Planning, Preservation and Management Plan for Butts Hill Fort, Portsmouth, RI

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A Project of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project

Funded by the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program

In Partnership with Newport Collaborative Architects

Planning, Preservation and Management Plan for Butts Hill Fort, Portsmouth, RI

A Project of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project

Box 1492, Newport, RI 02840 (401) 423-9701 www.rimap.org

Funded by the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program Grant # GA-2255-07-015

In Partnership with Newport Collaborative Architects

38 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840 (401) 846-9583 www.ncarchitects.com

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior

Table of Contents

Page #

Sources for Illustrations ...... v

I Executive Summary ...... 1

II Project Overview ...... 2

A Purpose ...... 2

B Study area ...... 4

C Methodology ...... 4

III Butts Hill Fort History and Existing Conditions ...... 5

A Introduction ...... 5

B Butts Hill Fort and its Origins ...... 6

C The Days leading up to the Siege of Newport: July 29 to

August 15, 1778 ...... 6

D The Siege of Newport: August 15 to 28, 1778 ...... 8

E The Battle of Rhode Island: August 29-30, 1778 ...... 9

F After the Battle of Rhode Island: September 1, 1778 to 2009 . . . 14

IV Context and Threats ...... 23

A General Description ...... 23

B Key Site Characteristics ...... 24

1 Cultural Resources ...... 24

2 Archaeological Resources ...... 24

3 Historic View Corridors ...... 25

4 Open Land ...... 25

5 Vegetative Overgrowth ...... 26

6 Modern Intrusions ...... 26

7 Surrounding Residential Areas ...... 26

C Key Threats ...... 26

1 Threat 1 - Invasive Vegetation ...... 26

2 Threat 2 - Vandalism and Illegal Activities ...... 27

3 Threat 3 - Lack of Awareness ...... 28

V Site Protections ...... 29

A Federal and State Policies ...... 29

1 The National Preservation Act of 1966 ...... 29

2 The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment

of Historic Properties ...... 30

B Local Policies ...... 31

1 Planning Regulations ...... 31

2 Zoning Regulations ...... 32

a Land Use Regulations ...... 32

b Historic Overlay Zoning ...... 32

c Town Council Position ...... 32

VI Public Priorities ...... 32

A Preliminary Announcement ...... 32

1 Workshop 1 ...... 33

2 Workshop 2 ...... 34

VII Preservation Recommendations ...... 35

VIII Immediate Action Plan for Preservation of Butts Hill Fort . . . . . 37

IX Butts Hill Fort Site Improvements and Maintenance Budget . . . . 44

X The Long Term Maintenance Plan: A Summary ...... 45

XI Bibliography ...... 46

XII Appendices ...... 52

A Outcomes and Comments from Workshop 1 ...... 52

B Outcomes and Comments from Workshop 2 ...... 53

C Summary of the Cultural Materials Discovered by Previous

Archaeological Surveys ...... 54

D Newspaper Articles for Butts Hill Fort Planning Project . . . . . 64

1 Sakonnet Times, June 11, 2008 ...... 64

2 Newport Daily News, August 12, 2008 ...... 65

3 Newport Daily News, August 15, 2008 ...... 66

4 Newport Daily News, August 19, 2008 ...... 68

E Compilation and Comparison of Historic Cartographic Images of

Butts Hill Fort (with speculative graphic analysis) ...... 69

A portion of the 1777-1779 Edward Fage manuscript map of Aquidneck

Island ...... 69

A portion of the 1777 Charles Blaskowitz Map of Narragansett Bay . . 70

British Plan of Redoubt on Windmill Hill, June 1777 ...... 71

British Plan of Redoubt on Windmill Hill, December 1777 . . . . . 72

Mackenzie (British engineer) Map of Windmill Hill , July 1778 . . . . 73

French “Plan de Rhode Island”, August 1778 ...... 74

Positions of British Troops after Battle, August 31, 1778 . . . . . 75

Berthier (French) Map, January 1781 ...... 76

Draft? of Berthier Map 1781 ...... 77

Berthier (French) Map, January 1781 ...... 78

Rochambeau Map ...... 79

Existing Site Plan ...... 80

iii

SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS

Page # Description

2 Pathway atop one of the intact ramparts at Butts Hill Fort (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

3 Plat map showing parcels owned by Town of Portsmouth (Courtesy Town of Portsmouth

10 Summary of troops and naval movements August 29-30, 1778 (from D. K. Abbass, 2007)

11 Suggested interpretation of troop locations during the Battle of Rhode Island (from D. K. Abbass, 2007)

13 Contemporary map of the Battle of Rhode Island (Courtesy Rhode Island State Archives)

15 View looking south from Butts Hill Fort to Quaker Hill (from Benson Lossing's Field Guide to the Revolution)

15 View looking northwest from Butts Hill Fort to Bristol (from Benson Lossing's Field Guide to the Revolution)

16 Photo from Field's 1986 Revolutionary Defences of Rhode Island

17 Portion of 1907 Atlas of Newport County showing platting for house lots at Butts Hill Fort

19 Battle of Rhode Island National Historic Landmark Districts

21 Residential areas around Butts Hill Fort

22 Existing Site Plan

23 Aerial view of Butts Hill and surrounding area

27 Large trees growing in the outer line of eastern ramparts at Butts Hill Fort (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

28 Graffiti on historical marker at Butts Hill Fort (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

29 Photo looking southwest from interior. Because of overgrowth, the existing character of the fort is abandoned and remote (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

39 Observation platform at Fort Independence, Boston, MA (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

40 Clear trees and shrubs

41 View platforms and interpretive signage

42 Museum/Conservation/Security facility

43 Re-enactment Facilities

51 Interpretive panels at Fort Adams, Newport, RI (Photo by Arnold Robinson)

64 Sakonnet Times, June 11, 2008

65 Newport Daily News, August 12, 2008

66 Newport Daily News, August 15, 2008

67 Newport Daily News, August 19, 2008

69 A portion of the 1777-1779 Edward Fage manuscript map of Aquidneck Island,

Original in the Clinton Collection, Clements Library, Ann Arbor

70 A portion of the 1777 Charles Blaskowitz Map of Narragansett Bay

71 British Plan of Redoubt on Windmill Hill, June 1777 , Original in the Clinton

Collection, Clements Library, Ann Arbor, published in Babits 1979a:101.

72 British Plan of Redoubt on Windmill Hill, December 1777, Original in the

Clinton Collection, Clements Library, Ann Arbor, published in Babits 1979a:102.

73 British Map of Windmill Hill, July 1778, Mackenzie (1930:308).

74 French “Plan de Rhode Island”, August 1778, Redwood Library, published

in Babits 1979a:106.

75 Positions of British Troops after Battle, September 1778, published

in Babits 1979a:107.

76 Berthier (French) Map, January 1781, published in Babits 1979a:108.

77 Draft? of Berthier Map, published in Babits 1979a:110.

78 Draft? of Berthier Map, published in Babits 1979a:109.

79 Rochambeau Map, published in Babits 1979a:111.

80 Existing Site Plan

I: Executive Summary

The largest extant Revolutionary War period earthwork in southeastern New England is found on the top of Butts Hill in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This structure was originally built by American troops (1776) and expanded by the British and Hessians during their occupation of Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands (1776 to 1779). Butts Hill Fort was the center of the American line during the Battle of Rhode Island (August 29- 30, 1778). In this battle the "Black Regiment," made up of slaves serving with the Americans to gain their freedom, successfully defended nearby Ward's Redoubt from multiple Hessian assaults. Butts Hill Fort returned to American control (1779), housed French troops (1780 to 1781), and was abandoned by the end of the war (1782).

The land surrounding the fort returned to agricultural uses, but the earthwork on the top of Butts Hill survived because the rocky heights were not congenial for farming. Until the end of the 19th century much of the structure remained untouched, but in the early 20th century Butts Hill Fort and the surrounding fields were platted for 200 house lots. This threat of development spurred local preservationists to buy the property and to create a park in 1923 and deed it to the Newport Historical Society. In the 1950s a school was on the south slope of Butts Hill, replaced in 1964 by the present high school.

By 1934 Butts Hill Fort was overgrown and neglected, probably due to national economic difficulties. As directed by the original deed to the Newport Historical Society, the State of Rhode Island took possession of the property, and in 1968 the State transferred the property to the Town of Portsmouth. Since then attempts to manage the park have been marginally successful, although the 1970s Bicentennial years saw Butts Hill Fort named as part of the Battle of Rhode Island National Historic Landmark.

In 2009 the park and earthworks at Butts Hill Fort are overgrown and abandoned, and most of the improvements made by past generations have disappeared. The trees and heavy undergrowth cover the earthwork and threaten the integrity of the historic structure. The derelict condition of the park has also introduced the opportunity for vandalism, and continued neglect has created a public safety issue. Despite the well- intentioned intermittent calls that "something should be done" to protect the earthwork, to date there has been no permanent and responsible program by which the public may understand the historic significance of Butts Hill Fort and enjoy its local beauty.

The present report is a response to those calls. It recommends near-term actions by which to remediate the physical threats to the earthwork, including the removal of intrusive vegetation, the installation of interpretive signage, and the creation of walking trails and scenic views. The report also outlines a process by which long-term preservation issues for Butts Hill Fort may be addressed, including properly positioned parking, a permanent security and educational facility, various forms of public outreach

and site use, and especially the responsible administrative and financial infrastructures to support the mature management of this nationally significant site.

Since its founding in 1991, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) has become a leader in local studies of the American Revolution. Originally focused on the state's submerged cultural resources, RIMAP's research interests have broadened to include other studies related to local maritime history. Rhode Island is known as the “Ocean State,” and almost every phase of our history has a maritime component, including the American Revolution. Therefore, the present plan for the preservation of Butts Hill Fort is part of RIMAP's efforts to share local maritime history with a larger audience, to address the public's lack of knowledge about the Revolution in Rhode Island, and especially to create passion for the proper management of Butts Hill Fort.

Pathway atop one of the intact ramparts at Butts Hill Fort

II: Project Overview

II-A: Purpose

The impetus for the Planning, Preservation and Management Plan for Butts Hill Fort came from a collaboration of citizens who want to ensure the long term preservation of the Fort, as well as its increased use by the public. As the largest Revolutionary War fortification in Rhode Island, and as part of a National Historic Landmark property, it is vital that the public understand its historic significance and have the opportunity to enjoy it in a safe and meaningful way. 2

Today, the earthwork and surrounding area of the Butts Hill Fort park are overgrown, trash strewn, and show evidence of treasure hunting and other vandalism. Although some local residents are passionate about the preservation of this unique historic property, most Portsmouth (and indeed most Rhode Island) citizens are ignorant of the important historical associations of this local structure and unaware of our state's contributions to the Revolutionary War.

