The BoRIA Post
The official newsletter of the Battle of Rhode Island Association featuring news, events and Rhode Island history. Learn more at www.battleofrhodeisland.org.
Jim Stearns, Editor
September 1st 2026
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1778: Battle of Rhode Island is an 18-minute documentary that brings Rhode Island’s Revolutionary War story to life, from the British occupation of Newport to the events of the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island, the only major Revolutionary War battle fought in the state. The film highlights the human cost of occupation, the complexity of the French-American alliance, and the remarkable service of the First Rhode Island Regiment, whose Black soldiers earned freedom by enlisting and fought with exceptional courage.
The battle initially brought together roughly 10,000 American troops under Major General John Sullivan, with his headquarters at Butts Hill Fort, including Continental troops, militia, and the First Rhode Island Regiment, against 7,000 British and German defenders under British General Sir Robert Pigot. The campaign had begun as a joint French-American effort under Admiral d’Estaing to dislodge the British from Newport, but after the French fleet was damaged in a storm, it withdrew to Boston for repairs and did not take part in the fighting on August 29.
Even so, the battle became a hard-fought test of American resolve, with key action along the island’s defensive lines. The campaign shifted into a fighting retreat, with the American line holding at places like Quaker Hill and the West Road redoubt, where the First Rhode Island Regiment made one of its most notable stands.
The film also shows how the battle shaped the broader war: the American army held together under pressure, the French-American partnership was tested, and lessons learned during the campaign helped pave the way for later cooperation and the decisive victory at Yorktown. Produced by the Battle of Rhode Island Association, the film is both a powerful local history story and a reminder of Rhode Island’s significant role in the fight for independence.
The film was funded by grants from the RI250 Commission and the Papitto Opportunity Connection. It was produced by Fresh LLC and ParMedia. The script was developed by Christian McBurney and Joe Studlick, based largely on McBurney’s The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War (2011). Narration is by Michelle Girasole, Christian McBurney, Rebecca Sattel, and Jim Stearns.
Sunset Salute Commemorates 248th Anniversary of the Battle of Rhode Island
On Saturday, August 29th, the BHFRC hosted their third annual Sunset Salute to commemorate the 248th anniversary of the Battle of Rhode Island. BHFRC Chair Paul Murphy hosted the event, welcoming the spectators to the fort which was the headquarters of Major General John Sullivan during the 1778 Rhode Island campaign. BoRIA Outreach advisor Gloria Schmidt spoke briefly in honor of late Portsmouth Town Historian Jim Garman who passed earlier this year. Author and historian Damien Cregeau touched upon the stories of two BoRI veterans in Col. John Trumbull and General Ebenezer Huntington. Reenactors representing the 1st RI Regiment and the 54th Regiment of Foot then placed a wreath at the 1922 DAR marker in the southwest corner of the fort. The musket volley was performed by members of the 54th Regiment of Foot, the 1st RI Regiment, the 2nd RI Regiment, the MA SAR’s Col. Henry Knox Color Guard and Henry Jackson’s additional Continental Regiment to close out the evening. The BHFRC would like to thank all the volunteers who traveled to the fort to make this event possibile.
59th Annual Commemoration of the First Rhode Island Regiment
On Sunday, August 30, the Newport County Branch of the NAACP held its annual commemoration at Patriots Park in Portsmouth.
This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes, director of the Center for Black History at the Newport Historical Society and a visiting professor at Brown University. Dr. Gomes spoke on the theme of “freedom making,” and explored why so many men chose to fight for freedom even though they knew its full promise might not be realized during their lifetimes.
Joe Studlick
The Battle of Rhode Island Association’s newest publication, Key Rhode Islanders in the American Revolution: The Leaders, Soldiers & Patriots Who Shaped America, is now available. This richly illustrated trifold brochure tells the story of Rhode Island’s outsized contribution to American independence through the people who made it possible.
It features military leaders such as Nathanael Greene, Christopher Greene, James Mitchell Varnum, and William Barton; naval figures Abraham Whipple and Esek Hopkins; political leaders Stephen Hopkins and William Ellery; and Rhode Island’s important role in the French-American alliance.
The brochure also goes beyond the familiar names to introduce Rhode Islanders whose experiences reveal the Revolution from very different perspectives, including Black and Indigenous soldiers Caesar Updike and John George, Continental soldier Nathan Jacquays, Jane Coggeshall, an enslaved woman who escaped during the British occupation and provided intelligence to American forces, and Newport diarist Elizabeth Mumford.
Their stories, together with those of soldiers, sailors, statesmen, and civilians, demonstrate how deeply the Revolution touched Rhode Island and how significantly this small state contributed to the struggle for American independence.
This effort was funded by a grant from the RI250 Commission. You can download it here.
