DOCSLIB.ORG

RHODE ISLAND HISTO RY Pl'ri./SIIF.D 81- RHODE Bl..-\Sn HISTORI C .),, !

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
RHODE ISLAND HISTO RY Pl'ri./SIIF.D 81- RHODE Bl..-\Sn HISTORI C .),, ! • RHODE ISLAND HISTO RY Pl'RI./SIIF.D 81- RHODE bl..-\Sn HISTORI C .),, !. SOCIETY \UI.. II In.y I 'H ; :'\0. \ em, ~10 1> " ln .\ 1111 ~11\ \l \ \ ' II I t't'U ( I ; -'-'- Ill I'}) . fI~~.II".I.f<.I I'.,', ..if, /l h•. f~ "1..~,I 1fi In.,.." ."' ••i". ! SSCH} 5:?.U.1RTERlX ./T I'ROI'IDESCE, RHODE ! S/..ISD T.\BLF ot CO:"TI..'\T:- RHODE I SLA ND C..\llo'l .....' Rt.•\I'R 'II \M \ \ '1111'1' 1 1 HI STORY I b n,1 Colored l'c rtrait Lu""r JUII " HK"""'s A',lIy , \ F T H <" 11<1" L',," I I" I " I I I. \ K\l..'U II \UL. [ 1 .IeLY l<H I xo. ,1 Sr...o", /'r'Jt'iJt Nrr /l u . " 'I, lIu <: ",- , "" , I·" ,i.{..~ , G." ..". L. :Io " ~ ,. , T.,~ ,u.'" b~' G <: urg<: I. , .\l inn . i 3 W " .,."" !l u '.. :101 ,.,.••, '~""'''')' W H.'.' ''' ( ;, Rn"'", Il, Di, a '", J~,J l.i~'J''-~'' T~ , Rh J, "/JeJ 1/;'f. ' ;,'JI S.cin, . ,,,, ...,, ". " ".,u;/'if'f, f~, I " Sl'K l ' C n o l" H I C,,'r. \\' 1111'1' 1,1 Jf< ,/". ,1" r" " n tJ ., . ,... ,-. .. , .f ,... "'-/'e1o ... Tua Ih,\ ":U lJ' MI" T OF Tilt: -S t <' K l" .," l i n u ~ " tr" m Rb.... ~ h b nd IIi.'" ••·• \" l. II. r. 16 John Brown's K at)', afterwards b~' John H utchins Cady Continental Armored Sloop , Providence R ODI:II.T R K II , S"cO" O E ARl. 0" \ \ 'AII.IH C K by G EO RG E L. :\IISE R Portr.nt i" fj j/ bJ Sir Alll h""J r ..." Ow-l , t'. It,)7 T il f. $<ln ,: n"~ ( h ll " " ."I, '\1.\" r,I,.'R II' I ~ J ohn Brown, t hird of the "Fou r Brot hers" should han " been a sailor. He was broug ht up on salt water. H e owned C"I'r. R <lIUK I' K t:n 'I:' s :\ , n~. B lI"K; many vessel s un his own account ; he was partn er with his b,l' Rid lJrd LeHaron Hcwcu 'JS brot hers in m all}' more. H e built Rhode b land sloops, bri gs and ships at his own shipyard at India Point. H e RIIO" I. hl.A"1> C" I.O" IAI. .\!"" I.l' A~ " I rs CUt" I "-K I'l-.1 n "" sailed up and down N urragansen Bar in his own craft and b~ ' J.t iehJrJ Lc Harcn Il" " en he sent his captains to sea with a sailor's instinct for good J(tt·i.. ~u' by DunJld I.in.'i JJ<'Uhu s . 101 voyages. J ohn's father, J ames Brown, was a sailor and owned a 10J good sized th:et in partner-hip with his brother O badiah. :" ,,11. \'-', \1. I -li n, 1' \I ' u <; . 10J J ohn wa.. less than four rears old when his father died, but Uncle O bad iah, brin ging up the four brothers to succeed in 10 J the part nersh ip, was a deep-seat sailer of note, voyaging to and from the West Indies.' . \ " UITI" " 10 F. S, I' H ' /\ C" I,I.H II," . J(1 ~ J ohn's older brother J ames was a sailor who died in Vir­ :-": 1-: " I'l' IlI.I{' , I P ' \ " W 1" 11 1'1 " rn RIWlll-' 1, 1. " 1> In l gi nia when on a coasting \'op ge when J ohn was fourteen. I John Carter Brown \ \ 'ooJ s, Fore" ord , T ht Letlt " I/',d ' ',I l .mlli '1'hirJ CU'-er B ,.,) ~'ute, l i 3 5 · l i 3 ~ , {Providence , 1( 211 ). " I S I ~\;-'; D ;" 4 RHODE H IST ORY JOII:" BRo\\.' :"·S K:\TY rs Thus by inheritance and up-bringing J ohn Brown should with eighty men, exclusive of officers ; and he equipped have been a sea captain. But life was too full i certainly the with ten guns, four-pounders, fourteen Swivil Gu ns, a press of many activities crowded his career. Ship owner, suffici ent number of Small -Arms, and allnecessary warlik e ship builde r, merchant, distiller, candle manufacturer, stores." partner in iron works and cannon foundry, found er of the The General Assemble furt her voted "that the follow­ Providence Bank, adventurer in opening a great East Indies ing officers be, and arc hereb y, appointed to command the export and import business-a man of such abounding said vessels, to wit : energy and wide interests could not go to sea. If J ohn Brown had made his voyages himself he would