Plat map showing parcels owned by Town of Portsmouth

II-B: Study area

This project addresses the three parcels of land (totaling approximately 11 acres) owned by the Town of Portsmouth, located at the crest of Butts Hill in Portsmouth, RI. Located on these parcels are the earthworks that make up Butts Hill Fort, a Revolutionary War- period fortification that played a major role in the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island. Parcels One and Two were transferred to the Town of Portsmouth in 1968 from the State of Rhode Island. Parcel Three is owned by the Town and is an important historical and scenic element to the fortifications complex.

The Butts Hill Fort site is located in the north of the main Battle of Rhode Island area, but is visually connected with clear views to the main British lines on Quaker and Turkey Hills. The maps on pages 10-11 (excerpted from Rhode Island in the Revolution, Abbass, 2007) illustrate the geography of the battlefield and the central location of Butts Hill Fort.

II-C: Methodology

Before work could begin to formulate a plan for the future of Butts Hill Fort, the project team needed to develop and organize an understanding of the history of the site. Fortunately, the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) staff had prepared the most exhaustive research on the history of the Revolution in Rhode Island, with excellent sections detailing the events at the Butts Hill Fort site. This was published in the 2007 publication Rhode Island in the Revolution. Newport Collaborative Architects (NCA) Project staff thoroughly reviewed this document before commencing field work and formulating recommendations and site design concepts.

One of the most pressing needs was for an accurate site plan of existing conditions. Many separate sketches and plans have been made over the years. During the Revolutionary period many British and French engineers and soldiers documented the fortifications around Narragansett Bay, including Butts Hill Fort. During the 19th and early 20th centuries maps and photographs document changing conditions on the site. Finally, work by archeologists and historians in the late 20th century provide more information about the fortifications and their location and conditions. However, we could find no accurate survey of the site that documents location of the earthworks within the modern context.

To this end, the project team juxtaposed the historical documentation with modern aerial and satellite imagery to establish the location of the earthworks in the field. NCA then conducted a field inventory to verify the location of the earthworks. This mapping was also useful in tracing and documenting the many phases of the fortification’s

evolution from 1776 to 1783. Finally, NCA staff documented the existing conditions of the site through mapping and photography in order to measure the state of preservation, and also to assess the threats to the long-term survival of the site.

RIMAP and NCA then presented their findings to local residents in a stakeholders’ meeting held at Portsmouth Town Hall on August 14th, 2008, to gauge the level of support from the community to preserve the earthworks as well as to receive their concerns for consideration. Using the input about community’s preferences and concerns, the team drafted a work plan for the immediate stabilization, interpretation, and management of the site. This includes full plans for improvements, site maps and cost estimates.

The draft work plan was presented to the local stakeholders and leaders for discussion at a second meeting held at Portsmouth Town Hall on October 23, 2008. This discussion was wide-ranging and lively, with some strong consensus on changes that would be positive and other actions and outcomes that should be avoided.

With that input gathered, the Work Plan received its final edits and was sent to the National Park Service (NPS) American Battlefield Protection Program staff for review in November 2008. This assured that all findings and recommendations are in keeping with national policies and best practices. Once comments were received from the NPS and incorporated in the final plan, it was finalized for publication, distribution and implementation in December of 2009.

III: Butts Hill Fort History and Existing Conditions1

III-A: Introduction

Butts Hill in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is atop a high (elevation 200 feet) shale outcrop located between West Main Road and East Main Road, and circled to the north by Sprague Street. Today the Portsmouth High School campus is to the south.

In 1665 the property was owned by Caleb Briggs, and early Portsmouth settlers William Earle and William Correy proposed to build a windmill there because the reliable prevailing southwesterly winds provided good energy for that 18th-century technology. After the windmill was completed in 1668, probably to the northwest, the

1 Summarized and expanded from Rhode Island in the Revolution (Abbass (2007).

area became known as Windmill Hill. In the early 18th century Sprague Street was known as "the way to the Windmill."

By the time of the American Revolution Windmill Hill was also called Butts Hill. The following text describes how Butts Hill became central to the American cause in Rhode Island and why it is historically significant. Other sections of this report trace the details of the Fort's construction and its current condition, and then describe the general public attitude that supports the need for its protection.

III-B: Butts Hill Fort and Its Origin

The Americans had built a small battery at Butts Hill in 1776 because of its strategic location at the north end of Aquidneck Island. In December of that year, the British occupied Aquidneck Island and took control of the fort. In September of 1777 American troops under the command of General Spencer camped on the mainland opposite the north end of Aquidneck Island. Under their threat, British General Pigot ordered the residents of Portsmouth to work three days a week to help with the construction of various local earthworks. Most residents claimed to be Quakers and refused to participate, even refusing to help construct barracks for the troops at Butts Hill.

Spencer's attempt never matured, and the American forces withdrew for the winter. However, by December the British had completed the barracks for 200 men to the south of the original fort. Today the north and east faces of the earthwork still show the strongest profiles because they were apparently designed in 1777 to protect the hill from an expected American assault from the mainland at Bristol and Tiverton. (See Appendix V for details of the Butts Hill Fort evolution.)

III-C: The days leading up to the Siege of Newport: July 29 to August 15, 1778

In the summer of 1778, as the Americans again amassed on the mainland opposite the north end of Aquidneck Island, the fort at Butts Hill became a focus for conflict between the British and American armies. In February of that year France and the United States had concluded a treaty of alliance and commerce. As part of that agreement, in April a French squadron of twelve ships of the line and four frigates left France under the command of Charles Henry, Count d'Estaing.

When the French ships arrived in North America, they could not safely pass the bar at Sandy Hook, the entrance to New York harbor. Instead they turned east to attack the British occupying Rhode Island. The American troops amassed for a second time on the mainland along the eastern shore of the Sakonnet River. This second attempt on the British in Newport would be the first French-American joint military-naval venture of the American Revolution.

By late July General John Sullivan was in overall command of the American troops, including his 1000 Continentals at Providence, 5000 militiamen expected to be recruited from the neighboring area, 2000 men in the Continental brigades of John Glover and James Varnum, and an expected 4000 French soldier-allies. The troops were to be divided into two divisions, commanded by Major General Nathanael Greene and the Marquis de Lafayette. Despite the reinforcements sent from New York, the British had only about 6000 soldiers in Rhode Island under the command of General Robert Pigot.

On July 26 the news arrived at Newport that the French fleet had sailed from New York and was probably headed for Rhode Island. In response the British army withdrew most of its troops into Newport, sent their baggage into town, and began to reinforce the defensive lines around the north and east sides of the city. The men on Conanicut Island were also withdrawn, leaving only a detachment in the redoubts there. The French fleet arrived at the mouth of Narragansett Bay on July 29. Over the next 11 days, the British purposely burned and/or scuttled as many as 23 Royal Navy and privately owned ships in the Sakonnet River and in Narragansett Bay north of Newport (to avoid their capture), and in Newport Harbor (to protect the city).

When the French arrived on the 29th, the British removed the remaining troops from Conanicut Island and by August 4 all of the excess baggage and most of the tents of the troops at the north end of Aquidneck Island had been sent into Newport. By that time, the only British guns at the north end of the island were a 12 pounder at Bristol Ferry and "an old 9 pr" at Howland's Bridge. The British ordered that all the wells in Portsmouth were to be filled in, and as the Americans prepared to cross onto Aquidneck, the British blew up one of their magazines on the north end of the island. The French fleet entered Narragansett Bay on August 8 and General Pigot ordered his remaining troops behind the lines in Newport. Sullivan was supposed to wait until August 10 to move his American troops, but when he heard that the British had withdrawn into Newport, he sent them early to occupy the abandoned fortifications at the north end of Aquidneck Island and called for the heavy cannon at Fox Point in the Providence River to be moved to Portsmouth.

Meanwhile, the British fleet under Admiral Howe had assembled at New York, and then sailed for Narragansett Bay, arriving on August 9, just as the French were beginning to send their troops ashore on Conanicut and just as the Americans took possession of the abandoned British positions on Aquidneck Island. After re-shipping their troops, the French fleet sailed out of Narragansett Bay to meet the Royal Navy ships in what should have been a decisive sea battle.

While the naval battle was to unfold in the North Atlantic, John Hancock, commander of a Massachusetts militia unit, reinforced Sullivan at Rhode Island. This brought the American strength to a level that Sullivan estimated would be enough to take Newport without French aid. By August 11 most of the American troops were camped about Fort Butts and they were ordered to march south the next day. The British made preparations to burn Newport, in case the naval battle went against them and they had to abandon the city.

However, a hurricane damaged both British and American fleets so badly that the great sea battle was abandoned. The same hurricane hit Rhode Island August 12-13 with such force that men and horses were killed, camps were leveled, and stores destroyed on both sides. Despite the difficulty, by August 14 two American battalions had encamped south of Quaker Hill, and a few men were seen reconnoitering East Main Road and the heights of Honeyman Hill in Middletown, opposite Newport. Rhode Island Governor William Greene replaced the powder ruined by the storm, and at 6:00 a.m. on August 15 the American army began its move south toward Newport.

III-D: The Siege of Newport: August 15 to 28, 1778

By late in the afternoon of August 15 the American troops were in place about two and a half miles from the British redoubts. The next day the Americans began to build fortifications on Honeyman Hill. While the Americans built their earthworks and dug their trenches toward Newport, and while the British responded by reinforcing their existing defensive line and creating a second line of earthworks to protect the city, both sides conducted an almost continuous cannonade. No fighting other than sentry skirmishes took place during this period, which was called the Siege of Newport. During this siege, American reserves and those among the sick who could do garrison duty remained at Fort Butts.

After the hurricane the British fleet sailed to New York for repairs. The French fleet followed them, but then sailed for Rhode Island, arriving on August 20. Admiral d'Estaing believed that it was only a matter of time before the Royal Navy ships would return to Rhode Island, and he therefore reported to the Americans his intention to sail for Boston to repair his ships. The Americans tried to convince the French to stay, but by August 22 it was clear that diplomacy had failed and the French sailed for Boston, leaving the American army behind. On the same day the British fleet left New York and then followed the French.

The next day Sullivan called a council of war and all his officers recommended preparing for possible withdrawal while holding the American position until they could be reinforced. By August 24 Sullivan knew that the British had sent a large fleet from New York and that it would be at least three weeks before the French ships could

return from Boston. On August 26 desultory cannon fire between the two sides continued, but the Americans ceased further construction of their works along Honeyman Hill and began to send their heavy cannon to the north end of Aquidneck Island. Sullivan's second council of war on the 26th determined again to hold the American position until they could be reinforced.

While the Americans were deciding whether to withdraw, Admiral Howe followed the French to Boston, but sent word to Newport on August 27 that other British reinforcements would soon arrive. The American leaders knew that the balance of power had now tipped toward the British. Sullivan again called a council of war on August 28 to determine the best course of action. The Americans knew that the British were on their way and that there was no hope for immediate reinforcement, despite the fact that Lafayette rode to Boston to press D'Estaing to send his troops, if not his ships. This time the decision was for the American besieging army to return to the north end of Aquidneck Island to await the return of the French fleet, or the hoped-for arrival of French troops overland from Boston. By then, all of the American stores and heavy baggage had been removed from Newport.

