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verzealous British reaction to burning stirred furor of American patriotism
King George III
Dr. John Concannon
that would be familiar with local customs and reputations. Colonial courts, long accustomed to judicial independence, tended to side with the defendant in many actions brought by the Crown against colonists, but British courts would not be so kind. Insultingly, this British commission of inquiry bypassed the existing American court system entirely. This threat to colonial rights greatly incensed American leaders and set off a chain reaction starting with Virginia, followed quickly by all other Colonies, to create the permanent Committees of Correspondence and to suggest the First Continental Congress.
with the direction of the measures which should be taken by all. We therefore drew up the resolutions …. The Gaspee Affair also played a very large Most people know quite well the story of role in the media coverage that drove the the burning of the Gaspee. But have you ever spirit for independence in the years just prior wondered why we know it as the "Gaspee Afto the Revolution. Newspaper accounts of fair" rather than simply the "Burning of the the attack on the Gaspee and the subsequent Gaspee?" It’s because that spark that started commission of inquiry were front page news the American Revolution had little to do with not only within the colonies themselves, but the actual lighting of that British ship on fire. across the Atlantic in Britain. The Gaspee Rather, it was the overzealous British reacAffair was also the subject of a very influention to this incident which stirred the furor tial pamphlet, An Oration on the Beauties of of American patriotism — in a much broader Liberty, written by Rev. John Allen of Bosand more important way. ton. This pamphlet was often quoted The British had sent HMS Gasby John Adams, James Otis, and other pee into Narragansett Bay to enRevolutionary leaders, and was among force maritime trade laws. Rhode e're not talking here of formal armed Revolution — the most published pamphlets during Island citizens had long avoided we will happily cede that to Lexington and Concord. the pre-Revolutionary years. such regulation by simply smugWhen the time came to cut ties with gling their shipped goods into and We're talking instead about the ideological revolution the Mother Country, the American out of our local ports. To rid the leadership assembled in Philadelphia for independence from Great Britain. waters of this new nuisance, promiin July of 1776 drew up a list of grievnent local citizens lured the Gasances against King George III. Includpee aground in June of 1772, shot and wounded its commanding officer, cap- Thus began the political and ideological move- ed in the Declaration of Independence were tured the crew, and burned the schooner to its ment from a collection of single, independent some grievances that were directly attributwaterline. King George III and his ministers British colonies towards a unified American able to the Gaspee Affair: "He has combined, were furious at this threat to their colonial country. Thomas Jefferson, a member of the with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction powers. In addition to offering a huge reward Virginia Houses of Burgess at the time, recol- foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their to those that would turn in any of the raiders, lected the events in his autobiography: the British appointed a commission of inquiry Nothing of particular excitement occur- acts of pretended legislation. .... For depriving to further investigate the matter. But to the ring for a considerable time; our countrymen us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by credit of Rhode Islanders, no one seemed to seemed to fall into a state of insensibility to jury; For transporting us beyond the seas to know anything when called to testify. our situation. The duty on tea had not yet be tried for pretended offenses:" One can forever argue the point of which The overreaction by the British was that been repealed, and the Declaratory Act of this Royally-appointed commission of in- a right in the British parliament to bind us Colonial fracas against the British was the quiry was set up as a kangaroo court, specifi- by their laws in all cases whatsoever, still earliest. But as to the first shot, it depends cally empowered to send suspects directly to suspended over us. But a court of inquiry on when you define the 'start' of the RevoEngland for trial. This concept was a novel held in Rhode Island in 1772, with a power lution. We're not talking here of a formal threat to the basic liberties to which colonists to send persons to England to be tried for of- armed Revolution—we will happily cede that had long grown accustomed. The Ameri- fences committed here was considered at our to Lexington and Concord. We're talking cans considered themselves to have had the session of the spring of 1773 as demanding at- instead about the ideological revolution for same rights as all other Englishmen that had tention. …. We were all sensible that the most independence from Great Britain. For as John Adams said, "The Revolution evolved from ancient Anglo-Saxon law and urgent of all measures was that of coming to the Magna Carta. Among such protections an understanding with all the other colonies was effected before the War commenced. The was the right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers, to consider the British claims as a common Revolution was in the minds and hearts of and the right to a local trial. The action of cause to all, and to produce a unity of action, the people." In summary, the Gaspee Affair led directly sending suspects out of the local area directly and for this purpose that a committee of corto England for trial would make any defense respondence in each colony would be the best to the unification movement of all the colonearly impossible. Any such persons charged instrument for intercommunication, and that nies, which, when formally united, became with crimes would find it very hard indeed to their first measure would probably be to pro- the United States of America. So, yes, in the have witnesses present to help prove their in- pose a meeting of deputies from every colony larger scope of things, it was indeed Amerinocence. Local trials also ensured a local jury at some central place, who should be charged ca's 'First Blow for Freedom'. Historian, Gaspee Days Committee Webmaster Gaspee Virtual Archives at gaspee.org
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Cover Image
“The Gaspee Incident" by American artist Kipp Soldwedel (1913–1999)
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o wonder why they burned the Gaspee
Captain Dudingston was despised for confiscating property.
