France decided to enter the war as an ally of the United States following the pivotal Battles of Saratoga in September and October 1777.

The first significant effort in this regard took place in July 1778, when a French fleet commanded by the Comte d'Estaing arrived off the east coast of North America.

[4] American Continental Army forces were dispatched to Rhode Island, and militia were raised from surrounding states to assist in the effort.

The French fleet withdrew on August 22 to Boston to repair, while Sullivan engaged in preliminary siege operations against Newport.

News also arrived that a relief force was being organized by the British in New York, so Sullivan decided to withdraw from Aquidneck Island.

Barker Brook was an area that saw intense fighting,[6] now largely obscured due to the construction of Rhode Island Route 24.

[6] The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was raised in early 1778 as a specifically African-American unit in order to help meet the state's obligations for manning the Continental Army.

The unit thereafter began to lose membership due to attrition and combat, which was compensated for by adding white recruits.