Patriotic Service

The rich farmlands of Loudoun County earned her the praise of being the "Breadbasket of the Revolution" due to the generous amount of food and equipment she sent to General Washington's Continental Army throughout the war. Her bounty traveled as far north as New Jersey with General Anthony Wayne, as far west as York, Pennsylvania, and even to Valley Forge during the bitter winter of 1777.

In the beginning of 1782 the Loudoun County Court ordered the Sheriff to post notice that all citizens who had supplied aid to the Continental Army and/or the State Militia were to turn in their certificates and accounts. These transactions were entered in the Clerk of Court's "Rough Minute Book" before the certificates were shipped down to Richmond. These Loudoun County lists are the original recording for those payments slips archived in Richmond which have been transcribed to many Revolutionary War record books.

The 1780-1783 Rough Minute Book (see photo at left) which is found in the Loudoun County Courthouse. (Click on the photo to enlarge.) The bulk of the Patriotic Service data is found listed in the middle of the book under the March 12th and 13th entries, and the April 9th (Tuesday) and 10th (Wednesday) entries. The remaining data is scattered throughout the book. Each entry was numbered, although certain sections were not numbered sequentially. All data has been transcribed STRICTLY to the letter of the original writing, including misspellings. This Minute Book does NOT have page numbers, only dates. Also, the middle section of the book dealing with the Revolutionary War payments for supplies suffered water damage -- most probably occurring during the Civil War when the court books were hidden in a cave for safety. This damage has hampered the accurate transcription of a small portion of the writing.

Please use the index first to find the patriot's name, and the date their claim was recorded. The dates are linked to the appropriate page where the patriot is listed. You must search by the claim number which may, or may not be, in numerical order (depending upon how the county clerk was recording them at the time).

March 12th list

March 13th list

April 9th list

June 10th to Sept 11th

For a complete transcription of the entire Rough Minute Book, researchers may consult "Loudoun County VA Minute Book 1780-1783", published 1990 by T.L.C. Genealogy. (Copy in the Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA). Please note: errors have been found (including names) in this transcription when compared to the original book, plus modern words have been substituted for several colonial words or symbols. Researchers are always urged to verify to the source when in doubt.

Because many lineage organizations accept -- and in some cases require -- information pertaining to civil service, we will begin September 2001 to compile a database to list those individuals who held public office in Loudoun County during the years prior to and during the American Revolution. This information will be collected from the original Loudoun County Court Minute and Order books. As data is collected, it will be placed online along with a name index.