Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Volunteers. First Regiment Descriptive Roll and Order Books, 1884-1905. Accession 26194. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Office of the Adjutant General, Richmond, Va., on 3 October 1964.

Historical Information

Following the Spanish-American War, the reorganization of the Virginia Volunteers continued with the assignment of new numbers to the regiments in order to distinguish those regiments who fought in the Civil and Spanish-American Wars. The 70th and 71st Infantry were the first of the new regiments organized in 1900 followed by the 72nd Infantry in 1905. A law was passed by the General Assembly on January 16, 1908, amending Section 306 of the Code of Virginia. This law stipulated that the organization, armament, and discipline of the Virginia militia or volunteers shall be the same as that of the regular and volunteer armies of the United States. In addition, the infantry regiments were again reorganized to reflect a tighter geographical grouping and were reassigned their pre-1898 designations (i.e. 1st, 2nd, & 4th Regiments).

Scope and Content Information

Each volume contains a descriptive roll & order book for Companies A through D of the 1st Regiment, Virginia Volunteers (later 70th Regiment), and the 1st & 2nd Infantry Battalions (Colored). The descriptive rolls include the following information about the soldiers: name; rank; where born (includes city, town, county, or province & state, empire, & kingdom); age at time of enlistment or commission; occupation; place of business; residence; when enlisted; where enlisted; by whom enlisted; period enlisted for; eye color; hair color; complexion; height; date resigned or discharged; and remarks (including promotions, discharges, deaths, etc.).

In addition to the descriptive rolls, each volume also contains general orders, special orders, and circulars issued by the colonel of the regiment, lieutenant colonel, company commander, etc. The orders document the activities of the company between 1884 and 1905.

Arrangement

Arranged in 5 volumes: Vol. I, Company A; Vol. II, Company B; Vol. III, Company C; Vol. IV, Company D; and Vol. V, 1st & 2nd Infantry Battalions (Colored).