Thomas Buck V – Captain of Virginia Militia

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A Lieutenant of Virginia Militia and county Magistrate at the age of 21, Thomas Buck V was Captain in the 8th Virginia Regiment during the Revolution.

On January 11, 1776 Thomas Buck V was commissioned Lieutenant of a company of militia while a resident of Dunmore County (now Shenandoah). In 1777 he was Adjutant under Colonel Joseph Pugh, Commandant of the Dunmore militia. On September 5, 1777, at Woodstock, he was unanimously chosen Captain of a company of volunteers dubbed “Buck’s Minute Men” of the 8th Virginia Regiment and went to Fort Pitt where he served for about four months. In 1778, by then a resident of Frederick County, he raised a company of volunteers and was elected Captain for about two months. These appointments and elections show a high regard for young Thomas Buck V, then only in his early twenties.

On May 8, 1793 Thomas Buck V was appointed Captain of Virginia militia by Governor Henry Lee (Lighthorse Harry Lee) and served during the Whiskey Rebellion.

Thomas Buck V was allowed a pension on October 1, 1833 (Claim S. 16,672) for his military service during the Revolutionary War. In all he had served six months duty in the Virginia militia. He explained “I, being a minuteman, did not enter the regular service, for I had a big family I could not well leave for lengthy service. I was always ready for emergency.” At the time, it was acceptable to furnish a substitute for military service but only the wealthy could afford to do so.
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