Siege of Newport, 1778
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Gloria H. Schmidt
August 9, 1778 …. “During the night, after tattoo, our regiment had to fall out in the greatest haste and march forward three English miles because the rebels were crossing over to Rhode Island in many boats. We remained under the open sky throughout the night and the next morning returned to our camp. Also during the night a Hessian ensign and three men, and an English lieutenant and two men, went over to the enemy.” 1
Private Dohla of the Ansbach-Bayreuth contingent of Hessian mercenaries described the beginnings of the Siege of Newport in his diary. As a researcher for the Battle of Rhode Island Association, I have been learning about the Rhode Island Campaign in general and the Battle in particular. In this article I will be focusing on the often forgotten period of the Siege. I will be using eyewitness accounts, orderly reports and maps to uncover what happened during the Siege day by day. Secondary sources such as Siege of British Forces in Newport County by Colonial and French in August 1778 and Christian McBurney’s Rhode Island Campaign will provide a context for the eyewitness accounts.
Before I begin I want to clarify how I am using the commonly used terms – the Rhode Island Campaign, the Siege of Newport (or the Siege of British forces in Newport), and the Battle of Rhode Island.
Introduction: The Rhode Island Campaign
In military terms a campaign is “A series of military operations that form a distinct phase of the War (such as the Yorktown Campaign).” 2 I use “Rhode Island Campaign” as a general term that encompasses the arrival of the Americans and French to Aquidneck Island, the naval battle between the French and British fleets, the Siege of Newport, and the Battle of Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Campaign was the first joint American and French campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The goal of the campaign was to free Aquidneck Island (Rhode Island) from British control. The British had invaded the island in December of 1776 and they had spent almost two years fortifying their positions throughout Aquidneck. The plan unfolded as the French fleet sailed into Narragansett Bay on July 29, 1778. The hope was to wedge the British garrison in Newport between the French fleet coming from the west and the American soldiers coming from Tiverton in the east to the northern part of the island and then marching south towards Newport. The French fleet began to disembark troops on Conanicut Island (Jamestown) on August 9th. The Americans crossed over to Aquidneck Island on the same day. The American forces were divided between the Marquis de Lafayette and General Nathanael Greene and all under the command of General John Sullivan. On August 10th the French fleet moved out to sea to engage the British fleet that had just arrived in the area. A powerful storm damaged both fleets and the French made the decision to go to Boston for repairs. In hopes that the French would return, the Americans continued the preparations to surround British troops in Newport. When it was clear that the French would not return, it left the Americans in an untenable position and Sullivan and his staff made the decision to retreat to fight again. The skirmishes that were fought to enable this successful planned retreat on August 29, 1778 are referred to as the “Battle of Rhode Island.”
Siege of Newport
Siege: “A military strategy with the objective of blocking the supply lines and escape routes of a city or encampment in order to force its surrender. A siege usually meant one army trapped in a city, slowly running out of food and fresh water, with the opposing army camped outside.” 3
Historians differ on when to mark the beginning of the Siege, but I am using August 9th, 1778, as the start of the Siege. This is the date the Americans transported their soldiers by ferry from Tiverton to Aquidneck Island and set up camp in Portsmouth. We tend to focus on the battle, but the siege portion of the Rhode Island Campaign includes the dates of August 9th to August 28th when the American leaders decide to execute a planned retreat. This retreat marked the end of the Campaign.
The Battle of Rhode Island
Day By Day Through the Siege
August 9th: Fearing an attack, British forces abandoned Butts Hill and General Pigot withdrew his forces to Newport as the French were landing on Conanicut. Sullivan discovered that the British had abandoned Butts Hill, so he crossed over to Aquidneck from Tiverton and occupied the high fortifications. He called for the heavy cannon at Fox Point in Providence to be moved to Portsmouth. Sullivan was supposed to wait until August 10th.
August 11th: Most of the American troops were camped around Butts Hill. The diary of Rev. Manasseh Cutler who served as chaplain for American General Titcomb’s Brigade, provides a few glimpses of what was going on at Butts Hill. He wrote on August 11th that at 4 o’clock the whole army paraded and passed in review by the general officers. “The right wing of the army was commanded by General Greene and the left by the Marquis de Lafayette.” 5
On the British side they were making preparations as well. Frederick Mackenzie’s diary provides details of where His Majesty’s forces were digging in. The goal was to protect Newport.
