As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. This is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.

The entire set of the seventy Virginia counties listed below in three volumes, with a single comprehensive index at the end of volume 3.

Includes the following counties:

• Accomack County
• Albemarle County
• Amelia County
• Amherst County
• Augusta County
• Bedford County
• Berkeley County
• Botetourt County
• Brunswick County
• Buckingham County
• Campbell County
• Caroline County
• Charles City County
• Charlotte County
• Chesterfield County
• Culpeper County
• Cumberland County
• Dinwiddie County
• Elizabeth City County
• Essex County
• Fairfax County
• Fauquier County
• Fluvanna County
• Frederick County
• Gloucester County
• Goochland County
• Greenbrier County
• Greensville County
• Halifax County
• Hampshire County
• Hanover County
• Henrico County
• Henry County
• Isle of Wight County
• James City County
• King & Queen County
• King George County
• King William County
• Lancaster County
• Loudoun County
• Louisa County
• Lunenburg County
• Mecklenburg County
• Middlesex County
• Monongalia County
• Montgomery County
• Nansemond County
• New Kent County
• Norfolk County
• Northampton County
• Northumberland County
• Orange County
• Pittsylvania County
• Powhatan County
• Prince Edward County
• Prince George County
• Prince William County
• Princess Anne County
• Richmond County
• Rockbridge County
• Rockingham County
• Shenandoah County
• Southampton County
• Spotsylvania County
• Stafford County
• Surry County
• Sussex County
• Warwick County
• Westmoreland County
• York County