Archibald Gaulding was at Valley Forge
- Catherine Gauldin
- 4 hours ago
- 11 min read
Archibald Gaulding, the son of Samuel Gaulding and Elizabeth Turner served during the American Revolution in the 5th Virginia Regiment. He was wounded at either the Battle of Brandywine or the Battle of Georgetown and in the winter of 1777 was in camp at Valley Forge. He was in the same Regiment as Thomas McCown, who later married Archibald’s sister Keziah.
Thomas McCown served during the Revolutionary War in the 5th Regiment. His name appears in the Muster Roll right above Archibald Gaulding, Keziah's brother.
In Sept. 1777 Thomas McCown was in the 3rd Virginia Regiment. Archibald Gaulding's name does not appear on the same Muster Roll with him. (8)
In October they were both Privates. The heading reads "Muster Roll of Capt. Samuel Colston's Company of the 5 Virg. Reg. of Foot in the service of the United States commanded by Col. Josiah Carnes... Com. Off. Samuel Colston, Capt in Virg. .. William Stevens, Ens. in Com.. (7)
The record states:
"Thomas McCown, waggoner"
"Archibd Gaulding, wounded, absent"
This muster was held October 11, 1777.
In October 1777, Captain Samuel Colston’s Company of the 5th Virginia Regiment was a battle‑worn Continental Line unit recovering from the heavy fighting of the Philadelphia Campaign. Only weeks earlier, the regiment had been engaged at Brandywine on 11 September and Germantown on 4 October, two major battles in which the Virginia Line suffered significant casualties. The muster taken on 11 October 1777 reflects this strain: Thomas McCown is listed as a waggoner, one of the essential logistical personnel responsible for transporting supplies and the wounded, while Archibald Gaulding appears as “wounded, absent,” almost certainly a result of the recent engagements.
The 5th Virginia Regiment, originally raised in 1775, was by this time commanded by Colonel Josiah Carnes and operating as part of Washington’s main army. Colston’s company was typical of Continental infantry units—composed of line soldiers, waggoners, and other support staff—and was preparing to enter winter quarters at Valley Forge later that year. The October muster captures the regiment at a moment of exhaustion and transition, still reeling from the Philadelphia Campaign and struggling to maintain strength after months of marching, combat, and supply shortages. (8)
By November 1777 both Thomas McGown and Archibald Gaulding were present at the "Pay Roll of Captain Colston's Company 5th Virginia Regt of Foot in the service of the United States command by Col. Josiah Parker for the month of Novemr 1777." They both received $2.00 in pay. It is assumed that Archibald Gaulding had recovered sufficiently from his wounds received in battle to collect his pay in person.
The records skip until February 1778.
"Pay Roll of Capt William Fowler's Company in the 5th Virginia Regiment of Foot in the service of the United States for the month of Febr 1778 including 20 days allowed for traveling home.." (10)
Archibald Gaulding was paid $2.60
Thomas McCown was paid $2.20
Thomas McCown and Archibald Gaulding were probably at Valley Forge
Based on the surviving military records, the movements of the 5th Virginia Regiment, and the timing of the payrolls, it is highly probable that both Thomas McCown and Archibald Gaulding were at Valley Forge during the winter encampment of 1777–1778. See Archibald Gaulding was at Valley Forge on Gaulding Origins.
Between October 1777 and February 1778, the surviving military records for Thomas McCown and Archibald Gaulding of the 5th Virginia Regiment contain a four‑month gap, but the documents that do exist show a clear pattern. Both men reappear on the November 1777 pay roll for Captain Samuel Colston’s company, listed as present and each receiving $2.00, indicating that Archibald had recovered enough from his earlier wounds to return to duty and collect his pay in person. The next surviving record, dated February 1778, shows the company now under Captain William Fowler with Archibald paid $2.60 and Thomas $2.20, including an additional 20 days of travel time home.
Because the 5th Virginia Regiment marched directly from the Philadelphia Campaign into winter quarters at Valley Forge, where it remained from December 1777 through June 1778, and because there is no evidence of the regiment being detached elsewhere during this period, the most reasonable conclusion is that both McCown and Gaulding wintered at Valley Forge with their regiment. The February travel allowance align with standard Continental Army practices for men completing service or receiving furlough after the encampment, making their presence at Valley Forge during the harsh winter of 1777–1778 probable.
