In the course of 1776 the state regiments were placed on the Continental establishment . Virginia Line , 1777 . On September 16 , 1776 , the Continental Congress resolved to raise an army of eighty - eight infantry regiments which were to serve for the duration of the war . Virginia was called upon to contribute fifteen of these regiments . The 1st through 9th Virginia Regiments were reconstituted in the Continental Army as regiments raised to serve for the duration of the war . The cadres for these regiments were drawn from the regiments which Virginia had sent to the field in 1775 and 1776 . The remaining six regiments ( the 10th through 15th Virginia Regiments ) were entirely new . Three Additional Continental regiments were raised and allotted to Virginia in 1777 . There were 16 Additional regiments planned of which only 14 were actually raised . The responsibility for raising these units did not rest with the states , but with the Continental Congress which gave George Washington almost complete control over them . The colonels were Nathaniel Gist , William Grayson , and Charles Mynn Thruston . In 1779 the three units were consolidated into Gist ' s regiment . Reorganization of the Virginia Line , 1778 - 1779 . The Continental Congress ordered a reorganization of the Continental Army on May 27 , 1778 . Under this resolve , the Virginia quota was reduced from fifteen infantry regiments to eleven . In September 1778 the Virginia Line was in the vicinity of White Plains , New York , after serving at the Battle of Monmouth . New commissions issued at this time were dated September 14 , 1778 . In the White Plains rearrangement the Virginia Line was reorganized thus : The Virginia regiments were still understrength and continued to dwindle in 1779 , reduced to a fraction of their paper strength ; at this point , regimental history becomes very confusing to track . Given the number of men fit for duty , these “ regiments ” are not really “ regiments ” at all any more , yet they are still named as such . In 1780 , the word “ Detachment ” comes into use , describing a 700 - man conglomeration of these “ regiments . ” The 1st Virginia Detachment was led by Richard Parker . The 2nd Virginia Detachment was formed out of various regiments under the 2d Virginia Regiment ’ s original colonel , Brigadier General William Woodford , including elements of the 2nd Virginia Regiment . The 3rd Virginia Detachment would be formed under Colonel Abraham Buford and was composed of elements of the 7th Virginia , as well as various pieces of other units . The first two Detachments of the Virginia Line served at the Siege of Charleston in South Carolina and were surrendered to the British Army on 12 May 1780 . The 3rd Detachment was cut to pieces at the Battle of Waxhaws ; the Virginia line had effectively ceased to exist . The single exception was the two - company 9th Virginia Regiment of 1779 , which was stationed at Fort Pitt ( the present Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) . Reorganization of the Virginia Line , 1781 . In October 1780 the Continental Congress , in consultation with George Washington , ordered a further reorganization of the Continental Army . Under this reorganization , which was to be effective on January 1 , 1781 , Virginia was assigned a quota of eight infantry regiments . The Virginia Line was reorganized thus :