From Slaves to Soldiers

From Slaves to Soldiers PDF Author: Robert A. Geake
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
ISBN: 9781594162688
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Known as the "Black" Regiment, the Story of the First Continental Army Unit Composed of African American and Native American Enlisted Men In December 1777, the Continental army was encamped at Valley Forge and faced weeks of cold and hunger, as well as the prospect of many troops leaving as their terms expired in the coming months. If the winter were especially cruel, large numbers of soldiers would face death or contemplate desertion. Plans were made to enlist more men, but as the states struggled to fill quotas for enlistment, Rhode Island general James Mitchell Varnum proposed the historic plan that a regiment of slaves might be recruited from his own state, the smallest in the union, but holding the largest population of slaves in New England. The commander-in-chief's approval of the plan would set in motion the forming of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. The "black regiment," as it came to be known, was composed of indentured servants, Narragansett Indians, and former slaves. This was not without controversy. While some in the Rhode Island Assembly and in other states railed that enlisting slaves would give the enemy the impression that not enough white men could be raised to fight the British, owners of large estates gladly offered their slaves and servants, both black and white, in lieu of a son or family member enlisting. The regiment fought with distinction at the battle of Rhode Island, and once joined with the 2nd Rhode Island before the siege of Yorktown in 1781, it became the first integrated battalion in the nation's history. In From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution, historian Robert A. Geake tells the important story of the "black regiment" from the causes that led to its formation, its acts of heroism and misfortune, as well as the legacy left by those men who enlisted to earn their freedom.

From Slaves to Soldiers

From Slaves to Soldiers PDF Author: Robert A. Geake
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
ISBN: 9781594162688
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Known as the "Black" Regiment, the Story of the First Continental Army Unit Composed of African American and Native American Enlisted Men In December 1777, the Continental army was encamped at Valley Forge and faced weeks of cold and hunger, as well as the prospect of many troops leaving as their terms expired in the coming months. If the winter were especially cruel, large numbers of soldiers would face death or contemplate desertion. Plans were made to enlist more men, but as the states struggled to fill quotas for enlistment, Rhode Island general James Mitchell Varnum proposed the historic plan that a regiment of slaves might be recruited from his own state, the smallest in the union, but holding the largest population of slaves in New England. The commander-in-chief's approval of the plan would set in motion the forming of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. The "black regiment," as it came to be known, was composed of indentured servants, Narragansett Indians, and former slaves. This was not without controversy. While some in the Rhode Island Assembly and in other states railed that enlisting slaves would give the enemy the impression that not enough white men could be raised to fight the British, owners of large estates gladly offered their slaves and servants, both black and white, in lieu of a son or family member enlisting. The regiment fought with distinction at the battle of Rhode Island, and once joined with the 2nd Rhode Island before the siege of Yorktown in 1781, it became the first integrated battalion in the nation's history. In From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution, historian Robert A. Geake tells the important story of the "black regiment" from the causes that led to its formation, its acts of heroism and misfortune, as well as the legacy left by those men who enlisted to earn their freedom.

Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April 1775, to December, 1783

Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April 1775, to December, 1783 PDF Author: Francis Bernard Heitman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Book Description


Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: Quack - Zwolle

Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: Quack - Zwolle PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 1488

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Book Description


Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: East Whiteland-Leacraft, G

Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789: East Whiteland-Leacraft, G PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 1488

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Book Description


Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789

Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 1480

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Book Description


Engineers of Independence

Engineers of Independence PDF Author: Paul K. Walker
Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc.
ISBN: 9781410201737
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This collection of documents, including many previously unpublished, details the role of the Army engineers in the American Revolution. Lacking trained military engineers, the Americans relied heavily on foreign officers, mostly from France, for sorely needed technical assistance. Native Americans joined the foreign engineer officers to plan and carry out offensive and defensive operations, direct the erection of fortifications, map vital terrain, and lay out encampments. During the war Congress created the Corps of Engineers with three companies of engineer troops as well as a separate geographer's department to assist the engineers with mapping. Both General George Washington and Major General Louis Lebéque Duportail, his third and longest serving Chief Engineer, recognized the disadvantages of relying on foreign powers to fill the Army's crucial need for engineers. America, they contended, must train its own engineers for the future. Accordingly, at the war's end, they suggested maintaining a peacetime engineering establishment and creating a military academy. However, Congress rejected the proposals, and the Corps of Engineers and its companies of sappers and miners mustered out of service. Eleven years passed before Congress authorized a new establishment, the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers.

The Waterman Family

The Waterman Family PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Genealogy
Languages : en
Pages : 846

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Book Description


The Rhode Island Campaign

The Rhode Island Campaign PDF Author: Christian M. McBurney
Publisher: Westholme Pub Llc
ISBN: 9781594161346
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
Chronicles the battle fought by the joint American and French forces against the British during the Revolutionary War, describing the complex, multi-faceted sea strategies and the controversial decisions made on both sides by the prominent patriots involved.

The Continental Army

The Continental Army PDF Author: Robert K. Wright
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, United States Army
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
A narrative analysis of the complex evolution of the Continental Army, with the lineages of the 177 individual units that comprised the Army, and fourteen charts depicting regimental organization.

They “... Fought Bravely, but Were Unfortunate:”

They “... Fought Bravely, but Were Unfortunate:” PDF Author: Daniel M. Popek
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1496908988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1062

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Book Description
Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” of the American Revolutionary War is fairly well-known to students of American History. Most published histories of the small colored battalion from Rhode Island are clearly biased in favor of the “regiment” and tend to interpret it as an elite military unit. However, a detailed study and analysis of Rhode Island’s segregated Continental Line by the author reveals a “military experiment” that was beset with difficulties from its start and ultimately failed as a segregated unit in 1780. In this work, many of the popular stories of Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” are proven to be myths. Follow the accurate historical stories of the colored and white soldiers of Rhode Island’s Continental Line whose courage and sacrifices helped create an independent nation.