The 5th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775, at Richmond, Virginia, for service with the U.S. Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment was joined to the 3rd Virginia Regiment on May 12, 1779. General William Russell and Col. Josiah Parker were two of its commanders. Among the negroes serving in the 5th Virginia was James Due. Due was a soldier under the command of Captain John Hawkins of Maryland. James Due was captured at Elizabethtown, NJ and served eleven months as a prisoner of war. He obtained a pension in 1821.

List of commanders