USA > Rhode Island > A short history of Rhode Island > Part 14
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Rhode Island had been the first to propose a Congress and the first to take action upon the proposal. In the same session six resolutions were passed "counseling Union and an imme- diate meeting of Congress to petition for redress, and to devise measures to secure their rights." And as if they foresaw how entirely government was passing away from the King and Parliament, they recommended also that Congress should meet annually. Copies of these resolves were sent to all the colonies.
On the 5th of September, 1774, Congress met in Philadelphia, and after careful deliberation adopted a Declaration of Rights, and recom- mended the formation of an "American Associa- tion," the chief articles of which were "non- intercourse with Great Britain till their grievances should be redressed, abolition of the slave trade, encouragement of home industry, and the ap- pointment of committees of inspection in every town and district to see that its terms were kept inviolate." To these were added "a petition to the King, letters to the other British colonies, addresses to the Canadians and to the people of Great Britain, and votes of thanks to the friends of America in Parliament." The tone through all was decent, earnest and resolute. As they circulated through the country the people felt that their convictions had been faithfully repre- sented.
In this agitated state of the popular mind a
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riot was stirred up in Providence by the license question, and in East Greenwich by the Tory question. The first was put down by the citizens, but the second called for the intervention of the military.
The attention of the General Assembly was largely given to measures of defence. The co- lonial fire-arms at Newport were distributed by counties in proportion to their tax rate. Simeon Potter, of Bristol, was chosen major-general, a new office created for the occasion and subject to annual election. The militia law was carefully revised, and provision made for the "manner in which the forces within this Colony-shall march to the assistance of any of our sister colonies if invaded or attacked." The cannon and powder at Fort George were removed to Providence for greater security and more convenient use. Inde- pendent companies were formed and carefully trained. Among the Kentish Guards were Na- thanael Greene, the future liberator of the South ; Christopher Greene, the future hero of Red Bank ; James M. Varnum, a future brigadier, and others whose names reappear in higher grades as the progress of the war brought superior merit to view. In Providence County the militia was divided into three regiments under the command of a brigadier.
Among the recommendations addressed by Congress to the people, was a recommendation to stop the exportation of sheep to the West Indies,
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for domestic manufactures were growing daily in importance and wool was wanted for colonial looms. The recommendation was promptly acted upon, and a temporary committee of inspection appointed to see it carried out. The manufac- ture of fire-arms was successfully begun.
In February, 1773, the day for suspending the use of tea came. In Providence three hundred pounds of it were publicly burned, the fire being lighted with ministerial documents and other ob- noxious papers. While this was a doing by the " sons of liberty " in Market Square, some other sons of liberty went round from store to store, effacing with lamp-black the word tea on the signs.
In April there was a general muster of the militia, when it was found that Providence County had two thousand infantry and a troop of horse under arms, and Kent County nearly fifteen hun- dred. The returns of the other counties have not been preserved.
The day of decision came. The battle of Lex- ington was fought. The tidings reached Provi- dence in the night. By the next day a thousand armed men were on the road to Boston. But before they could reach it expresses met them announcing the retreat of the British.
The Assembly met. They voted to raise an Army of Observation of fifteen hundred men, in spite of the protests of the Governor, the Deputy- Governor and two assistants. Nathanael Greene
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and William Bradford were appointed a com- mittee to confer with the Assembly of Connecti- cut about this raising of arms. The public ammunition was distributed-to each town its proportion. For greater security it was voted to hold the election session of the Assembly at Providence. A day was set apart for fasting and prayer.
The May session for the election of officers came. The dividing line between Whig and Tory was more sharply drawn. Several changes were made in the board of assistants. Deputy-Gov- ernor Sessions gave place to Nicholas Cooke. Governor Wanton himself was suspended for having in various ways "manifested his inten- tions to defeat the good people of these colonies in their present glorious struggle to transmit in- violate to posterity those sacred rights they have received from their ancestors." A Committee of Safety was appointed, which, with the two highest military officers, was to superintend the paying and furnishing the troops and direct their move- ments when called out of the Colony. The public offices were removed to Providence.
