During the French and Indian War, the Virginia Regiment was organized and was the only colonial regiment incorporated into the British line (1754-1763) and saw action at the Battle of Jumonville Glen, Fort Necessity, and the Braddock and Forbes expeditions.

With the heightened political tensions of the 1770s, the regiment was raised again, on July 17, 1775, at Williamsburg, Virginia.

As the primary state militia unit, the Virginia regiment later saw service with the (U.S.) Continental Army.

Today the 276th Engineer Battalion (United States) of the Virginia National Guard maintains the regimental lineage of the 1st Virginia Volunteers.

The regimental lineage of the Colonial, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolution 1st Virginia Regiment is maintained in the Department of Military Affairs by the Office of the State Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the Virginia Defense Force.