Can someone help with some general questions on the Loyalty Oath taken by men serving from the State of Virginia? I have a reference to some officers that took a loyalty oath at Ft. Pitt in Feb of 1778. 1) Was the oath taken at the time of enlistment so I can assume these men enlisted in Feb 1778? 2) Was the oath only required of officers or did every soldier have to take the oath? 3) Can someone provide the actual oath? 4) Was this unique to the State of Virginia or did each State have their own requirements? 5) Any other information that anyone would like to expand on would be appreciated. My ancestor was Charles Botkin, private, 13th VA Jan 1777-Sept 1780 I would be glad to share information on the 13th VA. Thanks for any help. Mark Allen

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 Monday, October 21, 1776 Congress took into consideration the form of the oath to be taken by the officers in the service of the continent, which was agreed to as follows: I --, do acknowledge the ThirteenUnited States of America, namely, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, independent, and sovereign states, and declare, that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear, that I will, to the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States against the said king, George the third, and his heirs and successors, and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents; and will serve the said United States in the office of --, which I now hold, and in any other office which I may hereafter hold by their appointment, or under their authority, with fidelity and honour, and according to the best of my skill and understanding. So help me God. Resolved, That every officer who holds, or shall hereafter hold, a commission or office from Congress, shall subscribe the above declaration, and take the foregoing oath. *************************** IN CONGRESS, FEBRUARY 3, 1778. RESOLVED, THAT every officer, who holds or shall hereafter hold a commission or office from Congress, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation; "I .......... do acknowledge the United States of America, to be Free, Independent and Sovereign States, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obedience to George the Third, King of Great-Britain; and I renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear (or affirm) that I will to the utmost of my power, support, maintain and defend the said United States, against the said King George the Third, his heirs and successors and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents and will serve the said United States in the office of which I now hold, with fidelity, according to the best of my skill and understanding." So help me God. That all officers of the army shall take and subscibe the foregoing oath or affirmation, before the Commander in Chief, or any Major General or Brigadier General. That all officers of the navy shall take and subscribe the same, before one of the Commissioners of the Navy Boards, or before a Judge or Justice of the Peace of the State, wherein they respectively reside or shall receive their commissions or warrants. That all persons holding any civil office of trust or profit, under the Congress of these United States, shall take and subscribe the said oath or affirmation before a Judge or Justice of the Peace of the State, wherein they respectively reside. That every officer having the disposal of public money, or who is or shall be intrusted with the charge or distribution of public stores, shall, at the time of taking and subscribing the foregoing oath or affirmation also take an oath or affirmation of office in the following words. "I .......... do swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully truly and impartially execute the office of .......... to which I am appointed, and render a true account, when thereunto required, of all public monies by me received or expended, and of all stores or other effects to me intrusted, which belong to the United States, and will, in all respects, discharge the trust reposed in me with justice and integrity, to the best of my skill and understanding." That every officer, taking the foregoing oaths or affirmations or either of them, shall obtain from the person administering the same, duplicate certificates specifying the time of his taking it or them and also his name and rank or employment. That every military officer shall deliver or transmit one of the certificates so obtained to the Commander in Chief or the Commander of a Department, or to such person, as by General Orders shall be appointed to receive the same; and the said commanding officers shall cause the certificates so received to be sent to the Secretary of Congress, and shall keep an exact list of the names of all officers whose certificates shall be received and forwarded, together with their several ranks and the times of their being qualified. That every officer in the navy shall deliver or send one of the certificates by him obtained to the Navy Board most convenient, who are required to transmit the same, and also a certificate of their own qualification, to the Marine Committee, as soon as conveniently may be. That every other person employed in any civil department or office as abovementioned, shall send or deliver one of the certificates by him obtained to the Secretary of the State, to which he belongs, or to such other person or persons, as the Governor or President of such State shall direct. And the Governors or Presidents of the several States, are hereby requested to attend to this matter and to cause the certificates, when received, to be transmitted to the Secretary of Congress. That each deponant or affirmant shall retain and keep the other certificate, by him obtained, as a voucher of his having complied with what is hereby enjoined him. Resolved, That every officer civil or military, now in office, shall take and subscribe the qualifications above directed, within twenty days after notice hereof; and every person hereafter appointed to any office, by or under the authority of the Congress of the United States of America, shall take and subscribe the same, previous to his acting in such office: And every officer who shall continue or presume to exercise any commission civil or military, under the authority of the Congress of the United States of America, without taking the qualification, in time and manner above directed, shall be cashiered and forfeit two months pay to the use of the United States of America, and be rendered incapable of serving in the army of the said States, and of executing thereafter any office under Congress. And whereas many persons, employed as Deputy or Assistant Commissaries or Quarter-Masters or in other civil departments are dispersed in various parts of the continent, over whom neither Congress nor the head of their respective departments can have the immediate inspection. Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislative and executive authority of every State, to take effectual measures for preventing any person, within their State, from exercising any office in the civil department of the army or in any other civil department under Congress, who shall not, when thereunto required by any Magistrate, produce a legal appointment to that office and a certificate of his having taken the foregoing oaths or affirmations, or who shall neglect or refuse to take and subscribe the said oaths or affirmations within the time above limited. Resolved, That the resolutions passed the 21st day of October 1776, prescribing the form of an oath or affirmation and directing the same to be subscribed by officers holding commissions or offices from Congress, be and they are hereby repealed. Extract from the minutes, CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary. ***************************************** Best regards, Ed -- For Revolutionary War information on the Internet, your first choice should be AMERICANREVOLUTION.ORG

Hi Mark, I'm not familiar with Virginia but in Pennsylvania the oath had nothing to do with Revolution War service, everyone in the state was required to take it and it was to the state rather than any federal obilgation. The oath was seen as a kind of antidote to the oath that many Germans had taken to the King when they had arrived in Pa but as I said, everyone was required to take it. Jim Mark Allen wrote: > > Can someone help with some general questions on > the Loyalty Oath taken by men serving from the > State of Virginia? > > I have a reference to some officers that took a loyalty > oath at Ft. Pitt in Feb of 1778. > > 1) Was the oath taken at the time of enlistment so > I can assume these men enlisted in Feb 1778? > > 2) Was the oath only required of officers or did every > soldier have to take the oath? > > 3) Can someone provide the actual oath? > > 4) Was this unique to the State of Virginia or did each > State have their own requirements? > > 5) Any other information that anyone would like to expand > on would be appreciated. > > My ancestor was Charles Botkin, private, 13th VA > Jan 1777-Sept 1780 > > I would be glad to share information on the 13th VA. > > Thanks for any help. > > Mark Allen > > ==== AMERICAN-REVOLUTION Mailing List ==== > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Conestoga Area Historical Society Web Page =-= Stokes Family Web Page http://www.rootsweb.com/~pacahs/index.htm =-= http://home.supernet.com/~jlstokes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-