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"The army was formed into one brigade of three regiments, each regiment consisting of eight companies, with a train of artillery." Of this little army, called Army of Observation, Nathanael Greene, who had never held military rank before, was placed in command with the rank of brigadier-general. To anticipate jeal-
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ousies of rank and position it was provided that "each regiment should occupy the flanks in rotation."
Paper money with all its evils now became a necessity, and bills of credit were issued to the amount of twenty thousand pounds. To give them the character of an investment they were to bear an interest of two and a half per cent., and be "redeemable by taxation at the end of two and five years." An embargo was laid on pro- visions.
Another battle, the battle of Bunker Hill, was at hand. Collisions between the King's troops and the people were frequent. By the 1st of June nearly a thousand men of the Rhode Island Army of Observation with their artillery were encamped on Jamaica Plains. The committees of inspection for enforcing the American Association were very active. Articles of war were framed. Tories were jealously watched. The suspension of Gov- ernor Wanton was a bold step resolutely perse- vered in. He attempted to explain and defend his conduct, but his explanations were not ac- cepted.
The persecutions of the Gaspee were renewed by Sir James Wallace, Captain of the Rose frigate, and brought on an action between a tender of the frigate and a colonial sloop com- manded by Captain Abraham Whipple. After some sharp firing on both sides, the tender was driven ashore under Conanicut and captured.
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Wallace already owed Whipple a grudge for his part in the burning of the Gaspee, and wrote him : "You, Abraham Whipple, on the 10th of June, 1772, burned His Majesty's vessel, the Gaspee, and I will hang you at the yard-arm. James Wallace." To which Whipple replied : "To Sir James Wallace, Sir : Always catch a man before you hang him. Abraham Whipple."
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This was no longer a sudden uprising of pop- ular indignation against insufferable wrong, but a conflict between two regular armed vessels- the first naval battle of the War of Independence. It led directly to the equipping of two vessels, the Washington and the Katy, for the defence of the Colony-the largest carrying ten four-pounders and fourteen swivels, with a crew of eighty men- the smallest with thirty men.
In this June session in which the foundations of the navy were laid, William Goddard's postal system went into operation six weeks before its adoption for all the colonies by Congress.
During this same eventful month of June the waters of Narragansett Bay were the scene of another bold enterprise. The Rose frigate, Swan sloop-of-war, and a tender were lying with five prizes in Newport harbor. Other vessels came in sight and the royal squadron set out in pursuit of them, following them up the bay and leaving the five prizes unprotected. No sooner did the people of Newport see the opportunity than they seized it, boarded the prizes and carried them off in triumph.
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The next event of general interest was the battle of Bunker Hill. An extra session of the Assembly was called. Committees were ap- pointed to take account of the arms and ammu- nition in the Colony and report it to Congress. Saltpetre and brimstone were sent to the powder mills of New York. Fort George was dismantled. A signal post was established on Tower Hill, and a beacon at Providence, on Prospect Hill. The Colony was put upon a war footing, every man able to bear arms being required to hold himself in readiness for active service. A fourth of the militia were held for minute men and drilled half a day every fortnight. The independent com- panies were drilled with them. The Army of Observation, which now numbered about seven- teen hundred men, was placed under the com- mand of Washington. Everywhere were sights and sounds of war.
The national fast day came, July 20th. From every pulpit, from every family altar, rose fervent prayers for Almighty guidance and protection. For Newport it was a day of terror, for Wallace, enraged at the desertion of some of his men, threatened to bombard the town. Two days he lay in position before it. On the third he sailed away.
Providence harbor was now fortified between Field and Sassafras Points, and a battery of six eighteen-pounders erected on Fox Point. The Beacon was proved and found to shed its light
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over an area extending from Cambridge to New London and Norwich, and from Newport to Pom- fret. All through August the preparations for war continued. The live stock was removed from Block Island and the islands of the bay. The incipient navy was enlarged and the Rhode Island delegates in Congress instructed "to use their whole influence for building at the Continental expense, a fleet of sufficient force for the protec- tion of these colonies, and for employing them in such manner and places as will most effectually annoy our enemies, and contribute to the com- mon defence of these colonies." This recommend- ation led to the appointment of a committee of which Governor Hopkins and John Adams were members, and which presently laid the founda- tion of the Continental Navy.
