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Two Indigenous Rhode Islanders and Their Service in the Twenty Ninth Connecticut Volunteers During the Civil War
2 weeks ago

Two Indigenous Rhode Islanders and Their Service in the Twenty Ninth Connecticut Volunteers During the Civil War

Amos Cross Brewster and his nephew, Joseph Orin Cross, had a nuanced heritage of African and Native American descent and were swept up in the tumult of war. With ties …
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Book Review: Remembering the Revolution: Little Compton, Rhode Island, by Steven Lubar (Little Compton Historical Society, July 2026)
3 weeks ago

Book Review: Remembering the Revolution: Little Compton, Rhode Island, by Steven Lubar (Little Compton Historical Society, July 2026)

For all that has been written about Newport and Aquidneck Island during the Revolutionary War — three years under British and German occupation, war’s first major joint Franco-American operation, the …
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Australia II Stuns the Sailing World, Winning the America’s Cup in Newport in 1983
1 month ago

Australia II Stuns the Sailing World, Winning the America’s Cup in Newport in 1983

A few years ago, my wife, Margaret, and I were visiting the wonderful WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Australia (“WA” stands for Western Australia). Suddenly, I was standing before the …
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New Documentary Brings the Battle of Rhode Island to Life (Link to the Film is at End of Article)
1 month ago

New Documentary Brings the Battle of Rhode Island to Life (Link to the Film is at End of Article)

The Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA) has released a new documentary film on the Battle of Rhode Island, fought on August 29, 1778. It was the largest engagement fought …
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Evidence Suggests that Enslavement of Native Peoples in Rhode Island was Rare After 1750
2 months ago

Evidence Suggests that Enslavement of Native Peoples in Rhode Island was Rare After 1750

Recently there has been new scholarship focusing on the enslavement of Indians in Rhode Island as well as the rest of southern New England in colonial times. This has been …
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The Declaration of Independence in Rhode Island
3 months ago

The Declaration of Independence in Rhode Island

The Rhode Island General Assembly voted to repeal Rhode Island’s allegiance to King George III of Great Britain on May 4, 1776. Rhode Island was the first and only one …
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Book Review: Roger Williams and His World: A History in Documents, by Charlotte Carrington-Farmer (Broadview Press, 2025), 175p.
4 months ago

Book Review: Roger Williams and His World: A History in Documents, by Charlotte Carrington-Farmer (Broadview Press, 2025), 175p.

Roger Williams may be the most written-about person in 17th century New England, as pointed out in this anthology. Several books have addressed his remarkable career, including Edmund Morgan’s …
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Nathanael Greene and His Contradictory Roles as Revolutionary War Hero and Enslaver
4 months ago

Nathanael Greene and His Contradictory Roles as Revolutionary War Hero and Enslaver

Many Americans are aware of the Founding Fathers’ contradictory owning of enslaved individuals while fighting in word and deed for liberty from the “slavery” imposed upon them by Great Britain. …
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Gordon Wood, Long-time Brown History Professor and Preeminent Historian of the American Revolution Dies: A Recollection
5 months ago

Gordon Wood, Long-time Brown History Professor and Preeminent Historian of the American Revolution Dies: A Recollection

On Sunday, June 7, at the Shaw’s supermarket parking lot on Taunton Avenue in East Providence, Professor Gordon Wood was struck by an automobile and seriously injured. He died at …
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Benoni Simmons: Long-Serving Hero of the American Revolution
5 months ago

Benoni Simmons: Long-Serving Hero of the American Revolution

The amazing story of Benoni Simmons’s military service in the American Revolution spans some fourteen years, perhaps the longest term of service by anyone in that conflict. More so, his …
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