Rhode Island Regiment

Varnum's Regiment 9th Continental Infantry Regiment 1st Rhode Island Regiment Rhode Island Regiment Rhode Island Battalion
A 1781 watercolor Drawing, of a black infantryman of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, of the Continental Army, at Yorktown. The 1st Rhode Island was one of the few regiments in the Continental Army which had a large number of black Patriot soldiers in its ranks.
Active	1775–1783
Country	United States of America
Allegiance	Rhode Island
Branch	Continental Army
Type	Infantry
Part of	Rhode Island Line
Nickname(s)	Varnum's Continentals (1775–76) Black Regiment (1778–80)
Colors	white uniforms
Engagements	Siege of Boston New York campaign Battle of Red Bank Battle of Rhode Island Siege of Yorktown
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Mitchell Varnum, Christopher Greene, Jeremiah Olney
Insignia
War Flag

For the Civil War and Spanish-American War units see 1st Rhode Island Infantry.

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Infantry, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, the Rhode Island Battalion and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army from Rhode Island, during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to have served through the entire war.

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, despite the fact that its ranks were not exclusively African-American.

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." The regiment originally 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 as part of the Army of Observation. The regiment was adopted into the Continental Army by act of Congress on 14 June 1775. On 28 June it was expanded to ten companies. On 28 July 1775, it was assigned to General Nathanael Greene's Brigade in General George Washington's Main Army. General Washington officially took command of the Continental Army upon his arrival in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 3 July 1775.