Rhode Island Raises First Regiment — Largest Black Military Unit of Revolution

In February 1778, Rhode Island authorized the enlistment of enslaved men with freedom promised upon service. The First Rhode Island Regiment became the largest Black military unit in the Continental Army, with roughly 130 Black soldiers. At the Battle of Rhode Island (August 1778), the regiment repelled three charges by Hessian troops and held the American flank during a contested retreat — one of the most documented battlefield performances by Black soldiers in the Revolution.