Rhode Island

The state panel highlights the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, one of the first American military units consisting largely of Black and Indigenous soldiers.

The Regiment's successful defense against Hessian mercenaries during the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 allowed for the tactical retreat of the Continental Army. Notably, the conflict represented one of the earliest instances of military cooperation between the American colonies and France, whose support was crucial to continue the fight and to ultimately claim victory against the British.

The upper left vignette depicts three military hospitals established by the French upon their arrival in Rhode Island. French soldiers who perished from their illnesses were usually buried in unmarked graves in Rhode Island to conceal the army’s reduced numbers from British intelligence.

The Liberty Affair (upper right) of 1769 reached its conclusion in Newport Harbor. In protest over the perceived overzealous actions of the British customs vessel, a crowd of Newporters set the Liberty adrift, threw her guns and stores overboard, and set the ship aflame. This is regarded as one of the first overt acts of violence against the Crown in the American colonies.