A new commemorative holiday ornament honoring soldiers from the nation’s first integrated military regiment is now available from Rhode Island’s semiquincentennial commission.
Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore, who chairs the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial 250th Commission, announced Friday the release of the 2025 limited-edition ornament featuring the First Rhode Island Regiment.
The ornament depicts six soldiers from the regiment marching in formation, carrying the Rhode Island Regiment flag. The unit first saw combat during the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778.
The First Rhode Island Regiment holds a distinctive place in American military history. Formed in 1775, the unit became known as the “Black Regiment” after the Rhode Island General Assembly voted in February 1778 to allow the enlistment of enslaved men, who would be freed upon passing muster. The assembly also allowed free Black men and Indigenous people to join.
The decision came after Rhode Island struggled to meet troop quotas set by the Continental Congress. Brig. Gen. James Varnum proposed the idea to Gen. George Washington, who forwarded it to the governor without explicitly approving or disapproving of the plan.
At the Battle of Rhode Island, the regiment defended a redoubt on West Main Road, repelling three Hessian charges. The Marquis de Lafayette called the engagement “the best fought action of the war.”
The regiment served through the entire Revolutionary War, from the siege of Boston to the army’s disbandment in December 1783. A monument honoring the regiment stands at Patriots Park in Portsmouth, on the site of the Battle of Rhode Island.
This is the fourth in a series of limited-edition ornaments from the commission, known as RI250. The ornaments are available on the commission’s website and at the State House Gift Shop.