Montagu wrote back, warning the governor to An eight-gun schooner called the HMS Gaspee arrived in the “not endeavor to distress waters off Newport in March of 1772. Under orders from King the King’s officers for strictly George III, the crew was to patrol Narragansett Bay, enforcing the complying with my orders.” He maritime trade laws against anyone attempting to evade taxation by added, “I am also informed smuggling contraband items. In command of the ship was William the people of Newport Dudingston, a 32-year-old lieutenant in the Royal Navy. The third talk of fitting out son of James and Margaret (Gillespie) Dudingston’s 14 children, an armed vessel he was a native of Fife and had previously served as a merchant to rescue any seaman on Fife’s coast. vessel the King’s Those who lived in the towns and villages along Narragansett schooner may take Bay and made their living on the water, didn’t welcome the overcarrying on an illicit trade. sight of their business. The irritation concerning interruptions in Let them be cautious what their endeavors soon turned personal. The hatred of Commander they do. For as sure as they Dudingston became a popular topic of discussion. attempt it, and any of them It seemed the commander was loose with his authority, interare taken, I will hang rupting legal commerce, making searches without cause and needthem as pirates.” Lastly, Captain Benjamin Lindsey of the Hannah lessly detaining freight boats. Residents of Gould Island reported Montagu told Wanton, “I that those serving would advise you not aboard the Gaspee to send your sheriff on had come ashore and board the King’s ship Dudingston sought pension relief chopped down at least again on such ridiculous for having been shot thirty of their fruit errands.” trees to use as firewood, There seemed to In December 1772, Dudingston petitioned King George for relief, citing his which constituted ilbe no choice but to grievous wounds, and was subsequently awarded a 'Lieutenant's rate' penlegal trespass. Additionsubmit to Dudingston’s sion of £91.5.0 on 15Feb1773 "in consideration of the courage and conduct ally, he was said to be orders, whether given shewn by him in defence of the Gaspee schooner, which was burnt at Rhode confiscating anything he to him by the Admiral Island, in June 1772, and the severe wounds he received on that occasion." pleased, including poulor designed in his own Dudingston claimed that he lost use of his left arm, and had a musket ball still try, sheep and hogs. mind. But suddenly fate lodged in his groin. In the American Federalist Columbian Centinel newspaper When a sheriff apintervened. On June 9, of 26Jan1822 (No 4241), page 1 is a letter to the editor entitled "Of Revoproached the Gaspee to the Gaspee sailed away lutionary Reminiscences.", the author claims that, "Dudingston received a ball request official papers from Newport, toward in the hypogastrick region, which ball was never extracted, but worked its way from Dudingston conProvidence, around down near to the right knee, rendering him lame all his life." "Hypogastric" cerning his duties and noon, in pursuit of the would be a medical description of the lower abdomen. It is unlikely that he was authority, the request sloop Hannah. The actually shot in the testicles, as he went on to father four children later in life. was not fulfilled. Govcaptain of the Hannah The most likely scenario is that Dudingston was shot once in the left arm, after ernor Joseph Wanton, lured the Gaspee into which the bullet ricocheted or passed through into his left groin area containing having received so many the shallow water off the femoral artery and fascia. While John Mawney removed part of the musket complaints concerning Namquid Point where ball, some of it may have remained that then traveled down to his knee over Dudingston’s maltreatthe schooner struck a time. (From the Gaspee Virtual Archies found at Gaspee.org) ment of others, decided sandbar at about 2:30. to contact Admiral John Those aboard the Montagu to ascertain Gaspee climbed down exactly what the commander’s duties were and to complain of onto dry land. They endeavored to scrape the boat out of its hold disturbed navigation and innocent people being compelled into until they realized they could do no more until daybreak. Dudingssubmission by armed force. ton ordered all aboard to retire except for the three watchmen. By KELLY SULLIVAN
The Hannah had continued on to Providence, arriving there near sunset. The captain went quickly to one of the town’s most well-known merchants, John Brown, and informed him that the Gaspee had run aground. A plan brewed. A town crier was sent out to collect any man who might be interested in destroying the schooner, whose commander had caused them so much grief. Later that evening, a gathering of men inside Sabin’s Tavern in Providence heard a drum beating outside. The time had come. Eight longboats, each containing five oars, had been placed at Fenner’s Wharf, across the street from James Sabins’ house. Each oar and rowlock had been muffled. At 10:00 that night, approximately 50 men climbed into the boats, some carrying firearms, others toting clubs. The boats were rowed toward the Gaspee, stopping about 60 yards from the schooner at around half past midnight. One of Dudingston’s watchmen sighted the boats and yelled, “Who comes there?” When there was no answer, he asked again. He then went to warn Dudingston of the approaching vessels. Soon, Dudingston appeared, mounting himself on the starboard gun-whale. “Who comes there?” he demanded. He also repeated the unanswered question. “I am the sheriff of the county of Kent, God damn you, so surrender, God damn you!” came the reply. Dudingston threatened that he would fire if the boats did not back away. He then fired a pistol. One of the men in a longboat raised his musket and shot. Dudingston was struck about five inches below the navel. Crying out, “Lord, have mercy upon me. I am done for,” he fell backwards. “I have killed the rascal!” the gun-
man announced. The longboats approached the Gaspee and their occupants climbed aboard. The men standing on deck retreated below and later testified that they were beaten and knocked down. It was also alleged that Dudingston was ordered to drop to his knees and pray for his life, and that the commander argued that he could not do so, due to his wound. It was stated by a crew member of the Gaspee that one of the men from the longboats replied, “Damn your blood. You are shot by your own people.” Dudingston was taken into the cabin where two members of the attacking forces displayed a great deal of medical knowledge in dressing his wound. He was then ordered to turn over his papers relating to the Gaspee. As he handed them over, he attempted to make some explanation when he was informed that they had not come there to receive any instructions from him and would peruse the documents at their leisure. Dudingston and everyone else aboard the Gaspee were put into all but one of the longboats, their hands bound. They set out for the shore of Pawtuxet, two miles in the distance, at about 3:30 that morning. They had covered about half that distance when they saw what the occupants of the longboat left behind had accomplished. The quarter deck of the schooner was afire. The captured men were held at Pawtuxet Village. Dudingston was in serious condition, inside a small house by the wharf, when a doctor arrived to examine him. An inquest into the whole affair immediately went into effect. Not only was Montagu enraged by the attack, the authorities within the colony made it clear that they would not condone such actions. Large rewards were offered for information concerning who was involved. Those who had been taken captive remembered great details concerning their attackers; their clothing, their hair, their scars. They had all been well-dressed, not typical ruffians and two obviously had medical training. Numerous testimonies were taken, by those who were held captive and those suspected of having information. But despite the large rewards, no evidence concerning those who burned the Gaspee was brought forward. When Montagu questioned Dudingston about the ordeal, he replied from Brenton’s Point, near Newport in July. “Sir; This day I received yours of the 8th inst. and am hardly able to give an answer, from the painful situation I am in.” He ended the letter by stating, “I beg this may be private till I can be moved, as the copy of the former letter being made public to the people by the Governor, puts me in great danger.”
