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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
A Rhode Islander Visits the U.S. Capitol, 1970 to 2020
4 years ago

A Rhode Islander Visits the U.S. Capitol, 1970 to 2020

In light of the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, I thought it might be somewhat of a mildly amusing diversion to tell a few stories of my …
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Wildlife on the Queen River
4 years ago

Wildlife on the Queen River

Five years ago, my wife Margaret and I purchased a home on Queen River in West Kingston, north of historic Usquepaugh and its Kenyon’s Grist Mill. In that time, I …
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Amazing Military Museum Beckons at the World War II Foundation’s Headquarters in Wakefield
4 years ago

Amazing Military Museum Beckons at the World War II Foundation’s Headquarters in Wakefield

[From the editor:  This article first appeared on December 5, 2020. It has been updated by (i) deleting the article’s last paragraph and adding two new paragraphs, including about a …
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Gray’s Grist Mill, Honorary Rhode Island Location
4 years ago

Gray’s Grist Mill, Honorary Rhode Island Location

As you know, the Online Review of Rhode Island History (aka smallstatebighistory.com) focuses on Rhode Island history. We don’t like going over a state line — particularly now during a …
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Prudence Crandall, Sarah Harris Fayerweather and Ann Hammond:  Their Pre-Civil War Struggle for Equality for Black People
4 years ago

Prudence Crandall, Sarah Harris Fayerweather and Ann Hammond: Their Pre-Civil War Struggle for Equality for Black People

In the first half of the nineteenth century, while most white New Englanders opposed slavery in the South, they nonetheless did not believe that their freed Black neighbors should be …
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The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: The Fate of U-853 After Its Sinking; Bodies—and Bones—are Removed; What Happened to Hoffman’s Body?
4 years ago

The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: The Fate of U-853 After Its Sinking; Bodies—and Bones—are Removed; What Happened to Hoffman’s Body?

[This is the last in a series of four articles honoring the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith. This article is mostly from part of a chapter written …
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The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Warships Sink U-853
5 years ago

The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Warships Sink U-853

[This is the third in a series of four articles honoring the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith. This third article is based on part of a chapter …
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The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: Could U-853’s Sinking of Black Point been Averted?
5 years ago

The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: Could U-853’s Sinking of Black Point been Averted?

[This is the second in a series of four articles honoring the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith.  This article is based on part of a chapter written …
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The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: German U-Boat Sinks U.S. Coal Vessel
5 years ago

The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith: German U-Boat Sinks U.S. Coal Vessel

[This is the first in a series of four articles honoring the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Point Judith. This first article is based mostly on part of a …
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A Short History of Modern Pandemics and Vaccine Development
5 years ago

A Short History of Modern Pandemics and Vaccine Development

This is a short history of modern pandemics, starting with the Great Influenza of 1918, and ending with the modern coronaviruses, SARs, MERs and COVID-19. Most of the last part …
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