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About Christian McBurney

Christian McBurney is an independent historian who has authored several books on the American Revolutionary War, including the following four with Rhode Island connections: Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War Against Britain’s African Slave Trade (Westholme, 2022); Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island (History Press, 2014), Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott (Westholme, 2014), and The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation of the Revolutionary War (Westholme, 2011). He has also co-authored World War II Rhode Island (History Press, 2017) and Untold Stories of World War II Rhode Island (History Press, 2019), and has authored Machine Guns in Narragansett Bay: The Coast Guard’s War on Rumrunners (History Press, 2023). Christian is the founder, publisher and editor of The Online Review of Rhode Island History (www.smallstatebighistory.com). He has authored a number of articles for the Rhode Island History and Newport History magazines and Pettaquamscutt Historical Society newsletter. For more information on these books and articles, see christianmcburney.com. He resides in the Washington, D.C. area, after being raised in Kingston, R.I., attending South Kingstown High School, and obtaining his undergraduate degree from Brown University. He frequently returns to Rhode Island to give book lectures and visit his family.
Latest Posts | By Christian McBurney
Rhode Island’s Whaling Industry, Once Led by Warren
2 years ago

Rhode Island’s Whaling Industry, Once Led by Warren

My last article was on the story behind the recent identification of the remains of the wreck of a vessel off the coast of the Patagonia region in Argentina, which …
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Remains of a Wrecked Whaling Ship from Warren Identified in Argentina
3 years ago

Remains of a Wrecked Whaling Ship from Warren Identified in Argentina

Wooden ribs are found barely exposed from the sand on a beach at low tide in the Patagonia region of Argentina. With the combination of marine archeology, historical research and …
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Rhode Island’s U.S. Senators and Congressmen Who Held Enslaved People
3 years ago

Rhode Island’s U.S. Senators and Congressmen Who Held Enslaved People

The Washington Post, in its January 16, 2022 edition, published a first-of-its-kind database revealing that more than 1,700 United States Senators and Congressmen once held enslaved people at some point …
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Rhode Island’s Four Stages of the American Revolutionary War
3 years ago

Rhode Island’s Four Stages of the American Revolutionary War

Rhode Island’s role in the American Revolutionary War that raged from 1775 to 1783 is wide-ranging and complicated. It is yet another example of how Rhode Island’s history is way …
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The Banisters of Rhode Island in the American Revolution, Liberty and the Costs of Loyalties: A Book Review
3 years ago

The Banisters of Rhode Island in the American Revolution, Liberty and the Costs of Loyalties: A Book Review

Marian Mathison Desrosiers, The Banisters of Rhode Island in the American Revolution: Liberty and the Costs of Loyalties (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2021).

In 2017, Marian Mathison Desrosiers, formerly a …
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The Recovery of Beaver, Bobcats, Fishers and More in Rhode Island
3 years ago

The Recovery of Beaver, Bobcats, Fishers and More in Rhode Island

In the first of my prior two articles on the history of mammals of Rhode Island, I addressed the wolves, moose, mountain lions and black bears that once roamed the …
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When Deer Became Extinct in Rhode Island
3 years ago

When Deer Became Extinct in Rhode Island

In my prior article, I address what large mammals roamed the lands of the Narragansett, Wampanoags and Nipmucs in what is now Rhode Island before Roger Williams’s arrival at Providence …
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Wolves, Moose, Mountain Lions and Bears Once Roamed Rhode Island
3 years ago

Wolves, Moose, Mountain Lions and Bears Once Roamed Rhode Island

I was curious to learn what large mammals roamed the lands of the Narragansett, Wampanoags, and Nipmucs in what is now Rhode Island, around the time of Roger Williams’s arrival …
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A Kingston Woman Supports Lincoln During the Civil War
3 years ago

A Kingston Woman Supports Lincoln During the Civil War

After I published my book on the history of Kingston in 2004, a Narragansett Times reporter asked me who my favorite character in the book was. She expected me to …
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An Enslaved Mother Rescues Her Family from being Transported to the South—And Spurs a Law Change
3 years ago

An Enslaved Mother Rescues Her Family from being Transported to the South—And Spurs a Law Change

In the early days of the abolition movement in the United States, by necessity, abolitionist work had to come primarily from white people because, before the American Revolution, most black …
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