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Dudingston returned to England and was later made commander of the HMS Bonetta. In 1773, he received a pension for the wounds he suffered in the Gaspee affair. He was put in command of the HMS Senegal in 1775 and was involved in the Staten Island Landings in 1776. The following year, he was commander of the HMS Cameleon. In September of 1777 he was promoted to Captain and given charge of the HMS Boston. He married Antonia Steuart in the autumn of 1802 and fathered two sons and two daughters, finally dying on Oct. 27, 1817 in Warwick historian John Currier Earlsferry, a wealthy man. portrays our infamous Lt. William Dudingston during Gaspee Days Rumors and suspicions each year. floated around for years following the burning of the Gaspee, attached to the names of some very well-respected men; Ephraim Bowen, Abraham Whipple, Joseph Bucklin, Benjamin Dunn, John Brown, John Mawney and several others. Those who knew which men were in the eight longboats that fiery night kept their secrets as long as they had to.
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Gaspee Days:
The first blow for a kid’s freedom By GEORGE SHUSTER JR.
G
rowing up in Governor Francis Farms, much of my happiness was tied to my bike. Initially that meant a metallic blue Schwinn Sting-Ray with a silver banana seat. Later it was a Panasonic tenspeed. Both bikes were purchased from the garage-based bike shop called Belanger’s, off Suburban Parkway in Norwood. I remember like yesterday my mother driving me there to pick out that Stinggeorge shuster jr. Ray, my first “big kid’s” bike. It was for my birthday. I might have been turning 6 or 7. It seemed like a long drive to a foreign land, and Belanger’s, small as it was, was like a vast emporium of cyclical splendor. When we got that bike home, in the trunk of our Aries K-Car, I couldn’t wait to take it out on the road. Maybe parents were more liberal then, or maybe times were just different. But I was given broad reign. I could ride wherever I wanted, as long as I stayed within the Farms. This meant a lot to a kid. I could ride up Namquid Drive to Adams Drugs for a candy bar, or to Newport Creamery for an ice cream cone. I could browse for toys at The Toy Shoppe. I could risk getting chased out of Brown’s Farm, and I could risk getting chased by an unleashed dog while racing down to Gaspee Point’s beach or ball field. I could ride up to Save-Rite, where I would often pick out a gift for my mother for her birthday or Mother’s Day. I’d fill out the slip for the gift with the pen an clipboard they provided in the showroom, and then I’d bring it to the cashier. She would summon the actual item from the inventory room in the second level, from whence it would appear on the conveyor belt as if descending automatically from heaven. The wire handlebar basket of the Sting-Ray was big enough to get nearly any box home. Sure enough, I’d press the limits of my circumscribed geography. I would stand with my bike on the eastern sidewalk of Warwick Avenue. Or I’d stand a few feet to the south of the Narragansett Parkway sign at the end of Spring Green Road, which then was still the rustic log version of the sign, painted brown with yellow letters. But I’d never cross those streets. I’d never abuse the privilege, always staying within the bounds of my beautiful childhood confinement.
With one exception. For the Gaspee Days Parade, on that second Saturday in June, I was given special permission to pierce the forcefield around the Farms and ride my bike down the parade route to Pawtuxet. The first time I crested the hill of Spring Green Road and kept going was like riding a rocket out of the atmosphere into space. The crowds had already gathered along the road, ready for the parade to start. The vendor carriages with Bang Snaps and plastic horns and balloons were ready to sell their wares. The red, white, and blue lines in the center of the street led the way east and north. Though before 10 a.m., the smell of popcorn seemed timely and irresistible. Before the parade started, the road was abuzz with people, and I’d ride along weaving among them, probably seeming like a real jerk for cutting too close, riding too fast. But the feeling of liberation was too strong to deny myself. Looking back, there was good sense in giving me one day of leave to ride my bike outside the Farms, and to make that day the day of the Gaspee Days Parade. It was the day when Warwick seemed to come together most strongly as a community, when the normal dangers of traffic and strangers seemed most remote along the Parkway. It seemed a day when nothing bad could happen, because there was so much good in the air. If I was going to have one day of freedom, this was it. Back then, I never connected my freedom from Governor Francis Farms to the foundational narrative of Gaspee Days, the tale of a pre-Revolutionary press for freedom from government enforcement of shipping restrictions and taxes. But there are similarities. Just like the Gaspee Days narrative itself is complicated and nuanced, so too is the nostalgic version of childhood. Both have truth without being wholly true. Both have meaning beyond the strict facts in which they are grounded. What I can say is this: regardless of exactly why or how the H.M.S. Gaspee ended up burned up off the coast where I have spent most of my 46 years, Gaspee Days has been and continues to be a formative and essential part of what Warwick is. A formative and essential part of who I have been and who I am. The freedom that Gaspee Days represents is not necessarily the same freedom for which Americans fought in the Revolutionary War, or the same freedom that many Americans have enjoyed since, or the same freedom from which many other Americans have been unfairly excluded. To me, the freedom of Gaspee Days is the freedom of a community to create and celebrate its unique identity. The freedom to understand and explore the sense of community itself. The freedom to ride that Sting-Ray a bit further from home, with a bigger grin than any other day of the year.
B
its and pieces of Gaspee, Sabin’s Tavern are out there By KELLY SULLIVAN
Corps, presented the Corps with a gavel made from a portion of a corner post from the tavern. The gavel was encircled with a silver band inscribed with the dates “1772 – 1892”. Although the Gaspee schooner and Sabin’s Tavern have long since become In January of 1893, Belinda Olney (Hathaway) Wilbour, state regent of ghosts, their bones may still exist somewhere in Rhode Island or elsewhere in the Daughters of the American Revolution, presented to the Rhode Island America, having been reincarnated into historic relics. chapter of that organization a gavel During the summer of 1840, 68 years after the Gaspee was set made from wood taken from the aflame, the youngest raider known to have taken part in the destrucroom where the plans were made in tion was desirous of a souvenir. Ephraim Bowen, who had reached 1772 to destroy the Gaspee. his 80th birthday by that time, hired 51-year-old Pawtucket patternThe same month, Frank Clinton, maker and saw-filer Danforth Peck to make him two canes. of the Burnside Camp association, Bowen provided Peck with a piece of timber which had been was presented with a gavel made removed from the wreck of the Gaspee after the fire had died down. from wood salvaged from the tavThe single piece of wood had initially been part of a much bigger ern. salvage operation. The lot which had been taken decades earlier had In December of that year, the been incorporated into a ropewalk. Once the rope-walk fell into discontents of the Rhode Island Buildrepair, during the 1830s, someone claimed several pieces and had ing from the World’s Fair were sold them manufactured into canes. at auction. One of the items on the By the time Bowen learned of this and went to claim his own, block was the fireplace mantel from there was but a single short piece left. Deconstructing it, Peck was A PIECE OF THE GASPEE? The mace that Sabin’s Tavern. Mr. William Alable to splice five pieces into the creation of one cane, and the two is traditionally carried in the lead of the Gaspee drich had the highest bid, at $101. Days parade, as the story is told, is made from remaining pieces into another cane. Bowen intended to present one wood recovered from the Gaspee and the home In June of 1895, Lorenzo Traver of the canes to a descendent of John Brown, and the other he planned of Governor Arthur Fenner that was razed in of the Farragut Association brought to send to Bunker Hill where it might be viewed at the Whig Conven- 1895. (Warwick Beacon photo) a gavel made of tavern wood to extion there that September. Bowen died the next year. hibit at a meeting. That same summer, someone presented a tiny piece of timber In January of 1898, John Drinan, past commander of Arnold salvaged from the wreck to the GaPost #4, presented retiring commander, George Pettis, with the zette and Chronicle, a publication in gavel Pettis had used during his term, also made of wood that had Pawtucket. The wood was described come from Sabin’s. as being a type of oak much heavier In October of 1914, Mrs. Emma Jillson presented to the Rhode than American white oak. Island Ex Club yet another gavel made from the old tavern wood. In May of 1891, Senator Douglas Since its beginning, in 1966, the Gaspee Days celebration has presented Governor John Davis with included an artifact known as the Rhode Island Mace, a large a gavel made of wood salvaged from wooden club-like item which is honorably carried in the parade. the Sabin Tavern. The mace is affixed with an aquila (eagle) which is said to have That October, the Adjutant of Slocome from atop a pole which carried the Union flag through the cum Post, Mr. Jewett, was presented battles of the Civil War. with a cane fashioned of wood from According to the Gaspee Days Committee, the mace was comSabin’s Tavern by a Post comrade, Mr. missioned by the High Sheriff of Providence County, Hunter CarPaddock. son White Sr., to be fashioned of wood from the wreck of the GasTwo months later, architect George pee and from timbers taken from the home of Governor Arthur Cady presented Edward Hall, presiFenner, which was razed in 1895. Allegedly, White presented the dent of the Providence Veteran Firemace to be present at the inaugurations of Rhode Island governors, men’s Association, with a silver-head- DOORWAY TO HISTORY: Trish Woodard displays a door recovered from Sabin’s Tavern before ed cane which was also made from it was leveled is now on display at the Pawtuxet beginning with Charles Dean Kimball, elected in 1902. The mace wood which came from the recently Rangers Armory on Remington Street. (Warwick would likely have been made sometime between 1895 and 1902 Beacon photo) though no account of its creation has yet been located. demolished tavern. It’s unknown just how many canes, gavels and other relics were In January of 1892, it was announced by the Gaspee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution constructed from pieces of wood which had come from the Gaspee or the that a charter was going to be requested from the General Assembly which tavern where her demise was calculated. Some of those such artifacts may be in public or private collections while others may be covered with the dust of they would frame in wood taken from the tavern. The following month, Sadie Morton, past president of the Women’s Relief decades in the corners of attics or basements.
