Prince Greene

Prince Greene (1752 – July 4, 1819) was a Black violinist who lived in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. In 1777, while he was enslaved by Richard Greene, he enlisted as a Private in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment to pursue his freedom in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. In 1781, while an active duty soldier, Greene was court-martialed for an incident that resulted in the death of Edward Allen, a white civilian.

Early life and enslavement Prince Greene was enslaved by Richard Greene, of Potowomut, Rhode Island. Richard's grandfather, Thomas Greene, built Hopelands, a historic house, sometime in 1686. The home is now part of the campus of Rocky Hill School. Over time, Prince began to work as a laborer in the Greene family farms in Coventry and West Greenwich.

1776, Escape On May 4, 1776, the day Rhode Island declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, Richard Greene published a runaway slave ad in The Providence Gazette for "a Negro Slave named Prince." The ad describes him as "about 24 Years of Age, 5 Feet 4 Inches high, has very thick Lips and small, crooked Legs." Richard Greene offered a "Five Dollar Reward" to anyone who could return Prince to him.

1st Rhode Island Regiment

Enlistment Historian Robert Geake, in his book From Slaves to Soldiers, writes that Prince Greene was "listed in the 1777 military census and was no doubt eager to enlist in this opportunity for freedom."

Court-martial Geake said Prince Greene was "exceptional in being one of a handful of black soldiers to face court martial." On April 10, 1781, in Providence, Rhode Island, while the town was still under martial law, young residents often challenged the local militia and Continental troops after a night of carousing. That night in April, a twenty-three-year-old Providence man named Edward Allen, in the company of another man named John Pitcher, approached the barracks and began to throw stones and hurl "illiberal language" at the soldiers inside.

Sweet continues, "The soldiers had been slow to defend themselves and their honor, but this insult was too much. One 'negro soldier in the battalion,' Prince Greene--a dark-complexioned man, standing five foot five and about thirty-seven years old—loaded his musket and sailed forth. Clues to his courage come from several sources. It may be that he had already been a free man when he enlisted at Warwick, on 27 March 1777, and agreed to serve for the duration of the war. Very likely he was somehow connected to the town's large Greene clan, which included the state's current governor. In any case, he had been living as a soldier for four years and had seen a good deal of combat. ... The musket ball hit its mark with remarkable precision: it struck the back of Allen's head, bored a hole about an inch in diameter, and shot through his forehead. He died instantly."

In his book History of the Town of East Greenwich, Daniel Howland Greene writes about many spinning parties in the town, especially once the calico print was introduced. He writes, "The highest frolics were the large quilting parties. After the quilt was finished and rolled up out of the way, a dance was next in order. The music was supplied by the violin of an old negro named Prince Greene." According to records in the Rhode Island Historical Society, a Black man named "Prince Greene of East Greenwich" regularly purchased violin strings and house goods from a merchant named William Arnold, and often paid his bills with an evening of fiddle music.

Death Prince Greene died on July 4, 1819.