From time to time there were sudden alarms. Once it was given out that Providence was to be attacked, and the works in the harbor were manned and the troops called out. But Wallace, contenting himself with taking a brig from the West Indies and plundering the shores, retired down the bay. In October he was reinforced, and ยท after holding Newport in suspense bombarded Bristol. Domestic enemies also were to be guarded against. George Rome reappears and is sent to Providence "to be dealt with according to his demerits." Furnishing supplies to the enemy or holding correspondence with them was made punishable with death and forfeiture. Ex-
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ception was made in favor of Newport on account of her exposed situation. The sufferings of the poor both in Newport and on the islands were so great that the Assembly found it necessary to come to their assistance, helping some to move away and supplying others with provisions. How business suffered may be seen by the repeal of the statute of limitations. In November Gov- ernor Wanton was formally removed from office and Nicholas Cooke elected in his stead. With the burning of the Gaspee the sword was drawn, with the deposition of Governor Wanton the scabbard was thrown away.
Meanwhile new emissions of bills of credit were made and the overwhelming debt overwhelm- ingly increased. But it was no longer the debt of a single colony but a part of the war debt of all the colonies, and therefore Congress assumed forty-five thousand pounds of it as such. Of this forty-five thousand pounds a hundred and twenty thousand dollars were presently paid. One more battle was fought in Narragansett Bay, and one more day set apart for fasting and prayer.
We have seen that Rhode Island had called for a navy. In November Congress took the subject up, appointed a marine committee and voted to arm and equip four vessels. Esek, brother of the Governor, was put in command of them with the title of commodore. Two hundred and fifty Rhode Islanders followed Arnold through the wilderness, and none of all the invading army
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bore with greater fortitude the privations of the weary march or fought more gallantly under the walls of Quebec than Christopher Greene, Samuel Ward and Simeon Thayer, all of whom we shall meet again on the ramparts of Red Bank. Over a hundred were sent to Philadelphia under Cap- tain Whipple, to serve in the new navy.
Meanwhile at Newport and on the islands the presence of the British squadron held men in constant alarm. A considerable force was en- camped at Middletown, and a constant watch kept up to guard against the secret machinations of the disaffected. Row gallies patrolled the bay and a night guard was established. But in spite of every precaution the trees were cut down on Hope Island, twelve dwelling houses were burned and their occupants plundered on Conanicut, and the live stock carried off wherever a secure land- ing could be effected. General Lee, who had been sent from Cambridge to direct the fortifying of the island, made his entrance into Newport at the head of eight hundred men, and after impos- ing upon the suspected a comprehensive oath and giving instructions for the erection of fortifications, returned to the army. To express their sense of his services the Recess Committee voted " that one of the best beds, with the furniture taken from Charles Dudley, be presented to General Lee."
In the last days of December there was a riot in West Greenwich to prevent the enlistment of minute men. In the middle of January there
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was some sharp fighting on Prudence Island. In the course of the first day the British, who had come up in twelve vessels, landed two hundred and fifty men, drove off a body of a hundred minute men, burned seven houses and carried away a hundred sheep. Next day reinforcements ar- rived from Bristol and Warren and the fighting was renewed. This time the victory was with the Americans, and after a battle of three hours the enemy were driven to their ships with a loss of fourteen killed and many wounded. War in one of its worst forms raged at all the most vulnerable points of Narragansett Bay.
