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.
September 2024 Edition
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Volunteers Needed For Butts Hill Fort Cleanup
Portsmouth, RI. The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee (BHFRC) is inviting volunteers to our Fall cleanup on Sunday, Oct 27th. Cleanup starts at 10 AM and goes on until 2 PM. Come anytime. The meeting point is the fort gate on Butts St. off Sprague Street. Parking available at the Wealth Management lot at 35 Dyer St. and at the Portsmouth High School Tennis Courts. No parking is allowed on Butts Street.
Designated as “Col. Burton C. Quist USMC Commemorative Clearing” in memory of BoRIA “Founding Father” who passed away in January of 2023. We welcome all to join the volunteer brush fight as a way to celebrate the Corps 249th Birthday on November 10th. We will be partnering with the Bristol Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, whose Memorial to the Battle was placed there in 1922.
We will be focusing on the fort ramparts and surrounding path areas, working to clear brush and invasives, to improve public access and enhance visual vantage points..
Every participant will need to sign a town liability form upon arrival. BHFRC officials will be on hand throughout the day, so if you join in progress, please sign in with a team member. Participants are also asked to bring gloves, protective eye gear, loppers, shears, weed whackers, and rakes. Please RSVP to publicrelations@
The BoRIA Lecture Series sponsored by the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati and our partners at the Portsmouth Historical Society (PHS) continued on Thursday, September 5th at the PHS Museum in Portsmouth, RI. Our speaker was Don Hagist and his presentation was British Soldiers, American War: Voices of the American Revolution. Very few British soldiers who served in America left their own writings. The lecture, based on his book of the same title, presents nine of these rare accounts, along with extensive research to put each man’s experience into context.
Don N. Hagist, managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution, is an independent researcher specializing in the demographics and material culture of the British Army in the American Revolution. He maintains a blog about British common soldiers (http:/
Portsmouth, RI
October 9th: RI DAR Informational Meeting, Portsmouth Public Library, 6:30 PM
October 5th: Discover Your Portsmouth: Melville Park 10:00 AM
October 5th: Discover Your Portsmouth: Bristol Ferry Common, 5:30 PM
October 19th: Discover Your Portsmouth: Butts Hill Fort Open Tours, 10:00 AM
October 27th: Butts Hill Fort Volunteer Clean Up, 10:00 AM
Partner Events
“The moment I heard of America, I lov’d her.” The Marquis de Lafayette wrote this in a letter from his camp near Warren, Rhode Island, on September 23, 1778. It was addressed to the President of Congress in response to a Resolution of Congress praising his efforts during the last stages of the Rhode Island Campaign. If Lafayette loved America, Americans have loved Lafayette.
Lafayette’s last visit to Rhode Island was part of a grand tour as a guest of the government of the United States. The Marquis de Lafayette arrived in Providence August 23, 1824. It was an opportunity to refresh connections to the Revolutionary War generation and to highlight the progress the country had made as an independent country grounded in democracy.
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Congratulations to our June contest winner Tori from Rumford, RI.
Did You Know?
Rhode Island’s role in the Revolutionary War:
1. Rhode Island was one of the most enthusiastic colonies in resisting British rule. It was the first to call for a continental congress in 1774 and the first to eliminate an oath of allegiance to the British crown for colonial officials in 1776.
2. Newport was occupied by British forces for more than 3 years from 1776-1779. During this time, about half of Newport’s population fled and the British burned nearly 500 buildings for firewood.
3. The Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 was notable for being the first joint Franco-American military operation of the war, though it was unsuccessful in dislodging the British from Newport.
4. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (aka the Black Regiment), which fought in the Battle of Rhode Island, was one of the first integrated military units in American history. It included African Americans, Native Americans, and white colonists fighting together.
5. The French fleet and troops that arrived to support the Americans in 1780 landed in Newport, making Rhode Island an important base for Franco-American cooperation late in the war and Newport was the start of “the Road to Yorktown.”
6. Rhode Island native Nathanael Greene became one of George Washington’s most trusted generals and led American forces to victory in the Southern theater in 1780-81.
7. Rhode Island was very reluctant to ratify the U.S. Constitution, being the last of the original 13 states to do so in May 1790, over a year after it had gone into effect. The state preferred the weaker central government under the Articles of Confederation.
8. Rhode Island’s economy and maritime trade were severely disrupted for many years after the war by the British occupation and naval blockade during the war years.
