Premiere of Documentary Film: “1778: Battle of Rhode Island”

This 18-minute film will be shown before Christian McBurney’s talk at the Portsmouth Historical Society. The film was funded by the BoRIA, RI250 Commission, and the Pappito Opportunity Fund. It was produced by Fresh LLC and ParMedia.

The film traces Rhode Island’s path from a colony anchored by the bustling seaport of Newport and the communities around Narragansett Bay to a society transformed by the American Revolution. Beginning before the British occupation, it highlights a thriving Newport and Narragansett Bay, where intense Atlantic trade collides with rising tensions with the Crown. As British troops seize Newport and Aquidneck Island, the story moves into years of occupation and upheaval—fortified streets, divided neighbors, and the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island that brings the war directly to Aquidneck Island. Featured are the contributions of the First Rhode Island (Black) Regiment, a unique Continental regiment of formerly enslaved men who gained their freedom by enlisting, and bravely fighting, for the duration of the war. This battle marked the first engagement of the American and French alliance, which was key to the Revolution’s victory.

The film relies heavily on McBurney’s book, The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War. Narration is by Michelle Girasole, Christian McBurney, Rebecca Sattel, and Jim Stearns.