Everything about The 1st Rhode Island Regiment totally explained
The
1st Rhode Island Regiment was a
Continental Army regiment from
Rhode Island during the
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Like most regiments of the Continental Army, the unit went through several incarnations and name changes. It became well-known as the "Black Regiment" because, for a time, it had several companies of
African American soldiers.
Varnum's Regiment
Like many Continental Army regiments, the 1st Rhode Island was initially formed by a colonial or state government before being taken into the national (or "Continental") army. The revolutionary
Rhode Island Assembly authorized the regiment on
6 May,
1775, as part of the Rhode Island Army of Observation. The regiment was organized on
May 8,
1775, under Colonel
James Mitchell Varnum, and was therefore often known as "Varnum's Regiment". It consisted of eight
companies of volunteers from
Kent and
King Counties.
Varnum marched the regiment to
Roxbury, Massachusetts, in June 1775, where it took part in the
siege of Boston. The regiment was adopted into the
Continental Army on
14 June,
1775. On
28 June it was reorganized into ten companies. On
28 July,
1775, it was assigned to General
Nathanael Greene's Brigade in General
George Washington's Main Army.
9th Continental Regiment
In 1776, the Continental Army was completely reorganized, with many regiments receiving new names. On
1 January,
1776, Varnum's Regiment was reorganized with eight companies and redesignated as the 9th Continental Regiment. Under Colonel Varnum the regiment took part in the disastrous
1776 campaign, retreating from New York with the Main Army.
1st Rhode Island Regiment
In 1777, the Continental Army was reorganized once again, and on
1 January 1777 the 9th Continental Regiment was redesignated as the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. Varnum no longer commanded the regiment, having been made a brigadier general; his eventual successor was Colonel
Christopher Greene, a distant cousin of General
Nathanael Greene. Under Colonel Greene the regiment successfully defended
Fort Mercer at the
Battle of Red Bank on
22 October 1777 against an assault by 2,000
Hessians.
"Black Regiment"
In 1778, when Rhode Island was having difficulties recruiting enough white men to meet the troop quotas set by the
Continental Congress, the Rhode Island Assembly decided to pursue a suggestion made by General Varnum and enlist slaves in 1st Rhode Island Regiment. Varnum had raised the idea in a letter to George Washington, who forwarded the letter to the governor of Rhode Island without explicitly approving or disapproving of the plan. On
14 February 1778, the Rhode Island Assembly voted to allow the enlistment of "every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man slave" that chose to do so, and that "every slave so enlisting shall, upon his passing muster before Colonel Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely free...." The owners of slaves who enlisted were to be compensated by the Assembly in an amount equal to the market value of the slave.
A total of 88 slaves enlisted in the regiment over the next four months, as well as some free blacks. The regiment eventually totaled about 225 men; probably fewer than 140 of these were African Americans. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment became the only regiment of the Continental Army to have segregated companies of black soldiers. (Other regiments that allowed blacks to enlist were integrated.) The enlistment of slaves had been controversial, and after June 1778, no more non-whites were enlisted. The unit continued to be known as the "Black Regiment" even though only whites were thereafter recruited into the regiment to replace losses, a process which eventually made the regiment an integrated unit.
Under Colonel Greene, the regiment fought in the
Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778. The regiment played a fairly minor—but praised—role in the battle, suffering three killed, nine wounded, and eleven missing.
Like most of the Main Army, the regiment saw little action over the next few years, since the focus of the war had shifted to the south. In 1781, Greene and several of his black soldiers were killed in a skirmish with
Loyalists. Greene's body was mutilated by the Loyalists, apparently as punishment for having led black soldiers against them.
Rhode Island Regiment
On
1 January,
1781, the regiment was consolidated with the
2nd Rhode Island Regiment and redesignated as the Rhode Island Regiment. It took part in the
siege of Yorktown.
On
1 March 1783, the Rhode Island Regiment was redesignated as the Rhode Island Battalion, and was reorganized into six companies, which was reduced to two companies on
16 June 1783. The unit was disbanded on
25 December 1783 at
Saratoga, New York.
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