And thus the gloomy days went by, slowly but surely bringing nearer and nearer the now in- evitable problem of independence. Rhode Island, with her hundred and thirty miles of coast line, her two navigable rivers, and triple passage from the ocean, was in constant exposure. We have seen how she was harrassed by Wallace in Jan- uary, 1776. In February more houses and a windmill were burned and more stock plundered on Prudence, and a descent for plunder made on Point Judith. With this last the names of sev- eral persons suspected of being Tories were mixed up, giving the Committee of Safety much to do. Difficulties between the citizens of Newport and the soldiers under General West, encamped on the island, arose in a measure from the same cause. West resigned because men whom he had arrested as Tories had been set at liberty by the Assembly. Among them was Governor Wanton.
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The first act of the eventful drama closes with the evacuation of Boston, on the 17th of March. For a day it was believed that the British fleet was entering the bay, but the alarm proved false. The American army went to New York, passing through Rhode Island on its march.
While these events, so grievous in the present, so full of a glorious future, were passing, Samuel Ward, who had so nobly represented the highest conscience and culture of Rhode Island in the Continental Congress, was dying of small-pox in Philadelphia-the advanced post of civil heroism. An upright and conscientious man, who had drawn from books and men those lessons which make men wise in judgment and firm in principle and bold in action, Had he lived a few weeks longer his name would have been foremost among the signers. A marble monument was voted him by Congress, "in testimony of the respect due to his memory, and in grateful remembrance of his public services."
The last Colonial Assembly of Rhode Island met on the 1st of May. On the 4th, two months before the Congressional Declaration of Inde- pendence, it solemnly renounced its allegiance to the British crown, no longer closing its session with "God save the King," but taking in its stead as expressive of their new relations, "God save the United Colonies."
CHAPTER XXV.
RHODE ISLAND BLOCKADED .- DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE INDORSED BY THE ASSEMBLY. - NEW TROOPS RAISED .- FRENCH ALLIANCE .- UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO DRIVE THE BRITISH FROM RHODE ISLAND.
FROM the 4th of May, 1776, the Declaration of Independence of Rhode Island, to the battle of Tiverton Heights, on the 29th of August, 1778, she lived with the enemy at her door, constantly subject to invasion by land and by water, and seldom giving her watch-worn inhabitants the luxury of a quiet pillow. For months, as we already have seen, British ships of war had in- fested her shores, driving off the stock, plunder- ing the inhabitants and burning their houses and barns. In November a still greater calamity befell her, a British fleet took possession of her waters, a British army of her principal island. The seat of government was removed to Provi- dence. The points most exposed had already been fortified as well as the means and military science of the Colony permitted. These were strengthened and other points fortified. A battery was erected on the southern projection of War- wick Neck, commanding the entrance of Coweset Bay. The women and children of the seaboard
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towns were advised to take refuge in the interior. The militia were called out. The troops on the island, about seven hundred in number, were removed to the main land, part under Colonel Cook taking post at Tiverton, part under General West at Bristol. Massachusetts and Connecticut sent immediate aid to their imperilled sister. And thus Rhode Island entered upon the humiliat- ing life of a district held by its enemy.
The story of these three years should either be told in detail, or told very briefly. In detail it presents some striking pictures and some impor- tant lessons. The pictures are for the chief part marine views, most of the fighting having taken place on the water. The lessons are to be found in the skill or want of skill with which legislation adapted itself to new wants and new means. Our limits do not admit of detail. We shall glean sparingly from the statute book.
The first duty of the Assembly was to draw out the resources of the State and give them efficiency. The census of Providence in February gave a return of four thousand three hundred and fifty-five souls, with about five hundred stand of arms. Of this population one-sixth were effective men. The other towns furnished their proportion, and the distribution and equipment of them received the constant attention of the Assembly and fills a large space in the schedules. In the new arrangement of the Continental Army the three Rhode Island regiments were formed
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into two battalions. We shall not attempt to follow the schedule through the various changes which were made in the quota furnished by Rhode Island to the main army. The fuller page of history gives it a noble record, and the names of Christopher Greene, of Angell, of Thayer, of the two Olneys, of Samuel Ward and their com- panions, stand very high in the regimental history of the war.
