CHAPTER 1
Introduction: The Mythology of RhodeIsland's "Black Regiment"
... This State [Rhode Island] has been highly commended by several writers for having inaugurated and continued the policy of employing slaves and negroes to fill her quotas in the Continental Army during the war of the Revolution; and much has been written in our histories touching the services of these slave soldiers in battle highly creditable to them. How far these statements are in accordance with the facts in the case, is the purpose of this inquiry ... It is unnecessary for the author to say that in this investigation he sought no other end other than the truth, and that he was ready to adopt any opinion which the search justified. The question simply was whether the statements which have been so often made were the truth, for Truth alone is History.
So began the preface of Sidney Smith Rider's monograph on the "Black Regiment" that was self-published in Providence, Rhode Island in 1880. Sidney S. Rider was an antiquities dealer, an independent historian, and a publisher in Providence in the late 1800's and early 1900's. His "Rhode Island Historical Tracts No. 10" remains one of the classical pieces in the published literature on the subject of the First Rhode Island Regiment, or the "Black Regiment" that served in Rhode Island's Continental Line from 1778 to 1780. An earlier book written by Providence attorney Benjamin Cowell in 1850, Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island, did not cover the history of the "Black Regiment" in any great detail. Using manuscript evidence that was available to him from various sources in Providence, Rhode Island, particularly original letters, documents from Rhode Island's General Assembly, and the State Treasurer's Report on the slaves who enlisted into the "Black Regiment," Rider was able to disprove systematically many of the commonly held "truths" that were told by New England politicians and historical scholars in the period leading up to and beyond the American Civil War.
Rhode Island's "Black Regiment" of the Revolutionary War had become an accepted symbol in the popular abolitionist movement of New England prior to the Civil War. In 1862, Rhode Island attempted to raise the Sixth Regiment of Volunteers composed of colored enlistees. The state Adjutant General sought to recruit colored soldiers with the following proclamation: "... Our colored fellow-citizens are reminded that the Regiment from this State in the Revolution, consisting entirely of colored persons, was pronounced by Washington equal, if not superior, to any in the service. They constitute a part of the quota from this State, and it is expected they will respond with zeal and spirit to this call." As will be examined in this book, the Adjutant General's statement of history is quite inaccurate. In a very ironic result, the effort to create the Rhode Island Sixth Regiment of Volunteers during the Civil War failed, as only one hundred African Americans signed enlistments. It would take another year before a different regiment of colored soldiers in the State of Rhode Island was organized successfully, the Fourteenth Regiment of Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (colored).
Sidney Rider's work was a rather serious criticism of Rhode Island's "Black Regiment" of the Revolutionary War. Rider correctly noted that the "Regiment" was organized as a battalion, as most American Continental Line infantry units of that period were. Questioning the actual numbers of colored soldiers who served in the battalion, Rider described the official laws of the State of Rhode Island that related to recruitment of colored soldiers into the battalion. He drew attention to the reality that colored recruits were no longer allowed to enlist into the Rhode Island Continental Line from 1782 to the end of the war. Rider reprinted a very damaging quote from Lieutenant Colonel Jeremiah Olney, the commanding officer of the integrated Rhode Island Regiment in 1782, about the overall experiences of the Rhode Island Continental officer corps concerning desertions and service of colored soldiers.
Sidney Rider also suggested that the "Deeds of Desperate Valor" interpretation of the performance of the "Black Regiment" in the Battle of Rhode Island penned by politician and historian Samuel Greene Arnold was largely based on hearsay evidence. Samuel Greene Arnold's History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations published in two volumes from 1859 to 1860 was very popular in Rhode Island during the time of the Civil War. A graduate of Brown University, Samuel G. Arnold was a well-liked politician in Rhode Island serving at various times as a Lieutenant Governor, Acting Governor, and United States Senator. He was also recognized until the time of his death as "the" historical expert in all matters Rhode Island; he became President of the Rhode Island Historical Society. As an independent historian, Sidney Rider carefully delayed publication of his "Historical Tracts No. 10" until after Samuel Arnold had died in February 1880.
There are some minor errors in Sidney Rider's work. Rider simply didn't have access to the muster rolls, pay rolls, Revolutionary War pension files, General George Washington's official correspondence, personal journals, and the other military evidence that is available to historians today. However, much of this material has been available to researchers since the 1930's and 1940's. No other significant historical research on Rhode Island's "Black Regiment" was done until 1952, when an African American scholar, Doctor Lorenzo J. Greene, published "Some Observations on the Black Regiment of Rhode Island in the American Revolution" in the Journal of Negro Research. The military story of Rhode Island's "Black Regiment" was largely ignored in this work; Dr. Greene stated, "It [this paper] will not treat particularly the military activities of the Regiment on the battlefield." Dr. Greene's work was basically a review of much of the material Sidney S. Rider presented in 1880. Dr. Greene noted correctly that the "Black Regiment" had more numbers than suggested by Sidney Rider. While attempting to spin Rider's work as the writings of a biased researcher, Dr. Greene provided no evidence or answers to the troubling questions raised by Rider concerning the "Black Regiment's" performance in the Battle of Rhode Island and the problems with desertions of some of the colored soldiers.
