1st Rhode Island Regiment 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 . It is regarded as the first African - American military regiment , albeit with the misconception that its ranks were exclusively African - American . History . 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 8 May 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 re - designated 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 re - designated 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 the 14th of 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 re - designated as the Rhode Island Regiment . It took part in the siege of Yorktown . On 15 June 1783 , the veteran " during the war " enlisted men of the Rhode Island Regiment were discharged at Saratoga , New York . The remaining soldiers of the Regiment who were enlisted for " three years " were organized into a small Battalion of two companies known as the " Rhode Island Battalion " . This unit was disbanded on 25 December 1783 at Saratoga , New York .