The regiment fought in the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778 under the command of Major Samuel Ward Jr., as Colonel Greene had been assigned as a brigade commander for the campaign. It played an important role by defending a redoubt on West Main Road where it successfully repelled three charges by the Hessians. Repeated attacks from British regulars and Hessian forces failed to break the line of the Patriot forces and allowed the successful retreat of Sullivan's army. Historian Sidney Rider notes that the Hessians charged three times and were repulsed each time. According to Rider, the Hessian Colonel "applied to exchange his command and go to New York, because he dared not lead his regiment" into battle again, "lest his men should shoot him for having caused them so much loss." The First Rhode Island suffered three killed, nine wounded, and eleven missing.