III-E: The Battle of Rhode Island: August 29 - 30, 1778

At 8:00 p.m. on August 28 the American army broke camp, at 9:00 p.m. began its retreat, and by 2-3:00 a.m. on the 29th the Americans were arriving in Portsmouth. General Sullivan used Butts Hill Fort as his headquarters during the ensuing Battle of Rhode Island. Not only was it the main stronghold on the north end of Aquidneck Island, but it supported "heavy guns," and the whole battlefield between Fort Butts, Quaker Hill and Turkey Hill could easily be seen from its heights.

The Americans established their first line to the south of Butt's Hill. The American left flank was protected by troops under General Tyler near the Sakonnet River, and General Glover commanded the American left with Quaker Hill before him. In the center was Colonel Christopher Greene, with Butts Hill at his back. Ezekiel Cornell's brigade was to Greene's right with its right flank on West Main Road. On the right of West Main Road was General Varnum facing Turkey Hill. Christopher Greene's regiment, commanded by Major Samuel Ward, Jr. and including 138 Black soldiers, held the redoubt near the shore that anchored the American right wing. The American right flank was protected by those under Lieutenant Colonel Henry Brockholst Livingston near the Narragansett Bay shore. In the second line, about a mile behind the first and to the north of Butts Hill, were Titcomb and Lovell. The reserve was under the command of General West further to the north, near a creek, probably along the line of British redoubts from Bristol Ferry to Howland's Bridge, the present Bristol Ferry Road, and Boyd's Lane. Three miles to the south of Butts Hill, the Americans stationed two advance parties along West Main and East Main Roads.

Summary of Troops and Naval Movements August 29-30, 1778

Suggested interpretation of troop locations during the Battle of Rhode Island

At dawn on the 29th the British realized that the Americans had abandoned their positions around Newport. By 6:30 a.m. General Prescott with the 38th and 54th Regiments had occupied the American fortifications on Honeyman Hill. Brigadier General Francis Smith, with the 22nd and 43rd Regiments and the flank companies of the 38th and 54th marched up East Main Road toward Quaker Hill. Captain von Malsberg and Captain Noltenius with their own companies of Hessian Chasseurs marched up West Main Road toward Turkey Hill. Major General von Lossberg followed Malsberg and Noltenius with two Anspach battalions. Pigot then ordered von Huyne'e Regiment and Fanning's Regiment of Provincials to reinforce von Lossberg on the west. He also ordered Major General Prescott to detach the 54th to reinforce Smith on the east, and for Brown's regiment to march from the Newport lines to do to same. Pigot remained in Newport with the Landgrave, Ditfourth, and Bunau regiments in case the American retreat was a ruse.

The Hessian troops drove the American advanced parties north along West Main Road until they reached the American line, and then took up a position at Turkey Hill. The British pursued the Americans along the rising slope of East Main Road to Quaker Hill, where fierce fighting ensued before the Americans retreated behind their own lines. Starting about 9 a.m. the British guns on Turkey and Quaker Hills began a bombard- ment of the American positions.

The second British attack was not long in coming. By 10:00 a.m. four (possibly five) British ships had taken up positions between Prudence Island and the American right to support the Hessian attack there. Despite multiple assaults, the Hessian troops could not dislodge Major Ward and the Black slaves of the First Rhode Island Regiment from the advanced redoubt located between Turkey and Lehigh Hills. The attacks were over by 3:00 p.m. and the Hessian troops were so impressed with the defense of Ward's redoubt, especially by the Black Regiment, that their colonel "asked for a transfer because if he led his troops into another disaster, his own men would shoot him, instead." The cannonade and skirmishing continued until nightfall.

The British and American armies remained in their positions with continued artillery exchanges on August 30, and the Americans worked to build large redoubts on their right and left, with a line connecting them. British engineers built only part of a redoubt on their right. On the morning of the 30th Sullivan received news that the British fleet was on its way from New York to Rhode Island with reinforcements, and the American council of war decided again to retreat, this time to the forts at Tiverton.

Despite the fact that Sullivan had his troops pitch tents and build redoubts in front of Fort Butts, the British were not deceived and knew of the impending American

Contemporary map of the Battle of Rhode Island (RI State Archives)

retreat. Nevertheless, they made no move to deter the Americans, who removed the militia first, plus all the heavy equipment and livestock. By the evening of the 30th, only the Continental troops were left on Aquidneck Island. Near 11 p.m. Lafayette returned to Rhode Island after riding the 70 miles to Boston in seven hours, meeting with d'Estaing, and returning in six and a half hours. Although d'Estaing offered to march his troops overland to Rhode Island, the offer was, of course, too late.

Shortly before midnight on August 30 the main part of the American army reached Tiverton, and three hours later the last of the Americans left Aquidneck Island. Fort Butts had protected the initial retreat, and the guns of Fort Barton in Tiverton, and the battery on Gould Island in the Sakonnet, protected the troops as they crossed to the mainland. Some of the American troops also crossed at Bristol Ferry, and then encamped in and near Bristol. Lafayette, chagrined at having missed the fighting, was placed in charge of the retreating troops and General Sullivan crossed in the last boat. The American decision to retreat proved to be wise, because the British fleet arrived at Newport the next day.

The Americans held Fort Butts for only seventeen days in 1778. Despite that short time, the earthwork was particularly important because it had been Sullivan's stronghold and the center of the American line during the Battle of Rhode Island.

Although the Siege in July and August of that year did not capture Newport, it is important to the history of the Revolution because it was the first effort at a cooperative venture between the French and American troops, and laid the foundation for their future success. The Battle was also important, despite its failure, because it was the last major confrontation in the northern colonies, after which the focus of the war turned to the south.

III-F: After the Battle of Rhode Island: Sept. 1, 1778 - 2009

After the American troops returned to the mainland, the British resumed control of Fort Butts, and when the British abandoned Rhode Island in October of 1779, the Americans again occupied it. In the summer of 1780 they connected the redoubt and the barracks into one structure.

The French garrisoned the Fort in 1780 and 1781, but following the end of the war, the area lay undisturbed because the earthwork provided little building materials to be salvaged for other structures and because the area on the top of the hill could not easily be farmed. In 1783, just after the end of the war, the State of Rhode Island sold the iron gates that were part of the fortifications. (See Appendix V for an interpretation of the Fort’s evolution.)

A great deal of structure remained visible at Fort Butts in 1848 when Benson Lossing visited it and reported the presence of embankments as high as 20 feet, plus a fosse

View looking south from Butts Hill Fort to Quaker Hill (from Benson Lossing’s Field Guide to the Revolution).

[moat], ravelins, and ruts made by the carriage-wheels of the cannons at the embrasures. Lossing wrote that the top of the hill was completely open and that “I could find no sheltered nook in making the sketch; upon the bleak summit of the hill I plied the pencil, until I could hold it no longer; but the drawing was finished.”

View looking northwest from Butts Bill Fort to Bristol (from Benson Lossing’s Field Guide to the Revolution).

By 1896 Edwards Field reported that the Fort Butts structure was still quite evident, with very little overgrowth and vistas from which the visitor could see as far north as Warren and Barrington, and as far south as Little Compton and the ocean.

Photo from Field’s 1896 Revolutionary Defences of Rhode Island. This view, looking northeast towards Tiverton, shows the historical conditions at and around the fortifications – open fields and long vistas.

By 1907, however, the fort itself and the surrounding Dyer family farm property had been platted for 200 house lots. Local preservationists worked to save the earthwork and on August 29, 1923, the Fort was opened as a park with a series of tablets to mark the line of the works. Two thousand residents of Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, and Bristol in Rhode Island, and Fall River in Massachusetts attended the celebration for the opening of the park, as well as members of the Naval Training Station band, the Bristol Train of Artillery, the Fort Adams band, and the Newport Artillery Company, with the U.S.S. ANTARES, at anchor in the Middle (today called East) Passage of Narragansett Bay.

The property had been donated to the Newport Historical Society by Dr. Roderick Terry, who said that the day:

...was the realization of the dream of many years, nor had he been alone in this dream for several times others had attempted to secure possession of this site, but for one reason or another had been unable; and he felt grateful that he could be the means of preserving to posterity these fortifications, which he hoped

would serve to all future generations as a reminder of what our ancestors had done to give us our Independence ... [and that] these fortifications were not given to the Newport Historical Society as a personal possession of their own so much as a trust, which they held for the community.

Portion of 1907 Atlas of Newport County showing platting for house lots at Butts Hill Fort

The deed transferring the Fort Butts property to the Newport Historical Society had a number of permanent conditions and restrictions:

1. That the said Newport Historical Society and its successors and assigns shall forever preserve, keep and maintain the said premises as a memorial or monument to the memory of those who fought in the American-Revolutionary War and as a place where the public may enter, view and study the battle field on which our soldiers fought, be enlightened in the battles thereon fought, and in American history.

2. That said premises shall always retain the name of "Butts Hill Fort".

3. That said premises shall never be used as a means of obtaining pecuniary gain or profit.

Dr. Terry then explained:

I further provide that in the event that said Newport Historical Society shall at any time fail to preserve, keep and maintain the said premises as aforesaid or shall violate or fail to observe and carry out any of the foregoing conditions, then in that event the said Newport Historical Society shall forthwith stand seized of said premises to the use of the State of Rhode Island, in which State of Rhode Island the title to said premises shall forthwith vest; and I hereby grant and convey to said State the right to re-enter and take possession of said premises for any breach of the foregoing conditions by the said Newport Historical Society, said premises to be held, kept and, maintained by said State of Rhode Island for the uses and purposes aforesaid; and the Attorney General for the time being of said State or any other proper officer representing the said State shall have the right and authority to take possession thereof to the use of the State and may also be any appropriate remedy either at law or in equity, enforce the provisions of this deed.

Dr. Terry was congratulated because "these most interesting relics of the Revolution were now to be preserved for all time, and to form a public park, where everyone would be welcome to come and recall famous days of the past, and to admire the wonderful view in all directions which these earthworks afford." Details of the original conveyance are given here in full because they continue to control the property.

By 1934 the fort at Butts Hill was overgrown with low vegetation and some trees. In 1955 a school had been built to the south of the Fort and in 1964 the Portsmouth High School was constructed on the terraces of the hill's south face. Except for the fort and its associated park properties, the north and east slopes of the hill are all now mainly residential.

Although there may have been intermittent attempts to manage the fort, by 1968 the State of Rhode Island had apparently taken possession of it and on June 26 of that year the Department of Natural Resources conveyed it to the Town of Portsmouth "in consideration of One Dollar paid." The deed for that conveyance contains the same restrictions on the property's use as the original deed from Dr. Terry to the Newport Historical Society: That it should always be preserved as a monument to the Revolutionary War and its soldiers, that it should always retain the name Butts Hill Fort, and that it not be used for profit.

