The history of Bristol, Rhode Island is very closely tied to slavery and the slave trade. There is quite a bit of crossover between this history and the history of the Revolutionary War. Probably one of the best-known names from this town’s history is James DeWolf. DeWolf and his brothers were slave traders who started their sailing career on privateer ships during the Revolutionary War. Shearjashub Bourne, the quartermaster of the Bristol militia, went on to form a slave trading partnership with Samuel Wardwell after the war.
The surnames Ingraham and DeWolf are strongly connected to the Revolutionary War in Bristol. James DeWolf has already been mentioned, and his older brother John served in the militia at the Battle of Rhode Island. Jeremiah Ingraham was the captain of the militia company at the start of the war, and multiple other members of the family served in other capacities. This article isn’t about them. It’s about the other Revolutionary soldiers who carried those names, about whom much less is known. It’s about the men who were enslaved by those families, and fought to gain their freedom.
For the early part of the Revolutionary War, the presence of non-white soldiers on the American side was rare, and in many cases, specifically forbidden. On the other side, the Earl of Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, had sent out a proclamation offering freedom to enslaved men who joined the British army. In 1778, the Continental Army was suffering from the same problem Dunmore had been: a lack of troops. What troops they did have were weakened by a miserable winter at Valley Forge. Rhode Island needed more soldiers, so the enlistment requirements were changed. The soldiers already serving would be combined into the Second Rhode Island Regiment. Black and indigenous men would now be allowed to enlist in Christopher Greene’s First Rhode Island Regiment. Enslaved men would be officially freed when they enlisted.
While the amalgamated Second Rhode Island remained at Valley Forge, the newly reorganized First Regiment grew quickly. The new recruits were trained in Rhode Island by some experienced soldiers of the Second. One of these new recruits was Prince Ingraham, who was, up until that point, enslaved to the now former militia captain, Jeremiah Ingraham. Another was Plato Van Doorn. Very little is known about the earlier lives of the formerly enslaved soldiers. The only information about Plato’s early life comes from his enlistment record. He was born in “Guinea” (which could potentially refer to anywhere on the western coast of Africa) sometime around 1755. Then at some point he had been taken from his home, sold into slavery, and brought to Bristol. Anthony Van Doorn, the patriarch of the family that enslaved Plato, was a tailor by trade. This may explain why Plato was also a tailor. That was the occupation he reported when he enlisted. During his service, Plato practiced his trade, making uniforms for the regiment. Nothing at all is known about Prince Ingraham’s early life.
About six months after these soldiers had signed up, war came to Rhode Island. Major General John Sullivan was putting together an army to push the British garrison out of Newport. The new soldiers of the First Rhode Island were about to be on the front lines. In the Battle of Rhode Island, the Regiment, commanded by Major Samuel Ward, defended a fortified position against a force of experienced German soldiers.
These men had enlisted for the duration of the war. Though they were no longer enslaved, they weren’t fully free. They had to fight as long as the war might drag on. Not all of them would live long enough to receive a discharge. At least one from Bristol took freedom for himself. Thomas Lefavour enlisted in Elijah Lewis’s Company of Greene’s Regiment on February 20, 1778. He served for over two years in all, being away from the regiment in December, 1779 and January, 1780. The next muster roll of his unit, compiled in May, 1781, records that Thomas had deserted on July 2, 1780. Another loss to the regiment that same year was Juba Smith. After having enlisted in April of 1778, Juba got sick in November, 1779. He died on April 15, 1780.
At the start of 1781, the Second Rhode Island Regiment was disbanded, with all of its soldiers being drafted into Greene’s First Rhode Island. These men fought on the front lines at Yorktown later that year. In order for a siege, like Yorktown, to take place, an army needs to be able to dig trenches and construct fortifications. For this purpose, a specialized unit was created in the Continental Army, the Corps of Sappers and Miners. One of the men who was responsible for the “construction” aspect of the siege was Prince Ingraham. He was transferred to the Sappers and Miners on June 12, 1781.
After the victory at Yorktown, the war continued on, and more losses were suffered. On December 10, 1781, Scipeo DeWolf, a private soldier in Daniel Dexter’s Company, died. Plato Van Doorn continued to serve. More men enlisted, and many were discharged. The war was winding down. Plato received a furlough from the regiment, then stationed at Saratoga, New York, in early 1782. In the summer of 1783, as a peace treaty was being finalized, Rhode Island’s singular regiment, commanded by Jeremiah Olney, was disbanded. Plato Van Doorn was discharged from the army. He was now, truly, a free man.
Bibliography
Bristol Town Land Evidence Records
Geake, Robert and Lorén Spears. From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution. Westholme Publishing, 2016.
Rhode Island Department of State. Regimental Book: Rhode Island Regiment for 1781
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. “Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, 1894-ca. 1912”. Accessed March 20, 2025, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/570910
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