The Virginia Line - Steady Under Fire Continental Army Est. 1775 T-Shirt

When the muskets came level at forty yards and the smoke rolled in so thick a man could not see the rank in front of him, the war was decided by who stood and who broke. The Virginia Line stood. Brandywine. Germantown. Monmouth. Trenton. Princeton. Stony Point. Charleston. Wherever Washington needed infantry that would hold the line and trade volleys with British regulars, the Virginians were in it.

Virginia gave the Continental Army more than any other state: fifteen regiments raised between 1775 and 1783, tens of thousands of men. The 1st and 2nd Virginia stood up in the fall of 1775 and went onto the Continental establishment that November. Patrick Henry, the man who said "give me liberty or give me death," commanded the 1st. By the next year, Virginia was raising dozens more companies. This was the backbone of the army, the line infantry that did the unglamorous, lethal work of standing in the open and not flinching.

Out of the Virginia Line came one of the finest combat commanders America ever produced: Daniel Morgan. A rough Winchester teamster who had been flogged nearly to death by the British in the French and Indian War, Morgan raised a rifle company in 1775, marched it to Boston, and went on to command the 11th Virginia. At Cowpens in January 1781, he executed a double envelopment that destroyed Tarleton's command, one of the most perfect tactical victories in American military history. He learned his trade in the Virginia Line.

It cost them. Much of the Virginia Line was captured when Charleston fell in 1780, the worst American defeat of the war. The regiments were rebuilt, sent back south, and were there at the end. Virginia men were in the trenches at Yorktown in 1781 when Cornwallis finally gave up the fight, on Virginia soil.

Steady under fire. That was the whole job, and the hardest thing a soldier can be asked to do. The Virginia Line did it for eight years.

About this design

This Virginia Line design features a distressed scene of Continental infantry advancing under the 13-star Betsy Ross flag, crossed muskets, and a star banner, under the motto Steady Under Fire with the line Continental Forces, Est. 1775, Virginia Regiment. Part of our America 250 Revolutionary War collection honoring the Virginia Continentals who formed the backbone of Washington's army.

America 250, made by veterans

This Virginia Line shirt is part of our America 250 collection commemorating 250 years of military service from 1775 to 2026. Every design is grounded in actual unit history, not print-on-demand patriotism. Honor 250 years of America and the Continentals who built her. Houston, Texas. Veteran-built.

Product details

• Premium soft cotton tee, ringspun for durability
• Sizes S through 4XL
• Color options: Black, Military Green, Steel Blue, Rust, Black, Coyote Brown
• Distressed vintage print for authentic worn-in look
• Designed and printed in the USA by a veteran-owned brand
• Free shipping on orders $75 and up
• Part of the America 250 Revolutionary War collection from Tactically Acquired

Honor the Past. Wear the Future.