have come "O f th e largest \'t:s:<I,- home owning half the Orient. As it was, he sailed a bit in "Abrah am W hipple, commander, with the rank and Narragansett Bay, sent his ships up and down th e coast, to power of Commodore of both vessels. ..'" the West Indies, to Africa and later to the East Indies; and T he Kafy sailed that same week of her charter by the stared at home to take part in the burning of the Gaspee, Colony. On that day she dropped down Narragansett Bay to defy the British tyrants, to help build Rhode Island and let blaze her long four-pounders at a tender of Capt. College, of which he was treasurer for rweery-one years, to Wallace's ship R ose. T he encounter drove the tender pull his weight in the leadership of the General Assemblv ashore on Conanicut Island where Capt. W hipple captured and in the councils of the movement for independence that her. T he tight was over in a half hour; no one was hurt on wa s to bring forth a new Republic. M eantime he made the Katv and two men wounded on the tender.' But the money hand over fist. Ketv hdd made historv , she had tired the fi rst authorized J ohn Brown was thirty-nine years old when the critical nanl shot of the Revolution. T he people of Rhode Island year of 1775 came. One W ednesday in April he was sailing Providence J une 22, I ;;; up the Bay from Newport with a cargo of flour. H e was An Agreem"n t between John Brown on one part anJ th.. Committe in arrested-c-on orders of Capt ain Wall ace of H .:'\I.S. R OJe­ hchalf of the Colony for hireing.\: Fil ing an armeJ \ 'l'SSiJl On the other and spent several days in custody on Ad miral Graves' flag­ part \ "izthe Said John agree!! to 1'<: 11 to the SaiJ Comm itte the Sloop Cater from the 12 l nst to lhe Lauer part of December nett at :" inlJ' Dollars ship in Boston H arbor. T radition has it that Brother M oses rr. mo. the Said Comminc in behalf of the C" l< m,l· 10 Re$<j ue th.. Said helped him get off and rode home with him on the same Sloop at Four H undred pound s I. " lonJ' to be pd. tn Said John on Demand horse. T his was on May 3.Four weeks later J ohn put one after the Ul$S of Said Sloop with Int. from th i, Il J~ · l- U l in Case lhe Sloop of his vessels alongside his dock and began the work of , hould be Returned to the Said John She it 10 be in as Good orJ"r as she & arming her. She ....";IS the sloop Kary. now is. Common ware T are Excepted or if the G eneral a5'embIJ' at their next selling ,hall chuse to putche" Said SI"op at Four H undred At its session on "the second 7\J onday in June 1775" the pounds with Int from thi s D.,I' lhey have L i hc n ~ ' So lUdo or to Continue General Assembly had passed a vote "that the Committee her all hire as above, whatever Expens th e Said john has put to Said Sloop of Safety he, and the)' arc hereby, directed to charter ' Since begun to Fix her for the Colo n~· s U 'C \ ·i:l. Since the 12 I n ~ L . E xcept­ two suitab.le Vessels, for the use of the Colony, and tit out ing only for Cordage, the Said Committee il III pa,\' the Said lnt For the same 111 the best manner, to protect the trade of this ~ R.I, Cot, Ru ", J! \'II , H 6-, ; also Am , , ~ ,.rh i r ' <'J . 41h ii, 1 [ 5 ~, Colony:. Th at the largest of the said vessels be manned • l'a rticulsrs of an Action between the l>i.l1U Packel a T ender he­ I"nging to H is "lajest,\"; Ship Rose, and \w<> Armed Sloops belonging ' .-\ cur}' of lhi. Chnler i, in the J\ 1<:~ e $ Brown ,I f,J,,,m:rip/J, \'01. II , Rhode Island Jl iilor ieal SociCIJ'. T'his Charter reads as follows; to the Rebels. Public R. N ",J Offia . Volume 4!l5. rp. 4 (1 9-4 1.1. April l i i4.J Ulll· 1;;5, Lctu-rs of " ice :Umira! :',1Illuel G raH's. EI«( 10 Philip RH O D!': I ~ I..-~ :\D IIISTORY JOH:\ BR()\\':\' ~ I\ATY " Sk phcns ES<j ', . \dmir~h: ~l'cretJ r.l , from the (UnSC ripli in the Libur:' wen: delighted. In Octobe r the General ;\-,.'emhly carried of Congrcs•. out the purchase of J ohn Brown\.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Report To: Captain Carl I