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ndentured servant played role in the Gaspee incident
By PEDER S. SCHAEFER
The Gaspee Affair is an oft-told story in Rhode I-sland’s early history. Elementary and middle school children learn about the brave colonists who made a “first blow for freedom” by torching William Dudingston’s British schooner, the Gaspee. In classrooms across our state children learn about Rhode Island’s overseas trade with the West Indies, powerful slave traders like John Brown, unjust British taxation, and the clever tactics of Rhode Islanders who trapped the Gaspee off of what was then called Namquid Point, on Warwick’s coast. What’s often missing in this cookie cutter narrative is the story of Aaron Biggs, a part African, part Sakonnet Indigenous teenager who was impressed into the raid to burn the Gaspee by slave-trading Rhode Island colonists. A month after the burning Biggs fled his indenture master by using Tompkins’ skiff to row to a British ship and reveal the identities of the Rhode Islanders who had burned the Gaspee. He later became a key witness for the Gaspee Commission, a group of British and Rhode Island judges and politicians who met to collect evidence and attempt to assign blame for the burning of the Gaspee the following January. There is debate over the spelling of his name. Some say Briggs, others Biggs. Here I’ve chosen to use Biggs after a fellow historian, Steven Park, pointed me towards the original court testimony in which the Biggs’ spelling is used, marked by Aaron’s signature. If we study Biggs’ life and his role in the Gaspee Affair, we can begin to see two tensions within our understanding of the burning of the Gaspee that the conventional narrative leaves unturned—the role of slavery in the society of Revolutionary-era Rhode Island, and how the development of freedom in early America was marked by paradoxes and contradictions. The liberty and freedom that the Rhode Island colonists were fighting for from Great Britain—the same freedom for which they claimed to have burned the Gaspee— often didn’t include the likes of indentured servants and people of color like Biggs. Aaron Biggs was born in Little Compton at the end of the 1750s to a Sakonnet woman, and most likely, an African enslaved person. Around the age of five, in 1764, he was indentured out to Samuel Tompkins, a white farmer who owned ten enslaved or indentured people on a Prudence Island stock farm. We don’t know much about Biggs’ early life—the archives from that time period don’t include much information from indentured servants—but from bits and pieces, including the trial records from Biggs’ testimony to the Gaspee Commission, we can paint a picture of his early life. Biggs worked as a laborer on Tompkins farm, tasked with “bringing in the cows” and he often worked on the ropewalk of Simeon Potter in Bristol, making cloth and rope to outfit ships sailing for the West Indies and Africa. On the farm Biggs’ lived with two other African laborers, Jack and Somerset, and learned to navigate around the island on
Tompkins’ small skiff he used to take produce to market. Biggs was part of a Rhode Island economy that relied on the labor of unfree people like himself to produce the cloth, dairy, meat, and rope needed to sustain the Triangle Trade, in which rum was traded for enslaved people and sugar, a system which made men like John Brown—namesake of Brown University—spectacularly wealthy. Long before his impressment into the burning of the HMS Gaspee, Biggs would have been familiar with a very different conception of liberty than the one the Rhode Island colonists created to justify their strike against the British schooner Gaspee. Instead of freedom of body or action, Biggs was made to labor against his will, constrained by an indenture agreement signed when he was still only a child, separated from his family by the waters of Narragansett Bay. Oddly enough, these same Copy of the first page of the testimony of Aaron Briggs. Rhode Island Historical Society Collections MSS434b1f4
waters would also become Biggs’ salvation. While working on Prudence Island, Biggs became a skilled sailor, and on the night of June 9, 1772, he was rowing around the island to prepare to sail a fellow laborer to Bristol the following day. It was a moonlit night, if sometimes cloudy, and as Biggs floated on the waters between Prudence Island and Bristol, he was called out to in the dark by a man in a boat with eight oars, filled with eleven men carrying weapons. The man— only identified as “Potter, of Bristol,” by Biggs—asked “who was in that boat?” and told the teenage Biggs to come closer. Potter—the same one who owned the ropewalk that Biggs worked at—demanded that the teenager row with them north to the Gaspee and that he would pay Biggs to help with their task that night. Biggs protested, telling Potter that he must return soon to Prudence. He said that his master might “miss him” and would “flogg him” if he were out all night. “There is no can’t in the matter,” replied Potter. The teenager handed over his rope and they rowed north. By unbelievable coincidence, Biggs and Potter rowed north together towards Namquid Point, where the Gaspee lay stuck in the sand. That night—as schoolchildren across the state have learned—the Gaspee was burnt to the waterline by a group of Rhode Islanders called together at Sabin’s Tavern and led by the infamous slave trader, John Brown. Potter, who also financed a number of slave voyages, conferred with Brown in the moments before they attacked
the ship. Biggs helped row the injured Dudingston to shore before making his way back to Prudence Island, sneaking into bed with Jack and Somerset before they awoke with the crowing of the rooster. Biggs brought the cows in for milking that morning, again dutifully performing the labor that his indenture required. A month later—after outrage over the burning of the Gaspee spread across Rhode Island and overseas—Biggs used his sailing skills and knowledge of Narragansett Bay to flee Prudence Island once and for all. He took Tompkins’ skiff and rowed to the HMS Beaver, another British ship sailing in Narragansett Bay. On the vessel he was threatened by the British crew, eventually choosing to tell them that John Brown and Simeon Potter were behind the raid. Biggs was not lying. We know that Brown and Potter were central to the planning of the raid and its successful execution in June 1772. But the Rhode Island colonists did not like the story that Biggs had to tell. They closed ranks, and prominent Rhode Island politicians sought out as much counter-testimony as possible. Rhode Island elites collected disparaging accounts from Biggs’ indenture master, Tompkins, his co-workers Jack and Somerset, and other Rhode Islanders who claimed to have seen Biggs’ elsewhere, or that the entirety of his testimony was extracted via British torture. Biggs lay under British protection for months in Newport Harbor on the Swan. Finally, the following January in the ornate Newport Courthouse he testified before the Gaspee Commission, speaking his own truth and his own freedom in front of a crowd of self-interested Rhode Island and British elites who desired him to do anything but. We don’t know what happened to Biggs after the trial ended. Some records said he went to Boston. Others say he was returned to Tompkins’ indenture on Prudence Island, while other rumors
say he became crew on a British naval ship. Whatever the case, we know that the teenage Biggs in the hot summer months of 1772 and the cold winter of 1773 through his actions—seaborne escape—and testimony—calling out Brown and Potter—did his utmost to follow his own ideas of freedom. Biggs’ actions embody an idea of freedom that included all people—such as African indentured servants like himself—not just the white Rhode Island colonists who sought freedom from British rule so they could continue to freely trade in the business of slavery with Africa and the West Indies. We should celebrate Aaron Biggs as a figure who through his actions embodied the ideas of universal liberty that later would become central to the American ideal, such as in the opening words of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Especially in 2022, when questions of national identity, race, and history have come again to the center of the national conversation, we should remember Biggs’ life as a powerful reminder of the history of slavery and subjugation that undergird Rhode Island, and also how the actions of individuals making a full claim on liberty, one that includes all people, can help us light the path forward. As we celebrate the 250th burning of the Gaspee this year, Biggs’ life of freedom is one to be proud of, and his a story that every Rhode Island child should know. A senior at Brown University, Peder Schaefer is writing his thesis for honors history on Aaron Biggs. He said he chose to research Biggs because Blacks played “a huge role” in our independence; that little has been written about Biggs and most importantly to underscore that liberty in this country “is not just a word.”
