8th Virginia Regiment The 8th Virginia Regiment or German Regiment was an infantry unit that served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . Authorized in January 1776 , the regiment was raised from men of several northwestern counties in the strength of 10 companies . Its first commander was Colonel Peter Muhlenberg , a clergyman and militia leader . The unit marched to defend Charleston , South Carolina in 1776 , but saw no fighting . At the start of 1777 , the 8th Virginia moved to join George Washington ' s main army . When Muhlenberg was promoted to general officer , Colonel Abraham Bowman took command of the unit . Assigned to the 4th Virginia Brigade of Charles Scott , the 8th Virginia Regiment was heavily engaged at Brandywine and Germantown in the late summer and fall of 1777 . Soon after , the unit was reduced to an eight company establishment and John Neville became its colonel . Shortly after the regiment fought at Monmouth in June 1778 , it was reassigned to the 3rd Virginia Brigade . James Wood assumed command of the 8th Virginia in September 1778 . The unit was merged with the 4th Virginia Regiment on 12 May 1779 and went out of existence . Exactly a year later , the 4th Virginia was captured by the British army at the Siege of Charleston . History . Formation to Germantown . The 8th Virginia Regiment was raised beginning on 11 January 1776 for service with the Virginia State Troops . The unit ' s first commanding officer was patriot leader and pastor Peter Muhlenberg , who became a militia colonel in 1775 at the request of Washington . In his last sermon from the pulpit , Muhlenberg read from Ecclesiastes 3 : 1 , " There is a time for all things , a time to preach and a time to pray ; but there is also a time to fight , and that time has now come . " He removed his clerical robes to show that he was wearing his uniform as a militia colonel . He quickly enlisted 300 men from his congregation in the unit that became the 8th Virginia . Muhlenberg was appointed colonel on 1 March 1776 . The 8th Virginia organized at Suffolk County Court House between 9 February and 4 April 1776 . The unit ' s 10 companies came from Augusta , Berkeley , Culpeper , Dunmore , Fincastle , Frederick , and Hampshire Counties , plus the District of West Augusta . On 25 May 1776 the regiment officially became part of the Continental Army . Aside from Colonel Muhlenberg , the unit ' s field officers were Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Bowman and Major Peter Helphenstine . In 1776 , Virginia regiments were typically organized into 10 companies , of which seven carried muskets and three carried rifles . The regiment ' s 792 - man roster had three field officers , and a staff that included an adjutant , quartermaster , surgeon , surgeon ' s mate , chaplain , sergeant major , quartermaster sergeant , and drum major . Each company consisted of one captain , two lieutenant s , one ensign , four sergeant s , four corporal s , one drummer , one fifer , and 64 private s . The 8th Virginia marched south to Charleston , South Carolina and was there in time for the Battle of Sullivan ' s Island on 28 June 1776 , but it was not in action . On 21 January 1777 , the regiment received orders to join George Washington ' s main army . Muhlenberg was promoted brigadier general on 21 February and Abraham Bowman became colonel of the 8th Virginia on 22 March . At that time , the other two field officers were Lieutenant Colonel John Markham and Major William Darke . On 11 May 1777 , the unit was assigned to the 4th Virginia Brigade , together with the 4th and 12th Virginia Regiment s , Grayson ' s Additional Continental Regiment , and Patton ' s Additional Continental Regiment . Charles Scott was appointed to lead the brigade . At the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 , Scott ' s and William Woodford ' s Virginia brigades were part of Adam Stephen ' s division . That morning , Sir William Howe marched one wing of his army to reach a position in the rear of the American right flank . George Washington immediately ordered the divisions of Stephen , John Sullivan , and Lord Stirling to block Howe . Stephen ' s 1 , 500 troops held the right , Stirling ' s 1 , 500 men defended the center , and Sullivan ' s soldiers began forming on the left of the position . The Americans were outnumbered by about 8 , 000 to 4 , 000 men . Supported by two cannons , Stephen ' s division held a wooded hill in an area called Sandy Hollow . At first , the division sturdily held its ground against the British 2nd Light Infantry Battalion and the Hessian Jägers . The British attack broke Sullivan ' s division first . Attacked in front and on their newly exposed left flank , Stirling ' s men