Slave Enlistment Act

On February 14, 1778, the Slave Enlistment Act was passed which stated that any enslaved person to be accepted to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment be discharged from their service to their master or mistress and be considered free with the promise of wages and other bounties which all Continental soldiers were entitled to, if they stayed enlisted for the duration of the war. Additionally, the act required that owners who lost their enslaved workers to be financially compensated based on the fair market value of the enslaved men.