BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – As the United States gets ready to celebrate a big anniversary, there’s a focus on one particular regiment that fought in the early days of the American Revolution.

The spotlight is on who filled its ranks: the first Rhode Island regiment.

The group had roughly 200 black and indigenous soldiers enlisted to fight alongside white troops for independence from Great Britain.

Many of the men in the regiment were enslaved and were promised their freedom in return for their military service.

Today, there are artifacts from the regiment and that time preserved at the “Varnum Armory Museum” in East Greenwich.

It’s home to the largest collection of Rhode Island military history.