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P
lan to burn the Gaspee hatched at Sabin’s Tavern
By KELLY SULLIVAN
T
he attorneys of Providence had just finished filing their current court pleas on Tuesday afternoon, June 9, 1772. As per their tradition when that very task was completed, they would gather at the tavern of James Sabin for supper. Standing at the corner of South Main Street and Planet Street in Providence, the tavern was a popular resort for the business men in town. Large in its size and comfortable in its atmosphere, it allowed for successful meetings, friendly chats, delicious suppers and elbowrubbing with its genial host. The structure had been built by Captain Woodbury Morris around 1758. After he was killed on a seafaring voyage along the coast of Africa in 1764, his widow leased the two-story wood-framed building to Sabin, a man from an inn-keeping family, who soon opened the doors to his new social venture. The gathering of lawmen that June evening included lawyer John Cole, judge John Andrews, and lawyer Daniel Hitchcock who ventured into the inn’s kitchen around 7:30 p.m. and, glancing out the window, noticed about twelve young boys collected in the street, conversing. He paid the matter no attention and soon returned to his party where Cole had heard the noise as well and gotten up to pull back the shutter and peer outside. Cole asked if anyone knew of the occasion for the gathering. One of the other men commented that he hoped the boys were not up to mischief. “I believe not,” Cole replied. “If they were on such a design, they would not be so public.” A short time later, the group of men heard the beat of a drum passing by the inn and Cole again moved the shutter to look into the street where approximately three young boys were congregated around the young drummer. Andrews questioned allowed what might be happening. One of the party suggested that it was probably just a group of boys breaking up for the day. Thinking little of it, Cole released the shutter and sat back down. Little did the men know what the drummer was announcing. Cap-
tain Lindsey had just given chase to the Gaspee and led her aground at Namquid Point. Immediately upon reaching Providence, he’d passed that information on to merchant John Brown. Brown wasted no time in putting a plan to destroy the Gaspee into action. He arranged for boats to be placed at Fenner’s Wharf, across the street from Sabin’s Tavern and sent the young drummer out to share the news of the Gaspee’s situation and incite volunteers to help destroy the schooner. All those interested were directed to meet at the tavern later that evening. Rum distiller Ephraim Bowen promptly volunteered. He returned home and secured his father’s gun, powder horn and bullets. At about 9 p.m., he arrived at the tavern. A southeast room was already filled with like-minded people. Some went into the kitchen to cast bullets while others laid out plans for the Gaspee’s destruction. Bowen loaded his gun and waited for further instructions with the others who had assembled; ship captain Benjamin Page, medical student John Mawney, seaman Turpin Smith and ship captain Joseph Bucklin. At about 10 p.m., orders were given for the party to cross the street and board the seven waiting boats. It was said that as many as 55 men took part in rowing out to the Gaspee and setting her afire. Bowen got into a boat with sea captain John Hopkins. Sea captain Abraham Whipple took charge of another boat while Captain Benjamin Dunn headed a third. By morning, the Gaspee was only a memory. Eighteen months later, 42-year-old Sabin purchased his own plot of land and gave up his lease on the tavern. Later owners included Welcome Arnold and Richard Arnold, his son. The historic building was sold at auction on Jan. 23, 1891 and demolished to make room for a business block. The southeast room was detached and relocated to become part of the Mary Arnold Talbot House on Williams Street in Providence. The room was affixed with a plaque which noted that it was the room in which plans were made to destroy the Gaspee. The house served as headquarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution and, around 1980, it was donated to the RI Historical Society. The Society sold the property in 1983 and it now houses apartments. A slate plaque standing six feet tall and weighing 500 pounds went up on the site of the former tavern. “Sons of Liberty – Upon this
corner stood the Sabin Tavern in which, on the evening of June 9 in 1772, the party met and organized to destroy HMS Schooner Gaspee, in the destruction of which was shed the first blood of the American Revolution.” Another structure, known as the Gaspee Building, was constructed at the site shortly after the tavern was demolished. When that building was being torn down in 1961, a startling discovery was made. Hopkinton resident Al Pearson was there that day. “I was doing construction and we were working on a building where the dock used to be. They were working on something else across the street when they hit what they thought at the time was a tunnel going toward the east side,” he said. “What I heard was that they found a table in there with a lantern on it and maps and notes about burning the Gaspee. So what they originally thought was a tunnel was actually a room that was part of the tavern. It was kind of buried. They discovered it while they were digging.” A resident salvaged the door and another took the large plaque into safe-keeping. Both artifacts are now in the possession of the Pawtuxet Rangers, headquartered at the armory on Remington Street in Pawtuxet. James Sabin died in Providence on April 27, 1806. He was laid to rest in North Burial Ground. He had been married and widowed twice and fathered several children. At the time of his death, his estate included eight hair-bottom chairs worth $30, a “sopha”, a mahogany dining table, mahogany breakfast table and a round maple table. It also included seven featherbeds, six pairs of cotton sheets, twelve “old towels” and an “old woolen carpet.” A large looking glass, a warming pan, a trunk of wearing apbin Tavernparel and old crockery were also listed, along with several small books, eight small pictures, two candle stands, a Bible and 22 ounces of silver. While his heirs benefitted from the estate, James Sabin may have taken to the grave that which would have added a great deal of value to the history of Rhode Island forever.