    THE TRUE BIRTHPLACE OF THE NAVY Page 1 By Bruce Campbell MacGunnigle Captain, RI Naval Militia; Colonel, RI Militia Preface In his 1974 book: Sea of Glory, A Naval History of the American Revolution, Nathan Miller writes in the preface: “Historians have lingered over the American Revolution, examining in exhaustive detail its military and political aspects, its diplomatic and social overtones. Yet the naval side of the conflict has been almost completely neglected… From the very beginning, the American War of Independence was a maritime conflict. The high-handed manner adopted by the Royal Navy in enforcing the laws against smuggling helped bring on the war… Britain had undisputed control of American waters and should have had no difficulty in snuffing out the rebellion by choking off the tools of war destined for the rebels from abroad. That this was not done was the result of muddled planning and the courage and skill of Yankee seamen.”1 Intent The intent of this study is to identify and examine all the claims made by various towns and regions to be the “Birthplace of the Navy” or the “First American Navy.” Definitions2 To identify and examine all the claims made by various towns and regions, we need to set parameters and exactly define what we‟re looking for. Since we‟re studying the “Birthplace of the Navy” or the “First American Navy” we need to define what a Navy is. Webster‟s definition of the word “Navy” is “A group of ships…” Just to be sure there is no confusion, Webster‟s definition of the word Group is: “Two or more…” 1 Miller, Nathan, Sea of Glory, A Naval History of the American Revolution, Charleston, SC, 1974, Preface, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3 (The American Revolution, 1763-1783)
    SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Chapter 3: The American Revolution, 1763-1783 Historians have written many fine surveys of the American Revolution, but among the best are Don Higginbotham, The War of American Independence (Macmillan, 1971); John R. Alden, A History of the American Revolution (Knopf, 1969); Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause (Oxford University Press, 1982); and James Kirby Martin and Mark Edward Lender, A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic (Harlan Davidson, 1982). Piers Mackesy's The War for America (Harvard University Press, 1965) presents a British perspective, and Eric Robson's The American Revolution in Its Political and Military Aspects (Archon Books, 1965) emphasizes British problems in conducting the war. More recent surveys include Robert Leckie, George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution (HarperCollins, 1992); Edward Countryman, The American Revolution (Hill and Wang, 1985); Colin Bonwick, The American Revolution (Palgrave MacMillan, 2005); and John Ferling, Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence (Oxford University Press, 2007). Several edited volumes contain important insights into the war: Stanley J. Underdal, ed., Military History of the American Revolution: The Proceedings of the 6th Military History Symposium United States Air Force Academy (Office of Air Force History, 1976); John Shy, A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence (Oxford University Press, 1976); Don Higginbotham, ed., Reconsiderations
    [Show full text]
  • Captain Jeremiah O'brien: Maine Mariner
