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Though relatively small-only about 130 men-the First Rhode Island Regiment had an outsized impact. To attract the latter, the Patriots promised freedom at the end of service.

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So in 1778, a Rhode Island legislature declared that both free and enslaved Black people could serve. In the late 1770s, dwindling manpower forced George Washington to reconsider his original decision to ban Black people from the Continental Army. The First Rhode Island Regiment, the first Continental Army unit largely comprised of Black New Englanders, showcased African AmericansвЂ™ skill as soldiers and commitment to their brethren on the battlefield. He remains an important symbol of fearless resistance.ДЄ painting by French artist and sub-lieutenant Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger, depicting the different men of war, including a member of the First Rhode Island Regiment on the far left. The British recognized TyeвЂ™s impact on their success and, out of respect for all his contributions, bestowed on him the honorific title of Colonel. And his daring, skillful execution kept his Black Brigade soldiers largely unscathed as they plundered homes, took supplies, freed slaves and sometimes even assassinated Patriot slaveholders renowned for their cruelty. His familiarity with the area gave him an advantage in attacks on PatriotsвЂ™ lands. The Redcoats needed to take this middle land-and believed Tye could help. They saw more value in using his knowledge of the coveted New Jersey territory, which sat between British-occupied New York and the PatriotвЂ™s center of government in Philadelphia.

While Tye stood out as a soldier from the start, the British didnвЂ™t station him at pitched battles. Tye, originally known as Titus during his early years in slavery in New Jersey, escaped a particularly brutal master in 1775 and joined the British army after the Crown offered freedom to any enslaved person who enlisted. During his years fighting for the British, Patriots feared his raids, while their slaves welcomed his help in their liberation. Colonel Tye earned a reputation as the most formidable guerilla leader in the Revolutionary War.

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