As public interest in the Revolution grew during the 1970s with various Bi-Centennial celebrations, there was renewed interest in Fort Butts and the Battle of Rhode Island. In 1973 the Battle of Rhode Island Historic District was nominated to the National Park

Battle of Rhode Island National Historic Landmark Districts (Butts Hill Fort is in the district to the upper right)

Service’s National Register of Historic Places, and in 1974 it became a National Historic Landmark. The nomination was in two parts: the 31 acres of Fort Butts and its surrounding properties (including the 6.75 acres in the present park), and the Main Battlefield, a 365-acre tract that included Turkey, Almy, and Lehigh Hills. Unfortunately, this division excludes the area where most of the American troops were positioned during the Battle of Rhode Island along their northern line, and the British and Hessian positions to the south.

In a small park located between the British and American lines, a monument and flag pole was erected by the Newport, Rhode Island, branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Rhode Island Bicentennial Commission in 1974. The park, restored/redesigned in 2007, is located west of the northbound lane of West Main Road near where Route 24 begins, and commemorates the role played by the Black Regiment in the Battle of Rhode Island.

This park is also near Barker's Brook, in an area that is called "Bloody Brook" because the flat plain near its mouth has traditionally been known as the location of the fiercest fighting during the Battle. A nearby section along the brook is called Hessian's Hole, traditionally thought to be the common grave of the 60 Hessian soldiers who died in the Battle, although that specific site has never been located.

When the Carnegie Abbey Club planned to develop its golf course and residential properties at the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Battle of Rhode Island, part of the required archeological remediation was to install interpretive signs to explain the Revolutionary War events in the area. One sign is located at Lehigh Hill that overlooks the battlefield to the west. It is an easy turnoff from West Main Road and is an accessible and popular public park. The sign at the top of Turkey Hill is less accessible, demanding a short walk from the parking area, but with leafless vegetation in the winter, it gives a view of the battlefield to the north.

At Fort Butts itself, limited archeological investigations have merely scratched the surface of what the site could tell of its Revolutionary War use. The most detailed research design and methodology for a study of Fort Butts was created by Larry Babits in his 1979a report. Although the ensuing fieldwork identified a few materials related to the British, Hessian, and American occupying forces, the work was not conclusive and a planned follow-up study did not materialize.

In July and August of 1988 the Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc., completed a Phase I and a Phase II study of the area to the southwest of the Fort, where a water tank and pipeline were to be built. This effort discovered only a few items identified as pre- historic and the construction was completed.

In 2008 the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project conducted a Phase I-b survey of a limited portion of the properties to the south of the Fort, where a wind turbine was to be constructed. This effort also discovered no significant cultural material and the wind turbine is now complete. The Rhode Island historical and archaeological site designations for Fort Butts are 0361 and RI-OI-04.

Residential areas around Butts Hill Fort.

Today the Butts Hill Fort park and earthworks are overgrown and abandoned, and most of the earlier signage has disappeared, although the main granite marker at the entrance to the Fort remains. The presence of the local high school, combined with the derelict condition of the park, have introduced the opportunity for juvenile (and other) vandalism, mainly in the open areas around, and in the center of, the fort. Although the trees and heavy undergrowth that today cover the earthwork proper provide some protection from such vandalism, this vegetation is also a major threat to the physical integrity of the structure and impedes the ability to monitor activities at the site.

This condition has precipitated intermittent calls that "something should be done" to protect Butts Hill Fort, to celebrate its obvious historic significance, and to identify the resources to protect it and its park. The present report is a response to those calls.

IV: Context and Threats

IV-A: General Description

History has left Butts Hill Fort as a remnant of a great battlefield in the midst of modern development. Only sixty years ago the Town of Portsmouth was a largely agricultural community with only a few pockets of dense residential development. Like many Rhode Island communities, Portsmouth was within easy commuting distance of urban centers such as Newport, Fall River, and Providence. The development of highways and bridges made Portsmouth a natural center for suburban development and the town grew exponentially in the period from 1960 (when it had a population under 5,000) to 2000, when the population was over 17,500.

Aerial view of Butts Hill and surrounding area

This overall change in the town’s population and physical fabric of suburban housing has had an impact on the context of Butts Hill Fort. Despite being secured from private

development by the State and the Town of Portsmouth, the site has evolved over the years, and the space surrounding the site has changed dramatically as houses now surround it on the north and east, Route 24 to the west, and the high school and athletic facilities on the south.

IV-B: Key Site Characteristics

IV-B-1: Cultural Resources

Many of the 18th century fortifications such as the ramparts and ditches that compose Butts Hill Fort are intact and in recognizable form. To be sure, erosion over time has softened their forms, reduced original heights and filled in some outer ditches. But the overall character and unique features of the fortifications remain intact. Specific elements include:

North battery ramparts: The oldest portion of the fortification is overgrown and softened by erosion, but is intact except for its south wall (now open to the parade). South battery ramparts: The north, south and east faces of this battery’s ramparts are still intact, except for minor erosion where trails intersect. The west ramparts were removed during the expansion of the fortifications during the French occupation period. North and east ditch and glacis: At the base of the ramparts the moat is still recognizable, with the glacis descending to the north. Parade ground: In the center of the fortifications the large parade ground is maintained and mowed on a regular basis, although the brush is crowding in from the surrounding rampart areas.

IV-B-2: Archeological resources

There have been only limited archeological studies of northern Aquidneck Island near where the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island took place, and especially at the Butts Hill Fort area. Given the importance to the history of the American Revolution, and the potential for a pre-historic presence, it is surprising that so little work has been done there. Modern laws relating to historic preservation have generated the need to conduct archeological investigations prior to recent construction, but earlier residential, educational, commercial, and civic developments were created without such studies. As noted in the text of this report, the creation of the park around the fort forestalled the further residential development of the fort in the early 1900s.

A 1978 archeological investigation of a small portion of the fort was inconclusive, although it generated a great deal of cultural material. The attempt to secure funding for further work was unsuccessful. Two surveys of the area to the southwest of the fort were done ten years later, where a water tower was to be erected. A 1998 survey of a portion of the Battle of Rhode Island study area a mile or more to the southwest of the fort failed to locate the major features known to have been there, but generated a great deal of cultural material of a later date. As recently as 2008, a survey was done of the limited area to the south of the fort where an electricity-generating windmill has been erected.

Historical studies suggest that a number of important features may yet be found at the north end of Aquidneck Island , such as the mass burial place of the Hessian soldiers fallen in the battle (called “Hessian’s Hole), a number of known permanent earthworks that supported the approaches to Butts Hill Fort (especially Ward’s Redoubt), a number temporary earthworks (built the day of the battle), and supporting structures related to the long-term occupation of the fort (such as cesspits, animal pounds, etc). Butts Hill Fort had a history of occupation by many different Revolutionary War armies, it was central to the Battle of Rhode Island, it is to a great extent intact, and some of the outlying open-space areas are relatively undisturbed. This means that there is a need for continued archeological research at and around the fort.

Appendix III is a summary of the cultural materials discovered by previous archeological surveys.

IV-B-3: Historic View Corridors

Fort Butts was not the center of fighting during the Battle of Rhode Island, but was instead the American command post, chosen because its height and location afforded it clear views of the entire battlefield. Despite all the nearby development and intrusions, some of the original vistas used by the American commanders to direct their forces in the Battle of Rhode Island remain clear.

IV-B-4: Open Land

Not all of the land owned by the Town of Portsmouth is occupied by historical fortifications:

. To the north (between Dyer Street and Education Lane and labeled as Parcel 2 on the Plat Map), there is a series of lots that are overgrown, but are located in a “gateway” position at the entrance to the historic Butts Hill Fort site. This parcel is located outside the historic fortifications complex.

. To the south of the Butts Hill fortifications there is a large open field (labeled as Parcel 3 on Plat Map) which retains its character and provides a direct view corridor to the battlefield, with Quaker and Turkey Hills visible in the distance and the American position in view in the foreground.

IV-B-5: Vegetative Overgrowth

This entire area of Portsmouth was once much more open that it now is. Originally used as cultivated farmland or haylofts, the fields were kept open (this was especially important when the fortifications were garrisoned, in order to provide a clear field of fire for the cannon and infantry). During 2008, the site has only been minimally maintained by the Town of Portsmouth, and the majority of the site (and the entirety of the actual earthworks) has become overgrown. This overgrowth hides the fortifications, can damage the earthworks and makes interpreting the site nearly impossible. This overgrowth also helps to conceal juvenile delinquency at the site.

IV-B-6: Modern Intrusions

The site has seen more than its share of modern development. During the early part of the 20th century the center of the fort was graded for use as a playing field. The construction of Route 24 to the west sometimes brings the sound of passing cars. Portsmouth High School is located a respectful distance away, but paved areas and fences are almost in the fortifications themselves. The two large water towers are adjacent to the site. While they do not damage the original earthworks physically, they are very prominent visually, especially in winter months when vegetation is bare. The tall new wind turbine also impedes views to and from the fortifications themselves.

IV-B-7: Surrounding Residential Areas

The area around the fortification (and its associated preserved land) is filled with residential properties. These are buffered from the fort site itself by thick vegetative growth which serves to separate the uses.

IV-C: Key Threats

There are a number of threats to the continued integrity of Butts Hill Fort.

IV-C-1: Threat 1 - Invasive vegetation

The uncontrolled growth of trees and shrubs on the site may provide some protection from pot-hunting, but their root systems threaten the earthworks. While certain types of vegetation stabilize the soil and prevent long-term erosion, the growth of inappropriate tree species can wreak structural damage and impact in situ archeological remains. Overly large trees in the rocky soil that are downed in high winds uproot the area of soil surrounding the root ball, leaving a cavity where roots grew into the earthworks.

Large trees growing in the outer line of eastern ramparts at Butts Hill Fort.

IV-C-2: Threat 2 - Vandalism and Illegal Activities

Because the fort is located away from the eyes of the public, a major threat to any structures or features is vandalism. Plaques which memorialize the sacrifice of the men who fought in the Battle of Rhode Island at the site have been stolen. Ornately carved granite monuments which explain the significance of the site have been defaced with graffiti. Litter often accumulates on the site until a civic-minded group of Boy Scouts or citizens undertakes a clean-up.

Because the site is away from regular pedestrian traffic patterns and is invisible from traveled roadways, it is an easy location for illegal drug consumption or transactions. Neighbors recount that underage drinking parties are common on the site. More unsettling for historians, there have been continued disturbances where people with shovels, metal detectors and other gear loot the site for its archeological remains.

Graffiti on historical marker at Butts Hill Fort.

IV-C-3: Threat 3 - Lack of Awareness

Some citizens care deeply about Butts Hill Fort and many wish to see the site understood for its significance. However, it appears that for many Portsmouth residents, the site is “that overgrown area near the high school.” They are unaware of its historical significance.

Because of this lack of awareness, there is understandable apathy about the site’s future. Coupled with the overgrown nature of the site, the graffiti, the litter and the presence of unsupervised high school students, most residents are reluctant to explore the area to learn more or take advantage of its assets.

On the other hand, when informed of the site’s importance, members of the local public support the idea that an appropriate management plan be developed for the Butts Hill Fort park. This interest is also noted among members of the international audience that shares an interest in the American Revolution and that visits sites as part of the American heritage tourism industry.

