The Rhode Island General Assembly had already guaranteed the black soldiers their freedom after the war, and the Rhode Island General Assembly passed an act on February 23, 1784 which forbade "any person born in Rhode Island after March 1, 1784 from being made a slave." The act also stipulated that children born to slaves were to be supported financially by the Rhode Island town in which they were born. During the same meeting, Colonel Olney presented the colors of Rhode Island's Continental Regiment to the General Assembly, and they have been housed in the State House ever since. Olney had promised his men his "interest in their favour," and he continued to advocate for his former troops' right to remain free and to have the government pay them the wages or pensions that they deserved.