General Assembly. State of Rhode Island & Providence Plantation [with seal]

Printed by John Carter. Stab-stitched. Contains act freeing Quaco, a former slave, as reward for providing information about Newport after it had been seized by the British (pp. 4-5). We know of four African-American Spies, one for the British in New York, and the other three for the Americans: James Lafayette Armistead (who operated near Cornwallis in 1781), Peck (who operated in the Hudson River Valley in 1781) and Quaco. Quaco is believed to have been the first African-American spy during the Revolution. The pamphlet also has documentation for payment to two African-American privates, Jehu Pomp and Solomon Caesar, serving under Lt. Col. Jeremiah Olney. With state seal affixed to cover. Alden 923, Evans 17691, Moebs (Black Soldiers) pp. 237 (Caesar), 252 (Pomp), 258 (Whitcuff); 275, 277, 284 and 286 (Armistead), 278 (Peck) and 280 (Quaco).