The surviving records are incomplete
The surviving records from the Valley Forge winter encampment of 1777–1778 are incomplete, and many soldiers who unquestionably served there do not appear on any existing roster.
“The muster rolls for Valley Forge are incomplete; not every regiment or company submitted returns, and many lists are missing.” (5)
Washington, George. Letter to the President of Congress, December 23, 1777. “We have no less than 2,898 men unfit for duty because they are barefoot and naked.”
The Continental Army’s paperwork during the encampment was irregular, often damaged, and in many cases never submitted. As a result, the lists of men present at Valley Forge are fragmentary rather than comprehensive. The Valley Forge Park Alliance notes that “the muster rolls for Valley Forge are incomplete; not every regiment or company submitted returns, and many lists are missing.” This means that absence from a surviving Valley Forge roster does not indicate absence from the encampment itself.
Because the regiment was unquestionably at Valley Forge, and because both McCown and Gaulding were present in the regiment immediately before and immediately after the encampment, it is highly likely that they wintered at Valley Forge—even if their names do not appear on any surviving Valley Forge roster. Their service fits the documented movement of the regiment and the typical administrative gaps in Valley Forge records.
Service Record for Archibald Gaulding
The following is the complete service record of Archibald Gaulding of the 5th Virginia Regiment. (6)
Gaulding, Archibald
State: Virginia
Regiment: Fifth Regiment
Record Type: Individual
Full Name: Gaulding, Archibald
Conflict Period: US Revolutionary War
Served For: United States of America
Roll Name: 0981
Summary of the Muster and Pay Roll records for Archibald Gaulding[i]
Although the surviving muster rolls for the 5th Virginia Regiment contain gaps, the available records strongly suggest that Archibald Gaulding was present with his regiment during the Valley Forge encampment. Gaulding appears regularly on company pay rolls and muster rolls through June, July, August, and September 1777, serving as a private in Captain Henry Terrell’s and later Captain Samuel Colston’s companies. In September he is listed as “wounded, absent,” and in October and November as “sick, absent,” reflecting injuries sustained during the Philadelphia Campaign, likely at Brandywine or Germantown.
Despite these absences, Gaulding reappears on the November 1777 pay roll, receiving his full month’s pay, which indicates he had returned to duty. The 5th Virginia Regiment marched directly from the Philadelphia Campaign into winter quarters at Valley Forge in December 1777, and Gaulding appears again on the December 1777 muster, still marked “sick, absent,” a common notation for soldiers recovering in camp hospitals.
His final record — the February 1778 pay roll under Captain William Fowler — shows Gaulding serving 1 month and 5 days, receiving 7⅔ dollars, and being discharged on 5 March 1778, with “20 days allowed for traveling home.” This notation is characteristic of men completing their enlistment after Valley Forge, when the army reorganized and discharged soldiers whose terms had expired.
Because the 5th Virginia Regiment was unquestionably at Valley Forge from December 1777 through June 1778, and because Gaulding appears in the regiment immediately before, during, and immediately after the encampment, the evidence strongly supports the conclusion that he wintered at Valley Forge, even though his name may not appear on any surviving Valley Forge roster.
The Road to Valley Forge and the Winter of 1777–1778
The Continental Army entered Valley Forge in December 1777 after a grueling series of defeats and near‑disasters during the Philadelphia Campaign. In September, Washington’s army had been driven back at the Battle of Brandywine, allowing the British to capture Philadelphia. A second attempt to dislodge the British at Germantown in October ended in confusion and heavy casualties. Through the autumn, the army marched and countermarched across Pennsylvania, fighting skirmishes, losing supplies, and watching morale sink as enlistments expired and desertions increased. By December, Washington needed a defensible position close enough to monitor the British in Philadelphia but far enough to protect his army from surprise attack. Valley Forge, a plateau above the Schuylkill River, offered that ground.
