ONLINE NEWSLETTER Spring 1 4/11/07

Activities

• USCT Symposium

1ST Sgt Fred Minus attended the USCT Symposium in Raleigh-Durham, NC. He said it was a mind blowing experience. Over a hundred of Black re-enactors attended. Sgt Minus participated in the By Laws committee and brought back some interesting material. See Readings On Black Soldiers. The USCT Symposium plans to sponsor two main events a year.

• Documentary Filming
  

Members of the 1ST Rhode Island Regiment (1stRI) participated in the filming of a documentary on the role black soldiers at Valley Forge. The documentary will be distributed by the National Park Service through a variety of media formats. The 1RI has done several living history presentations at Valley Forge and will be scheduled to do more through the summer.

Upcoming Events Check 1stRI and 6thUSCT calendars for events

Battle of Bound Brook

Monument To Blacks Has Backing In Congress

A bill has been submitted to Congress in support of erecting a monument to black solders who fought in the American Revolution. This has been a decades old struggle to get national recognition of the role of the military role of blacks in the fight for independence.

This year the 1St Rhode Island Regiment will hold its' 3RD Commemorative at the Trenton Battle Monument where the first memorial plaque dedicated to black Revolutionary War soldiers was placed three years ago. This plaque was erected by the Sons of the American Revolution of New Jersey, through the efforts of Fred Minus.

Dodd, along with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the bill in the Senate. An identical one was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, D-New Jersey. When lawmakers return from recess, it will be taken up by committees in the Senate. For more information see the Hartford Courant story.