Photo looking southwest from interior. Because of overgrowth, the existing character of the fort is abandoned and remote. V: Site Protections

Several important laws and policies protect the fort from further destruction:

V-A: Federal and State Policies

Because Butts Hill Fort is part of a National Historic Landmark, federal and Rhode Island preservation laws will influence some decisions relating to its management.

V-A-1: The National Preservation Act of 1966

Butts Hill Fort has been listed as a National Historic Landmark as part of the Battle of Rhode Island nomination. Because of this, it is afforded review and protection in federally funded or permitted activities under Section 106 of the National Preservation Act of 1966. This means that if a new roadway or mining permit is proposed, that activity will be carefully reviewed for potential negative impacts to the remaining historic fabric of Butts Hill Fort.

V-A-2: The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties

These are the Federal government’s standards to promote responsible preservation practices that help protect our Nation's irreplaceable cultural resources. They are used by regulatory agencies, property owners, and stewards to make essential decisions about which features of the historic resource should be saved and which may be changed. Any work at Butts Hill Fort will comply with these Standards.

Standard 1: A property will be used as it was historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces, and spatial relationships.

Standard 2: The historic character of a property will be retained and preserved. The removal of distinctive materials or alteration of features, spaces, and spatial relationships that characterize a property will be avoided.

Standard 3: Each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or elements from other historic properties, will not be undertaken.

Standard 4: Changes to a property that have acquired historic significance in their own right will be retained and preserved.

Standard 5: Distinctive materials, features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property will be preserved.

Standard 6: Deteriorated historic features will be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature will match the old in design, color, texture, and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features will be substantiated by documentary and physical evidence.

Standard 7: Chemical or physical treatments, if appropriate, will be undertaken using the gentlest means possible. Treatments that cause damage to historic materials will not be used.

Standard 8: Archeological resources will be protected and preserved in place. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures will be undertaken.

Standard 9: New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction will not destroy historic materials, features, and spatial relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.

Standard 10: New additions and adjacent or related new construction will be undertaken in such a manner that, if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

V-B: Local Policies

Not only does the Town of Portsmouth own the Butts Hill Fort park, but local regulations and attitudes control decisions relating to that historic property.

V-B-1: Planning Regulations

Under Rhode Island Law, all towns in the state are required to complete and adopt a Comprehensive Plan which sets the goals for the future and acts as the guide for all municipal decisions in land use, economic development, cultural and natural resource preservation, transportation circulation, recreation, services and facilities, and other topics. The Town of Portsmouth’s Comprehensive Plan articulates the following goals for Butts Hill Fort:

o In the Historical Resources section, there is a specific recommendation to: “Utilize the “Historic Marker Program” as a tool for raising site specific historic consciousness.”

o In the Open Space and Recreation section, Table 2 identifies Fort Butts as a Major Open Space Parcel owned by the Town. This same section calls out the Fort as a hiking location for recreation.

o The Open Space and Recreation section, the site is defined as: “Fort Butts - An earthwork redoubt dating from the Revolutionary War. The fort was occupied successively by British, Hessian, and American troops and anchored the American northern line during the Battle of Rhode Island (1778). It offers today the same commanding view of the central bay that made it such a strategic location during the Revolutionary War. The fort is located north of the tennis courts at Portsmouth High School.”

V-B-2: Zoning Regulations

Some regulatory supports for site preservation are already in place.

V-B-2-a: Land Use Regulations

The parcels under study are designated as “R-20” by the Town of Portsmouth, and are subject to the applicable zoning regulations. Generally, this allows residential uses at a density of 1 building per 20,000 square feet of lot area. However, the more restrictive terms of the deed which govern the ownership of the Butts Hill Fort property preclude such active land uses.

V-B-2-b: Historic Overlay Zoning

Portsmouth has not currently enacted the State of Rhode Island’s Historic District Overlay Zoning Ordinance, so it cannot create an overlay zone at the Butts Hill Fort site. Given that the site is protected by the terms of the deed and by the review of the Rhode Island State Historical Preservation Office for any State and Federal government undertakings, the site is well-protected legally and local oversight is probably not necessary.

V-B-2-c: Town Council position

The Portsmouth Town Council has been supportive of historic preservation for the Butts Hill Fort complex, with the important reservation that the Town not be unduly burdened with improvement costs that will be passed on to the taxpayer. To that end, they have urged an approach to improvement and maintenance that would allow a not- for-profit organization to take the responsibility for the Fort in the future, perhaps under an ownership or long-term lease agreement with the Town.

VI: Public Priorities

In order to involve the community in the planning for the future of the Butts Hill Fort, RIMAP and NCA convened two public meetings, both of which were held at the Portsmouth Town Hall. Input generated by the first meeting was included in the presentation at the second, and both sets of comments and advice were used to create the present management plan.

VI-A: Preliminary Announcement

The first announcement of the process by which to develop a management plan for Butts Hill Fort was at the June 16, 2008 Annual Meeting of the Portsmouth Historical Society. D. K. Abbass, Ph.D., (Director of the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project)

gave the annual lecture about Rhode Island in the Revolution, with special emphasis on the importance of Fort Butts. Also at that meeting Dr. Abbass and Mohamad Farzan, RIBA, AIA (Partner with Newport Collaborative Architects), signed the contract by which the present report was initiated.

VI–A-1: Workshop 1

The first public meeting was held on the evening of August 14th, 2008 at Portsmouth Town Hall. To publicize the meetings, notices were placed in the Newport Daily News and the Providence Journal. RIMAP volunteers went door to door in the residential area around Fort Butts with flyers announcing the purpose of the meeting, its time, and its place. In addition, flyers were placed in the Portsmouth Town Hall and Portsmouth Free Library a few weeks prior to the event. Announcements were also mailed to RIMAP’s members, distributed to the Town Council, and the Town Manager was briefed. Approximately 25 members of the community attended the meeting including several town officials as well as residents who live near Fort Butts.

The meeting began with a presentation by Dr. Abbass of RIMAP, who detailed the events leading up to the Battle of Rhode Island and the historical significance of the site. Next, Arnold Robinson presented the findings of NCA’s research and mapping of the site. He reviewed issues with the existing conditions of the site, how the fortifications grew and evolved over time, and the location and context within which the fort exists today. He went on to describe how other Revolutionary and Civil War earthwork fortifications have been preserved and maintained.

At this point, NCA staff separated the audience into smaller discussion groups who were given two questions to discuss: (1) “What uses do you want to promote at Fort Butts?” and (2) “Which activities do you want to prevent?” Each group had facilitators and the groups met for 30 minutes to discuss these two questions.

Uses that the discussion groups recommended most frequently included:

1. Use of the fort area as an open space

2. Educational components, including: a. Installation of interpretive plaques b. Establishment of heritage tourism c. Creation of museum/interpretive center d. Environmental lab-work by Portsmouth high school history and science classes

3. Maintenance of land and preservation of earthworks

4. Rehabilitation of part of the fort 33

5. Availability of space for use by re-enactors, Scouting organizations and other interested groups.

Uses that the discussion groups wanted to prevent:

1. Increases in noise, traffic and parking-related issues in surrounding residential areas

2. Underage drinking/partying/criminal activity

3. Use of Town funds for Butts Hill Fort preservation activity

Next, the participants gathered as one group and the results of the smaller group discussions were shared with the wider audience. The audience was informed that they would continue to be invited for further input as the proposal process moved forward. Several methods were used for this, including e-mail comments and phone calls from participants who had additional thoughts. All Workshop I participants were also invited to sign up to be contacted for future workshops.

The outcomes from this first session were measurable. The project received direct expressions of preferences from participants and surrounding neighbors. In addition, there was coverage of the event in the Newport Daily News and an editorial supporting preservation efforts at Butts Hill Fort. Appendix IV gives copies of these articles.

VI–A-2: Workshop 2

The second public meeting was held on the evening of Thursday, October 23, 2008, again at the Portsmouth Town Hall. Arnold Robinson of NCA presented the first draft of the Butts Hill Fort management plan to the audience, and Dr. Abbass presented a potential process by which to implement the plan. There followed a question and answer session, and general discussion with the dozen attendees. Comments from this meeting were integrated into the present report.

The outcomes of the two meetings are found in Appendices I and II. The general consensus of the public participants was then organized into two main Goals: (1) To protect and preserve the Butts Hill Fort earthworks, and (2) To determine how to provide the necessary means by which to implement that protection and preservation. Each Goal was then divided into a number of thematic Strategies designed to support the Goal, and each Strategy includes a number of action items that are specific Projects designed to implement the Strategy. Many of the projects are well in hand, and are poised to support the preservation Strategies for Butts Hill Fort.

The Goals, Strategies, and Projects are organized into the following Preservation Recommendations.

VII: Preservation Recommendations [* = Project Initiated ** = Project mature]

GOAL I: To protect and preserve the physical earthworks and related features of Butts Hill Fort, a Revolutionary War site in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Strategy A: Determine the current condition of Butts Hill Fort and park

Project 1: Document current condition of earthworks and related features *

Project 2: Engage in continued, long-term historical investigations of Revolutionary War history in Rhode Island, especially Butts Hill Fort **

Project 3: Engage in continued, long-term archaeological investigations of the Butts Hill Fort area and related features **

Project 4: Compare the current condition of the Butts Hill Fort earthworks and features with their historical development and historical contexts *

Strategy B: Protect and preserve the earthworks and related features

Project 1: Use archaeological and historical data to guide all decisions relating to protection and preservation of the earthworks and related features *

Project 2: Identify areas of the earthworks and related features that demand stabilization *

Project 3: Identify areas of the earthworks and related features that demand the removal of vegetation *

Project 4: Monitor after initial stabilization and vegetation removal, and repeat stabilization and removal when necessary

Strategy C: Encourage public access, consistent with preservation

Project 1: Develop all improvements to Butts Hill Fort consistent with human safety

Project 2: Ensure that public access does not interfere with local residential traffic patterns

Project 3: Limit public access to the earthworks and related features to a single entrance

Project 4: Provide a parking area near the single public access entrance

Project 5: Establish a security structure for continual monitoring of the site.

Strategy D: Develop physical facilities and programs for public enjoyment, contemplation, and education

Project 1: Create interpretive signage

Project 2: Create view platforms

Project 3: Create walking trails

Project 4: Provide re-enactment facilities

Project 5: Create an educational facility (integrated with the security structure) that would act as a museum for the interpretation of the site’s archaeology and history, and for the conservation, display, and interpretation of related artifact collections.

