1st Rhode Island Regiment

Varnum's Regiment 9th Continental Infantry Regiment 1st Rhode Island Regiment Rhode Island Regiment Rhode Island Battalion
A 1781 watercolor of a black infantryman of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army at the Yorktown Campaign. The 1st Rhode Island was one of the few Continental Army regiments with many black soldiers.
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

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) 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 unit underwent several reorganizations and name changes, like most regiments of the Continental Army. It became known as the "Black Regiment" because it was composed mostly of Black enlistees. However, there were also some Native Americans. Some regard it as the first Black military unit because most of the enlistees after 1778 were non-white.^[1]