withdrew next . At last the British converged on Scott ' s brigade , which held the left flank of Stephen ' s line . The Virginians finally gave way and retreated . At the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 , Scott ' s brigade in Stephen ' s division accompanied Nathanael Greene ' s column . Washington planned for this body of troops to assault the British right flank while Sullivan and Stirling attacked the enemy left . Sullivan ' s and Anthony Wayne ' s divisions attacked first and made some progress , but Greene ' s wing was late in arriving . The deployment of Greene ' s column was confused . The divisions of Greene and Stephen advanced so quickly that Alexander McDougall ' s Connecticut Brigade lost sight of them . Meanwhile , Stephen accused Scott of separating his brigade from the division . One observer believed that the brigades of Scott and Muhlenberg ( in Greene ' s division ) attacked together . Part of Woodford ' s brigade and its supporting artillery stopped to fire on 100 British troops at the Chew House . As Stephen ' s division went forward , it encountered some of Wayne ' s troops in the fog and a friendly fire incident resulted which caused Wayne ' s men to retreat . Monmouth to Charleston . The number of companies in the regiment was reduced to eight on 1 November 1777 . John Neville took command of the 8th Virginia on 10 December . At the Battle of Monmouth , the 4th , 8th , and 12th Virginia Regiments fought as a converged battle group under the command of James Wood . The Virginians were part of William Grayson ' s 600 - man detachment along with Grayson ' s and Patton ' s Additional Continental Regiments and Thomas Wells ' two - gun company of the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment . Under the overall command of Charles Lee , Grayson ' s detachment led the American column of march at 8 : 00 AM on 28 June 1778 . Meanwhile , Philemon Dickinson ' s New Jersey militia was being pushed back by the Queen ' s Rangers . As Grayson ' s detachment approached , the Queen ' s Rangers withdrew to the east . Dickinson advised Grayson not to advance across a bridge because it would put his troops in a difficult position with British troops nearby . However , Lee placed Wayne in command of Grayson , two detachments under Richard Butler and Henry Jackson , and Eleazer Oswald ' s four cannons and sent the troops forward about 9 : 00 AM . Seeing British troops at 9 : 30 AM , Wayne sent Butler and Jackson to attack them while holding back Grayson ' s men . Lee soon saw that , instead of a small rear guard , he faced Sir Henry Clinton and at least 6 , 000 troops . At this point , a number of American units began retreating without orders . One of Lee ' s aides ordered Grayson to pull back . Unable to halt the retrograde movement , Lee ordered a general retreat before the unexpected British advance . As Washington rode forward , he was distressed to see Lee ' s division retreating , led by Grayson ' s and Patton ' s Additional Regiments . Farther on , Washington encountered Walter Stewart and Nathaniel Ramsey and asked them to hold off the British with their detachments . They formed their men in a dense wood on the left while Jeremiah Olney and Henry Livingston , Jr . deployed behind a hedgerow on the right , supported by Oswald ' s four guns . It is probable that Wood ' s Virginians joined Stewart and Ramsey on the left . A sharp action followed as the Americans in the trees ambushed the 1st Battalion of the Brigade of Guards as it attempted to move past . Stung by the surprise fire which wounded their commander , the Guards stormed the woods at the cost of 40 casualties and drove the Americans into the open . Stewart was wounded while Ramsey was cut down and captured by troopers of the British 16th Light Dragoons . British grenadiers then overran the hedgerow after heavy fighting that claimed the life of Colonel Henry Monckton . On 22 July 1778 , the 8th Virginia transferred to the 3rd Virginia Brigade . James Wood became colonel on 14 September 1778 and led the unit for the remainder of its career . The regiment was merged into the 4th Virginia Regiment on 12 May 1779 . Under the command of Woodford , about 750 Virginia Continentals arrived at Charleston , South Carolina on 6 April 1780 after a march of in four weeks . The Siege of Charleston ended on 12 May 1780 with Benjamin Lincoln ' s surrender . At least 2 , 650 American Continentals were captured in addition to militiamen . Among the prisoners were the soldiers of the 4th Virginia . The 8th Virginia was known as the German Regiment . The regiment should not be confused with Colonel Nicholas Haussegger ' s regiment , which was known as the German Battalion . Service record . < br >