GOAL II: To create the permanent means by which to implement the protection and preservation of the physical earthworks and related features of Butts Hill Fort, a Revolutionary War site in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Strategy A: Create institutional leadership

Project 1: Promote continued research and administration by established not-for- profit organizations with Revolutionary War interests **

Project 2: Create a new not-for-profit organization specifically devoted to Revolutionary War study, site protection, and heritage tourism in Rhode Island **

Project 3: Create a “Friends” organization for Butts Hill Fort *

Project 4: Partner with other local, state, regional, and national organizations with Revolutionary War interests **

Strategy B: Provide the administrative infrastructure

Project 1: Raise the funds to support initial stabilization and vegetation removal *

Project 2: Raise the funds to develop a security/museum/educational/conservation facility *

Project 3: Establish a financial plan by which to provide the funds to continue site and facility maintenance *

Project 4: Ensure that funding does not rely solely on governmental sources **

Strategy C: Engage public support for Butts Hill Fort preservation and protection

Project 1: Create a website *

Project 2: Create tour brochures *

Project 3: Create other publications, presentations, media, etc. to share Butts Hill Fort history **

Project 4: Develop and support educational programs with student curricula and adult outreach, e.g., the PHS environmental studies program*

Project 5: Integrate Butts Hill Fort history with a state-wide heritage tourism program focused on the Revolutionary War **

Project 6: Develop volunteer programs to integrate the public into Butts Hill Fort preservation and protection plans. *

These preservation recommendations will guide future decisions regarding the protection, preservation, and long-term management of Butts Hill Fort. Immediate attention, however, must be paid to the threats of intrusive vegetation and malicious vandalism, coupled with some means by which to share the earthwork with a wide, better informed public. The following action plan addresses these immediate issues.

VIII: Immediate Action Plan for Preservation of Butts Hill Fort

I: Overall vision for Fort Butts: The Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management stresses three over-arching goals of historic earthworks preservation: A: Historic earthworks are protected and preserved. B: Historic earthworks are managed using sustainable practices that consider the associated ecological system. C: Historic earthworks are presented to the public in a way that is clearly understandable. II: Stabilize earthworks/remove vegetation in designated areas: According to the Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management, trees that pose a threat to the visitors and/or the earthworks should be identified and removed to prevent future damage to the earthworks. The historic significance of each area of the Butts Hill Fort has been evaluated and a clearing plan has been created based on the following criteria. Specific techniques are site specific and include: 37

A: The South Battery, East ditch/glacis and Center Parade areas deemed to have a high level of interpretive value should be cleared of most woody shrubs and trees. This will be done over the course of several years to prevent erosion. After trees and shrubs are removed, native grasses will be planted and an annual mowing schedule will ensure that the earthworks remain protected from erosion. Cutting the grasses to no less than six inches in height will also help to discourage visitors from climbing on the earthworks themselves. B; The South Wall area is considered to have intermediate interpretive value and should employ a partial canopy strategy. These areas can be cleared of the woody understory so that the earthworks are clearly visible from a field, path, road, etc. The trees will continue to supply the forest floor so there is no need to establish new grasses in these areas. C: The North Redoubt area is considered to have the least interpretive value should employ a full canopy strategy. This strategy is the most cost efficient because it requires minimal maintenance. Under this strategy, only hazardous trees are removed and the site is monitored biennially. This area may continue in use by the Portsmouth High School as an environmental classroom. III: Safety: By increasing visibility between the fort and Portsmouth high school, and through cooperation with local officials, the inappropriate and destructive activity that occurs at the Fort should be harder to perpetrate. The potential hazard for injury may also be diminished.

IV: Documentation: After the site has been cleared of some vegetation, a qualified surveying and documentation effort should be undertaken to fully document the site with a Class 1 Engineering Survey including full site topography, integrated with historical and military architectural notations.

V: New access pattern: This should be established so that there is a secure control point from a parking area at Butts Hill Fort and some type of visitor facility, ideally on Parcel 2 to the northeast of the Fort. Gates and signs can further focus access so that negative impacts to the surrounding residential neighborhood are minimized. In the short term this may mean sharing parking with Portsmouth High School property, but in the long term, parking and secured access should be from a dedicated parking area adjacent to a visitor facility.

VI: Create fields of view: Views overlooking the Battle of Rhode Island battlefield to the south and other historically significant vistas (e.g. the ferries to Tiverton and Bristol) shall be cleared for visitors where appropriate. These areas will provide a venue with historical interpretation so visitors can better see the battlefield and campaign locations and understand the physical history of the area.

A: Interpretive signage should be installed where relevant, explaining views, the earthworks, important aspects of the Battle of Rhode Island, etc.

B: Viewing platforms may be constructed where relevant.

VII: Future potential: An educational-museum space should be developed to tell the story of the Battle of Rhode Island and the Revolutionary War in Rhode Island. A suitable location for this might be at Parcel 2, along those Town-owned house lots between Education Lane and Dyer Street, adjacent to the Fort itself. This facility could house and display the results of previous archaeology and scholarship, as well as RIMAP’s Revolutionary War archeological work in the area’s waters.

VIII: Archaeological Sensitivity: Before any Action Plans are implemented at Butts Hill Fort, archaeological investigations must determine the locations of archaeological resources and to mitigate any potentially damaging effects from the installation of signage, view stands, parking lots, or other site disturbance.

Observation platform at Fort Independence, Boston, MA.

IX: Butts Hill Fort Site Improvements and Maintenance Budgets

These budgets were created through site visits with relevant contractors (landscape clearing, maintenance, planting, fences/wall repairs) or with recent pricing from comparable projects (security gates, interpretive panels, viewing platforms).

These are construction dollars only.

Capital Investments

Initial debris cleaning $ 6,500

Initial clearing of overgrowth $ 35,500

Grass overplanting $ 8,700

Repair of existing stone walls and fences $ 47,500

Rework site access and gates $ 7,600

Interpretive panels (three @ $2,400) $ 7,200

Viewing areas/platforms (two @ $3,200) $ 6,400

Capital Investments Total $119,400

Annual Site Maintenance

Annual trash cleanups by volunteer groups $ 0

Annual mowing (once/season) $ 4,800

Annual clearing of understory/hazardous trees $ 8,500

Wall/fence repairs $ 4,000

Interpretive panels maintenance $ 1,200

Viewing areas/platforms $ 1,000

Annual Maintenance Total $19,500

X: The Long Term Maintenance Plan: A Summary

The immediate needs of the Butts Hill Fort preservation plan are relatively simple to implement because this is an earthwork fort. Inappropriate plant coverage should be removed and walkways, signage, and viewing areas created. Once the site is more active and inviting to the public, current vandalism and other threats to the site should diminish. Development of more elaborate public outreach programs will depend on securing financial support, but that should be forthcoming through growing public interest generated by the early process of making the park more accessible.

As the owner of Butts Hill Fort, the Town of Portsmouth is in need of a partner to take the lead in the improvement of the site, in its appropriate interpretation, in its long-term maintenance, and in its financial support. Given the deed restrictions on the property, it will be vital to have a not-for-profit organization step in to fill this partnership role. In order to build predictability and legal protections into this relationship, the Town of Portsmouth might follow the method that has been used at several other historic forts in the United States by transferring ownership (or by providing a long-term lease of at least 100 years) to a not-for-profit organization to operate and occupy the site.

The not-for-profit manager of the site can then design improvements to the Fort which are controlled by Federal, State and local regulations, as well as professional archeological ethics and practices. The not-for-profit organization can use its 501(c)3 tax-exempt status to raise money from foundations, corporations and individual donors to carry out the work. In this way, the Town can relieve itself of the fiscal and liability obligations that have weighed heavily, while the not-for-profit organization can fulfill its mission to preserve, interpret, and maintain the historic Butts Hill Fort complex.

The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project is such a not-for-profit organization, with a proven track record of Revolutionary War scholarship, public outreach, education, and networking with related organizations. The Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project and its partner organizations are poised to take the leadership role in the protection and preservation of Butts Hill Fort.

XI: Bibliography

Abbass, D. K., 2000: Naval History and the Submerged Cultural Resources of Rhode Island. Report to the Naval Historical Center. Privately Printed. Copy on file at the RIMAP offices.

Abbass, D. K., 2002: Unpublished field notes and report for National Park Service study of selected Revolutionary War battlefields.

Abbass, D. K., 2007: Rhode Island in the Revolution, 4 vols., 2nd edition. Newport, Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project.

Abel, S. and Fran O'Donnell, 1975: Rhode Island Archaeological Survey: Preliminary Record - Fort Butts.

Amory, Thomas C., 1968: The Military Services and Public Life of Major-General John Sullivan, of the American Revolutionary Army. Port Washington, NY, Kennikat Press.

Andre, John, 1904: Andre's Journal ... June 1777 to November 1778... Boston, Bibliophile Society.

Anonymous, 1924: "The Siege of Newport, Day by Day," Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society, #51, pp. 16-19.

Anonymous, 1998: The National Parks Service, 1998: Guide to Sustainable Earthworks Management (90% Draft). http://www.nps.gov/phso/sp/jeawogui.htm

Anthony, A. Craig, 2000: Personal Communication to Paul A. Robinson, RI State Archaeologist, January 26, and February 15. Copy in RIMAP archives.

Archaeological Services, 2000: Archaeological Assessment ... Providence River. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Army Corp of Engineers Report.

Babits, L.E., 1978: Proposal for Summer Field Work at Fort Butts. n.p.

Babits, L.E., 1979a: Report on Preliminary Archaeological Investigation Fort Butts 1777- 1781. Brown University, Public Archaeology Lab.

Babits, L.E., 1979b: Proposal for Additional Testing Fort Butts. Brown University.

Balderston, Marion and David Syrett, Eds., 1975: The Lost War: Letters from British Officers during the American Revolution. New York, Horizon Press.

Blaskowitz, Charles, 1777: A Topographical Chart of the Bay of Narragansett in the Province of New England ... Charing Cross, London, Faden.

Borg, Linda, 1987: "Archaeologist uncovers 18th-century British vessel off Newport," Providence Journal.

Brockway, Lucinda A., n.d.: Cultural Landscape Assessment: The Bloody Run Links at Carnegie Abbey Golf Club, Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Kennebunk, ME, Past Designs.

Bull, Henry, 1906: Memoir of Rhode Island 1636-1783, As published in the Newport, Rhode Island Republican Jan 3, 1832-December 26, 1858 and the Newport Mercury January 14, 1854-November 23, 1861, Volume III, 1735-1783, copy in the Newport Historical Society Library.

Conley, Patrick T., 2005: "Tank for the memories on Butts Hill," Providence Journal, April 19, page not noted.

Cornwallis, Lt. Gen. Earl, 1778: "Letter to Lord George Germaine," Scots Magazine, October, p. 541.

Cover, Susan, 1998: "Two seek to preserve site of historic battle," Newport Daily News, February, no date given for photocopy in RIMAP archives.

Cresswell, Donald H., 1975: The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints. Washington, D. C., Library of Congress.

Deardon, Paul F., 1970: "The Siege of Newport: Inauspicious Dawn of Alliance," Rhode Island History, Vol. 29, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 17-35.

Deardon, Paul F., 1980: The Rhode Island Campaign of 1778: Inauspicious Dawn of Alliance. Providence, Rhode Island Bicentennial Foundation.

