The unit was raised during the American Revolutionary War from the Fusiliers of Providence and the Artillery Company of Providence, making it one of the largest artillery units in Rhode Island. They fought at the Battle of Rhode Island and many other battles in the American Revolutionary War. The unit used a distinctive flag which featured a coiled timber rattlesnake with the motto "Do Not Tread On Me", above an anchor and the motto "In God We Hope", and a pair of cannons. The motif was surrounded by thirteen stars on a field of gold. This flag is one of the earliest uses of a rattlesnake on a flag and may have been the basis for the Gadsden flag. It is also one of the first uses of a circle of 13 stars to represent the thirteen colonies. The unit also played a significant part in the Dorr Rebellion. After the Civil War, they were joined by Burnside's Zouaves, and they continued into the first half of the 20th century.