Image

Latest Posts

“I’m a Good Old Rebel:” Ocean State Confederates
9 years ago

“I’m a Good Old Rebel:” Ocean State Confederates

From 1861 to 1865, nearly 24,000 men served in the Union Army in Rhode Island units during the Civil War, or were credited to Rhode Island; approximately 2,000 of these …
Read More

Rhode Island’s Founding Documents: The Rhode Island Patent of March 1643/44 and the Acts and Orders of 1647
9 years ago

Rhode Island’s Founding Documents: The Rhode Island Patent of March 1643/44 and the Acts and Orders of 1647

This 2014 essay, inspired by my penchant for observing historical anniversaries, was written as a Providence Journal commentary. It came to the attention of Professor Stephen Schechter, who was preparing …
Read More

Peter Gerry, Former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is in the News Today
9 years ago

Peter Gerry, Former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is in the News Today

Peter Gerry, a former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is back in the news. This is surprising because he is now almost forgotten in Rhode Island’s history, despite his being …
Read More

The Naval Training Station at Newport: A Place in U.S. Naval History
10 years ago

The Naval Training Station at Newport: A Place in U.S. Naval History

Many think that the acquisition of Coasters Harbor Island in Newport by the United States Navy, for use as a naval training station, was a simple, linear process that arose …
Read More

Rhode Island Advertising Currency
10 years ago

Rhode Island Advertising Currency

The use of facsimile currency for advertising purposes was not unusual during the nineteenth century, and such ephemeral items are known to exist from all areas of the country. One …
Read More

The South Kingstown Town Council Refuses to Free Patience, an Enslaved Woman
10 years ago

The South Kingstown Town Council Refuses to Free Patience, an Enslaved Woman

With the ideology of equality and natural rights permeating American culture after the Revolutionary War, the system of slavery that had been quietly introduced in the American colonies in colonial …
Read More

Abraham Lincoln Visits Rhode Island
10 years ago

Abraham Lincoln Visits Rhode Island

Abraham Lincoln came to Rhode Island at least three separate times but never as President of the United States. In September 1848, Lincoln stopped in the capital city of Providence …
Read More

The Merci Train Visits Woonsocket: A French Connection
10 years ago

The Merci Train Visits Woonsocket: A French Connection

The United States and France have enjoyed a long and eventful relationship. We are grateful for the Comte de Rochambeau, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Statue of Liberty given …
Read More

Walter Massie, a Remarkable Wireless Radio Pioneer
10 years ago

Walter Massie, a Remarkable Wireless Radio Pioneer

Wrapped in a blanket, a lone radio operator sat huddled in his chair on the second floor of the Massie Wireless Telegraph station at Point Judith, Rhode Island, located in …
Read More

“I have never heard of him since” – The Case of Scituate’s James A. Matteson
10 years ago

“I have never heard of him since” – The Case of Scituate’s James A. Matteson

In the early morning hours of October 19, 1864 along the banks of Cedar Creek, just south of Middletown, Virginia, a large Confederate army under the command of General Jubal …
Read More