John PURCELL

                   Thomas was a Corporal in the 13th Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War
   
   
The 13th Virginia Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 by the Continental Congress for service with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The unit was organized on 12 February 1777 at Fort Pitt in present-day western Pennsylvania to consist of nine companies of troops from the far-western Virginia counties (now parts of West Virginia and western Pennsylvania). The regiment saw action in the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, and the Battle of Monmouth. On 24 May 1778 the unit was assigned to the Western Department, and on 12 May 1779 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 9th Virginia Regiment. It was again reorganized and redesignated as the 7th Virginia Regiment on 1 January 1781 to consist of two companies. The regiment was disbanded at Fort Pitt on 1 January 1783.  At Valley Forge the brigade commander was Brig. Gen. George Weedon.