(Slaves) had to go on to fight for a lot of people who didn’t want to get their hands dirtied or bloodied, or worry about their family members getting hurt.”

Jason Roomes, ancestor of slaves who fought in the Revolutionary War

PORTSMOUTH — Jason Roomes, dressed in full Revolutionary War reenactment gear, pointed his musket toward the name of one of his ancestors that’s inscribed on the west wall of the monument honoring members of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. 

“My family’s legacy,” said Roomes, the guest speaker at the 57th annual Commemoration Service of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment hosted by the Newport Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Sunday afternoon at Patriots Park.

His ancestor, Caesar Rome, went from being a slave to a soldier in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, also known as the “Black Regiment” because it was composed mostly of Black enlistees, as well as some Native Americans. 

The unit is credited with valiantly stopping the advances of the Hessian forces near Patriots Park on Aug. 29, 1778, during the Battle of Rhode Island. The 1st Regiment was one of the few units in the Continental Army that served through the entire Revolutionary War until November 1783.

Slaves were enlisted to fight due to Rhode Island’s struggles in recruiting enough white men to meet troop quotas. Some historians say white slave owners often sent their “property” to fight in their place, and that promises made to these slaves of post-war freedom often never materialized.

“My family originally got into this in 1778,” said Roomes, a Revolutionary War reenactor at the Barnum Armory Museum in East Greenwich and at Smith Castle in North Kingstown. “In 1776, they were still in chains. Soldiers of color were not asked to join the fight until 1778, when Rhode Island passed a law to let them join the service. They had to go on to fight for a lot of people who didn’t want to get their hands dirtied or bloodied, or worry about their family members getting hurt.”

Rome, who was a slave on the farm of the wealthy Newport English loyalist George Rome in North Kingstown, enlisted in the Capt. John Deere company of the “Black Regiment” in 1778. He served until the time of the consolidation, listed as a private in the regiment’s sixth company.

Election year

“We are standing on holy ground made so by the men who are listed on the monument, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. As it is said: a day on, never a day off,” Jimmy Winters, president of the NAACP-Newport County, told the crowd.

Winters urged everyone to vote in November.

“This is an election year — the most important and history-making election of our time. A Black woman is running for the president of the United States of America,” he said to applause. “And as James Brown said, ‘Please, please, please’ vote — it’s a very important election. Every vote counts, and it will count. We only have 72 days left.”

Brenda Delasanta was originally planning on singing “We Shall Overcome,” but switched things up and went with an a cappella version of “What the World Needs Now,” the Burt Bacharach song that was made a hit by Dionne Warwick and Jackie DeShannon. Along with Winters, she concluded the program by leading the crowd in a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is also known as the “Black National Anthem.”

Father Kevin Beesley of St. John’s Church in Newport gave the innovation and the benediction.

“They fought valiantly against tyranny, proving that skin color is no barrier to valor or patriotism,” he said, referring to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. “May their legacy inspire us to strive for a more just and equitable society, where all are treated with dignity and respect.”