BoRIA's Educational Outreach and Resources
There are few elementary school level resources for teaching about Revolutionary Rhode Island. The Battle of Rhode Island Association received funding through the Rhode Island 250 Commission to provide those resources, so we created them. I have a background as an elementary school librarian, which gave me familiarity with reading levels. Looking at the RI Social Studies Standards, I focused on supporting 4th grade teachers who need materials on privateers, the start of the Navy, occupied Aquidneck Island, the Battle of Rhode Island, the role of women in the war, and the Black Regiment.
With the start of the 2026-27 school year, we were able to deliver resource packets to 4th grade teachers in Bristol and Newport Counties. Included in the packets were:
- Tracing the Battle: Map-based activity that takes students through Battle of Rhode Island. Includes Fage Map, script, markers for battle commanders, and plastic cover.
- Trifold brochures: Revolutionary Rhode Island Timeline, People and Places of Revolutionary Rhode Island, significant Rhode Island people.
- A copy of The Black Regiment of the American Revolution by Linda Brennan and illustrated by Cheryl Noll.
- Resource sheets on each of these topics: privateers and the navy, Revolutionary Rhode Island Women, the Black Regiment, the Battle of Rhode Island, and the Occupation.
Through a Legislative Grant sponsored by State Senator Linda Ujifusa we were able to include a booklet about Butts Hill and the fort – The Hill’s Story.
All materials are available statewide. The Black Regiment book is back in publication and available through Amazon. YouTube videos on the research behind the making of the Black Regiment Book and a short description of the Battle of Rhode Island are available through the Battle of Rhode Island’s YouTube channel.
Other resources are available through a website of teacher resources: teachingrevolutionaryrhody.
Gloria Schmidt, Battle of Rhode Island Outreach and Advisor
Summer Reflections: Revolutionary History Comes To Our Community
As summer draws to a close and the first hints of autumn arrive, we look back with gratitude on a memorable final two weeks of August. The Battle of Rhode Island Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), in partnership with the Portsmouth Historical Society, was delighted to welcome the American Battlefield Trust’s American Revolution Experience Traveling Exhibit to our community.
Throughout the exhibit’s stay, visitors of all ages came together to explore the people, places, and stories that shaped the American Revolution—and to consider how that history continues to resonate here in Rhode Island.
Our program offered a variety of engaging opportunities for history enthusiasts, families, researchers, and curious community members alike.
We explored the fascinating world of 18th-century textiles, learning how cloth was far more than an everyday necessity. During the Revolution, textiles were an essential economic and strategic resource, and their production, availability, and trade could have significant consequences during wartime.
We also discovered the rich possibilities contained in American Revolution pension records. These remarkable documents offer valuable insights for researchers and family historians, revealing details about the lives and experiences of those who served. Participants learned how to access these records and how they can volunteer to transcribe them, helping make these important primary sources more accessible to future generations. The Portsmouth community players theater group treated the audience to a selection of 18th-century diary readings in “Voices from Butts Hill”.
Another highlight was our exploration of the strategic alliance between General Nathanael Greene and Colonel Thaddeus Kościuszko. Their collaboration provides another window into the international dimensions of the American Revolution.
Our Forgotten Patriots Day offered a meaningful opportunity to remember and honor citizens of color who contributed to the Revolutionary struggle, including the soldiers of the Rhode Island 1st Regiment. Their courage and sacrifices are an important, often untold part of our Revolutionary story.
On Family Day, young visitors were invited to experience history through storytelling in one of America’s oldest schoolhouses (Southernmost Schoolhouse, 1725), which brought the past to life. Meanwhile, a scavenger hunt encouraged children to explore the exhibit panels and uncover stories for themselves.
Thank you to everyone who visited, brought a friend, participated, volunteered, and helped make the American Revolution Experience Traveling Exhibit a rewarding community experience. We are grateful for your enthusiasm and support, and we look forward to welcoming you to our next chapter event!
Janice Hawthorne Byrne
Traveling Exhibit Committee Chair
First Rhode Island Regiment (“Black Regiment”) Encampment at Little Compton
On Sunday, August 30, reenactors portraying soldiers of the First Rhode Island Regiment, often known as the “Black Regiment,” set up camp on the grounds of the Little Compton Historical Society. Participating were Jason Roomes (RI); Ari Lopez, Nick Guzman, and Steve Thomas (NJ); and Antoine Watts (PA).
The “Black Regiment,” formally the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, was one of the Revolutionary War’s most notable Continental Army units because it included a large number of Black and Indigenous soldiers. In February 1778, Rhode Island’s General Assembly authorized enslaved men to enlist in return for immediate freedom after passing muster; in the months that followed, the regiment’s Black soldiers grew to as many as 140 men, serving alongside Native American and white soldiers.
At the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778, the regiment — under its overall commander, Col. Christopher Greene, though led in the field that day by Maj. Samuel Ward Jr. — helped repel three Hessian assaults on their redoubt, in what the Marquis de Lafayette later called one of the best-fought actions of the war. The regiment continued serving through the war after merging with the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment in January 1781. Its story reflects both the Patriots’ urgent need for troops and the soldiers’ own pursuit of liberty in a nation that still permitted slavery.
