18. The Black Loyalist Company
Later in 1776, General Clinton was tasked with taking Newport, Rhode Island, and the Black Pioneers were the only provincial unit that accompanied his British regulars. From Rhode Island, they were sent back to New York, and thence to Philadelphia, which fell to the British in 1777.
In 1777, Clinton’s runaways became the nucleus of the Black Loyalist Company – a noncombatant force to replace Lord Dunmore’s disbanded Ethiopian Regiment. In 1778, the company was merged into the Guides and Pioneers in New York, and given the name the Black Pioneers and Guides. As Pioneers, the new unit’s soldiers were tasked with military engineering, fortification, and construction tasks. As Guides, they served as scouts and raiders.