RHODE ISLAND: MILITIA.

RHODE ISLAND: MILITIA.
An Act for the better forming, regulating and conducting the military Forces of this State. [Rhode Island]: Printed by John Carter, 1779.
Printed Broadside, 385 x 265 mm. 2 pp, recto and verso, text in three columns, detailing the organization of the Rhode Island Militia, from the session of the General Assembly of October 1779. Browned, some staining, two small holes through paper, one affecting two words of the text.

During the Revolutionary War, the Rhode Island Militia was reorganized repeatedly to keep up with the escalating demands of waging war against a power as great as Britain. Parts of the state were occupied by British forces early in the war, and there were insufficient troops to attempt to liberate those areas independently. In 1779 the structure of the militia was significantly changed, creating a greater hierarchy of military units formed into companies, regiments and brigades. This act of October 1779 authorized a specific number of companies for each town.