Rhode Island Soldiers of Color at Red Bank, Monmouth, and Valley Forge

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment, famously known as the “Black Regiment,” is renowned for its key role in helping to repel three enemy charges at the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778. What is not widely appreciated is that Rhode Island’s two Continental Army regiments were multi-racial before the famous “Black Regiment” was formed in 1778. The 1st and 2nd Rhode Island Regiments had more than sixty soldiers of color serving in them, serving in integrated companies for most of 1777.

In February 1778, Rhode Island’s two Continental regiments were reorganized. All of the rank-and-file of color in the 2nd Rhode Island were transferred to the 1st Rhode Island; and all of the White rank-and-file in the 1st Rhode Island were transferred to the 2nd Rhode Island. In addition, enslaved men in Rhode Island could obtain their freedom by enlisting in the 1st Rhode Island for the duration of the war, and their masters would be paid up to £120 for losing their “property.” More than 130 enslaved men enlisted and obtained their freedom.[1] The survivors of the Battle of Red Bank, Valley Forge, and the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse were hardened and battle-tested veterans by the time they joined their newly-freed compatriots recruited in Rhode Island in early August 1778.

The Battle of Red Bank

The Battle of Red Bank was one of the most surprising and one-sided American victories of the war. General Washington was thrilled about it, because it was one of the few American successes in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777.

On October 22, 1777, about 1,200 German soldiers under Col. Count Carl Emil von Donop attempted to storm Fort Mercer, located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. The fort was mainly defended by some 350 rank-and-file soldiers who were present and fit for duty from Rhode Island’s two Continental regiments, the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island. The two regiments had a total of 58 privates of color. About two-thirds of them were in the 1st Rhode Island and one-third in the 2nd.[2] It is possible a few were too sick to be in the battle or were “on command” away from Fort Mercer. Thus, about 15 percent of the rank-and-file defenders were Black, Indian and other soldiers of color. (In Rhode Island in 1774, people of color were just under 9 percent of the colony’s total population.)[3] For most of the soldiers in the two regiments, this would be their first test under fire.

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A company of Continental artillerymen under Capt. David Cook, with about sixty-five officers and men present and fit for duty, assisted in the defense. Col, Christopher Greene, the commander of the 1st Rhode Island, also commanded the fort’s garrison.[4] The Americans, who also held Fort Mifflin across the Delaware River from Fort Mercer, sought to prevent Royal Navy ships from supplying British-held Philadelphia.

On October 22, von Donop’s attempt to take Fort Mercer by direct assault failed. The defenders routed the attackers, who fled the field of battle, leaving most of their dead and many of their wounded behind. The losses of the Germans were about 90 dead, 227 wounded, and 69 missing or taken prisoner, for a total of 386 casualties.[5] Von Donop himself was mortally wounded in what has been called the Hessians’ “worst defeat of the war.”[6]

The American defenders suffered only about fourteen killed and from twenty-three to twenty-seven wounded. The soldiers of color suffered one casualty—Thomas Reynolds was injured during a cannon barrage by German and British artillery. Colonel Greene conveyed a message to General Washington that both his “officers & private men behaved with the greatest bravery.”[7] The praise was meant, in part, for the soldiers of color who fought in the battle.

Due to the Royal Navy overcoming obstacles in the Delaware River and pummeling Fort Mifflin with intense bombardments, the Americans abandoned Fort Mifflin on November 15. Colonel Greene was thus forced to evacuate Fort Mercer on November 20. Nonetheless, the repulse of the German assault by the defenders of Fort Mercer was a stunning and unexpected American victory and produced a needed morale boost for Patriots.[8]

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It is only relatively recently that historians have appreciated that prior to the reorganization of the two Rhode Island Continental regiments in early 1778, a substantial number of privates of color were already serving in the two regiments. They were free men. No enslaved men were permitted to enlist. Most of these soldiers were Black men, but there was also a substantial number who were Indians (mostly Narragansetts but a few were Wampanoags), or of mixed race (the children of Black and white parents or Black and Indian parents). At this time in the regiments, soldiers of color could serve only as privates.

Historian Bob Selig, in a draft report done for Gloucester County of New Jersey, identified fifty-six privates of color in the two Rhode Island regiments who served at the Battle of Red Bank.[9] It is his worthy goal, thanks to Gloucester County, to memorialize the names of all the soldiers of color who fought at Red Bank.