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armer hoped to collect Crown’s reward
But it didn’t turn out that way for Stephen Gulley
of Indians with brass pistols in the road who will take care of you.” Forty-one year old farmer Stephen Gulley Assured that about twenty armed men walked into Joseph Borden’s inn, by the ferry in dressed as Native Americans were waiting for Portsmouth. It had been almost seven months him on the main road toward Newport, Gulley since the Gaspee was burned and great efforts didn’t believe it. He was sure his friend was were being made to identify the culprits. simply trying to scare him. Gulley, a resident of Smithfield, sat down According to Aylesbury, the waiting gang was and asked Borden if he could have a drink. The claiming that they would go to the Gulley home innkeeper thought Gulley appeared to have been and tear it apart if they had to because they fully imbibing already but poured him a beverage. intended on taking him back to Providence dead The guest then asked for supper and a room for or alive. the night. Borden obliged, took his name and Gulley left the room. He sent word to his went into the kitchen to prepare a meal for him. wife, instructing her to tell anyone who might One of the other men present at the inn had arrive that he was not there. He then went to come upon a copy of the King’s proclamation, Borden for advice. announcing a reward of one-hundred pounds “What should I do?” he asked. The innkeeper to anyone who could name the people who had was afraid that, due to the intoxicated states taken part in the burning of the Gaspee. He of both Gulley and Aylesbury, there would read the proclamation aloud. most likely be an altercation if he did not rid “That’s a fine reward,” Gulley commented. the premises of one of them. He told Gulley he “And I intend to have it.” would show him a route into Newport which The English money was equal to about $125 would bypass the alleged gathering of men. in American cash and was a small fortune for a At 8 o’clock that evening, Borden walked rural farmer. Gulley stood up and walked to a Gulley outside and led him to the barn about chair by the fireplace. Thomas Aylesbury then three yards from the house. He pointed to a entered the inn and, recognizing Gulley, took a pond in the distance and explained that the seat beside him. He asked Gulley where he was road near that pond would take him into Newheaded. port if he steered southward until he reached “Newport,” Gulley told him. the main route. Borden then returned to his inn. The pair then engaged in loud, riotous conSeven days later, Gulley gave his deposition to versation, using foul language that Borden did his Majesty’s Commissioners. When asked if he not like in his establishment. When Gulley and Aylesbury, who seemed to be intoxicated as well, had ever been aboard any of his Majesty’s ships, he related that he had been living aboard “The eventually got up and left the house together, Borden quickly locked the doors. He had second Lizzard” for the last several days for his own thoughts about letting Gulley stay when he later safety. They asked him what he knew about the Gaspee. returned and knocked on the door. He allowed “As to my knowledge, I know nothing about him inside and told him that his supper was it,” he declared, then went on to describe how, waiting in the back room. the previous month, Captain William Thayer As Gulley was eating his supper, Aylesbury of Massachusetts had informed him that a returned with some bad news. shoemaker named Saul Ramsdale had shared “Gulley, my friend, I believe you are upon some bad design. As I understand, you are going some information with him. Thayer claimed that he and his son had been told by Ramsdale that to Newport to give information about burning he knew who was involved in the burning of the Gaspee.” “It is nobody’s business but my own,” he told the Gaspee and had been in the company of the men before they set out on their mission. Aylesbury. Gulley stated that he then went out to find Aylesbury warned him against the plan. “I would not get to Newport. There are a number Ramsdale and speak to him personally. He asked By KELLY SULLIVAN
the shoemaker if he had been involved in the crime and Ramsdale wanted to know who had given him that information. Gulley wouldn’t supply his source but assured Ramsdale that he would be grateful for any information he could provide. Gulley told the Commission that Ramsdale admitted he knew the heads of the gang and that two of them went down the river with guns under their arms, one of the two swearing that he would get revenge before he returned. The men asked him to join them Ramsdale allegedly said, but he declined due to being too faint of heart. When questioned as to how many men left Providence that evening to burn the schooner, Ramsdale allegedly told him there were more than 300 and that he knew of one man whose surname was Brown but he did not know the man’s first name. The Commissioners issued summonses to Ramsdale, Thayer and Borden but nothing ever came of Gulley’s story and he never collected the reward he so badly wanted. During the winter of 1781, Gulley enlisted in the Rhode Island 2nd Regiment for a term of three years, under the command of Israel Angell. He died the following year in Yorktown, Virginia.
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F
rom parade spectator to Gaspee Days president
Steve Miller shares the work that went into planning the 250th
By EMMA BARTLETT
For lifetime Warwick resident Steve Miller, 59, waking up the day of the Gaspee Days parade as a kid was like waking up on Christmas morning. Miller recalled his excitement knowing the parade would come down his street and that his parents would host a large cookout later in the day. For years he witnessed Gaspee Days as a spectator but, for the last 12 years, he has been on the planning side of things. Miller said he joined the Gaspee Days Committee when his daughter was a high school senior. For her senior project, she wanted to do something historical and one of Miller’s friends suggested she get involved with the Gaspee Days Committee. “My daughter was out in six months and here I am 12 years later,” said Miller laughing. In that time, Miller has held the position of treasurer, second vice president, first vice president and now serves as president. He said the Gaspee Days Committee has 30 to 40 members and starts meeting in September on the first Thursday of each month to prepare for the summer events. In October, the committee finds a chairperson for each event and by January, things are in full swing. PROMOTING MUSEUM WEEKEND: Miller said for the Steve Miller, who currently serves as the 250th, the committee Gaspee Days committee president, has been involved with the committee for the planned on a gala in Febpast 12 years. ruary, however, Covid forced the committee to cancel the event. Instead, on April 28, the committee held a cocktail event of 75 people to kick off activities for this year. Gaspee Days’ biggest events include the three day Memorial Day arts and crafts fair, the 5K foot race and block party in Pawtuxet Park, the parade and the burning of the Gaspee. Miller said the 5K is on track to exceed the number of participants in years past by 20 percent; he thinks the increase is due to people wanting to get back outdoors.
In celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Gaspee’s burning, the committee developed new merchandise including a collaboration with Moniker Brewery in Providence, Apponaug Brewery Company in Warwick and Linesider Brewing in East Greenwich to create three unique and distinct beers. Miller said the stores will be selling the products as well as the Gaspee Days committee and that the committee hopes to have their own fundraiser at each of the businesses. One of the more popular merchandise items this year has been the stemless wine glasses that were given to those who attended the cocktail party on April 28. Miller said the committee is looking to purchase more since they received calls from individuals wanting to buy glassware sets. The 250th Gaspee Days celebration also has a different logo than in years past. Miller said the committee wanted to include the words “Rhode Island” on the logo since people outside the state may now know what Gaspee Days is and where it takes place. Lastly, Miller added that he put in an application to the Gaspee Days Committee to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell on June 9. “It can’t hurt to ask,” Miller said. Overall, Miller said his favorite part of being on the Gaspee Days committee are the people. “I’ve made so many new friends and it’s like a family,” Miller said. When he isn’t spending time planning events for the upcoming Gaspee Days celebration, Miller works as a vice president in business banking for Citizens Bank. Growing up, he attended St. Peter School, Hendricken High School and went to the University of Rhode Island where he pursued a degree in business finance.
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G
rand marshal has long time devotion to parade
By ALEX MALM
When Ron Barnes was a high school student at Cranston East, he marched in the Gaspee Day Parade as a member of the band. Since then, he has marched in the parade almost every year as a member of the Pawtuxet Rangers, a militia group that was chartered in 1774 “to protect the thriving seaport of Pawtuxet, and at various times throughout the Revolutionary War manned the fort on Pawtuxet Neck, a function vital to the defense of both Pawtuxet and Providence.” For the past 18 years Barnes has been the commander of the Rangers and this year will be the grand marshal for the Gaspee Days Parade. “At first I was really speechless and then I said absolutely I would do it,” said Barnes. “It's a big year I couldn’t say no.” Barnes joins the ranks of those who led the parade including gold medal Olympian Sara DeCosta, media personalities including Walter “Salty” Brine and Channel 10 Anchorman Gene Valicenti and philanthropists like Alan Shawn Feinstein. Since joining the Rangers 35 years ago, Barnes has only missed the parade three times, twice to attend his sons’ high school graduations and once because he had chicken pox. “Marching down the parkway with however many thou-
sands of people watching the parade… is a sense of pride. The Rangers represent Pawtuxet Village,” said Barnes. Barnes, who has a passion for history, said that one of the things he likes most about the parade is that it sticks to its colonial roots. “The Gaspee Days Committee always makes sure the tradition of colonials is a big focus of the parade,” said Barnes. “They really remember the roots of the parade.” Tina Bingham, Chair of the parade chose Barnes as marshal because he has been involved for many years, in fact she remembered when he assumed command of the Rangers in 2004. “He seemed like a good choice and a good fit,” she said. In 2020 when the parade was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic Barnes said that the Rangers wearing masks visited the Gaspee Point overlook, the cemetery in Pawtuxet Village, and Trinity Church for abbreviated ceremonies at each location which was broadcast on Facebook. “We observed it in our own private way,” said Barnes. When the Rangers marched last year in the parade Barnes said it was special. “‘I think a lot of us got the chills marching down the Parkway,” said Barnes. This being the 250th anniversary of the burning promises to be even more special.
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Proclamation Ceremony & Historic Walking Tour Saturday, May 21 12 p.m. at Pawtuxet Park
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Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival Saturday May 28, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday May 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday May 30, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The festival will take place on Narragansett Parkway Gaspee Days Block Party Saturday May 28, 6 to 11 p.m. at Pawtuxet Park Music will include Salter's Groove from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Rhode Island Bucket Drummers from 7:30 to 8 p.m. and Neal and the Vipers from 8 to 11 p.m. Admission is $5.00 per person and limited to individuals 21 years of age and older
chedule of Events Symphony in the Park Saturday June 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Pawtuxet Park The rain date is June 5. 5 to 6:30 p.m.| Gooseberry Road 7 to 8 p.m. | Warwick Symphony
Fireworks Extravaganza Saturday, June 4 from 9 to 10 p.m. at Salter's Grove Ecumenical Service Saturday, June 11 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church Gaspee Days 5K Foot Race Saturday, June 11 at 9:30 a.m. To sign up visit runsignup.com/Race/Info/RI/ Cranston/GaspeeDays5k, link@gaspee.com Gaspee Days Parade Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Online Silent Auction May 28 - June 12 Details at gaspee.com
Colonial Encampment Saturday, June 11 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday June 12 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is slated to take place at Pawtuxet Park.
Blessing of the Fleet Sunday, June 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island Yacht Club. Sunday in the Park Sunday June 12, from 12 to 4 p.m. at Pawtuxet Park. The music schedule has yet to be announced. Raffle Drawing The annual Gaspee Days Committee raffle with over 100 prizes will take place again this year. Tickets are available during the spring through the beginning of June and at the Annual Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival for $1 each or six tickets for $5 The drawing is slated to take place at Pawtuxet Park on June 12 at 3 p.m. Burning of the Gaspee Sunday, June 12 at 3 p.m. at Pawtuxet Park
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