The following is an incomplete list of units that made up Virginia’s volunteer army in the spring and summer of 1861. In 1862, the Paymaster General’s Office published a tally of all Virginia volunteer companies prior to July 1, 1861. It tabulated 394 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. Those regiments are included below.
Unlike their Northern counterparts, Virginia’s volunteer regiments did not come together in an organized fashion. Companies raised in April or May sometimes were not formed into regiments until June, July, or even September. This is especially true for cavalry regiments. Complicating matters, regiments may have two creation dates: one when formed under state service and one when it was accepted into Confederate service. Some predated the war in a ceremonial capacity. The date listed below is the earliest date the regiment became a coherent unit.
| Infantry Regiment | Commander | Formation Date | Army/Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Battalion Virginia Regulars | Maj. John D. Munford | May 1861 | Northwest |
| 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Patrick T. Moore | April 21, 1861 | Potomac |
| 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. James W. Allen | April 18, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 3rd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Roger Atkinson Pryor | April 20, 1861 | Norfolk |
| 4th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. James F. Preston | April 26, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 5th Virginia Infantry Battalion | Lt. Col. Fletcher H. Archer | April 29, 1861 | Norfolk? |
| 5th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Kenton Harper | May 7, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 6th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William Mahone | May 13, 1861 | Norfolk |
| 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. James L. Kemper | May 1861 | Potomac |
| 8th Virginia Infantry Battalion | Maj. Joseph R. Anderson | May 1861 (as 6th Battalion) | Richmond |
| 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Eppa Hunton | May 8, 1861 | Potomac |
| 9th Virginia Infantry Battalion | Lt. Col. George W. Hansbrough | June 1861 | Northwest |
| 9th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Francis Henney Smith | July 7, 1861 | Norfolk |
| 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Simeon B. Gibbons | May 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 11th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Samuel Garland, Jr. | May 1861 | Potomac |
| 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. David A. Weisiger | April 1861 (as 4th Battalion) | Norfolk |
| 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Ambrose Powell Hill | May 9, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 14th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. James Gregory Hodges | May 23, 1861 | Peninsula |
| 15th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Thomas P. August | May 17, 1861 | Peninsula |
| 16th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Raleigh Edward Colston | May 17, 1861 (as the 26th VA) | Norfolk |
| 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Montgomery D. Corse | June 10, 1861 | Potomac |
| 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Robert Enoch Withers | May 1861 | Potomac |
| 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Philip St. George Cocke | May 1861 | Potomac |
| 20th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Lt. Col. John Pegram | June 1861 | Northwest |
| 21st Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William Gilham | April 21, 1861 | Northwest |
| 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Christopher Q. Tompkins | April 25, 1861 (as 1st Kanawha Reg.) | Kanawha |
| 23rd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William B. Taliaferro | May 1861 | Northwest |
| 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Jubal A. Early | May 17, 1861 | Potomac |
| 25th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. George A. Porterfield Lt. Col. Jonathan M. Heck | June 1861 | Northwest |
| 26th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Charles A. Crump | May 1861 | Gloucester Point |
| 27th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William W. Gordon | May 30, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Robert T. Preston | May 17, 1861 | Potomac |
| 29th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Alfred Cleon Moore | November 5, 1861 | Eastern Kentucky |
| 30th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Richard Milton Cary | June 13, 1861 | Fredericksburg |
| 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment | Lt. Col. William L. Jackson | June 8, 1861 | Northwest |
| 32nd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Benjamin Stoddert Ewell | May 1861 | Peninsula |
| 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Arthur C. Cummings | July 1, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Albert Taylor Bledsoe | June 1861 (as 2nd Kanawha Reg.) | Kanawha |
| 37th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Samuel V. Fulkerson | May 1861 | Northwest |
| 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Edward C. Edmonds | June 12, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 39th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Charles Smith | May 28, 1861 | “Eastern Shore” |
| 40th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. John M. Brockenbrough | May 30, 1861 | Fredericksburg |
| 41st Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. John R. Chambliss | July 1, 1861 | Norfolk |
| 42nd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Jesse Spinner Burks | July 1861 | Northwest |
| 44th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William C. Scott | June 14, 1861 | Northwest |
| 45th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Henry Heth | May 29, 1861 | Kanawha |
| 46th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. James Lucius Davis | August 8, 1861 (as 1st Inf. Wise Legion) | Kanawha |
| 47th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. George W. Richardson | June 11, 1861 | Fredericksburg |
| 48th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. John A. Campbell | September 20, 1861 | Northwest |
| 49th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William Smith | July 18, 1861 | Potomac |
| 50th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Alexander W. Reynolds | July 3, 1861 | Kanawha |
| 51st Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Gabriel C. Wharton | August 22, 1861 | Kanawha |
| 52nd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. John B. Baldwin | August 19, 1861 | Northwest |
| 53rd Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Carter L. Stevenson | December 1, 1861 | N/A |
| 54th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Robert Craig Trigg | September 10, 1861 | Eastern Kentucky |
| 55th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Francis Mallory | September 1861 | Fredericksburg |
| 56th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William D. Stuart | September 23, 1861 | Eastern Kentucky |
| 57th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Lewis A. Armistead | September 23, 1861 | N/A |
| 58th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Edmond Goode | October 13, 1861 | N/A |
| 59th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. Charles F. Henningsen | August 8, 1861 (as 2nd Inf., Wise Legion) | Kanawha |
| 60th Virginia Infantry Regiment | Col. William E. Starke | August 13, 1861 (as 3rd Inf., Wise Legion) | Kanawha |
| Montague’s Battalion | Maj. Edgar B. Montague | May 1861 | Peninsula |
| Tomlin’s Battalion | Maj. Harrison B. Tomlin | July 1861 | Peninsula |
| Cavalry Regiment | Commander | Formation Date | Army/Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Cavalry Regiment, Wise Legion | Capt. Robert A. Caskie | July 1861 | Kanawha |
| 1st Virginia Cavalry | Lt. Col. James Ewell Brown Stuart | July 16, 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 2nd Virginia Cavalry | Col. Richard C.W. Radford | May 11, 1861 (as 30th Regiment, Virginia Volunteers) | Potomac |
| 3rd Virginia Cavalry | Col. Robert Johnston | May 15, 1861 (2nd Virginia Regiment until October ’61) | Peninsula |
| 4th Virginia Cavalry | Col. Beverly H. Robertson | September 4, 1861 | Potomac |
| 6th Virginia Cavalry | Col. Charles W. Field | September 11, 1861 | Potomac |
| 7th Virginia Cavalry | Col. Angus W. McDonald | May 1861 | Shenandoah |
| 8th Virginia Cavalry | Col. Albert G. Jenkins | August 1861 | Kanawha |
| 9th Virginia Cavalry | Col. John E. Johnson | December 18, 1861 | Fredericksburg |
| Witcher’s Company Virginia Mounted Rifles (34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry) | Capt. Vincent A. Witcher | September 1861 | Kanawha |
Spirit of '61 