The Beard
Was there facial hair sported by the Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War?
A Big NO is the answer from many reenactors.
We discovered no descriptions of men with beards in 1759, which is the year we are covering in 2023.
But !
There are exceptions.
Some companies had no one with a beard.
But some did.
Of those companies of 100 men or 30 men, one or two show up with a beard.
Or whiskers.
And as you can see in the dates below, they kept those beards after being drafted.
They didn't shave them.
Listed further below are these exceptions.
This is of special significance to the reenactment group portraying Captain George Mercer company of the Virginia Regiment. That company had 3 beards. One of those bearded man got hit with 3 courts-martial.
Another reenactment group calling itself the 2nd Company (even though at one time the Mercer company was listed as 2nd) portraying the Lt Colonel Adam Stephen Company of the Virginia Regiment, had one beard and another one with whiskers.
Return of Captain George Mercer of 2 Aug 1756 . . . . .
Matthew Fling, drafted 28 Dec 1754 (and he's still sporting a beard almost 2 years later) drafted from Fairfax County, aged 29, height 5' 4", planter by trade, hailed from Ireland, black complexion, low, well set, with a LARGE BEARD, a scar in his face.
This bearded guy was court-martialed with another man for both losing their muskets in the Battle of the Great Cacapon. For all of Matthew Fling’s courts-martial, see the second Court-Martial of 2 May 1756 and GW’s Orders for 3 June 1756 and a 20 Sept 1756 courtmartial John Carrell , drafted 9 May1756 from Norfolk County VA, aged 25, height 5' 4", seaman by trade, hails from Ireland, dark complexion, bold looking man, LARGE BLACK BEARD, page 87
Samuel Burton, drafted 1 April 1756 from Frederick County VA, aged 26, 5' 10", carpenter by trade, hails from Virginia, fair, fresh, well looking with A LARGE RED BEARD, page 88
Return from Lt Col Adam Stephen, 13 July 1756 . . .
William Cox , drafted Nov 1755 from Stafford County, aged 40 yrs old, height 5'7", planter by trade, from England, black hair, brown complexion, THICK BEARD, corpulent made . . . . .page 80.
Garrett Raingers, drafted Sept 1755 from Westmoreland Co VA, aged 40, height 5'5", gentleman by trade, Dutch, brown, thick set, WEARS WHISKERS, page 80.
Return of Captain Joshua Lewis' Company 13 July 1756 . . . .
William Jenkins, drafted 12 Sept 1755, from Maryland, 28 yrs old, height 5'11", a joiner by trade, from Ireland, swarthy complexion, LARGE BEARD . . . .page 75
Aaron Paul, lives in Winchester VA, drafted 8 Sept 1755, aged 26 yrs old, height 5' 3", a laborer by trade, from England, fair complexion, DARK BEARD, page 75.
Size Roll of Capt Thomas Waggener's Company, 19 Sept 1756
Alexander Turnball, height 5' 6", aged 50, brown, from Ireland, planter by trade, with Capt Christopher Gist, black curling hair AND BEARD, thin face, large mouth and eye brows, page 91.
John Dunn, height 5"4", aged 40, brown, from Ireland, planter by trade, drafted from Prince Edward County VA, well made, LARGE BLACK BEARD and eye brows, page 92.
Page numbers are of Virginia Colonial Soldiers by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, copyright 1988, published by Genealogical Publishing Company, fourth printing 2008.
We discovered no descriptions of men with beards in 1759, which is the year we are covering in 2023. But since there were descriptions of the men in previous years, the officers might have foregone repeating the writing of description.
Some reenactors portray the exception.
This is not to make the exception the rule, but rather like our ensign holding a British Ensign, such portrayals certainly create the oportunity to talk about the subject.
Like the beard being rare, so too is that flag being so rare as to be suspected it never was used by the Virginia Regiment.
We did not find examples after these years. Companies did not describe men in such detail after the Forbes Expedition in 1758.
That's it for now.
That's our lead story.
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Compiled and authored by Jim Moyer 5/14/2023, 5/16/2023, 5/21/2023
Sources
Virginia Colonial Soldiers by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, copyright 1988, published by Genealogical Publishing Company, fourth printing 2008.
Rosters on Founders Online
Orders, 12 July 1756
VA Colonial Militia by Crozier Nov 1905
Pa archives
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Orders, 22–23 August 1756
Orders Parole: Salisbury. [22, 23 August 1756] Winchester, Sunday 22d August, 1756. Parole: Tangiers. Winchester, Monday 23d August 1756. A court of enquiry, to consist of all the Officers in town, to sit immediately, to enquire into the complaint of Daniel Bevan, Soldier in Captain Mercers company, against James Lemon, Tavern-keeper, for striking and abusing him.1 The parties, with their Evidences, to be summoned to attend—The court must also award the Damages against the Offender. LB, DLC:GW. 1. Daniel Bevans, a 21–year-old Englishman who enlisted in Gloucester County in January 1755, was described as being 5′7″ tall and of “Dark Compln very well set full round Face, fresh coloured” (George Mercer’s company size roll, 2 Aug. 1756, DLC:GW). A fragment of an indictment of James Lemen charges that he “then and there did beat wound and ill Treat [Bevans], so that his Life was greatly despaired of, and other Wrongs to the said Daniel Bevans then and there did, to the great Damage of the said Daniel Bevans. . . .” This was sworn to in the General Court, 16 Oct. 1756, by Bevans and his captain, George Mercer, and signed with the initials of Benjamin Waller, clerk of the General Court. Mercer had been summoned to Williamsburg also to appear as a witness in the Knap counterfeiting trial (see GW to Robert Dinwiddie, 4 Aug. 1756, and note 23; Memorandum, 10 Oct. 1756, n.1; Orders, 31 Oct. 1756). The document is docketed: “An Indictment against James Lemen for An Assault & Battery. A True Bill[.] Mann Page Foreman[.] Oct. 1756 Process Awarded[.] April 1757 Not Guilty[.] Octr Abated” (Vi: Colonial Papers, 45:9). James Lemen, in whose ordinary troops of the Virginia Regiment were quartered (see Orders, 7 Aug. 1756), died during the summer after the verdict was rendered.
Source
Miscellaneous
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