“11th Augt .…The troops are employed on the Abbattis (branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy, and in otherwise strengthening our position. A Detachment of a Field Officer and 300 men from the Army, followed by all the Waggons, marched out at Irish’s Redoubt this morning, and advanced about three Miles on the East road, where the troops took post, and covered the Waggons which were employed in bringing in a quantity of hay from the adjacent fields. They returned in the afternoon, having seen very few of the Rebels, and met with no opposition. The troops of the 1st line took up a new position this afternoon and encamped as follows. 22d Regiment, close on the right of the great road, their left near the General Hospital. 43rd on the left of the road, front to the General Hospital. Brown’s & Fannings, on the left of the 43rd with the same front. The two Battalions of Anspach, Huynes, & Landgrave’s, with their right to the West road, & left to Tomini-hill. The other troops are posted as follows: 38th & 54th their right to the old lines near Easton’s Redoubt, their left near the two Windmills. Ditfourth’s and Bunau’s, with their right near the Barrier Redoubt, and left towards Brindley’s rope house. Flank Companies, near Blis’s house, front to Weedon’s-Mill. Chasseurs, with their right to Tomini hill, and left opposite Malbone’s Garden. Seaman, with their right to Pease’s house, and left to the Barrier Redoubt. Marines, the same front, but on opposite side of the road. Part of Artillery, right to Blis’s house, & left to the great road.”6
The British would construct two lines of defense along the town border to protect against an attack from the north of the island. In their article on the Siege, Ken Walsh et al. described the defenses this way:
“The first line was steep and would make infantry attack difficult. It was built along high ground in Middletown, west of Valley Road and Easton’s Pond, known as Bliss Hill. Among the defenses facing east, were three redoubts, Card’s, Dudley’s and Bannister’s, and two sunken gun batteries (a 7-gun and a 10-gun battery) From there, the line continued north toward Two Mile Corner, turning west at Irish’s Redoubt and ending at Tonomy Hill. The dirt from the ditch, which connected the defenses, was piled on top to make a wall four feet high and six feet thick and an abbatis was constructed 40 yards in front of the line, providing an extra obstacle for anyone who tried to storm the area. The second defense was the inner line, constructed closer
to town in Newport It went from Easton’s Beach, north along Easton’s Pond, and to the junction of Bliss Road and West Main Road. It then turned toward the harbor and ended at the North Battery..”7
August 12th-13th: A “Great Storm” hit that destroyed men, horses, camps and supplies on both the British and American sides. Rhode Island’s Governor William Greene replaced the ruined powder on the American side. A chaplain, Manasseh Cutler wrote that a great storm interfered with the Patriots’ plans to advance:
Aug. 12th, Wednesday. This morning, orders for the whole army to be paraded at 6 o’clock, for advancing toward the enemy’s lines. The storm increasing violently, prevented. A great number of the militia, having no tents, were obliged to continue out in the storm without any shelter.”6
The Orderly Book of John Jacob’s Massachusetts Militia records the preparations for the siege.Orders for August 12th include the following:
“The heavy Artillery will Move on with the Reserve park in the rear. The Fascines and Gabions will follow Immediately after. The Quartermaster to see the Axes and Entrenching Tools are Forward Immediately after the Army Marches. The Pioneers are to be drafted from each Brigade. Flanking divisions to level of fences and walls before the head of the Columns. The Quartermaster Gen. will furnish them with proper Tools for that purpose.”8
“Gabions” are six foot tall baskets woven of branches. The gabions hold the dirt in building defenses. The fascines are bundles of branches that are used over the gabions to hold dirt in place. “Pioneers” was not a military term I had heard before. One source describes them: “A pioneer was a soldier whose main task was to provide engineering duties in camp and in combat. These were things such as clearing ground for camps, removing obstructions, digging necessaries, etc.” (Online Institute of Loyalist Studies).