Determining how many soldiers of color fought at Red Bank is simplified to some extent because in May 1778, the privates of the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island were all transferred to a single company commanded by Capt. Thomas Arnold of the 1st Rhode Island. On June 2 at Valley Forge, the available men of this company mustered and their names were recorded. In all, the company had fifty-two privates of color. Some were reported to be “sick present,” “sick absent” (i.e., cared for at small hospitals outside of the camp), or recently deceased.[10] Still, all of them enlisted back in the first part of 1777 and became sick after October 22, 1777.[11] Thus, it is likely that most all of the men listed on the muster roll—whether listed as dead or sick—fought at the Battle of Red Bank.

There are four exceptions: four men who appeared on the June 2 muster roll enlisted in the 1st Rhode Island after the Battle of Red Bank. Three of them—Cato Vernon, Charles Hendley and James Hazard—had enlisted in Rhode Island in early 1778 and marched with a small party to Valley Forge, arriving in mid-March. Vernon obtained his freedom by enlisting, and Hazard may have as well.[12] A fourth soldier, Anthony Griffin, enlisted in the regiment at Valley Forge, on February 28. He had been enslaved in Maryland, but escaped to the north and claimed he was a freeman.[13] That leaves forty-eight soldiers of color listed in the June 2 muster roll who likely fought at the Battle of Red Bank.

Next, the soldiers of color who died, deserted or who otherwise left the ranks of the two Rhode Island Regiments from October 22, 1777, the date of the Battle of Red Bank, and June 2, 1778, when Captain Arnold’s company was mustered, must be determined. Most of that period covered the encampment of the Continental army at Valley Forge, located twenty-five miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. The two regiments arrived at Valley Forge on December 19, 1777 and departed on June 10, 1778.

For the period from October 23 to December 18, 1777, I have not identified any private of color who died, deserted or was discharged from either of the two Rhode Island regiments.

Interestingly, I have not discovered any soldier of color who deserted the Rhode Island Regiments while at Valley Forge. By contrast, in that period, more than a dozen White privates deserted the two regiments. Overall, desertions of Continental troops at Valley Forge from January through May averaged 236 per month.[14]

Muster rolls indicate that seventeen soldiers of color from the two Rhode Island Continental regiments died at Valley Forge, most likely all of disease. Nine are listed in the June 2, 1778, muster roll.[15] That leaves eight who did not live to be counted by the time of the June 2 muster.[16] In addition, two more privates of color became ill after the Battle of Red Bank and were so incapacitated that they were stricken from the rolls prior to June 2.[17] All ten (the eight dead and two stricken from the rolls) enlisted in the 1st or 2nd Rhode Island in early to mid-1777. Thus, these men should be added to the list of soldiers who likely fought at the Red Bank. That makes of a total of fifty-eight soldiers of color who likely fought at the Battle of Red Bank.

Valley Forge

Valley Forge was the first time that Washington tried to keep a large part of his army together and for his quartermaster staff to feed so many in the winter months. In total, more than 1,700 soldiers and officers died at Valley Forge. There is a myth that the deaths were caused by cold weather and snow. In fact, the opposite is true: the winter was warm at Valley Forge and there was more rain than snow. Dampness, moderate temperatures and poor sanitation resulted in plenty of possible causes of illness. For example, by the time winter turned to spring, General Washington twice mentioned that many of the huts housing the men had filth and offal all around them.[18] In April, he complained about the “intolerable” odor “owing to the want of necessaries [latrines] and the neglect of them.”[19] Feeding men at Valley Forge with nutritious, balanced meals was also difficult, and poor nutrition left the soldiers more susceptible to contagious diseases. The problem was not just a lack of food, it was also a problem with logistics, especially obtaining a sufficient number of wagons and waggoners to cart food to the encampment.[20]

A variety of illnesses struck the troops. First it was pneumonia and then the dreaded typhus (spread by lice). In March 1778, a swine flu epidemic swept through the troops. Dysentery was always a scourge for soldiers. [21]

The pattern of deaths of Continental troops overall followed the disease pattern. In the coldest months—December, January and February—deaths of soldiers numbered 87, 250 and 254, respectively. As the weather warmed, the deaths increased—440 in March, 392 in April, 387 in May, and 154 from June 1 to 13.[22] The latter months also correspond to the times when new soldiers arrived at Valley Forge.

The pattern of deaths among soldiers of color in the Rhode Island regiments at Valley Forge also followed the disease pattern. The Rhode Island regiments arrived at Valley Forge by mid-December and began to build their huts.[23] Few died in the coldest months—none in December (which had some cold days), two in January, and two in February. March and April were also light months for deaths by illness, one in March and two in April. But in the warmest months, at the time when soldiers had been around outdoor latrines for months, the deaths picked up: five in May and five in the first part of June.

