Revolutionary War Militia Company Maps

The Chester County militia was formed under the Act to Regulate the Militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 17 March 1777 and renewed on 20 March 1780 in response to the events of the Revolutionary War.[1]  The Chester County militia regiment was composed of eight battalions with eight companies in each battalion.  The county townships were divided into eight geographic areas by the County Lieutenant as provided by the act.  These geographic boundaries remained constant throughout the war.  Each area became a battalion.  Effectively, each battalion elected their colonel.  Each colonel then drew a random number to establish the seniority number of the battalion, i.e. 1^st battalion, 2^nd battalion, etc.   Within the battalion, the townships (usually eight) were divided into companies. Each company would then elect their captain.  The captain would draw randomly to assign a seniority number to the company (normally eight) within the battalion.  This process assigned the battalion and companies to a specific geographic area (usually by township or portions thereof) of the county.  This was accomplished in early 1777.  This random process was repeated in 1780, thus the numerical change in battalion designations and company designations.  The two maps depict the most probable geographic location of the various battalions and companies within Chester County in 1777 and 1780.  Not all contemporary war records survive, so some assumptions were made based on tax records of the reported Captain, etc.  If a captain is known and found in the tax records, it is reasonable to assume that company was from the associated township.

Please refer to the Chester County Revolutionary War Militia Overview at the Pennsylvania State Archives. 

These maps are provided for reference purposes only. All extant militia records for this period are housed at the Pennsylvania State Archives.

If you would like more information about these maps, please contact:

Frank Southcott

29 September 2020