New England Colonies New England Colonies The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colonies. The New England colonies were part of the Thirteen Colonies and eventually became five of the six states in New England. Captain John Smith's 1616 work "A Description of New England" first applied the term "New England" to the coastal lands from Long Island Sound to Newfoundland. France, England, and other countries made several attempts to colonize New England early in the
Rhode Island Line Battle of The Cedars. Half of Sherburne's Regiment was drawn from Rhode Island and half from Connecticut. Still other Continental infantry regiments and smaller units, also unrelated to a state quota, were raised as needed for special or temporary service. On April 23, 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress voted to raise a volunteer force of 13,600 men, and it called upon the other New England colonies for assistance in raising an army of 30,000 men. In response, the Rhode Island Assembly voted, on May 6, 1775, to contribute 1,500 men to this army. The Rhode Island troops were formed into