RA "LI R.Y OE>F THE UN IVE.R.SITY OF ILLINOIS 975.5 C88v 1954 I.H.S. ^trgtnta Colonial JEtlttta IDirgtnia Colonial flfotlitia 1661 - 1776 EDITED BY HOUUtam Brmatrona Croster Baltimore Southern Book Co. 1954 ,* <\16 aw OR many years past, and especially since the establishment of the various Patriotic Societies, research amongst the records of Colonial Vir- ginia has been fraught with many obstacles, the most important being the destruction of county records. This, of course, is irremediable. The second difficulty is the fact, that all printed data on the subject is contained in many volumes and pamphlets, which can only be found in a few ofthe largest libraries. Knowing, from personal experience, the great value of a work that would contain, in one or two volumes, not only the best of what has already appeared, but new material as well, I have hesitated to attempt that which so many others were more eminently qualified to perform. Finding, however, that patience was not in this case bringing its own reward, I have taken the initiative, and, while fully conscious ofits many short- comings, have placed before the public this initial volume of data relative to the Virginia Colonial Militia. I would refer those who may be desirous of studying in — extenso Lord Dunmore's War the participants in which, on the Colonial side, were soon to turn their military experience — against the mother country to the "Documentary History of Dunmore's War," so ably editedby Reuben Gold Thwaites,LL.D. Wm. Armstrong Crozier a 209 West 84th Street New York City November /, ipoj Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/virginiacolonialOOcroz