Rhode Island: African Americans

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11:20

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Rhode Island had the highest proportion of enslaved people of any New England colony—roughly nine to ten percent in some areas—with Newport alone counting over a thousand enslaved residents. Phillis Wheatley lived in Providence in 1775-76, where she wrote her celebrated poem and letter to General Washington—at real personal risk for a Black woman in this time. In 1778, General James Varnum proposed the First Rhode Island Regiment, recruiting 100 men of African and Indigenous heritage with the promise of freedom. These soldiers (along with another 44 recruited later) served up to five years, fought at the Battle of Rhode Island and Yorktown, and earned consistent praise for their valor. Among those many men were Titus Pierce, Jack Champlin, Quomony Tanner, and Moses Updike. Since, like many military units, the First Rhode Island Regiment went through repeated reorganizations, the researcher needs to consult multiple sources to find all who served. But the search should begin with Robert A. Geake’s From Slaves to Soldiers (Yardley, PA: Westholm, 2016).

Interviewees

C. Morgan Grefe
- Executive Director, Rhode Island Historical Society
Richard Ring
- Senior Director for Library & Museum Collections, Rhode Island Historical Society

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