The Negro in the American Revolution by Doctor Benjamin Quarles was published in 1961 and is considered a classic work in the historical community. The "Black Regiment" of Rhode Island was briefly treated in this book, and the "Deeds of Desperate Valor" interpretation of Samuel Greene Arnold was again repeated. An incorrect assumption was made by Quarles of a manuscript casualty return for "Col. Christopher Greene's Brigade" in the Battle of Rhode Island. Dr. Quarles either forgot or was unaware of the fact that an infantry brigade contained more than one battalion. In Quarles' work, all of the casualties of Colonel Christopher Greene's Brigade were assigned to the "Black Regiment," when, in fact, Colonel Nathaniel Wade's Massachusetts State Regiment and Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Peabody's New Hampshire State Regiment also shared in the casualties from that battle.
After the American bicentennial celebrations of 1976, Brown University graduate Doctor Gary A. Puckrein was commissioned by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society of Providence to do a monograph on Rhode Island's "Black Regiment." The Black Regiment in the American Revolution was published in 1978. In the first two chapters of this work, Dr. Puckrein focused on the history of slavery in the State of Rhode Island. In the third and final chapter, "Free to Die," Dr. Puckrein repeated much of the material presented by Sidney Rider and Lorenzo Greene. It was noted correctly by Dr. Puckrein, "The weekly returns of the [First Rhode Island] Regiment provide the most accurate basis from which to determine the number of black soldiers." After listing 197 privates in the First Rhode Island Regiment for June 10, 1778, Dr. Puckrein did not investigate further troop levels for the battalion. The Book of Returns of the First Rhode Island Regiment in the manuscripts collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society details the troop numbers and military organization of the regiment up to the critical time period of the Summer of 1780. This manuscript book documents the ultimate demise of the segregated First Rhode Island Regiment, and it is a very key piece of evidence in the military story of the "Black Regiment."
An important book on Rhode Island's Continental Line was published in 1981. A decorated United State Marine Corps infantry officer in World War II and Vietnam, Colonel Anthony Walker wrote So Few the Brave (Rhode Island Continentals 1775-1783). Colonel Walker's book downplayed the role of the "Black Regiment" in Rhode Island's Continental Line. The Rhode Island Continental battalions that served with General Washington's Grand Army were showcased in this work, particularly Colonel Israel Angell's Second Rhode Island Regiment. The Second Rhode Island Regiment's performance in the Battle of Rhode Island was noted correctly in Colonel Walker's book, while the "Deeds of Desperate Valor" interpretation of the "Black Regiment" wasn't even mentioned. Sponsored by the Rhode Island Society, Sons of the American Revolution, So Few the Brave included a more accurate depiction of the military organization of the Rhode Island Continental Line units than any work published previous to it, and it contained some excellent illustrations of uniforms and military equipment by Alan H. Archambault, currently a noted military artist and member of the reenacting community. The differences in the historical interpretation offered by a professional military officer compared to those of academic historians was quite noticeable in this book.
In the late 1990's into the early 2000's, the story of the "Black Regiment" was revitalized in Rhode Island through active promotion of the historical unit by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Rhode Island Branch), Brown University, and elements of the Rhode Island Historical Society. The "Deeds of Desperate Valor" story was promulgated actively by these organizations, especially to groups of schoolchildren in Rhode Island. A children's book, The Black Regiment of the American Revolution, was written by Linda C. Brennan and published in 2004. "Scrupulously researched," according to the Midwest Book Review, the book had virtually no criticism for the "Black Regiment." Construction also had begun on a new large monument to Rhode Island's "Black Regiment" in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, near the location of the First Rhode Island Regiment's alleged "Deeds of Desperate Valor" during the Battle of Rhode Island and next to a small monument that had been erected to the "Black Regiment" in 1976.
Funded by private donations, the new monument to the First Rhode Island Regiment ("Black Regiment") was dedicated in August 2005 at "Patriots Park" on state-owned property to much acclaim in Rhode Island. Politicians in Rhode Island were also on hand at the dedication ceremony to share in the public spotlight, although most of them knew very little about the actual history of the "Black Regiment."