August 16: As the Americans built earthworks and dug trenches toward Newport. They were in view of the British lines. In the article Siege of the British at Newport, Ken Walsh et al remarks on how the Americans worked around this problem:
“To remedy this shortcoming, most of the movements, scouting and repairs, were done under cover of darkness. Cannon, and the supplies needed for them, were moved in and out of their emplacements at night. During the day, trenches and batteries being dug doubled as cover for those doing the work. When there was a flash of British artillery the Americans dropped to the bottom of the trench until the sound of the cannonball reached them and when all was clear, they returned to their work.”9
American reserves and the sick who were healthy enough to do garrison work remained at Butts Hill which served as Sullivan’s headquarters. The John Jacobs Orderly Book shows the Americans working on trenches in Middletown.
August 16, 1778 “…..The Quartermaster Gen. will forward all Fascine and Gabion, platforms and Entrenching Tools that they may be in front of the first line at six o’clock this evening. The Commissary of Artillery Stores will forward all the Ordinance at the Same time and place.”10
The Jacobs Orderly book records that in the days the troops were waiting to cross over from from Tiverton they were employed at making the fascines and gabions that were the basis for constructing the earthen redoubt walls. The gabions functioned as baskets to hold dirt in place and the fascines were 6 feet by six inch bunches of branches that were used to reinforce the sides and tops of the walls.
The British officer Frederick Mackenzie records the movements of the American troops.
“The Rebels Encampment appeared distinctly this morning. Their right appears to be at the height N.E. of Genl Smith’s late quarters at Redwoods on the W. Road, from whence their line is continued, with some intervals, by Jepsons, to a rocky part of the E. Road, South of Giles Slocum’s; and from thence along the heights, in a Southerly direction, by Wyatt’s house, about a mile further, near to Cookes farm, called Whitehall. The extent of their Camp is about 4 miles. Some Regiments are encamped in a Second line, at the Blacksmith’s, on the E. Road. Their advanced posts from their left wing, are on Honeyman’s hill. Those from their right, come no further than Weaver’s house on the W. road. Their Sentries are pushed forward within Cannon shot of our Redoubts.”11
August 17th: Sullivan calls a council of War. All officers recommend holding positions until they could be reinforced by the French. The American and British forces adjusted their lines to counter where the enemy was working. A passage from the diary of Hessian Private Dohla illustrates this.
August 17, 1778:
“At work on the fortifications. We laid out a line and dug the trench. Everywhere batteries and redoubts, as well as connecting trenches, were completed all along our line, and everything soundly reinforced with wood. The fortifications work continued day and night without let up, and we had many hardships. Within or lines ten principal fortified points were played out namely: 1. Stone Battery, 2. The North Trench, 3. Somerset, 4. The Irish Redoubt, 5. Fort Fanning, 6. Fort Clinton, 7. Fort Percy, 8. the Ice Redoubt, 9. Prince Dauneck, and 10, Conanicut. The enemy, in a little less than an hour, set up a big camp opposite, set his posts and sentries very near us, and fortified himself in the region of Boxland Ferry(Fogland?).”12
The American side of the siege was related by John Durfee in a memoir. The date was not precise, but this passage gives a good idea of what the Americans were doing in establishing their lines on Honeyman Hill in Middletown.
“Soon after this storm, our troops marched in three divisions towards Newport. One on the East road, so called one on the West road, and the Brigade, commanded by General Titcomb moved in the centre, until we came in sight of Newport–when orders were given to halt, erect a marque and pitch our tents. General orders were issued for a detachment from the army of three thousand men – our number being too small to risk a general engagement with the great body of British troops then quartered on the South end of the Island. Early on the next morning a detachment of troops, of which I was one, was ordered to proceed forthwith and take possession of what was called Hunneman’s Hill. The morning was foggy and enabled us to advance some distance unobserved by the enemy — but the fog clearing away before we reached the hill, we were discovered by the British and Tory troops, who commenced such a heavy cannonade upon us, that it was deemed expedient by the commanding officers, to prevent the destruction of many of our brave troops, that we should fall back and advance under the cover of night. Accordingly when night came, we marched to the hill undiscovered by the enemy. We immediately commenced throwing up a breast work and building a fort. When daylight appeared, we had two cannon mounted–one twenty-four pounder and one eighteen–and with our breast work we had completed a covered way to pass and repass without being seen by the enemy. The British had a small fort or redoubt directly under the muzzles of our cannon, with which we saluted them and poured in the slot so thick upon them that they were compelled to beat up a retreat. But they returned again at night to repair their fort, when they commenced throwing bomb shells into our fort, which however did but little damage. I saw several of them fiying over our (heads and one bursting in the air, a fragment fell upon the shoulder of a soldier and killed him.”13
The British had time to fortify in advance, but the Americans had only one week. In their article on the Siege, Walsh et al. describes their swift progress.
