| Richmond's Regiment | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1775-1777 |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Rhode Island |
| Type | Infantry |
| Part of | Eastern Department, Continental Army |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Colonel William Richmond Lt. Col. Caleb Gardner |
Richmond's Regiment was a regiment formed by the state of Rhode Island in November 1775, during the American Revolution for the defense of the state against an attack by the British.
The regiment was authorized by the Rhode Island General Assembly on October 31, 1775. It was organized in November with eight companies commanded by Colonel William Richmond and was named "Richmond's Regiment".
On December 22, the regiment was stationed on Aquidneck Island to deter a possible invasion of the vital port city of Newport by the British Army. It was engaged in constructing fortifications to defend the city. The regiment originally had eight companies but was expanded to twelve on January 8, 1776. [1]
In April 1776 soldiers of the regiment constructed an earthwork battery on Brenton's Point (today the location of Fort Adams) and fired on British warships which were blockading Newport harbor on four occasions between April 6 and 14.
In May 1776 the regiment was taken into Continental Service. The regiment was ordered by General Washington to Long Island in September of the same year.
As of October 28, 1776, the regiment was in Mastic, New York on Long Island when it assisted William Floyd, delegate to the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his family, to flee from Long Island to Connecticut.
In concert with New York Continentals led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry B. Livingston, Richmond's Regiment conducted an amphibious landing at Brookhaven and captured 23 of Oliver DeLancy's Loyalist Brigade and their commanding officer, Captain Jacob Smith. The Loyalists lost six killed and an unknown number of wounded. Richmond's Regiment lost one killed, and had five wounded.
The eight original companies of the regiment were discharged at New London, Connecticut upon their return from Long Island on November 6. The regiment's artillery company was discharged on December 1.
The four remaining companies were sent to bolster Colonel John Cooke's Rhode Island militia forces then assembled at Newport. In December 1776 Newport was invaded by large force of British and Hessians and the few defenders there withdrew to the mainland.
The four remaining companies of Richmond's Regiment were discharged when their enlistments expired in January 1777. [2]
Ezekiel Cornell was a Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782.
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to serve through the entire war, from the siege of Boston to the disbanding of the Continental Army on November 3, 1783.
The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight companies of volunteers from Providence County of the colony of Rhode Island. As part of a brigade organized under Nathanael Greene, the unit participated in the Siege of Boston during the remainder of 1775. Some elements accompanied Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec late in the year. The unit was renamed the 11th Continental Regiment on the first day of 1776.
The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment before being added to the Connecticut Line in 1780. It saw action at Setauket in 1777, Rhode Island in 1778, and Springfield, New Jersey, in 1780, and was generally active in the defense of Connecticut, southern New York, and northern New Jersey. It was merged into the reorganized 2nd Connecticut Regiment in January 1781.
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The Rhode Island Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Rhode Island Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Rhode Island at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.
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Christopher Greene was an American legislator and soldier. He led the spirited defense of Fort Mercer in the 1777 Battle of Red Bank, and for leading the African American 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, most notably with distinction in the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island. He was killed in May 1781 at the Battle of Pine's Bridge by Loyalists, possibly because he was known to lead African American troops.
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Jeremiah Olney was born into an old family from Rhode Island. He formed a company of infantry from that state at the start of the American Revolutionary War. After serving as captain in 1776, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the beginning of 1777. As second-in-command of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, he fought at Red Bank. After its commander was wounded early in the action, he led Varnum's brigade in bitter fighting at Monmouth in June 1778.
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