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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
Judith Sternberg Newman, Holocaust Survivor, Builds a New Life in Richmond
7 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
7 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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Pearl Harbor Attack Panics Rhode Islanders
8 years ago

Pearl Harbor Attack Panics Rhode Islanders

[This article commemorates the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and will appear as Chapter 1 in an upcoming book by five smallstatebighistory authors titled World War II …
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Peter Gerry, Former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is in the News Today
8 years ago

Peter Gerry, Former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is in the News Today

Peter Gerry, a former U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, is back in the news. This is surprising because he is now almost forgotten in Rhode Island’s history, despite his being …
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The South Kingstown Town Council Refuses to Free Patience, an Enslaved Woman
8 years ago

The South Kingstown Town Council Refuses to Free Patience, an Enslaved Woman

With the ideology of equality and natural rights permeating American culture after the Revolutionary War, the system of slavery that had been quietly introduced in the American colonies in colonial …
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Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 5 to 1
9 years ago

Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 5 to 1

In the last three weeks, I gave you my list of the top fifteen greatest Rhode Islanders of all time. The following famous Rhode Islanders fill out my top five …
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Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 10 to 6
9 years ago

Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 10 to 6

Here is my list of the greatest Rhode Islanders of all time, numbers ten to six. In my last two articles, I counted down from numbers twenty to eleven, and …
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Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 15 to 11
9 years ago

Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 15 to 11

Last week, I gave you my list of the top twenty greatest Rhode Islanders of all time, numbers twenty through sixteen (as well as my honorable mentions and five current …
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Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time:  Counting Down from Number 20 to 16
9 years ago

Top 20 Greatest Rhode Islanders of All Time: Counting Down from Number 20 to 16

This is the first article of four counting down my list of the top twenty greatest Rhode Islanders of all time. In this article, I present the greatest Rhode Islanders, …
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