Remembering the Revolution:
Little Compton, Rhode Island

Imagine being able to hear directly from the men and women who lived through the American Revolution. Steven Lubar’s new book, Remembering the Revolution: Little Compton, Rhode Island, brings their experiences to life through the words and records they left behind.

Readers can listen in on town meetings where discussions reveal what one observer called “the town’s mind,” read newspaper accounts of spinning matches and tea boycotts, and follow the war through the details of everyday life—in the army, aboard ships, and on the home front. Particularly moving are the letters written by veterans and their widows as part of their applications for military pensions. Although no battles were fought in Little Compton, the British occupation of nearby Newport ensured that the Revolution touched virtually everyone in the community.

Steven Lubar, Ph.D., is President of the Little Compton Historical Society and George L. Littlefield Professor of American History, emeritus, at Brown University. He earned his doctorate in history from the University of Chicago and, before joining Brown, spent nearly two decades at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where he served as a curator and chaired the Division of the History of Technology. A Guggenheim Fellow, Lubar has written extensively on American history, museums, material culture, and public history. His books include Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present, Legacies: Collecting America’s History at the Smithsonian, and Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution.

Purchase the Book

Remembering the Revolution: Little Compton, Rhode Island is available from the Little Compton Historical Society:

https://littlecompton.org/product/remembering-the-revolution/

See the Stories Brought to Life

Readers may also enjoy a performance presented by the Little Compton Historical Society based on the pension documents and personal accounts featured in this history: