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Military Miscellaneous

Diary of a Soldier in the Dorr War, May 17 to July 2, 1842
1 year ago

Diary of a Soldier in the Dorr War, May 17 to July 2, 1842

[Editor’s note: This is a typed transcript of an original diary penned by Edward L. Peckham. It was transcribed from the original by Robert Grandchamp. The diary is titled “Diary …
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Benjamin Church, The First American Ranger
2 years ago

Benjamin Church, The First American Ranger

Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias, authors of an excellent history of King Phillips’ War (also called Metacom’s War), accurately describe the war as “America’s Forgotten Conflict.”  It was …
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Sixty-Four Ships Built at Providence: Rhode Island Labor Joins the Fight for Victory
2 years ago

Sixty-Four Ships Built at Providence: Rhode Island Labor Joins the Fight for Victory

At the beginning of World War II there was an urgent need for ships. Lots of them, of all types and sizes were required, and in a hurry. Warships for …
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Recalling Officer Candidate School and Serving on a Destroyer in the Korean War Era
6 years ago

Recalling Officer Candidate School and Serving on a Destroyer in the Korean War Era

The Korean War was raging during my college years and I was certain, on graduation, that I would be drafted into the army. I reduced my options to one of …
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The 103rd Field Artillery on the Western Front in World War I
7 years ago

The 103rd Field Artillery on the Western Front in World War I

While tiny Rhode Island contributed her fair share of men to serve in the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps during World War I, only one organized unit of …
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The Naval Training Station at Newport: A Place in U.S. Naval History
8 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 …
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Rhode Island Women of Color During the Great War
8 years ago

Rhode Island Women of Color During the Great War

World War I was a transformative moment for America. It would propel our still young nation into a world-wide conflict and require an unparalleled national mobilization of troops and supplies. …
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Captain Daniel Fones, Colonial Naval Hero
8 years ago

Captain Daniel Fones, Colonial Naval Hero

The name of North Kingstown’s own Captain Daniel Fones might be spoken in the same breath with as Thomas Tew, William Kidd, and Blackbeard. Fones’s skills as a sailor, his …
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A German U-Boat in Newport Harbor During World War I
8 years ago

A German U-Boat in Newport Harbor During World War I

Many Rhode Islanders are familiar with the sinking of the German submarine U-853 off Block Island in May of 1945 in the waning days of World War II. But U-boats …
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The Tragic 1925 Sinking of the Submarine USS S-51
9 years ago

The Tragic 1925 Sinking of the Submarine USS S-51

Submarines carry a unique danger and mystique to their volunteer crews. In the early days of submarine technology, if a sub ran into trouble, it usually meant a one-way trip …
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