    Maine History Volume 50 Number 1 Maine Political History Article 6 1-1-2016 Captain Jeremiah O’Brien: Maine Mariner Sheldon S. Cohen Loyola University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Military History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Cohen, Sheldon S.. "Captain Jeremiah O’Brien: Maine Mariner." Maine History 50, 1 (2016): 79-107. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol50/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CAPTAIN JEREMIAH O’BRIEN: MAINE MARINER BY SHELDON S. C OHEN In contrast to most of the major army campaigns, clashes, leadership personalities, effectiveness levels, and strategies of the major land combatants during the American Revolution, Patriot naval activities have not received the overall attention they deserve. William J. Mor - gan, a former editor of the monumental series , Naval Documents of the American Revolution , has noted, “all too frequently historians of the American Revolution have ignored the maritime aspects of the conflict, or, at best have reflected slight understanding of that deci - sive element.” Morgan's observations, made several decades ago, can be verified by surveying the contents then found in prominent writings of the American Revolution. Whereas the lives, exploits, and achieve - ments of such prominent maritime men such as John Paul Jones, Esek Hopkins, Joshua Barney, Abraham Whipple, Dudley Saltonstall, and John Barry have received scholarly attention, there were many others in naval annals that deserve mention in maritime annals.
    [Show full text]
  • John Brown's Katy, Afterwards Continental Armored Sloop, Providence by George L
    John Brown's Katy, afterwards Continental Armored Sloop, Providence by George L. Miner Rhode Island History, July 1943, 11:1 Digitized and re-presented from .pdf available on-line courtesy of RI Historical Society at: http://www.rihs.org/assetts/files/publications/1943_July.pdf John Brown's Katy, afterwards Continental Armored Sloop, Providence by George L. Miner John Brown, third of the ‘Four Brothers’ should have been a sailor. He was brought up on salt water. He owned many vessels on his own account; he was partner with his brothers in many more. He built Rhode Island sloops, brigs and ships at his own shipyard at India Point. He sailed up and down Narragansett Bay in his own craft and he sent his captains to sea with a sailor's instinct for good voyages. John's father, James Brown, was a sailor and owned a good sized fleet in partnership with his brother Obadiah. John was less than four years old when his father died, but Uncle Obadiah, bringing up the four brothers to succeed in the partnership, was a deep-seat sailor of note, voyaging to and from the West Indies.[1] John's older brother James was a sailor who died in Virginia when on a coasting voyage when John was fourteen. Thus by inheritance and up-bringing John Brown should have been a sea captain. But life was too full; certainly the press of many activities crowded his career. Ship owner, ship builder, merchant, distiller, candle manufacturer, partner in iron works and cannon foundry, founder of the Providence Bank, adventurer in opening a great East Indies export and import business—a man of such abounding energy and wide interests could not go to sea.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Books in the Mcmanemin Collection, Monmouth County Archives
    List of Books in the McManemin Collection, Monmouth County Archives Allen, Gardner W. A Naval History of the American Revolution. 2 vols. Williamstown, Massachusetts: Corner House, 1970. (First published in 1913.) Box 1 Allen, Gardner W. Vol. 1, Our Naval War with France. (photocopy) Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909 – Box 3 of 4 (supplement) Bliven, Bruce, Jr. Under the Guns: New York, 1775-1776. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. Box 1 Boatner III, Mark Mayo. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. New York: David McKay Co., Second Printing, April 1969. Box 1 Callahan, North. Henry Knox: General Washington's General. South Brunswick and New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1958. Box 1 Clark, William Bell. The First Saratoga; Being the Saga of John Young and His Sloop-of-War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1953. Reprinted by University Microfilms International. Box 1 Coggins, Jack. Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution. Harrisburg, PA: Promontory Press/Stackpole Books, 1969. Box 4 of 4 (supplement) Davis, Burke. The Campaign That Won America: The Story of Yorktown. New York: Dial Press, 1970. Box 2 De Chastellux, Marquis. Travels in North America in the Years 1780, 1781 and 1782. A Revised Translation by Howard C. Rice, Jr. 2 vols. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1963. Box 2 Desjardin, Thomas A. Through A Howling wilderness. Benedict Arnold’s March to Quebec, 1775. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2006. Box 4 of 4 (supplement) Fleming, Thomas. Washington’s Secret War, The Hidden History of Valley Forge – HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • Naval History
    CHAPTER 5 NAVAL HISTORY Why should I bother to learn or read history? Isn’t it dead and gone? Read on….The quotes from George Santayana and Alfred Thayer Mahan tell the story! Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. —George Santayana, American Philosopher, 1863 - 1952 The study of history lies at the foundation of all sound military conclusions and practice. — Alfred Thayer Mahan, Philosopher of Naval Strategy, 1840-1914 These two quotes tell you the reasons why you Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels; the should know what happened in the past. By studying United States Navy was born. history, you can avoid the mistakes made in the past. By studying both the failures and successes of the past, you THE CONTINENTAL NAVY can plan for future success. There is another reason to study history—history is an Learning Objective: When you finish this chapter, you adventure story. History is full of daring deeds, good luck will be able to— and bad, heroes, cowards, and spies. The history of a • Identify the ships of the Continental Navy to country or an organization is like the biography of a include the importance of their actions. person. A biography is the story of a person’s life. Naval history is the story of the life of the Navy. Since this Navies are created from the spirit of independence chapter is the biography of the life of the United States and under the threat of war. They become mature by Navy, the logical place to start is with the birth of the Navy.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding Aid on Prisoners of War
    David Library of the American Revolution Finding Aid on Prisoners of War including the Peter Force Collection: Prisoner-of-War Papers (William Augustus Atlee Papers; Lancaster Committee of Safety Papers and Minutes Transcripts; Lists of Prisoners) Johannes Schwalm Historical Association Collection: (Prisoner-of-War Papers from Thomas Bradford Papers and Elias Boudinot Papers) Elias Boudinot Letterbook 1777-1778 Horatio Gates Papers: Prisoner-of-War Returns Prepared by David Swain, Volunteer Researcher, December 2016 Table of Contents Manuscript Sources—Prisoner-of-War Papers 1 Peter Force Collection (Library of Congress) 1 Johannes Schwalm Historical Association Collection (Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Library of Congress) 2 Elias Boudinot Letterbook (State Historical Society 3 of Wisconsin) Horatio Gates Papers (New York Historical Society) 4 General Index 5 Introduction 13 Overview 13 Untangling the Categories of Manuscripts from their 15 Interrelated Sources People Involved in Prisoner-of-War Matters 18 Key People 19 Elias Boudinot 20 Thomas Bradford 24 William Augustus Atlee 28 Friendships and Relationships 31 American Prisoner-of-War Network and System 32 Lancaster Committee of Safety Papers and Minutes 33 Prisoner-of-War Lists 34 References 37 Annotated Lists of Contents: 41 Selected Prisoner-of-War Documents William Augustus Atlee Papers 1758-1791 41 (Peter Force Collection, Series 9, Library of Congress) LancasterCommittee of safety Papers 1775-1777 97 (Peter Force Collection, Series 9, Library of Congress)