Denison, J., n.d.: Two manuscript maps showing military operations on Rhode Island, 1777-1778. One in the Rhode Island State Archives (published in Field 1896), the other possibly in the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Fage, Edward, 1777-1779: Manuscript chart of Aquidneck Island and environs. Original in the Clinton Collection, Clements Library, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Field, Edward, 1896: Revolutionary Defenses in Rhode Island. Providence, Preston and Rounds.

Garman, James E., 1978: A History of Portsmouth, Rhode Island 1638-1978: Newport, RI, Franklin Printing House.

Gradie, Robert R III and Kevin A. McBride, 1988: Report: Phase I Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey Water Tank and Pipeline Project Fort Butts Hill Portsmouth, Rhode Island. July, Storrs, CT, Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc.

Green(e), Fleet, 1777-1778: "Revolutionary War Journal," Manuscript in the possession of the Newport Historical Society, Newport, Rhode Island, Box 44, Folder 2. Also under title "Newport in the Hands of the British," Newport Mercury, Nov. 30, 1860.

Greene, George Washington, 1865: Historical View of the American Revolution. Port Washington, NY, Kennikat Press. Reprinted 1970.

Hertfelder, Eric, 1973: "Memorandum: Re National Register Nominations in Preparation," May 29. Photocopy of typescript in RIMAP archives.

Laurens, John, 1867: The Army Correspondence of ... in the years 1777-1778. New York, Bradford Club.

L.C. [Library of Congress], 1780 Untitled: Manuscript Map from the Rochambeau Collection, G3774 N4 S3 1780 P52 Roch 40.

Lippincott, Bertram., 1961: Indians, Privateers, and High Society: A Rhode Island Sampler. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott, Co.

Lossing, Benson J., 1976: The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution. Volume 1, New Rochelle, Caratzas Brothers.

Lossing, Benson J., 1976: The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution. Volume 2 New Rochelle, Caratzas Brothers.

Lynch, Kerry, n.d.: Portsmouth High School Wind Turbine Project: An Archaeological Survey. Tentative title, Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project, report forthcoming.

Lynch, Richard, 2002: "Historical Research: Butt's Hill Fort," Unidentified site report.

Mackenzie, Frederick, 1930: 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 Volumes consecutively paged. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Mackesy, Piers, 1964: The War For America: 1775-1783. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Marshall, Douglas W. and Howard H. Peckham, 1976: Campaigns of the American Revolution: An Atlas of Manuscript Maps. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.

Mayer, Lloyd M., 1923: "The Dedication of Butts Hill Fort," Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society, # 47, pp. 5-18.

Mayer, Lloyd M., 1933 "New Lights from Old History," Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society, No. 87, pp. 2-12.

McBride, Kevin A., 1988: Report: Phase II Intensive Archaeological Survey Water Tank and Pipeline Site Fort Butts Hill Portsmouth, Rhode Island. August, Storrs, CT., Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc.

McKay, Mark M., 1966: Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. New York, David McKay.

Miller, Nathan, 1974: Sea of Glory: The Continental Navy Fights for Independence 1775-1783. New York, David McKay Company.

Moore, Frank (Comp.), 1967: The Diary of the American Revolution: 1775-1781. New York, Washington Square Press. Originally published in 1860.

Moran, Geoffrey P., 1979: Letter to Patricia Sheehan, Principal Historic Preservation Planner, RI Historical Preservation Commission, re: Review of Babits report.

National Archives (formerly the Public Records Office), London, England

Nebenzahl, Kenneth and Don Higginbotham, 1974: Atlas of the American Revolution. New York, Rand McNally.

Nebenzahl, Kenneth and Don Higginbotham, 1975: A Bibliography of Printed Battle Plans of the American Revolution 1775-1795. Chicago, Newberry Library.

Neimeyer, Charles P., 2004: “Rhode Island Goes to War: The Battle of Rhode Island, 1776-1778,” Newport History: Journal of the Newport Historical Society, Vols. 72-73, Nos. 249-250, Fall 2003-Spring 2004, pp. 123-150.

Newport Historical Society , n.d.: Miscellaneous Collections, Box 44.

Pierce, John T., Sr., 1991: Historical Tracts of the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Portsmouth, RI, Hamilton Printing Company.

Pigot, General, 1882: "Battle of Rhode Island," Newport Historical Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 253-256. Originally published in Scots Magazine, October 1778, pp. 543-546; see Anonymous 1778c. Also published in Rhode Island Historical Tracts #6.

Pigot, General, 1778: "General Pigot's Report," Scots Magazine, September, pp. 493-494.

Pigot, General, 1778: "A Summary of Transactions from July 29, when the French fleet arrived, to Aug. 28," Scots Magazine, October, pp. 543-546.

Pigot, General, 1778: "Newport, May 31, 1778," Scots Magazine, September, pp. 494- 495.

Pigot, General, 1778: "Newport, July 31 and Aug. 1," Scots Magazine, October, p. 540.

Pontgibaud, The Chevalier de, 1968: A French Volunteer of the War of Independence. Port Washington, NY, Kennikat Press. Translated and Edited by Robert B. Douglas. Originally published in 1898.

Portsmouth, Town of, 2004: Property maps. Self-published.

Powel, H. W. H, 1923: "Butts Hill Fort Celebration," Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society, # 47, pp. 1-4, 7-12.

Powel, H. W. H, 1923: "Early Defenses of Newport During Sieges in 1778", Bulletin of the Newport Historical Society,47:23-4.

Preston, Howard Willis, 1929: "Rhode Island and the Loyalists," Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 5-11.

1934 Rhode Island's Historic Background. 3rd Ed. Providence, Officer of the Secretary of State.

Puckrein, Gary Alexander, 1978: The Black Regiment in the American Revolution. Providence, Afro-American Studies Program Brown University and Rhode Island Black Heritage Society.

Reilly, James F., 1971: The Significance of Butts Hill in Portsmouth. Report submitted to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, July.

Rhodehamel, John, Ed., 2001: The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence. New York, The Library of America.

Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission (RIHPC) [After 1998 known as Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission (RIHPHC)], 1979: State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Preliminary Survey Report: Town of Portsmouth. January. Self-published.

Richman, Irving Berdine, 1905: Rhode Island: A Study in Separatism. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Russell, Joseph, 1778: Letter, undated, but probably August. Holograph copy in Newport Historical Society archives, Box 44.

Schwadron, Terry, 1974: "R.I. battlefield now national landmark," The Providence Journal, August 6, p. A-8.

Showman, Richard K., Ed., 1980: The Papers of General Nathanael Greene. Vol. II, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press.

Slocum, Charles P., 1971: Letter from the Portsmouth Historical Society, describing recent sketches of the fort and clearing. To Mr. Snell.

Small, Edwin W., 1972: National Register Nomination.

Stember, Sol, 1974: The Bicentennial Guide to the American Revolution: Volume One, The War in the North. New York, E. P. Dutton.

Walker, Anthony, 1981: So Few the Brave: Rhode Island Continentals 1775-1783. Newport, RI, Seafield Press.

Interpretive panels at Fort Adams, Newport, RI.

XII: APPENDICES

These are the materials that support the preceding text.

XII-A: Appendix 1 - Outcomes and Comments from Workshop 1: August 14, 2008

Resident Input Summary

I. Group I (Facilitator: Arnold Robinson) a. Promote: i. Open space ii. Interpretation iii. Open views iv. Amenities v. Public/Private to maintain vi. Education vii. Restore part of fort viii. Heritage tourism b. Prevent i. Traffic ii. Fit into neighborhood

II. Group II (Facilitator: Joe Griffin) a. Promote: i. Access from high school property ii. Clear demarcation of fort property iii. Reenactments iv. Removal of debris v. Preservation of land vi. Small-scale additions to the site, i.e.: educational plaques vii. Clearing of paths b. Prevent: i. Diminishment of the sound barrier of trees between houses and route 24 ii. Increase in traffic/circulation through adjacent residential neighborhoods iii. Construction

III. Group III (Facilitator: Chris Fagan) a. Promote: i. Open Space ii. Educational Tourism

52 iii. Recreation iv. Appropriate balance of existing trees and restored grass areas v. Educational lab area for Portsmouth High School (History and Science) vi. Access for local groups such as the Boy Scouts / Girl Scouts vii. A tower to better view the scope of battlefield and fort viii. Interpretive signage to better explain the site ix. Space for historical reenactment groups to gather x. Make the site more interactive by restoring a portion of the fort to recreate the Revolutionary War conditions xi. Create interpretive center / museum to house artifacts and displays about the site b. Prevent i. Traffic ii. Illegal parking iii. Camping (not to be used as a public camp site, occasional reenactments would be acceptable) iv. Underage drinking

XII-B: Appendix 2 - Outcomes and Comments from Butts Hill Fort Workshop 2: October 23, 2008

Resident Feedback/Comment Summary

1. There would be a need at some point to do a full class I RI engineering survey.

a. Check to see if there are any encroachments on the town-owned properties.

2. Best place to locate a building on the site.

a. The building looks too big for our residential area the way it is drawn now.

b. Would a bathroom facility be required

3. Need to do a study on traffic flow.

a. Traffic on Education Lane is a concern

b. What is the best way to drive into the Fort

c. Where is the best place for parking?

d. Could you use High School parking lot of parking instead of creating a new parking lot for Butts?

e. Is Hall street really a street?

f. Weetamo Woods in Tiverton is a good example of green buffered/hidden parking

g. Move gate close to embrace water tower on north to keep cars off of site

4. Needs someone to manage the Fort

a. Marketing/promotion material to build interest in the site

b. Get core group of people interested and involved

c. Liability insurance – who carries?

d. Funds to be private not public.

XII-C: APPENDIX III: Summary of the Cultural Materials Discovered by Previous Archeological Surveys

It is clear from these few studies that the archaeological potential is great throughout the identified historic area at Butts Hill Fort. That means that any disturbance of the earthwork and its outlying property should take place only following detailed archeological survey.

SOUTHWEST SLOPE OF BUTTS HILL (just outside the Butts Hill Fort perimeter)

Sensitivity:

This is an area where it is likely that temporary Revolutionary War encampments were installed, and possibly a quickly erected earthwork during the Battle of Rhode Island.

Sources:

Gradie, Robert R. III and Kevin A. McBride (1988) Phase I Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey, Water Tank and Pipeline Project, Fort Butts Hill, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc., July.

McBride, Kevin A. (1988) Phase II Intensive Archaeological Survey, Water Tank and Pipeline Site, Fort Butts Hill, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Public Archaeology Survey Team, Ind., August.

