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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
God, War, and Providence Book Review
7 years ago

God, War, and Providence
Book Review

God War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England, by James A. Warren (Scribner, 2018).

In God, War, and …
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The Execution of Thomas Mount for the Crime of Burglary
7 years ago

The Execution of Thomas Mount for the Crime of Burglary

On May 27, 1791, Thomas Mount, a white man born in New Jersey, was hanged in Little Rest (now Kingston). Hanging was never particularly common in Rhode Island. What makes …
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Three Recent Historical Novels with Revolutionary (and Slave-Holding) Rhode Island as the Backdrop
7 years ago

Three Recent Historical Novels with Revolutionary (and Slave-Holding) Rhode Island as the Backdrop

This is the third article in a row providing book reviews of recent Rhode Island history books. Surprisingly, each of the three books here is a historical novel that …
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Some Recent Rhode Island History Books for Your Reading Pleasure
7 years ago

Some Recent Rhode Island History Books for Your Reading Pleasure

The year 2017 was another good one for the publication of Rhode Island history books.  While we cannot possibly review all of them, I review several of them below …
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Depression-Era Photographer Visits Kenyon Grist Mill
8 years ago

Depression-Era Photographer Visits Kenyon Grist Mill

Rhode Island is fortunate to still have five working grist mills, four of which are open to the public. One of them stone grinds, produces and sells johnnycake meal as …
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Coast Guard Machine-Guns Monolola and Other Rumrunners in Narragansett Bay
8 years ago

Coast Guard Machine-Guns Monolola and Other Rumrunners in Narragansett Bay

[Note from the editor:  An updated version of this article is in a chapter of my book Machine Guns in Narragansett Bay: The Coast Guard’s War on Rumrunners (History Press, 2023).  The …
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Interview with Maury Klein about his Book,  A Call To Arms, Mobilizing America for World War II
8 years ago

Interview with Maury Klein about his Book, A Call To Arms, Mobilizing America for World War II

[From the editor: Maury Klein is one of Rhode Island’s most prominent authors writing history books for a national audience. A long-time professor at the University of Rhode Island, he …
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Judith Sternberg Newman, Holocaust Survivor, Builds a New Life in Richmond
8 years ago

Judith Sternberg Newman, Holocaust Survivor, Builds a New Life in Richmond

When I was about fourteen years old, sifting through the world history section at the Kingston Free Library, I came across a book by Judith Sternberg Newman, who then …
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Elisabeth Sheldon: Her Summers of 1944 and 1945 on Narragansett Bay
8 years ago

Elisabeth Sheldon: Her Summers of 1944 and 1945 on Narragansett Bay

[This article appears as a chapter in the newly-released book by three smallstatebighistory authors, titled Untold Stories from World War II Rhode Island (History Press, 2019)]

Elisabeth Kellog Sheldon …
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From Slaves to Soldiers Book Review by Christian McBurney
8 years ago

From Slaves to Soldiers
Book Review by Christian McBurney

From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution, by Robert Geake (Westholme, 2016)

Author Robert A. Geake, an established author of early Rhode Island history …
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