The army that arrived there was exhausted, undersupplied, and poorly clothed. The winter of 1777–1778 became one of the most difficult periods of the war. Soldiers lacked shoes, blankets, and adequate clothing; many marched into camp leaving bloody footprints in the snow. Huts had to be built from scratch, and disease—especially typhus, dysentery, and pneumonia—spread rapidly in the cramped quarters. Food shortages were constant. Washington wrote that the men were “barefoot and naked,” and at times entire brigades went days without meat. Supply failures were so severe that the army was on the brink of starvation more than once.
Despite these hardships, Valley Forge became a turning point. In February 1778, Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrived and began drilling the troops, introducing a new system of discipline and training that transformed the Continental Army into a more professional fighting force. By spring, the army was healthier, better organized, and more unified than at any previous point in the war. When the army marched out of Valley Forge in June 1778, it was no longer the battered force that had staggered in six months earlier, but a disciplined army capable of meeting the British on equal terms.
5TH VIRGINIA REGIMENT (7)
Organized February 1776 at Richmond County Courthouse from Lancaster, Richmond, Northumberland, Spotsylvania, Westmoreland, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Bedford, and Loudoun Counties. Entered Valley Forge with 357 assigned, 98 fit for duty. Left Valley Forge with the 1st Virginia Regiment and the 9th Virginia Regiment. Previous engagements: Chesapeake Bay, Northern New Jersey, Trenton-Princeton, Defense of Philadelphia, Philadelphia-Monmouth.
• Archib Gaulding...Capt. William Fowler's 5 Va Regiment of Foot, Company Pay Roll Dec 1777, Commencement of pay Dec 1, 1777, Amt 6 2/3 - 2 pounds.
• Archd Gaulding, Capt William Fowler's Company 5th Va Regt of Foot...Company Muster Roll, Dec 1777 roll dated Jan 1, 1778. Enlisted Feb 1776 for 2 years. Remarks: sick, Absent
• Archid Gaulding, Captain Samuel Colston's Co of the 5th Va Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col Josiah Parker..Appears on Company Muster Roll, Nov 1777. Roll dated Dec 22, 1777. Remarks: Sick, Absent.
On 22 December 1777, the 5th Virginia Regiment, including Captain Samuel Colston’s Company, was at Valley Forge, already settled into winter encampment as part of Muhlenberg’s Brigade in Stirling’s Division. This placement is confirmed by the Valley Forge Muster Roll Project, which lists the 5th Virginia as having entered Valley Forge in December 1777 with 357 men assigned and only 98 fit for duty.
What happened to Archibald Gaulding?
The last mention of Archibald Gaulding is in the 1785 will of his father Samuel, so it is obvious that he was still alive with that document was written. It is assumed he was living in Campbell County, but that is not known for certain.
Archibald Gaulding does not appear in any of the census records in Campbell County or any of the adjacent counties. There is no marriage record for him and no record that he left descendants. The only other reference to an Archibald "Golden" after 1778 is in the U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 “Archibald Golden, living in Albemarle County 1780, Household Remarks - 10 Apr 1782, District No. 3: free males above 21: 1; slaves: 0; "No Nett[?] Cattle": 5; "No Horses mares Colts & Mules": 2; "No wheels for Riding Carriags": 0; "No. Billiard Tables": 0; "No Ordinary L.” It is undetermined that this record relates to Archibald Gaulding.
The only other possibility as to why he does not appear in the first census record of 1790 is that he might have been living in the household of a family member and was not a head of household. The more probable scenario is that Archibald, son of Samuel and Elizabeth died sometime after 1785. If he did die before 1800, then he was still a very young man but broken by what he endured during the Revolutionary War.
Works Cited
1. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. ancestry.com. [Online] 05th Regiment, 1776-1778 (Folders 132-142); 5th Regiment, 1778-1779 (Folders 143-144), Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113649-00584?pId=942060.
2. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. ancestry.com. [Online] 02d State Regiment, 1778-1779 (Folders 62-63) - 3d Regiment, 1776-1778 (Folders 66-73). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113645-00437?pId=1397154.
3. McGuire, Thomas J. The Philadelphia Campaign, Volume I: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia. Stackpole Books, 2006. [Online]
4. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783. ancestry.com. [Online] 05th Regiment, 1776-1778 (Folders 132-142); 5th Regiment, 1778-1779 (Folders 143-144), Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/4282/images/miusa1775a_113649-00639?pId=942913.