Cultural Materials found:

Phase I Reconnaissance (Gradie/McBride) Phase II Intensive Survey (McBride) Brick - 18 (fragments) Brick - 28 (fragments) Coal - 6 (fragments) Coal - 1 (fragment) Cobble - 2 (modified and unmodified) NA Creamware - 1 (sherd) Creamware - 1 (sherd) NA European flint - 1 (flake) Glass - 18 (fragments) Glass - 9 (fragments) Kaolin Pipe - 5 (bowls and stem pieces) Kaolin pipe - 1 (fragment) Lead Crystal - 1 (sherd) NA Lithics - 54 (mostly flakes) Lithics - 4 (3 quartz, 1 graphite) Metal - 3 (1 unidentified, 1 iron, 1 nail) Metal - 3 (2 nails, 1 unidentified) Pasteboard - 1 (?) NA Porcelain - 2 (hand-painted over-glazed sherds) Quartz - 1 chunk NA NA Redware - 2 (unglazed sherds) Shell - 1 (Quahog) NA NA Slag - 1 Stoneware - 2 (sherds) NA NA Whiteware - 1 (sherd)

BUTTS HILL FORT [5 test trenches at 3 identified features of the fort]

Sensitivity:

As noted in the historical essay, Butts Hill Fort was an important defensive earthwork for the American, British, Hessian, and French troops at different times during the American Revolution. The earthwork was built and expanded in a number of stages.

Source:

Babits, L. E. [1979a] Report on Preliminary Archaeological Investigation: Fort Butts 1777-1781, Public Archaeology Lab.

Cultural Materials Found: Bone . From meat animals - 790 (pieces) . Button - 1 (back only) Brick: No number given, but noted that small pieces were found in all but one test pit

Ceramics . Creamware, also called yellow tinted white paste earthenware - 219 (fragments) . Delft, also called tin-glazed earthenware - 46 (fragments, mostly with missing glaze) . Pearlware, also called white paste earthenware - 3 (fragments) . Pipes - 35 (fragments) . Porcelain - 28 (decorated and undecorated fragments) . Redware, coarse - 464 (fragments) . Redware, fine - 328 (fragments) . Stoneware, saltglazed - 33 (fragments) Clothing . Buttons - 10 (4 unidentified metal, 2 brass sleeve links, 2 pewter, 2 brass regimental) . Eyes - 3 (1 brass, 1 iron, 1 broken) . Knee buckle - 1 brass . Leather - 7 (straps and shoe parts) Ethnobotanical . Peach pits - 2 (one possibly modern) . Unidentified - no number given (fragmentary) Firearms . Friction primer (Civil War period) - 1 (unfired) . Gunflints - 5 (3 heavily used blonde, 1 gray heavily worn, 1 gray unused spall) . Gunlock - 1 (mostly complete, possibly Hessian) . Round lead balls - 5 (2 buckshot, 1 swanshot, 2 musket) Glass . Amber - 629 (fragments) . Burned/melted - 82 (possibly 18th-century) . Green bottle - 1400+ (fragments) . Modern bottle - 28 . Paste glass jewel - 1 . Window - 109 (pieces) Metal . Brass - 2 (identified as tokens) . Ferrous metal - 14 (unidentifiable) . Iron - 7 (1 bent wire (possibly modern), 2 knife blades, 4 saw blade fragments) . Lead - 30 (1 pencil, 6 waste, 23 foil) . Nails - 491 (sized from brads to spikes) . Pintle - 1 (iron) Mortar . Crude lime content - no number given . Finer with high clay content - no number given

Plastic . Modern - 2 (tent pegs) Stone . Shale - no number given (possibly foundation of chimney stones)

SOUTH SLOPE OF BUTTS HILL [2 clusters of 6 test pits at the location of a proposed wind turbine, and 4 test pits along the access road connecting the turbine to Education Lane]

Sensitivity:

This is an area where it is likely that temporary Revolutionary War encampments were installed, and possibly a quickly erected earthwork during the Battle of Rhode Island.

Source:

Lynch, Kerry J. and D. K. Abbass (2008) Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey for the Portsmouth Wind Turbine Generator Project, Portsmouth, Rhode Island: Phase 1b Technical Report, Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project.

Cultural Materials found: Bone – 1 Ceramic . Brick – 5 . Creamware – 2 . Earthenware – 2 . Kaolin Pipestem - 1 . Pearlware – 1 . Redware - 2 Coal – 1 Glass . Bottle - 1 . Lighting - 1 . Tableware – 1 . Window - 1 Metal . Iron fasteners - 3 . Lead washer - 1 Shell – 5

BATTLE OF RHODE ISLAND [This study focused on that portion of the battlefield at the western side of Aquidneck Island, 1-2 miles west and southwest from Butts Hill and its earthwork]

Sensitivity:

This is the area where the heaviest fighting took place on August 29, 1778. The Hessian troops took their position at Almy and Turkey Hills, and tried to work around behind Lehigh Hill and the American line. Because members of the "Black Regiment" held their position at the earthwork called Ward's Redoubt, the American right was protected, and their troops were able to withdraw successfully the next day.

The exact location of Ward's Redoubt has never been identified, but it was probably on the southwest face of Lehigh Hill. A number of areas in the plain between Almy, Turkey, and Lehigh Hills were investigated in this study. It is clear from the following artifact list that this archeological investigation did not locate Ward's Redoubt and that most of the cultural materials found were not associated with the Battle of Rhode Island.

Source:

PAL (Public Archaeology Lab) (1998) Archaeological Investigations: The Bloody Run Links at the Carnegie Abbey Golf Club, Report submitted to Peter DeSavary. [The correct name of this location is "Bloody Brook"; "Bloody Run" is a Civil War battlefield.]

Cultural Materials Found [Note that identifications of items are not always consistent in terminology.]

Barker Brook 1 Brick - 1 Ceramics . Skeet - 1 . Whiteware - 1 Cobble - 2 Glass - 10 Lithics . Biface - 8 . Core - 1 . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 950 . Projectile Point - 5 . Uniface – 4

Metal 1 (button) Shell - 22

Barker Brook 1 - Locus 1 Lithics . Biface - 3 . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 66 . Projectile Point – 1 Shell - 2

Barker Brook 1 - Locus 2 Lithics - Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter – 1

Barker Brook 1 - Locus 3 Lithics . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 4 . Projectile point - 1

Barker Brook 1 - Locus 4 Lithics . Biface - 1 . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 39

Barker Brook 2 Lithics - Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 1

Barker Brook 3 Bone - 2 Ceramics . Bisque doll - 1 . Creamware - 1 . Ironstone - 1 . Pipe - 1 . Porcelain - 5 (1 cup, 4 sherds) . Red body - 2 . Stoneware - 3 . Whiteware - 11 Glass - 2 Lithics . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter 22 . Scraper – 1

. Uniface - 1 Shell - 4

Barker Brook 4 Bone - 1 Lithics . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter – 2

Barker Brook 5 . Brick - 3

Ceramics . Creamware - 1 . Ironstone – 2 . Pearlware - 1 . Porcelain - 1 . Red bodied - 8 . Rockingham & Bennington - 1 . Stoneware - 2 . White salt glaze - 3 (1 cup, 2 sherds) . Whiteware - 8 . Yellow Ware - 2 Coal - 1 Glass - 8 Lithics . Biface - 3 . Core - 1 . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 31 . Knife - 1 . Preform - 2 . Scraper - 1 . Uniface - 1 Metal . Cartridge - 1 . Nail - 7 Shell - 1 Stone - Slate roof tile - 1

Barker Brook 6 Ceramics . Pearlware - 1 . Whiteware – 1 60

Glass - 1 Lithics . Biface - 2 . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 15 . Projectile Point - 1

Barker Brook 7 Lithics - Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 1

Carnegie Club Nonsite Bone – 1 Brick - 1 Ceramics . Ceramic [?] - 1 . Creamware - 5 . Pearlware - 5 . Pipe - 4 . Procelain - 1 . Red Bodied Coarse - 1 . White salt glaze - 1 . Whiteware - 2 . Yellow ware - 2 Glass - 7 Metal - Nail, spike - 6

Farm Laborer Cottage Bone - 4 Ceramics . Earthenware - 1 . Ironstone - 2 . Porcelain - 2 . Red Bodied Coarse - 1 . Whiteware - 28 Firearms - cartridge - 1 Glass - 33 . Button - 1 Lithic - flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 4 Metal - nail - 5 Shell - 4 Tooth - 1

Freeborn Chase Bone - 199 . Button - 4 Ceramics . Buff tin glaze - 3 . Button - 1 . Cream colored ware - 5 . Creamware - 160 . Earthenware – 39 . English brown - 1 . German grey - 10 . Insulator - 1 . Ironstone - 87 . Marble - 1 . Pearlware - 70 . Pipe - 14 . Porcelain - 83 . Red bodied coarse - 528 . Rockingham & Bennington - 2 . Scratch blue - 1 . Stoneware - 46 . Toy - 2 . White salt glaze - 4 . Whiteware - 493 Yellow ware - 11 Charcoal - 1 Electrical - 1 Glass . Bead - 6 . Broken bits, panes, curved - 1885 . Button - 6 . Marble - 2 . Toy - 1 Jewelry, metal - 2 Leather - 1 Lithic . Flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 29 . Preform - 1 Metal - Copper . Bullet/cartridge - 5 . Button/fastener - 6 . Button/military – 1 62

. Hardware - 14 . Music - 4 . Nail, screw, wire - 4 . Unidentified - 1 Metal - Iron . Bottle - 3 . Buckle - 2 . Button – 3 . Cartridge - 1 . Fastener - 1 . Furniture - 2 . Hardware – 28 . Horseshoe - 1 . Jar - 2 . Nails, screws, wire - 376 . Pencil, lead - 3 . Spoon - 2 . Unidentified - 14 Lithic - flakes, chipping debris, and shatter - 2 Plants - 1 seed Plastic - 11 Rubber - 1 toy Shell - 46 Unidentified - 2 Wood - button - 1

Utility Easement Testing Ceramic . English brown - 1

XII- D: APPENDIX IV - Newspaper Articles for Butts Hill Fort Planning Project

SAKONNET TIMES June 11, 2008, pp. 10-11

XII-E: APPENDIX V - Compilation and Comparison of Historic Cartographic Images of Butts Hill Fort (with speculative graphic analysis)

During the research phase of this project, the team gathered eight 18th century maps of the Butts Hill area, and compared the detailed images of the fort shown on those maps with current Butts Hill site conditions. A comparison of the historic images provides an understanding of how Butts Hill Fort developed, and the overlay of the historic figures onto modern aerial images suggests the origin and current location of existing structures and features.

Although some of these historic images are obviously not to scale, in skewed orientation, and provide only the most general sketches of the earthwork and associated features, they do show the evolution of the fortifications on the site and they show a strong similarity between some of the historic plans and the current conditions at Butts Hill Fort. Future historical and archeological research may confirm such conclusions.

A portion of the 1777-1779 Edward Fage manuscript map of Aquidneck Island. Butt’s Hill is circled here to show its location, and that Fage omitted the earthwork there. Fage was a British army engineer and this map is an accurate representation of local physical features, although many military installations are missing.

A portion of the Charles Blaskowitz Map of Narragansett Bay, showing a “British Battery” in center of the image. Note that this location is to the North of Butt’s Hill proper, shown in blue. Either Blaskowitz was mistaken in his location, or this image represents an earthwork that is known to have been nearer Boyd’s Lane, and the earthwork at Butt’s Hill was not yet built. Although this map was published in 1777, it was based on earlier data.