In June 1784, 13 black veterans of the Rhode Island Regiment hired Samuel Emory to present their claims for back pay to the War Department Accounts Office, in order to help alleviate the financial difficulties that most black veterans faced after the war. In response, the Rhode Island Assembly passed a special act for these soldiers on February 28, 1785 which called for "the support of paupers, who heretofore were slaves, and enlisted into the Continental battalions." Therefore, any "Indian, negro or mulatto" who was sick or unable to support himself must be taken care of by the town council where he lived. Most black veterans remained in Rhode Island, although many moved onto the 100 acres of Bounty Land that they were promised in New York or Ohio. Most veterans who survived into their 50s or 60s were in desperate poverty, including the whites, because of the economic depression that occurred after the Revolution.