    [Show full text]
  • Amerikanische Sloop-Of-War USS PROVIDENCE Von 1775
    www.schiffe-und-mehr.com Amerikanische Sloop-of-War USS PROVIDENCE von 1775 Das zeitgenössische Gemälde von Francis Holman (1729–1784) zeigt rechts die Sloop PROVIDENCE im Gefecht mit einem britischen Handelsschiff. Dieses Gemälde lieferte wichtige Hinweise zur Rekonstruktion der Sloop. Die Sloop1 USS PROVIDENCE gilt als das Im Jahre 1775 wurde der amerikanische Han- erste Schiff der US-Marine. Sie wurde bald del (und Schmuggel!) zusehends durch briti- kurz nach ihren Stapellauf als "Katy" im Jahre sche Kriegsschiffe gestört. Vor Rhode Island 1775 zu Beginn des US-amerikanischen Unab- machte die Fregatte "HMS Rose" aus sicht der hängigkeitskriegs von der Provinzregierung Amerikaner besonders unangenehm auf sich Rhode Islands gechartert, um amerikanische aufmerksam. Im Juni 1775 beschloss die Handelschiffe vor britischen Kriegsschiffen zu Provinzregierung Rhode Islands auf Druck der schützen. 1779 wurde sie am Ende der geschei- heimischen Kaufleute Gegenmaßnahmen und terten Penobscot Expedition verbrannt, um sie beschloss die Anmietung und Ausrüstung der nicht in britische Hände fallen zu lassen. Sloops "Katy" und "Washington" zum Schutz des Küstenhandels. Das Kommando über die Die "Katy" wurde 1775 für den amerikani- "Katy" übernahm Captain Abraham Whipple. schen Kaufmann John Brown gebaut, vermutlich in oder nahe dessen Heimatstadt Daten und Fakten der PROVIDENCE ex Katy Providence, Rhode Island. Der ursprünglich Land: Großbritannien / USA vorgesehene Verwendungszweck der Sloop ist Schiffstyp: Einmastige Sloop nicht bekannt, aber da Mr. Brown ein Bauherr: John Brown, Providence, bekannter Sklavenhändler war, könnte das Rhode Island, USA bewaffnete Fahrzeug für den Sklavenhandel Stapellauf: 1775 als "Katy" gedacht gewesen sein. Umbauten: 1775 zur Sloop-of War USS PPROVIDENCE, in Dienst am 3.12.1775 1 Als "Sloop", zu Deutsch Schaluppe, wurden seit Besatzung: ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of Committee on Marking Historical Sites in Rhode Island (Part 2)
    HELIN Consortium HELIN Digital Commons Library Archive HELIN State Law Library 1914 Report of Committee on Marking Historical Sites in Rhode Island (Part 2) Follow this and additional works at: http://helindigitalcommons.org/lawarchive Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation "Report of Committee on Marking Historical Sites in Rhode Island (Part 2)" (1914). Library Archive. Paper 28. http://helindigitalcommons.org/lawarchive/28 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the HELIN State Law Library at HELIN Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Library Archive by an authorized administrator of HELIN Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE MICHAEL PIERCE FIGHT By Edwin C. Pierce September 21, 1907 This is historic ground. It is the scene of one of the most tragic and most heroic events in early New England history. Here, in 1676, just a hundred years before the Declaration of American Independence, with a valor as distinguished as that of the Greek heroes at old Ther- mopylae, although unvictorious, our ancestors, undaunted, fronted inevitable defeat and certain death in hand-to- hand conflict with an outnumbering savage foe. Here they died upon the Bed of Honor. Here we, their descendants, come, two hundred and thirty-one years after the day of blood and battle on which they painfully laid down their lives for their countrymen and for posterity, to celebrate their brave sacrifice, to erect here a memorial of their heroic devotion, and to consider and, if we may, profitably interpret the lessons to be drawn from the history of that tragic event and that serious and strenuous time.