Another book on the Rhode Island Continental Line came out that same year, "Death Seem'd to Stare:" The New Hampshire and Rhode Island Regiments at Valley Forge by Joseph Lee Boyle Joseph Boyle was a Valley Forge National Military Park historical specialist and a well-known historian, having produced a large body of published research concerning Valley Forge. He was attempting to identify all of the Continental Line soldiers from the original thirteen states who had served at Valley Forge. After a review of Boyle's book, I noticed that through all of his long transcription work, Mr. Boyle had missed some important details on certain key Rhode Island muster rolls and had made a significant error in interpretation of who really served at Valley Forge from Rhode Island.
Much like during the Civil War era, other people have contributed recently to the growing mythology of Rhode Island's "Black Regiment." "New England Historical Artist" David R. Wagner started a series of paintings which featured the arrival of the French Army under General Rochambeau in Rhode Island in 1780 (website: http://www.davidrwagner.com/ revolutionaryrouteseries.htm). The "Black Regiment" was also featured prominently in this series of paintings. "Desperate Valor," a painting which sold for $20,000 to a private party, portrayed the First Rhode Island Regiment posing victoriously all alone on the front slope of the "Artillery Redoubt" over the vanquished Hessians. None of the other New England Continental battalions, some of whom actually played very important roles in this battle, are even shown in this scene. "The Grand Parade in Providence" alleges to show the "Black Regiment" marching on parade in Providence right before the French Army left Rhode Island in June 1781 to join General Washington's Grand Army in New York. This painting was sold to a former Governor of Rhode Island who was very active in promoting the story of the "Black Regiment," especially to Rhode Island schoolchildren.
A major historical accuracy problem with "The Grand Parade in Providence" is that the remnants of the "Black Regiment" left Rhode Island in January and February 1781 to join the Second Rhode Island Regiment already serving with General Washington's Grand Army in New York (see Chapter 8). The "Black Regiment"/Rhode Island Regiment cavalry paintings done by David Wagner are an especially ludicrous historical interpretation. The most revisionist painting by Wagner is the "Assault on Redoubt #10." Several historical details in this painting are blatantly inaccurate including the race of the attacking Rhode Island soldiers. Before Wagner's painting was produced, I developed an Internet webpage open to the public offering the historically accurate story of the white soldiers in Captain Stephen Olney's Rhode Island Light Infantry Company, complete with some pictures of the gravesites of the original veterans. 31 In addition to artwork, the "Black Regiment" has been written about frequently in articles in The Providence Journal newspaper during the last decade.
University of New Hampshire Ph.D. Graduate, Gretchen A. Adams, wrote an internet essay entitled, "'Deeds of Desperate Valor:' The First Rhode Island Regiment" published on the "Humanities and Social Sciences Online: The American Revolution" website. Th is essay continues the tradition of an academic historian "respinning" the commonly accepted, and "politically correct" version of the "Black Regiment." There is no original or critical analysis by Adams in this work, and the flawed sources cited at the end of her essay lead to errors like "Points Bridge" for the accurate "Pines Bridge," 250 colored enlistees into the "Black Regiment" (a number almost double the actual recruit total as will be shown in this work), and the "Black Regiment" fighting at Red Bank, New Jersey in October 1777 before the unit was even formed in 1778, to name a few.
Mistakes continue to plague the historical literature concerning the "Black Regiment." A recent issue of Rhode Island History, the periodical of the Rhode Island Historical Society, clearly illustrates this problem. In the first article of the Winter/Spring 2009 issue of Rhode Island History, Brown University graduate Christian M. McBurney wrote about Cato Pearce's life and religious experiences as a man of color in Washington County in Rhode Island in the early 1800's. In the article, Christian McBurney claims that Captain Thomas Cole, a company commander of the "Black Regiment" and later the integrated Rhode Island Regiment, became a Baptist preacher who befriended Cato. According to McBurney, Captain Thomas Cole was a Deacon living in Cranston, Rhode Island in 1840.
Members of the Rhode Island Society, Sons of the American Revolution know that this claim by Christian McBurney is clearly a case of mistaken identity. Captain Th omas Cole of the "Black Regiment" died in 1805 (when Cato was 15 years old) and was buried in the Eldred Family Cemetery (North Kingstown Historic Cemetery 112, NK112). The Rhode Island S.A.R. recently erected a memorial monument in Captain Cole's honor at the cemetery. Researchers of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society are well aware of the Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project which has a dedicated website. The Cemeteries Transcription Project is a very useful item in the Rhode Island genealogist's research tool kit. A quick search of the Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project website results in a "Captain Thomas Cole" (the Revolutionary War hero) who died on December 9, 1805 and was buried in NK112, and a "Deacon Thomas B. Cole" who was born in 1778, died July 19, 1846, and was buried in CR020 (the Knightville Meeting House Lot, which is being cleaned up by the Friends of Cranston Historic Cemeteries). "Deacon Thomas B. Cole" was the man who likely befriended preacher Cato Pearce in Cranston, Rhode Island. Neither of the two editors of Rhode Island History, both of whom held Ph.D. degrees, caught this embarrassing error.