“Batteries 1 and 2 were constructed on August 17 and 18, just before their operations in Middletown had been detected. By the 19th, both of these batteries were in working order and firing 18 pound guns at the British. Despite their altitude advantage, the Americans were still out of effective range (roughly 2,000 yards out) and needed to work their way closer to the enemy lines. Over the following days, while ducking in and out of the trenches to avoid cannon fire, a series of new batteries and trench works were built, creeping down the western slope of Honeyman Hill. Batteries 3 and 4 were constructed within 1,000 yards of the British front lines and were firing by August 23.”14
August 19th: English officer Frederick Mackenzie wrote about the feeling of being under siege.
“It having been found from the Enemy’s fire this day, that almost every part of the Encampment of the first line was within reach of their shot, the General ordered all the Corps in it to change thier position this Evening. In consequence of which The Flank Companies encamped without the Barrier Redoubt, fronting Tomini hill; The 22d, 43rd, Brown’s, and Fannings on the right of the road to Tomini, fronting the General Hospital: The 1st and 2d Anspach, Huyne’s & Landgrave’s behind Tomini, with the same front. This position places them out of reach of the Enemy’s Cannon, at present; but the troops are too far from the works which they are to defend; which in case of a Sudden attack from the Enemy might be attended with the most fatal consequences. In our present position, our lines are farther from our troops, than they are from the ground on which the Rebels might form thiers to attack. This inconvenience is almost unavoidable, as our post may be considered an Entrenched Camp, besieged by the Enemy, the ground of which does not afford shelter to the troops within the proper distance from the works.”15
August 21st: The Americans are still actively working on entrenchment and preparing for the siege. John Jacobs Orderly book reflects this.
“All the heavy Artillery and Cannon to be mounted as soon as possible ready to be moved into Works tonight. Col. Burbank and Col. Mason to attend to fixing the Bomb Batteries, Major Ayres Company of Carpenters to attend this night to put the Platforms together. Col. Crane to give directions that Ammunition and every other thing in preparation is open upon the Enemy in the morning from the four batteries which will be then complemented.”16
August 22. The American continued their preparations through the night. Jacob’s orderly book reports that they will use lanterns to help them finish the platforms for the embrasures and “Col. Topham will then use utmost and endeavors to have the Batteries finished this night.”
Israel Angell of the Second Rhode Island Regiment notes the return of the French warships:
“August 22d, 1778:
A Clowdy thick morning with a North East wind and Cold we had a great Number of Cannon Carried to the different Batteries last Evening in order to open upon the Enemy this morning, but the weather being thick prevented our beginning the fire so soon as we Should had the weather have been clear. on Circumstance I forgot to mention the night before last after I had finished my journal for that Day there was an Express come to headquarters from Count De Estaing the french Admiral who had arived and lay without the light hous and yesterday we saw the Ships two of them had ben Dismasted in the late Storm one was the Admirals ship she was totally dismasted the others had her Mizen mast Carried away, and her main top one Simmons from Providence was badly wounded by the Bursting of a Shell there was but litt (light)? firing to day to what there was yesterday.”
The next day Angell reports how the French fleet left.
August 23d, 1778:
A thick morning and Cool, the Enemy flung Shells the Greatist part of the night past, and this morning the Batteries on our Side was opened on the Enemy and a most terrible Cannonade kept up during the day. I dind with Genl Greene to day, the french fleet Left us to day bound to Boston and I think left us in a most Rascally manner and what will be the Event God only knows we had one man kill’d and one or two wounded, one Eighteen pounder and one Brass ten inch morter was split to day but kild no man.”17
August 24th: Cutler’s entry on Monday, August 24th “As much of the heavy baggage moved off last night as possible. A body of men retreated to strengthen the works at Butts’ Hill. At the lines – heavy fire – army preparing to retreat.”18
John Jacobs Orderly book shows that the preparation for an orderly retreat was already under way. A number of the Major Generals were ordered to “immediately to Repair to the North end of the Island and erect such works there as will be thought necessary for the Army in case it should be thought Necessary to defend them there on that ground against every attempt…Col. Crane will Order such heavy pieces of Artillery as may be Spared from the present operations all the spare pieces of Artillery of every kind he will Order to the North end of the Island….The company of Salem Volunteers will march immediately to Howland’s Ferry and put themselves under the command of Col. Lee to guard and man the boats and man them when Occasion may Require..”19 . The entry in the Orderly book goes on to say all heavy stores and heavy baggage were sent to Butts Hill to be ready to go off island if necessary.