Of the seventeen privates of color who died at Valley Forge, fourteen were Black or probably Black. It is likely that some were of mixed race.[24] At least two escaped from enslavement by enlisting in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment pursuant to a private contract. Francis Tift was manumitted by Daniel Tift, a blacksmith from Providence, the day before enlisting on May 29, 1777.[25] Jack Allin obtained his freedom by enlisting on May 22 of that year. In order to fill its quota of troops, the town of Barrington agreed to pay his master, Thomas Allin, a bonus for Thomas manumitting Jack, and also agreed to pay Jack agreeing to enlist.[26] It is likely more Black soldiers serving in the 1st Rhode Island earned their freedom this way, but few records from this time exist.

Four of the privates of color who died at Valley Forge were Indians, likely all from the Narragansett tribe, which had its reservation lands in the southern Rhode Island town of Charlestown. Three had Indian last names—Henry Pisquish, Robert Nokehieg, and James Quaco—while one had an English last name, John Perry. In total, at Red Bank, sixteen privates who were Indians or probably Indians served in the two Rhode Island regiments. Thus, the Indians had a shockingly high death rate at Valley Forge of 25 percent.

In addition, when the Rhode Island regiments departed Valley Forge in June 1778, two Narragansetts (William Coopin and Joseph Nocake) were too sick to accompany the marching troops. Coopin would recover, but Nocake would later die of his illness (because he did not die until after Valley Forge, I did not add him to the seventeen figure). Moreover, after suffering from a bout of illness, in May 1778 Joshua George, another Narragansett soldier, was declared “unfit for ye service” and sent back to Rhode Island (where he survived the war). Accordingly, it appears that the Indian soldiers were particularly susceptible to European diseases.

Surprisingly, Black soldiers in the Rhode Island regiments had an even higher death rate than the Native peoples. Thirteen privates of color who were not Indians died at Valley Forge. Most of them were Black men, though several were likely of mixed race (with Black and White parents or Black and Indian parents). In total, about forty-six Black and mixed race soldiers in the two regiments served at Valley Forge with a death rate of 28 percent. Two other Black soldiers, Derrick Vangover and Abraham Pearce, became sick at Valley Forge and died later (both on September 1). Moreover, it appears from the muster rolls that another Black soldier, Fortune Sayles, became so sick that he was discharged from the service.

The high death rate among the Black soldiers may be because they were either born in West Africa or had parents who were born in West Africa, giving them immune systems that were susceptible to European diseases. From a registry of forty-five Black soldiers who had enlisted in a Rhode Island Continental regiment in 1777 or 1778, and were still serving in 1781, eight had been born in West Africa, captured, and carried across the Atlantic Ocean in a slave ship to Rhode Island prior to the war.[27]

Of course, White privates in the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island died at Valley Forge as well. I counted a total of fifty-nine White rank-and-file from the two regiments who died at the winter encampment. Deaths differed by company. For example, in the 2nd Rhode Island, nine white privates in Capt. David Dexter’s Company died, while only two died in Capt. Stephen Olney’s Company. This may be because Captain Olney enforced sanitation rules better than Captain Dexter did.

I estimate that the total number of White rank-and-file in the two Rhode Island regiments who served at Valley Forge was around 330. Thus, the death rate among the White soldiers was around 18 percent.

The Battle of Monmouth

The soldiers of color in the Rhode Island regiments who marched out of Valley Forge on June 10, 1778 in a segregated company under the command of Capt. Thomas Arnold were in a large detachment led by Maj. Gen. Charles Lee. On June 28, Lee’s command of approximately 4,500 soldiers clashed with the British army at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey. The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment of Continentals, combined into one regiment under the command of Lt. Col. Jeremiah Olney and including Captain Arnold’s Company, performed a key role in the battle. The June 2 and July 13 muster rolls indicate that Captain Arnold’s Company had a total of about forty-five privates of color, three of whom were sick in hospitals and four of whom were sick in camp. That left about thirty-eight privates of color present and fit for duty for the battle (perhaps a few of the sick in camp were well enough to march with the company).[28]

At one point, Lee led the Rhode Islanders toward the village of Monmouth Courthouse, which was also the destination of the main part of the British army. After learning that more than half of his troops had left the field without orders and without informing him, Lee wisely decided to retreat. The Rhode Islanders held the rear of the column and suffered two killed when British field artillery caught up to the column and fired at the retreating Rhode Islanders. But, as Capt. Stephen Olney recalled in his recollections of the battle, the men did not panic and continued to march in good order.

