William and Benjamin Frank, brothers and freeborn men of color, joined the Second Rhode Island Regiment in the spring of 1777, joining a cohort of free Black soldiers serving in an integrated Continental Army. Following the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, they were transferred to the newly segregated First Rhode Island Regiment, a unit composed of Black and Native American Soldiers, including enslaved men who were promised their freedom in exchange for their service. The Frank brothers continued to serve together in the “Black Regiment” until Benjamin Frank deserted and enlisted with the British in 1780, eventually relocating to Nova Scotia. William Frank remained with his unit and served at Yorktown, where the men of the First Rhode Island also demonstrated their combat effectiveness.
Drawing from her recent book, Dr. Shirley Green, adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, and a descendant of the Frank brothers, focuses our attention on the Black experience during the American Revolution by highlighting the experiences of the Frank brothers to present a complex account of Black life during the revolutionary era and demonstrate how free men of color desired to improve their condition of life in post-colonial North America.
About the Speaker
Shirley L. Green earned her Ph.D. in history from Bowling Green State University after a twenty-six-year career in law enforcement. She is an adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. She is currently the director of the Toledo Police Museum in Toledo, Ohio.