Another subject which occupied from time to time the anxious attention of the Assembly was the treatment of the small-pox. How could its ravages be staid ? How could the prejudice against inoculation, which still prevailed so widely even among the intelligent and well in- formed, be overcome ? The question was brought before the Assembly in June, when it was re- solved, though not without opposition, to estab- lish an hospital for inoculation in each county. It was resolved also to ask Congress to establish a uniform system of inoculation in the army and navy.
There could no longer be any doubt as to the treatment of Tories. Rhode Island was an inde- pendent state, and justifiable in employing, to protect herself against treason, the same means which other independent states employed. A test oath was framed, which all who were sus- pected of Toryism were required to subscribe. Yet, even in this dark day of trial she did not forget her fundamental principle, and the con-
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scientious scruples of the Quakers were respected. Commerce was permitted with all parts of the world except England and her dependencies.
The Declaration of Independence by Congress was received with general satisfaction, and pro- claimed with a national salute and military dis- play. At Providence the King's arms were burned, and the Legislature assumed its legal title, "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Planta- tions," and voted that "we do approve the said resolution, and do most solemnly engage that we will support the said General Congress with our lives and fortunes."
Congress, as we have seen, had voted to build a navy at the original suggestion of Rhode Island, and directed that two of the thirteen frigates that were to compose it should be built there. Ship building was one of the arts to which the Colony had directed its attention on its first planting, and Rhode Island workmen had grown skillful therein. The direction first taken by her mari- time enterprise was privateering, which not only made the fortunes of individuals, but met many wants which the regular commerce of the country was unable to meet. To this great fleet Rhode Island contributed sixteen vessels, manned by men in the prime of life, and animated by love of adventure, love of country, and love of gain. Sometimes their numbers were kept full at the expense of the army, and it was found necessary to lay a general embargo till the Continental quotas were filled.
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In December the Assembly met at Greenwich, but finding that place too exposed, adjourned to Providence. The chief subject of discussion was how to raise an army, and the New England States were invited to send committees to Provi- dence to concert some general plan of action. The Recess Committee gave place to a Council of War, composed of ten members. The dangerous system of short enlistments still prevailed and a. brigade of three regiments, two of infantry, each composed of seven hundred and fifty men in eight companies, and one of artillery com- posed of three hundred men in five companies, were voted for fifteen months. The command was given to General Varnum, and Malmedy, a French officer, recommended by General Lee, was appointed "Chief Engineer and Director of the works of defence in this State, with the rank of Brigadier " When brought to the test of enlist- ment its roll filled up very slowly.
The Convention of the Eastern States met in Providence. Each state was represented by three delegates. Stephen Hopkins was chosen Presi- dent. After long and frequent consultations with the Assembly, it was recommended that an army of six thousand men should be concentrated in Rhode Island, of which Massachusetts was to furnish nineteen hundred men, Connecticut eleven hundred, New Hampshire three hundred, and Rhode Island eighteen hundred and a thousand Continental troops.
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Other questions called for equal attention. Men no longer dared to look to paper and a print- ing-press for their money, but to taxing and bor- rowing. A loan of forty thousand pounds at five per cent. was voted. But the borrowers were many, the lenders few, and taxes hard to collect. With less wisdom it was voted to prevent monop- olies and regulate prices. All of these questions recur from time to time till men grow weary of contending with the natural laws of trade. Meanwhile the army was almost naked, and more than once on the brink of starvation and mutiny. The plans of the convention for concentrating a large force were never wholly carried out, and the army of the State, like the army of Con- gress, was too often an army on paper.
Yet one great step was taken at the suggestion of General Varnum. Colonel Christopher Greene, Lieutenant-Colonel Olney and Major Ward were sent home to enlist a battalion of negroes for the Continental service. When the question came before the Assembly in the form of a resolution to enroll slaves, compensate their masters and give them their freedom, it met with some opposi- tion upon the ground that it would be disapproved of in other states, that the masters would not be satisfied with the compensation, and that there were not slaves enough to make a regiment. But the wiser opinion prevailed, the regiment was raised, and when the day of trial came the freed- man proved himself an excellent soldier.
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