5. Valley Forge Park Alliance. Regiments at Valley Forge. [Online]
6. Service Record of Archibald Gaulding. Fold 3.com. [Online] https://www.fold3.com/image/23662975/gaulding-archibald-page-1-us-revolutionary-war-service-records-1775-1783?terms=archibald%2Cgaulding.
7. 5th Virginia Regiment. Valley Forge Muster Roll. [Online] https://valleyforgemusterroll.org/5th-virginia-regiment/.
8. Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia, 1782-1810. ancestry.com. [Online] Campbell County, Virginia. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/49243/images/FLHG_MarriagesofCampbellCountyVA-0105?pId=65904.
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Endnotes
· [i] Archibald Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Henry Terrell's Co. of the 5th Virginia Battn of Continental Forces commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Pay Roll of the organization named above for the month of June 1777. Commencement of pay June 1, 1777; pay per month 6 2/3 Dollars; Time of service: 1 mo. Amount of pay 2 pounds.
· Archibald Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Henry Terrell's Co. of the 5th Virginia Battn of Continental Forces commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Pay Roll of the organization named above for the month of July 1777. Commencement of pay July 1, 1777; pay per month 6 2/3 Dollars; Time of service: 1 mo. Amount of pay 2 pounds.
· Archibald Gaulding, Pvt, Capt. Harry Terrell's Company of 5th Virginia Reg't of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker...Appears on Company Muster Roll .. July 1777. Roll dated August 5, 1777. Enlisted 16 Feb 1776, Term of enlistment 2 years.
· Archibald Gaulding, Pvt, Capt. Harry Terrell's Company of 5th Virginia Reg't of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker...Appears on Company Pay Roll..from 28 Jan to a -- May 1777. Commencement of pay 28 Jan 1777, pay per month 27 30/90 dollars, Time of service 4 months 3 days. Amount of pay 10.5 dollars.
· Archd Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Samuel Colston's Co. of the 5th Virginia Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Muster Roll ..Oct. 1777, Roll Dated not dated. Remarks: Sick, absent.
· Archd Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Colston's Company of the 5th Virginia Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Pay Roll...Sept 1777, pay per month 6 2/3 dollars. Amount of pay: 2 pounds.
· Archibd Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Samuel Colston's Co. of the 5th Virginia Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Muster Roll ..Sept. 1777, Roll Dated Oct 11, 1777. Remarks: Wounded, absent.
· Archibald Gaulding, Pvt, ..Capt. Harry Terrell, August 1777, Pay per month 6 2/3 , dollars, paid 2 pounds.
· Archib Gaulding...Capt. William Fowler's 5 Va Regiment of Foot, Company Pay Roll Dec 1777, Commencement of pay Dec 1, 1777, Amt 6 2/3 - 2 pounds.
· Archd Gaulding, Capt William Fowler's Company 5th Va Regt of Foot...Company Muster Roll, Dec 1777 roll dated Jan 1, 1778. Enlisted Feb 1776 for 2 years. Remarks: sick, Absent
· Archid Gaulding, Captain Samuel Colston's Co of the 5th Va Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col Josiah Parker..Appears on Company Muster Roll, Nov 1777. Roll dated Dec 22, 1777. Remarks: Sick, Absent.
· Archibald Gauldin, Pvt, ..Captain Samuel Colston..Company Pay Roll Nov 1777. 1 mo, Paid 2 pounds.
· Archibd Gaulding..Capt William Fowler's Company 5th Va Regiment..Company Pay Roll Feb 1778. Time of service 1 mo 5 days. Amount 7 2/3 dollars Discharged 5 Mar; Remarks: including 20 days allowed for Traveling home
· Archd Gauldin, Pvt, ..Capt William Fowler 5th Va Regt..Company Muster Roll, Feb 1778. Roll dated March 5, 1778. Remarks: Discharged.
· Archd Gaulding, Pvt, Captain Samuel Colston's Co of the 5th Virginia Regiment of Foot, commanded by Col. Josiah Parker... Appears on Company Muster Roll ...Aug 1777. Roll dated Sept 1, 1777. Remarks: On command.
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