The combined Rhode Island regiment later was one of four regiments that stood at the Hedgerow, in an effort to slow down the advance of the more numerous British army until General Washington could arrive at the scene with the rest of the main Continental Army and establish his defenses. The Hedgerow was where the sharpest exchanges of gunfire occurred during the entire, very long day of the battle. The American soldiers at the Hedgerow, including the soldiers of color in Captain Arnold’s Company, performed well and then, in good order, retreated across a bridge spanning a creek to Perrine Hill, where Washington had set up a strong defensive post.[29]

No Rhode Island soldier of color was killed in the June 28 battle, but one, Richard Rhodes, was wounded. The company’s captain, Thomas Arnold, was shot in the leg, which had to be amputated, an indication of the fierce fighting faced by his troops. In addition, at least four White privates from the Rhode Island regiment were killed, as well as a lieutenant, a sergeant and a corporal.[30]

Following this engagement, the 2nd Rhode Island, as well as the rest of the main Continental army, marched north to the area of White Plains, New York. Then, to assist a French expeditionary force in attempting to capture the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island, about 2,500 Continentals were detached to march to Rhode Island, including the officers and soldiers of the 2nd Rhode Island. When the men of Captain Arnold’s Company arrived at Providence in early August, they soon joined the new recruits of the 1st Rhode Island. These new, raw, recruits were fortunate. They had been supplemented by the men of Arnold’s Company who were by then experienced veterans of two hard-fought battles. Nothing provides soldiers with the training they need to be effective more than experience in battle. Soon the entire 1st Rhode Island Regiment would be put to the test at the Battle of Rhode Island—and gain fame doing so.

[1] For works on Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment,” see Robert A. Geake, From Slaves to Soldiers, The 1st Regiment in the American Revolution (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2016); Shirley L. Green, Revolutionary Blacks, Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2023); Daniel M. Popek, They “… fought bravely, but were unfortunate:” The True Story of Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” and the Failure of Segregation in Rhode Island’s Continental Line, 1777-1783 (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2015).

[2] I calculated a total of fifty-eight soldiers of color based on a review of the company muster roll returns for the 1st Rhode Island Regiment and 2nd Rhode Island Regiment. See note 11.

[3] See Colony of Rhode Island Census of 1774, Rhode Island State Archives (Blacks accounted for 6.14 percent and Indians 2.48 percent of the total population, according to my count).

[4] See Return of the Garrison at Red Bank, October 27, 1777, in George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence, 1697-1799 MSS 44693, Reel 45, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. This return showed 172 rank and file in the 1st Rhode Island present and fit for duty and 168 in the 2nd. For all of the defenders, including Captain Cook’s Company of Artillery, the return showed a total of 534 officers and men present and fit for duty. Ibid. However, this return was taken after the October 22, 1777 battle. Thus, at the time of the battle, the two regiments likely had a few more men than were counted after the battle on October 27—those who were killed or seriously wounded. Accordingly, about 550 total defenders is a more accurate estimate.

[5] See List of Killed, Wounded and Prisoners or Missing at Fort Red Bank on 22nd Octr. 1777, in Wade P. Catts and Robert A. Selig, et al., Report of an Archeological Survey at Red Bank Battlefield Park (Fort Mercer), National Park, Gloucester County, New Jersey (Gloucester County Department of Parks and Recreation, 2017), 24 (citing Von Jungkenn Papers, vol. 1, no. 48), www.gloucestercountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/959/Red-Bank-Battlefield-Archeology-Report-PDF.

[6] Robert A. Selig, African-Americans, the Rhode Island Regiments, and the Battle of Fort Red Bank, 22 October 1777, draft prepared for Gloucester County, New Jersey, 2019 (Selig, Fort Red Bank Draft Report). Provided by Dr. Selig to the author, 36.

[7] For the message to Washington and numbers of American casualties, see Samuel Ward to George Washington, October 23, 1777, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-11-02-0606. From the surviving muster rolls of the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island, which are fairly complete, and the List of Rhode Island Troops, which is somewhat complete (see note 11), I counted the following thirteen killed in action at Red Bank: one captain (Sylvanus Shaw); two sergeants (George Babcock and Nathaniel Stoddard); and nine privates (Jonathan Bidgood, John Brown, Weston Clark, Nicholas Everet, Stephen Luther, William Kirk, Asa Potter, William Sharper, and Eleazer Wescott). Sergeant John Gould died on October 23, likely from wounds suffered during the battle. Including him makes fourteen dead.

