The Forgotten Heroes of Yorktown: America's First Black Regiment

Show Notes

In 1778, Rhode Island made a radical proposal: free enslaved people who agreed to fight for American independence. What emerged was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment—America's first predominantly Black military unit. At the Battle of Rhode Island, these formerly enslaved soldiers repelled three Hessian charges so devastatingly that the German commander reportedly begged for reassignment. At Yorktown, they helped storm the British redoubts that ended the war. This episode tells the story of the men who fought for a freedom they had never known, and whose sacrifice has been largely forgotten.