By August 25th the retreat has been decided. Israel Angell reports:
“A clear hott morning and a sevear Cannonade and Bumbarding Still kept up and Continued the whole Day, we got off some of our heavier Baggage to day in order to make a Retreat of the Island in Case necessity required it Major Blodget came to Camp to day from the westward but brought nothing new I sent off my marque and went and took quarters with Col. Livingston and Major Huntingdon at night we mustered all the teams we had and proceeded to the lower works in order to git off all the Cannon and morter as a Retreat was Determined upon.”20
August 26th: Americans now know that the British fleet is coming and that it would be at least three weeks before French would arrive. They begin to send their heavy cannon back to northern locations like Butts Hill. The Council of War again determines to hold American positions until they could be reinforced. General Sullivan began to prepare for a retreat. He knew that enemy reinforcements were coming and his best course was to retreat. Cutler’s story ends on August 26th when he, like many in the militias, escaped away from battle.
August 28th: The retreat was apparent to the British forces. Hessian Private Dohla records the scene.
August 28, 1778:
“This night a 25 man picket from our regiment, commanded by Lt. Ciracy, was attacked by a strong party of Americans, who had crept up through a field of Indian corn. One of our men was killed in this action, and three men were wounded. The enemy, however, had to pull back and take flight. Also tonight, the Americans withdrew the artillery with which they had been firing at us and their heavy baggage to New England, but continuously harassed our outposts in order to cover their withdrawal.”21
The Siege of Newport was over. In their article on the Siege, Ken Walsh and his co-authors offer some conclusions.
“Lessons were learned the hard way and diplomatic mistakes made here would not be repeated later in the war. The British learned just how vulnerable their position in Newport truly was and would abandon the city in the following year. This vacancy, in turn, unintentionally made way for Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau to use Newport as a staging area for French forces in America before heading south to Yorktown.”22
Walsh et al on the question of why the Siege failed.
“There are a host of reasons the Siege failed. The lack of deception, bad timing, a rocky collaboration with the French, the unexpected hurricane, the geography, and the available technology, led to a “perfect storm” of events. These, combined with the impending arrival of British reinforcements, made for an insurmountable task and Sullivan knew it. Had some of these circumstances been different, the Americans could have possibly won and ended the Revolutionary War in Newport”23
Major General Charles Grey of the British Army summed it all up perfectly:
“The Americans showed us they were soldiers and not just farmers. They built redoubts all around us, except for the side facing the water, dug trenches, drove us out of our camps with their cannon fire and had the will to storm our lines. But, this was the one thing their volunteers wanted to avoid, and just as well, for they would have lost many men without a fleet to support them. Their retreat was well planned and executed orderly.”24
Illustrations:
Figure 1 – Map of Battle of Rhode Island from “The Black Regiment of the American Revolution” by Linda Crotta Brennan. Used with permission of author and map maker.
Figure 2 – Rhode Island Campaign Timeline – R. Schmidt.
Figure 3 – British defenses formed before August1778. Map by John Howard Benson for Campaign on Rhode Island by Erich O’D. Taylor.
Figure 4 – “Part of Trench, with A, Fascines, and B, Gabions: in fortification, a large basket of wickerwork constructed with stakes and osiers, or green twigs, in a cylindrical form, but without a bottom.” -Whitney, Dictionary 1911.
Figure 5 – Lewis, Samuel. “A map of part of Rhode Island shewing the positions of the American and British armies at the Siege of Newport, and the subsequent action on the 29th of August 1778.” Map. Philadelphia: C.P. Wayne, [1807]. Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:8336h3587 (accessed September 23, 2023).
Resources:
(1) Dohla, Johann. A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution. Page 83.
