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American Revolution and Revolutionary War

The Sloop Providence: Its Role in the Revolutionary War and its Rebuilding
2 years ago

The Sloop Providence: Its Role in the Revolutionary War and its Rebuilding

The Idea for Rebuilding

In 1966, a young Harvard graduate in Rhode Island with a passion for naval history noted that the American Bicentennial was approaching. No one else seemed …
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Providence Merchant John Brown Gets Rich Privateering in 1776 and 1777
2 years ago

Providence Merchant John Brown Gets Rich Privateering in 1776 and 1777

Throughout the churning tides of 1776 and 1777, John Brown, a prominent merchant from Providence, amassed a fortune by investing in privateers. Through reviewing a comprehensive list of his privateers …
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Did Rhode Island Matter in the American Revolution?
2 years ago

Did Rhode Island Matter in the American Revolution?

We Rhode Islanders pat ourselves on the back a lot, including when it comes to the Revolution. But did the colony (and later state) really matter much in bringing about …
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Book Review:  Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island by John K. Robertson
2 years ago

Book Review: Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island by John K. Robertson

Mention Rhode Island during the American Revolution, and two things come to mind: the 1772 burning of the Gaspee, and the famous 1st Rhode Island Regiment initially composed largely of …
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Ann Bates: British Spy Extraordinaire
2 years ago

Ann Bates: British Spy Extraordinaire

The popularity of spies in the Revolutionary War, led by AMC’s TURN cable television series and the bestselling book George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American …
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Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the American Revolutionary War Remembered
2 years ago

Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the American Revolutionary War Remembered

As a collateral descendant of Daniel Hitchcock (first cousin, nine times removed), I have always been fascinated by the short but important life of this colonel from Providence, Rhode Island, …
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Q&A with John K. Robertson, Author of the New Book, Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island
3 years ago

Q&A with John K. Robertson, Author of the New Book, Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island

[From the Editor: John K. Robertson, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who holds a PhD., has just released his second reference book on Rhode Island …
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The Hessians Are Coming! German Auxiliary Forces  in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War
3 years ago

The Hessians Are Coming! German Auxiliary Forces in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War

Occasionally taking rest breaks to play his violin or to sip tea in the stifling summer heat in Philadelphia, in 1776, Thomas Jefferson struggles to discover the precise mix of …
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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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New Rhode Island History Book: Christian McBurney’s Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade
3 years ago

New Rhode Island History Book: Christian McBurney’s Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade

I am pleased to announce the release of my latest book!

The book is entitled Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade (Westholme, 2022). The book …
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