II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 547 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the First Rhode Island 

Regiment, in recognition of their dedicated service during the Revolutionary War. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. REED, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. 

BENNET, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. CASEY, 

Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WARNER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the 

First Rhode Island Regiment, in recognition of their 

dedicated service during the Revolutionary War. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Rhode Island 

5 Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) During the winter at Valley Forge, from 

2 1777–1778, the Continental Army had difficulty re3 cruiting the necessary quotas of men set by the Con4 gress. 

5 (2) At the same time, the State of Rhode Island 

6 was ordered to supply two battalions while faced 

7 with the occupation of the City of Newport by the 

8 British. 

9 (3) In January 1778, at the urging of Brigadier 

10 General James Varnum, General George Washington 

11 wrote to Governor Nicholas Cooke of the State of 

12 Rhode Island requesting assistance recruiting men 

13 for the Continental Line. 

14 (4) On February 14, 1778, the Rhode Island 

15 General Assembly voted to allow the enlistment of 

16 ‘‘every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man 

17 slave’’. 

18 (5) In addition, the Rhode Island General As19 sembly provided that any enlisted slave ‘‘upon his 

20 passing muster before Colonel Christopher Greene, 

21 be immediately discharged from the service of his 

22 master or mistress, and be absolutely free as though 

23 he had never been incumbered and be incumbered 

24 with any kind of servitude or slavery’’. 


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1 (6) As a result, between February 1778 and 

2 June 1778, Colonel Christopher Greene, Lt. Colonel 

3 Jeremiah Olney and Major Samuel Ward recruited 

4 almost 200 men of African heritage and Indigenous 

5 descent who formed the core of the First Rhode Is6 land Regiment. 

7 (7) The First Rhode Island Regiment became 

8 among the first units in American History in which 

9 men of every race and ethnicity were recruited to 

10 serve. 

11 (8) On August 28, 1778, at the Battle of 

12 Rhode Island, following an attempted siege of Brit13 ish-occupied Newport along with the newly allied 

14 French fleet, the First Rhode Island Regiment acted 

15 heroically in holding back Hessian forces and caus16 ing them to retreat. 

17 (9) During the Battle of Rhode Island, the 

18 First Rhode Island Regiment’s losses included three 

19 killed, nine wounded and eleven missing soldiers. 

20 (10) Soldiers of color from the First Rhode Is21 land Regiment continued to fight bravely to win 

22 American independence for 5 more years in an inte23 grated Rhode Island Regiment that included men of 

24 African, European, and Indigenous descent. 


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1 (11) On December 25, 1783, the last Rhode Is2 land soldiers were discharged at Saratoga, New 

3 York. 

4 (12) Their commander, Colonel Jeremiah 

5 Olney, praised the Regiment for ‘‘faithfully pre6 serving in the best of causes, in every stage of serv7 ice, with unexampled fortitude and patience through 

8 all the danger and toils of a long and severe war’’. 

9 (13) Afterwards, some veterans of the First 

10 Rhode Island Regiment had to consistently resist ef11 forts at re-enslavement and fought for back wages 

12 from the Rhode Island General Assembly. 

13 (14) According to the Rhode Island State Ar14 chives, the First Rhode Island Regiment included at 

15 least the following soldiers: Babcock, Priamus (Pri16 mus); Bent, Prince; Bours, Cato; Brown, Priamus 

17 (Primus); Burk, Africa; Burroughs, John; Car18 penter, Cudgo; Champlin, Dick; Champlin, Jack; 

19 Champlin, July; Champlin, Newport; Champlin, 

20 Sharper; Champlin, York; Clark, James; 

21 Coddington, Jack; Fones, Jack; Gardner, Cuff; 

22 Gardner, Hercules; Gardner, Minkl; Gardner, 

23 Preamus (Primus); Gardner, Rutter; Gray, Ebe24 nezer; Green, Cuff; Greene, Cato; Greene, Jack; 

25 Greene, Pero; Greene, William; Hammond, Prince; 


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1 Harriss, Cesar; Hazard, Backus; Hazard, Jabin; 

2 Hazard, Jacob; Hazard, Peter; Hazard, Peter; 

3 Lefavour, Thom; Mason, Warsen; Mawney, Cyrus; 

4 Minturn, Jack; Mowrey, Pero; Nichols, Thomas; 

5 Perry, Ganset; Phillips, Philow; Pierce, Titus; Pot6 ter, David; Randall, Prince; Rhodes, Bristol; Rhodes, 

7 Priamus; Rhodes, Richard; Rhodes, Samuel; Rich8 mond, Ebenezer; Robinson, Mingo; Rodman, Isaac; 

9 Rodman, Mingo; Rodman, Prince; Rose, Cesar; 

10 Saltonstall, Brittain; Saunders, Sampson; Sheldon, 

11 Cesar; Slave; Slave; Smith, Juba; Sweeling, Query; 

12 Talbot, Sigby; Tanner, Quam; Tillinghast, Cuff; 

13 Updike, Cesar; Updike, Moses; Vaughan, Prince; 

14 Vernon, Cato; Watson, Fortune; Wells, Cesar; 

15 Wickes, Nat; and Willbour, Boston. 

16 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

17 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

18 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

19 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

20 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold medal 

21 of appropriate design to the First Rhode Island Regiment, 

22 collectively in recognition of their dedicated service during 

23 the Revolutionary War. 

24 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

25 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 


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1 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec2 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 

3 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec4 retary. 

5 (c) RHODE ISLAND STATE LIBRARY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

7 gold medal in honor of the First Rhode Island Regi8 ment of the Revolutionary War under subsection (a), 

9 the gold medal shall be given to the Rhode Island 

10 State Library, where it will be displayed as appro11 priate and made available for research. 

12 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

13 Congress that the Rhode Island State Library 

14 should make the gold medal received under para15 graph (1) available for display elsewhere, particu16 larly at other appropriate locations associated with 

17 the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolu18 tionary War. 

19 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

21 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

22 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

23 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—Medals struck pursuant to 

3 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

4 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

7 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

8 items. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

10 SALE. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

12 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

13 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec14 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

15 this Act. 

16 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

17 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

18 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

19 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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