1st Virginia General Assembly

The First Virginia General Assembly convened from October 7, 1776, to December 21, 1776, in regular session.^[1] This session took place while the Second Continental Congress was still in session.

1st Virginia General Assembly
2nd →
1845 engraving based on drawings of the second capitol at Williamsburg
Overview
Legislative body	Virginia General Assembly
Meeting place	Virginia Capitol, Williamsburg, Virginia
Term	October 7, 1776 – December 21, 1776
Senate
Members	24
Speaker	Archibald Cary
House of Delegates
Members	128
Speaker	Edmund Pendleton
Sessions
1st October 7, 1776 – December 21, 1776

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:^[1]

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

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

Employees

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

See also

• List of Virginia state legislatures