    [Show full text]
  • BOOK REVIEWS 567 the Time That Women Were the Nurturers And
    BOOK REVIEWS 567 the time that women were the nurturers and healers, assignments of the highest order in nature and society. Although their roles were different from their husbands’, women deserved to be treated as equals before the law, which stipulated that only those who were not dependent on others had rights. Abigail did not seek women’s rights to equal participation in politics or the economy; she merely argued for a legal system that would help women find maximum fulfillment in their ascribed roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. She recognized the possibilities as well as the limits of her position as a woman in a man’s world. Throughout their lives John and Abigail were constantly faced with the dilemma of deciding between public duty and private happiness. Invariably, public duty won. But Abigail made it happen. When he was a very young man, John Adams had written in his diary that he wanted to do something that would surprise the world. Abigail made it possible for him to accomplish that goal. Woody Holton shows us how. I have always felt that the life of a biography is in the details, for it is the details that give the past a pulse and allow biography to become a prism of history. As Holton sets his portrait of Abigail Adams against the canvas of mid-eighteenth- to early-nineteenth-century history and the forming of a new nation, he provides a great amount of detail, but at times that detail overwhelms the narrative and hinders its flow. That said, Woody Holton’s meticulous research and documentation, his sympathetic and nuanced portrait of this bright, passionate, and resilient woman, and his thoughtful rendering of a turbulent time in our history give us a fuller and richer understanding than has heretofore been realized of the role that Abigail Adams played in the founding of our country and as a lifelong advocate of women’s rights.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT James Richard Wils. “IN BEHALF of the CONTINENT”: PRIVATEERING and IRREGULAR NAVAL WARFARE in EARLY REVOLUTIONARY
    ABSTRACT James Richard Wils. “IN BEHALF OF THE CONTINENT”: PRIVATEERING AND IRREGULAR NAVAL WARFARE IN EARLY REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA, 1775-1777. (Under the direction of Dr. Carl E. Swanson) Department of History, July 2012. The goal of this thesis is to demonstrate the vital importance of American privateers during the early years of the Revolutionary War and their impact on the achievement of American independence. Most Revolutionary War historians have glossed over the naval aspects of the Revolutionary War, and have virtually ignored privateers. Naval historians have long debated on the importance of privateers to a nation’s maritime operations, with some of the most prominent scholars arguing that privateers were secondary and ineffective. In fact, privateering and prize capture often contributed greatly to national war efforts, and in the case of the Revolutionary War, privateers were the single most effective American force in the first three years of warfare. At the siege of Boston beginning in the summer of 1775, George Washington recognized the necessity of a naval force to prevent resupply of the British garrison by sea. Tasking several of his army officers with procuring and arming private vessels for this purpose, Washington essentially commissioned the first American privateer fleet. While these vessels were eventually absorbed into the Continental Navy upon its formation, they were privateers by all but the legal definition, lacking only letters of marque, and Washington himself referred to them as such. This fleet was instrumental in bringing about the evacuation of British troops from Boston, at the same time emphasizing the need for a national navy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Washington - Rochambeau Revolutionary Route in the State of Rhode Island, 1780 - 1783
    THE WASHINGTON - ROCHAMBEAU REVOLUTIONARY ROUTE IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, 1780 - 1783 An Architectural and Historical Site Survey and Resource Inventory Project Historian: ROBERT A. SELIG, Ph. D. Project Sponsor: Rhode Island Rochambeau Historic Highway Commission Rep. Nicholas Gorham, Chair Project Director: Roseanna Gorham Chairman, Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route – Rhode Island (W3R-RI) 2006 (updated 2015) This report is in the public domain For additions/corrections/suggestions contact either the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations c/o Ms Roseanna Gorham at [email protected] and/or the author at www.xenophongroup.com/vita/selig Potential collectors of artifacts at archaeological sites identified in this survey should be warned that collecting archaeological artifacts can be harmful to the historical record of the site. Also, there may be penalties for unauthorized collecting of archaeological artifacts from public land. Further information may be obtained by contacting formally organized collector organizations. Listings of qualified archaeologist may be obtained by contacting formally organized archaeological associations. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5 2. Timeline: France and the American War of Independence 6 3. Timeline: Rhode Island in the American War of Independence 1763-1792 12 4. Timeline: The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 17 5. INTRODUCTION 5.1 Purpose of the Project 26 5.2 Scope of the Project 30 5.3 Goals of the Project 31 5.4 Sources 32 6. METHODOLOGY 6.1 Criteria for Selection: How Sites Were Chosen for Inclusion 41 6.2 The Form 43 6.3 Other Parts of the Survey Report 43 7.
    [Show full text]