[8] For descriptions of the battle and its aftermath, see Selig, Fort Red Bank Draft Report, 25-37; James McIntyre, A Most Gallant Resistance, The Delaware River Campaign, September-November 1777 (Point Pleasant, NJ: Winged Hussar, 2022), 130-33 and 149-72; Thomas J. McGuire, The Philadelphia Campaign, Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Lanham, MD: Stackpole Books, 2007), chapter 3.

[9] Selig, Fort Red Bank Draft Report, 38-45. Dr. Selig is finalizing his report; it will be available online on a Gloucester County webpage.

[10] See Muster Roll of Thomas Arnold’s Company, 1st Rhode Island Regiment, June 2, 1778, at Valley Forge, Revolutionary War Rolls, M246, Record Group 93, Rhode Island, 1777-1780, microfilm, National Archives.

[11] I have determined the enlistment dates, terms of service, death, and other information for this article by reviewing muster rolls for companies of the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island, in ibid., returns dated from September 1, 1777 to August 22, 1778 (the “Muster Rolls”). Of particular use are muster rolls for the period from the date of enlistment in early 1777 to December 1, 1777, taken December 18, 1777 by companies in the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment and taken December 24, 1777 by companies in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. I also consulted List of Rhode Island Troops in the First and Second Rhode Island Regiments, 1777-1783, Records of Military Operations and Service, M853, Volume 8, Roll 14, Target 3, microfilm, National Archives (hereafter, “List of Rhode Island Troops”). Note that the enlistment year for many of the soldiers of color is incorrectly stated as 1777, when it should be 1778. The day of enlistment, however, is generally accurate. The List of Rhode Island Troops is also missing some pages.

[12] For Cato Varnum, see An Account of the Negro Slaves Inlisted into the Continental Battalions & to Whom They did Belong, with the Value of Such Slaves, and Notes Given, 1778 and Feb. 23, 1781, General Treasurer’s Accounts, 1761-1781, Alphabetical Book # 6, pages 196-97, Rhode Island State Archives. Charles Hendley or Handley was a free man when he enlisted on March 8, 1778. He is listed in the Return of Freemen and A List of the Men’s Names That was Free and Enlisted for the War, undated (taken about June 1779), Mss 673, Subgroup G2, Box 1, Folder 52, Rhode Island Historical Society.

[13] See Sworn Statement of Luke Griffith, September 8, 1781, and Order of Major General Benjamin Lincoln, September 9, 1781, Jeremiah Olney Papers, Mss 18, Box 3, Folder 2, Rhode Island Historical Society. When the Rhode Island Regiment marched through Maryland on its way to Yorktown, Virginia. Anthony Griffin’s former master came to the regiment’s camp and claimed him as his runaway enslaved man; Gen. Benjamin Lincoln approved the return of Griffin to enslavement. Popek, They Fought Bravely, 513.

[14] See Gary Ecelbarger, “Permanent Losses and New Gains During the 1778 Valley Forge Encampment,” Journal of the American Revolution, February 15, 2024, Table 2: Monthly Losses and Gains of Soldiers at Valley Forge, allthingsliberty.com/2024/02/permanent-losses-and-new-gains-during-the-1778-valley-forge-encampment/. Ecelbarger, in email correspondence with me in April 2024, indicated that he suspected that fleas and lice carrying typhus was the biggest killer in the spring months. He also noted the arrivals of thousands of new recruits in the late spring, crowding the encampment.

[15] Their names are James Edwards; Richard Pomp; Jack Allin; Abraham Isaacks; Francis Tift; Peter Bristol; Prince Jackson; William Archer; and Amos Stedman. James Hazard, who also appears in this muster roll as sick absent, is listed in one source as dying on June 1, 1778. List of Rhode Island Troops, 74. But the Muster Rolls indicate that, while sick, he did not die and that he eventually returned to active service.

[16] Their names are Prince Lippitt; Caesar Cook; John Perry; James Quaco; Quam Cook; Robert Nokhieg; Caesar Cole; and Henry Pisquish.

