Battle of Rhode Island Shared Articles

The French Depart Newport
Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807) did not simply wake up on the morning of June 18, 1781 and order his army of more than 6,000 men to break camp and begin their march south.

Why Newport Scorned the French 1780
One would expect that a country that had been at war for five years would welcome its first ally with open arms.

A French Duel in Newport
There were five or six duels fought in General Rochambeau’s army, three of them in Newport, Rhode Island in 1780 and 1781.

The French Soldiers Commemorated at the North Burial Ground in Providence
A large granite monument in the North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island commemorates the French soldiers who died in Providence between 1780 and 1783.

A French Officer Seeks to Rebuild Aquidneck Island’s Revolutionary War Fortifications
Rhode Island’s fortifications were in a state of disrepair by the end of the Revolutionary War. The Rhode Island Assembly ordered, in October 1784, that the works on Goat Island be repaired and armed. The renovated fort was renamed Fort Washington

Providence Merchant John Brown Gets Rich Privateering.
Throughout 1776 and 1777, John Brown, a prominent merchant from Providence, Rhode Island, amassed a fortune by investing in privateers.

L’Expédition Particuliere: Winter 1780, Newport, and the Battle of Cape Henry
In July 1780, four frigates, seven ships of the line, and thirty-six transport vessels, sailed into Narragansett Bay.

The Pawtuxet Rangers, a glimpse into their Colonial beginnings.
The Origins of The Pawtuxet Rangers

Lafayette Stayed Here!
Lafayette’s stay in Rhode Island during the Siege of Newport and the Battle of Rhode Island was just the first time the general came to the state.