1st Virginia General Assembly
# 1st Virginia General Assembly

The First Virginia General Assembly convened from October 7, 1776, to December 21, 1776, in regular session. This session took place while the Second Continental Congress was still in session.

## Major events

* December 25, 1776: George Washington lead about 2,400 soldiers across the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on the British Army at Trenton, New Jersey.
* December 26, 1776: George Washington and his army surprised about 1,500 Hessian auxiliaries at the Battle of Trenton and took over 900 prisoners.

## Sessions

* 1st Regular session: October 7, 1776 – December 21, 1776

## Leaders

### Senate leadership

* Speaker of the Senate: Archibald Cary

### Assembly leadership

* Speaker of the Assembly: Edmund Pendleton

## Members

### Members of the Senate

Members of the Senate of Virginia for the First Virginia General Assembly:

| Class | Counties | Senator | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Amelia, Chesterfield, & Cumberland | Archibald Cary |
| 1 | Brunswick, Lunenburg, & Mecklenburg | John Jones |
| 1 | Charles City, James City, & New Kent | John Armistead |
| 1 | Henrico, Goochland, & Louisa | Thomas Mann |
| 1 | Augusta & Dunmore | Sampson Mathews |
| 1 | Lancaster, Richmond, & Northumberland | Richard Mitchell | Election was ruled invalid October 25, 1776. |
| 2 | Isle of Wight, Surry, & Prince George | Theodorick Bland |
| 2 | Charlotte, Halifax, & Prince Edward | Paul Carrington |
| 2 | Gloucester & Middlesex | Warner Lewis |
| 2 | Spotsylvania, Orange, & Culpeper | Edward Stevens |
| 2 | Loudoun & Fauquier | William Ellzey |
| 2 | Frederick, Berkeley, & Hampshire | Robert Rutherford |
| 3 | Dinwiddie, Southampton, & Sussex | David Mason |
| 3 | Botetourt & Fincastle | William Christian |
| 3 | Hanover & Caroline | Thomas Lomax |
| 3 | Essex, King William, & King and Queen | George Brook |
| 3 | Prince William & Fairfax | Henry Lee |
| 3 | West Augusta | David Rogers |
| 4 | Accomac & Northampton | Isaac Smith |
| 4 | Princess Anne, Norfolk, & Nansemond | James Holt |
| 4 | Buckingham, Albemarle, & Amherst | William Cabell |
| 4 | Bedford & Pittsylvania | Edmund Winston | Election was ruled invalid October 9, 1776. |
| 4 | Elizabeth City, Warwick, & York | David Jameson | Resigned to join the Governor's privy council December 1776. |
| 4 | Westmoreland, Stafford, & King George | Thomas Ludwell Lee |

### Members of the House of Delegates

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates for the First Virginia General Assembly:

| County | Delegate | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| Accomac | Southey Simpson |
| Accomac | James Henry |
| Albemarle | Charles Lewis |
| Albemarle | Thomas Jefferson |
| Amelia | John Tabb |
| Amelia | John Winn |
| Amherst | Joseph Cabell |
| Amherst | Gabriel Penn |
| Augusta | Thomas Lewis |
| Augusta | Samuel McDowell |
| Bedford | John Talbot |
| Bedford | Charles Lynch |
| Berkeley | Philip Pendleton |
| Berkeley | Thomas Hite |
| Botetourt | John Bowyer |
| Botetourt | Patrick Lockhart |
| Brunswick | Frederick Maclin |
| Brunswick | Henry Tazewell |
| Buckingham | Charles Patteson |
| Buckingham | John Cabell |
| Caroline | Edmund Pendleton |
| Caroline | James Taylor |
| Charles City | William Acrill |
| Charles City | Samuel Harwood |
| Charles City | Benjamin Harrison | Departed during October, elected delegate to Congress. |
| Charlotte | Thomas Read |
| Chesterfield | John Bolling |
| Chesterfield | Benjamin Watkins |
| Culpeper | Birkett Davenport |
| Culpeper | French Strother |
| Cumberland | John Mayo |
| Cumberland | William Fleming |
| Dinwiddie | John Banister |
| Dinwiddie | Bolling Starke |
| Dunmore | Abraham Bird |
| Dunmore | John Tipton |
| Elizabeth City | Wilson Miles Cary |
| Elizabeth City | Henry King |
| Essex | Meriwether Smith |
| Essex | James Edmondson |
| Fairfax | John West Jr. |
| Fairfax | George Mason |
| Fauquier | Martin Pickett |
| Fauquier | James Scott |
| Fincastle | Arthur Campbell |
| Fincastle | William Russell |
| Frederick | James Wood |
| Frederick | Isaac Zane |
| Gloucester | Lewis Burwell |
| Gloucester | Mann Page |
| Goochland | John Woodson |
| Goochland | Tarlton Fleming |
| Halifax | Nathaniel Terry |
| Halifax | Micajah Watkins |
| Hampshire | James Mercer |
| Hampshire | Abraham Hite |
| Hanover | Garland Anderson |
| Hanover | John Syme |
| Henrico | Nathaniel Wilkinson |
| Henrico | Richard Adams |
| Isle of Wight | John S. Wills |
| Isle of Wight | Charles Fulgham |
| James City | Robert C. Nicholas |
| James City | William Norvell |
| King and Queen | Thomas Coleman |
| King and Queen | William Lyne |
| King George | Joseph Jones |
| King George | William Fitzhugh |
| King William | Carter Braxton |
| King William | Richard Squire Taylor |
| Lancaster | Jesse Ball |
| Lancaster | James Gordon |
| Loudoun | Francis Peyton |
| Loudoun | Josiah Clapham |
| Louisa | George Meriwether |
| Louisa | Thomas Johnson |
| Lunenburg | David Garland |
| Lunenburg | Lodowick Farmer |
| Mecklenburg | Joseph Speed |
| Mecklenburg | Bennett Goode |
| Middlesex | Edmund Berkeley |
| Middlesex | James Montague |
| Nansemond | Willis Riddick |
| Nansemond | William Cowper |
| New Kent | William Clayton |
| New Kent | Armistead Russell |
| Norfolk | Matthew Godfrey |
| Norfolk | John Wilson |
| Northampton | Nathaniel L. Savage |
| Northampton | George Savage |
| Northumberland | Rodham Kenner |
| Northumberland | John Cralle |
| Orange | James Madison |
| Orange | William Moore |
| Pittsylvania | Benjamin Lankford |
| Pittsylvania | Robert Williams |
| Prince Edward | William Watts |
| Prince Edward | William Booker |
| Prince George | Richard Bland | Died October 26, 1776. |
| Prince George | Peter Poythress | Resigned due to illness October 17, 1776. |
| Prince George | Edmund Ruffin |
| Prince William | Cuthbert Bullitt |
| Prince William | Jesse Ewell |
| Princess Anne | William Robinson |
| Princess Anne | John Thoroughgood |
| Richmond | Hudson Muse |
| Richmond | Charles M. Carty |
| Southampton | Edwin Gray |
| Southampton | Henry Taylor |
| Spotsylvania | Mann Page |
| Spotsylvania | George Thornton |
| Stafford | Charles Carter |
| Stafford | William Brent |
| Surry | Allen Cocke |
| Surry | Nicholas Faulcon |
| Sussex | Henry Gee |
| Sussex | Gray Judkins |
| Warwick | William Harwood |
| Warwick | Richard Cary |
| West Augusta | John Harvie |
| West Augusta | Charles Simms |
| Westmoreland | Richard Henry Lee |
| Westmoreland | John A. Washington |
| York | Corbin Griffin |
| York | William Digges |
| Williamsburg | Joseph Prentis |
| Norfolk Borough | William Roscow |
| Norfolk Borough | Wilson Curle |

## Employees

* Senate Clerk: John Pendleton Jr.
* House Clerk: John Tazewell
