Collection: RIHS Revolutionary War Military Papers
The RIHS Revolutionary War Military Papers generally consist of documents from Rhode Island Continental and state regiments, county militia regiments, and independent companies, during the period of the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain from 1775 to 1783.
State militia regiments from all Rhode Island counties are also present, with Providence, Kent, and King’s counties the most widely represented. Papers from Rhode Island independent militia companies include those of the Kentish Guards, Pawtuxet Rangers, Smithfield and Cumberland Rangers, and North Providence Rangers. Papers from the Rhode Island “Black Regiment”, the RI Continental 1st Regiment, led by Col. Christopher Greene and Lt. Col. Samuel Ward Jr. during the summer of 1778 are part of the collection.
Lists of soldiers are the most common type of document in the collection, and consist of muster rolls, pay rolls and abstracts, enlistments, delinquent lists, returns of the sick, and ration bills. Soldiers of Native-American and African-American lineage can be found in these rolls. Occasionally, details such as physical appearance (including hair and eye color, complexion, and height); age; occupation; birth place; and residence are designated. The orderly books, court martial proceedings, and supply and pay requests in the collection are also a source for soldiers’ names.
The orderly books and court martial accounts are also a good source for a general study of military, disciplinary, and supply policies and problems in the army. General orders are another potential source for such information.
A card index for individual soldiers listed among the papers was created by RIHS staff in the 1980s. The cards list the soldier’s name, the date of the document on which his name appears, the colonel and captain of his regiment, and the general location of the document within the collection. This information has been transferred to a searchable database which can be found HERE.