(2) American Battlefield Trust glossary of military terms. https://www.battlefields.org/glossary-revolutionary-war-terms.
(3) American Battlefield Trust glossary of military terms: https://www.battlefields.org/glossary-revolutionary-war-terms.
(4) Collins online dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com
(5) Manasseh Cutler Diary – August 11, 1778. https://archive.org/stream/lifejournalscorr01cutl/lifejournalscorr01cutl_djvu.txt. Internet Archive.
(6) Mackenzie, Frederick. The Diary of Frederick Mackenzie, Vol. 2. Cambridge, Harvard Press, 1930. Page 347.
(7) Walsh, Kenneth and Christina Alvernas et al. Siege of British Forces in Newport County by Colonial and French in August 1778. Digital Commons @Salve Regina, 2016.
(8) Manssah Cutler Diary, August 12th entry, https://archive.org/stream/
(9) Walsh et al., Siege of British Forces, p. 32.
(10) Fletcher, Josiah. Order Book of the Revolution, Rhode Island 1778, August 16, 1778 entry. ed. by Ralph C. Weiss. Newport, RI: The Redwood Press, 2015.
(11) Mackenzie, Frederick. Diary, Page 354.
(12) Dohla, Johann. Diary, Page 85.
(13) Durfee, Joseph. Reminiscences of Col. Joseph Durfee. 1834. Retrieved from the Digital Library of America, Durfee, . Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009723583. (Accessed September 24, 2023)
(14) Walsh et al, Siege of Newport, Page 41.
(15) Mackenzie, Frederick. Diary. Page 362.
(16) Fletcher, Josiah, Orderly Book, August 21st entry.
(17) Field, Edward, Field, Diary of Colonel Israel Angell: 1778-1781, Providence: Preston and Rounds Company, 1899. Page 2.
(18) Manasseh Cutler, Diary, August 24th entry.
(19) Fletcher, Josiah, Orderly Book, August 24th entry.
(20) Field, Edward, Angell Diary, Page 4.
(21) Dohla, Johann. Diary, Page 86.
(22) Walsh, et al. Siege of Newport, Page 9.
(23) Walsh, et al. Siege of Newport, Page 133.
(24) Walsh, et al. Siege of Newport, Page 133.
Bibliography:
American Battlefield Trust glossary of military terms: https://www.battlefields.org/glossary-revolutionary-war-terms (Assessed September 23, 2023.)
Collins online dictionary, https://www.collinsdictionary.com. (Assessed September 22, 2023.
Dohla, Johann. A Hessian Diary of the American Revolution. Translated by Bruce Burgoyne. University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
Durfee, Joseph, b. 1750. Reminiscences of Col. Joseph Durfee : relating to the early history of Fall River and of Revolutionary scenes. 1834?]. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009723583. (Accessed September 24, 2023.)
Field, Edward, transcribed from original manuscript. Diary of Colonel Israel Angell: 1778-1781, Commanding the Second Rhode Island Continental Regiment during the American Revolution. Providence: Preston and Rounds Company, 1899.
Fletcher, Josiah. Order Book of the Revolution, Rhode Island 1778, ed. by Ralph C. Weiss. Newport, RI: The Redwood Press, 2015. (We thank the Redwood Library for permission to use this important book).
“Life, journals and correspondence of Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL. D”. https://archive.org/stream/lifejournalscorr01cutl/lifejournalscorr01cutl_djvu.txt. Internet Archive. (Assessed September 1, 2023).
Mackenzie, Frederick. Diary of Frederick Mackenzie: Giving A Daily Narrative of His Military Service as an Officer of the Regiment of Royal Welch Fusiliers During the Years 1775- 1781 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1930.
McBurney, Christian M. The Rhode Island Campaign. Yardley: Westholme Publishing, 2011.
Schroder, Walter K. The Hessian Occupation of Newport and Rhode Island: 1776-1779. Westminster: Heritage Books, 2005.
Taylor O’D, Erich A., John Howard Benson. Campaign on Rhode Island. M. DCC. LXX. VIII. Newport: publisher not identified, 1978.
Walsh, Kenneth and Christina Alvernas et al. Siege of British Forces in Newport County by Colonial and French in August 1778. Digital Commons @Salve Regina, 2016.
