- James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum (
December 17 ,1748 –January 9 ,1789 ) was an American lawyer and a general in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War .Biography
James Mitchell Varnum was born in
Dracut, Massachusetts . As a young man he went Rhode Island to attend Brown University and in Rhode Island he met his future wife. Along withNathanael Greene he served in theKentish Guards . He served as abrigadier general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving from 1777 until 1779. Varnum advocated allowingAfrican Americans to enlist in the Continental Army, which resulted in the reformation of the1st Rhode Island Regiment as an all-black unit. After Varnum resigned his Continental Army commission because of personal business matters, he was appointedmajor general ofRhode Island militia. He represented Rhode Island in theContinental Congress (1780-1781 and 1787).In 1787, Varnum was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the
Northwest Territory , and moved toMarietta, Ohio , to take up his duties. He died less than two years later, and is buried in the Mound Cemetery there.His home in
East Greenwich, Rhode Island is seen as atourist attraction today. His brother wasJoseph Bradley Varnum .ee also
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1st Rhode Island Regiment
*9th Continental Regiment External links
* [http://www.varnumcontinentals.org/ Website of Varnum Continentals]
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