[17] These two men are Fortune Sayles, likely a Black man (enlisted May 25, 1777 and sick absent starting in December 18, 1777 muster roll) and Joshua George, an Indian (enlisted May 5, 1777 and first became sick in March 2, 1778 muster roll). Fortune Sayles is listed in one source as dying on April 1, 1778. Payroll for Captain Thomas Hughes’s Company, Second Rhode Island Regiment, April 1778, Revolutionary War Rolls, M246, Record Group 93, Rhode Island, 1777-1780, microfilm, National Archives. But most sources show him being discharged from the service for poor health in May 1778. See, e.g., List of Rhode Island Troops, 261.

[18] See General Orders, April 14, 1778, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-14-02-0469;

General Orders, June 13, 1778, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-15-02-0402.

[19] General Orders, April 14, 1778, in Washington Papers, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-14-02-0469.

[20] Ricardo A. Herrera, Feeding Washington’s Army, Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2022), 140-50.

[21] See Bob Thompson, Revolutionary Road, Searching for the War that Made America Independent and All the Places it could have Gone Terribly Wrong (New York: Twelve, 2023), quoting park ranger Bill Troppman, who also elaborates about his conclusion that cold weather and snow were not the primary causes of deaths at Valley Forge.

[22] See Ecelbarger, “Permanent Losses and New Gains,” Table 2.

[23] See Jeremiah Greenman Diary Entries, December 13 to 31, 1777, in Robert Bray and Paul Bushnell, eds., Diary of a Common Soldier in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 (DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 1978), 88; Brigade Orders, December 22, 1777, Orderly Book of the First Rhode Island Regiment, Christopher Greene Papers, Mss 455, Subgroup 2, Box 1, Rhode Island Historical Society.

[24] I have identified from the muster rolls at least five soldiers of the 1st Rhode Island and 2nd Rhode Island who served during 1777 prior to and after the Battle of Red Bank and who were of mixed Black and Indian heritage. They are Edward Anthony, Cuff Peckham, Simon Barton, Caesar Finch, and Winsor Fry. None of them died at Valley Forge.

[25] See Isaac Paine’s Bond, June 2, 1777, Mss 214, Subgroup 1, series 1, vol. 3, no. 1240, Providence Town Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society. Green, Revolutionary Blacks, 45.

[26] Town Treasurer Records, May 19 and June 20, 1777, quoted in Thomas Williams Bicknell, A History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Providence: Snow & Farnham, 1898), 364-65.

[27] See Bruce C. MacGunnigle, Regimental Book, Rhode Island Regiment for 1781 &c. (East Greenwich, RI: Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 2011), 34-37 and 43-46.

[28] The June 2, 1778 muster roll for Capt. Thomas Arnold’s Company lists a total of fifty-two privates. The roll also indicates that five of the soldiers had died and nine were sick (most of them in hospitals), leaving thirty-eight privates present and fit for duty. The July 13, 1778 muster roll showed that an additional six privates were added to the company. These men all obtained their freedom by enlisting in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment in Rhode Island and marched south to join their regiment. It is assumed they made it in time for the June 28 Battle of Monmouth. In addition, the July 13 muster roll lists three men who died in June, leaving forty-one men. Finally, Richard Rhodes was for some reason not listed in the July 13, 1778 muster roll. This must have been an oversight. He appears in the August 22, 1778 muster roll as “sick at Englishtown” near to where the Battle of Monmouth was fought. Furthermore, in his pension application, Rhodes said that he was wounded by a musket ball in the arm at the Battle of Monmouth. Richard Rhodes Pension Application, RI, W22060, Rev. War Pension Applications, National Archives. Thus, the total number of the soldiers of color is forty-two.

[29] I credit Daniel Popek for first recognizing the role of soldiers of color from Rhode Island at the Battle of Monmouth. See Popek, They Fought Bravely, 207-11. For the Battle of Monmouth, see Christian McBurney, George Washington’s Nemesis, The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee During the Revolutionary War (El Dorado, CA: Savas Beattie, 2020), chapters 8-10.

[30] From the surviving muster rolls of the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island, which are fairly complete, and the List of Rhode Island Troops, which is somewhat complete, I counted the following killed in action at Monmouth: one 2nd lieutenant (Nathan Wieckes), one sergeant (Joseph Kinyon), one corporal (James Cross), and four privates (Assel Bennot (or Bennet), Samuel Cushing, James Whittley, and Patrick Keaton). Private Aaron Fish was reported as dying on June 28; he likely died in the battle too, but the officer preparing the muster roll wrote that he died rather than was killed in action. A muster roll for Capt. William Tew’s Company indicates that Corporal Arthur Smith went missing in the battle, perhaps taken prisoner. However, the payroll record for the same company indicates that Smith was killed. Some of the killed and missing may have died by heat exhaustion.