Portsmouth, Rhode Island

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The Battle of Rhode Island (August 29, 1778) was fought across Newport and Portsmouth. The First Rhode Island Regiment — composed largely of enslaved men who were promised freedom in exchange for service — performed with particular distinction, holding off three Hessian charges at Butts Hill. Historians consider it one of the earliest documented examples of a Black military unit fighting in an organized American engagement. The Butts Hill Fort site is in Portsmouth.