FORTISVEX Rhode Island Regiment Flag 3x5 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

Rhode Island Regiment Flag History

The Rhode Island Regiment Flag combines a white field with a dark-blue canton containing thirteen gold stars. On the larger white area, a blue anchor hangs beneath a ribbon bearing the word “Hope.” The stars are arranged in alternating rows of three and two. The result joins a symbol of the American union with emblems closely associated with Rhode Island, making the design especially useful for interpreting the relationship between local identity and the Continental cause.

The anchor and motto were already old when the Revolutionary War began. Rhode Island’s government records that the General Assembly adopted an anchor with “Hope” above it for the colonial seal on May 4, 1664. The state also cautions that no contemporary official explanation of the chosen word survives. A frequently cited interpretation connects it with the biblical image of hope as an anchor of the soul. That connection is a historical interpretation, not a recorded statement of intent from the officials who adopted the seal.

The flag design also has a documented connection to preserved regimental colors. An early twentieth-century Rhode Island Historical Society description, now digitized by the Library of Congress, distinguishes two surviving Revolutionary flags. One had white stars and a scroll naming the Rhode Island Regiment. The other had gold stars in a blue canton and a blue anchor on a white field, with traces showing where the word “Hope” had been. That distinction matters: the anchor-and-gold-star pattern should not be confused with the related scroll-and-white-star color.

Congress’s illustrated publication Our Flag identifies this anchor pattern with the Rhode Island Regiment and interprets its starry canton as a sign of national unity. The modern illustration uses clear, restored-looking symbols, while the historical textiles show losses and fading. The design offered here follows that recognizable historical pattern, rather than reproducing every detail or condition feature of an aged original. A precise claim about its use at a particular battle would require evidence beyond the design alone.

The Rhode Island units themselves have an important place in the history of the Revolutionary army. The National Park Service documents the service of Black and Native soldiers in the state’s regiments, including the 1778 reorganization and a law enabling enslaved recruits to gain freedom through enlistment. Their experience makes the history more substantial than a simple story of matching uniforms and flags. For some soldiers, participation in the struggle for American independence also offered a route toward personal freedom.

The Rhode Island Regiment was among the American units Washington selected for the movement toward Virginia in the Yorktown campaign of 1781. That military context belongs to the regiment’s history; it should not be mistaken for proof that this exact modern rendering accompanied every stage of the campaign. Displayed with appropriate interpretation, the flag connects Rhode Island’s colonial symbols, the ideal of union, and the varied people who served in the Revolutionary forces.

Historical Sources

• Rhode Island Government: State Symbols
• Howard M. Chapin, Early Rhode Island Flags, Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, vol. XVIII, October 1925, page 131 (Library of Congress digitization)
• United States Congress: Our Flag (2003), printed page 9
• National Park Service: Patriots of Color at Valley Forge
• National Park Service: Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route