Joe Studlick
Revolutionary Little Compton Exhibit
Continues through October 20!
The Revolutionary Little Compton exhibit is on display outdoors at the Historical Society. The exhibit banners feature fascinating, well-researched information exploring the often-harrowing Revolutionary-era experiences of Little Compton’s men, women, and children, and the sacrifices they made for freedom.
Themes include:
- Before the War
- Preparing for War
- During the Occupation
- Little Comptoners at War
- Everyone’s War
- Teenagers at War
For more information click here.
Joe Studlick
September 3rd: 6 PM – 7 PM: The Intoxicating History of the American Revolution with historian Brooke Barbier, Colony House, Newport.
September 12th: 9:30 AM: Breakfast Talk Series, “African American Response to the American Revolution in Rhode Island”, Keith Stokes, Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown.
September 15th: 6 PM – 8 PM: East Greenwich in the American Revolution, Matt Carcieri, Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown.
September 19th: 11 AM – 3 PM: A Tribute to the 1st RI Regiment, Living History Event and Lecture, Smith’s Castle, North Kingstown.
September 23rd: 6 PM: Lecture: The Trial Of Fortune Stoddard: Race, Patriotism, and Solidarity in Revolutionary Rhode Island, Michael Simpson, Smith’s Castle , North Kingstown.
By Christian McBurney
The British army and navy occupied Newport, Rhode Island, for almost three years, from December 1776 through October 1779. The key event occurring during the occupation was the Rhode Island Campaign, which culminated in the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778. Both the campaign and the battle have not attracted the attention that they are due. Yet the campaign was important. It was the first time that the French cooperated with the Americans in the Revolutionary War. While the allies did not succeed in the campaign, it remains one of the most fascinating in the entire war.
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Did You Know?
Lafayette’s Rhode Island Visits
The Marquis de Lafayette visited Rhode Island at least four times—in 1778, 1780, 1784, and 1824—and each visit reflected a different stage in his long relationship with the United States. His first two visits came during the Revolutionary War, when he served as one of George Washington’s most trusted young generals and as an important link between the American and French forces. His later visits, in 1784 and 1824, were celebrated returns by a man widely regarded as one of the great heroes of American independence.
1778 — The Rhode Island Campaign
His first Rhode Island visit came during the Rhode Island Campaign of 1778, the first major joint American-French military operation. On July 22, George Washington ordered Lafayette to lead a detachment made up of Glover’s and Varnum’s brigades, along with troops under Colonel Henry Jackson, to Rhode Island in support of Major General John Sullivan’s army preparing to attack the British position at Newport. Lafayette reached Providence in early August with about 2,000 Continental troops.
On the way, Lafayette and his men stopped at Angell’s Tavern in Scituate, where local tradition says they rested at a nearby spring later known as Lafayette’s Spring. Lafayette and his troops then moved toward Tiverton, where American forces were assembling for the crossing to Aquidneck Island. He is associated with the Abraham Brown House on Main Road in Tiverton, where he is said to have stayed during the campaign. The Brown House was demolished in December, 2024.
Lafayette played an active role in the unfolding campaign. He helped coordinate with the French fleet under Admiral Comte d’Estaing and carried out various command duties during the siege of Newport. After a storm damaged the French fleet, d’Estaing sailed to Boston for repairs, leaving Sullivan’s army without the naval support the plan depended on. In an effort to preserve the alliance and encourage the French to return, Lafayette rode to Boston on August 28 to meet with d’Estaing.
The Battle of Rhode Island was fought on August 29, while Lafayette was still away, but he soon hurried back toward Rhode Island. He arrived in time to assist with the American withdrawal from Aquidneck Island and helped protect the retreat to the mainland. His service in Rhode Island continued after the battle. In early September, Lafayette and the troops under his command moved through Warren and Bristol. In Bristol, he established his headquarters at the Joseph Reynolds House on Hope Street, one of Rhode Island’s oldest surviving houses.
1780 — Newport Visit
Lafayette returned to Rhode Island in the summer of 1780, when Washington sent him to deliver greetings to the Comte de Rochambeau. He arrived in Newport on July 25 and remained there with Rochambeau at the Vernon House until July 31. By August 7, he was back in Peekskill, New York, again commanding Continental Army troops. This visit was brief, but it mattered because it helped connect the American and French commands at a critical moment in the war.
1784 and 1824
After the Revolution, Lafayette returned to Rhode Island in October 1784, when he was welcomed in Providence (Rice’s Golden Ball on Benefit Street) and Newport with ceremonies. This was part of his postwar American journey, which celebrated both his wartime service and the new republic. His final Rhode Island visit came during his great farewell tour of 1824, when he arrived in Providence (again at the now renamed Sanford Horton’s Globe Tavern on Benefit Street) on August 23 as part of his national tour of the United States. He also included a stop at Fisk’s Tavern in Scituate.
That visit drew enormous public attention and marked the final chapter of his long relationship with Rhode Island and the nation.
Joe Studlick
