Statement Showing the Number, by Companies, of the Virginia Volunteers who Entered Service Prior to July 1, 1861

In January 1862, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Paymaster General’s Office published a tally of all Virginia volunteer companies prior to July 1, 1861. It tabulated 402 infantry companies, 78 cavalry companies, and 55 artillery batteries. This did not include the Wise Legion and Floyd’s Brigade, which were commissioned by the Confederate government.

The purpose of this was to show how many men Virginia bankrolled in its “Provisional Army” before formally handing control of its volunteers to the Confederacy. You can view this document at the Internet Archive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t list the names of the companies or their counties of origin. Still, it contains valuable information that, when compared to other sources, can help piece together the whole picture.

What follows is a summary of the tables:

Month of Enrollment	No. of Officers	No. of Infantry Companies	No. of Men	No. of Cavalry Companies	No. of Men	No. of Artillery Batteries	No. of Men
April 1861	683	134	9993	28	1935	15	1773
May 1861	914	168	12326	38	2411	25	1835
June 1861	467	91	6469	12	689	15	997
July 1861	4	1	78	–	–	–	–
For the war	16	4	297	–	–	–	–
Regulars*	16	4	293	–	–	–	–
	2100	402	29456	78	5035	55	4005

The document further breaks it down by date of enrollment. Of course, this represents the number of men who enrolled with the unit and likely did not reflect subsequent enlistments, desertions, or casualties. In the future, I hope to use this data to publish a comprehensive list of Virginia’s early war volunteer companies and their combat strengths.

*The Virginia regulars were the 1st Battalion, Virginia Infantry, otherwise known as the Irish Battalion, from Richmond and Hanover County. Although the National Park Service says this unit had five companies, not four.