Brian Wallin, Author at Varnum Continentals

[FEATURE ARTICLE] An Army in the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum

April 7, 2020 By Brian Wallin

***Toy soldier grouping at the Varnum Armory***

Growing up, how many of us played with toy soldiers? Some were metal. Many were green plastic. But all gave us hours of enjoyment as we fought mock battles on sandpiles and in the grass. Prominently displayed in the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, however, is a collection of tiny soldiers representing a broad swath of history. They reside in a well-lit glass display thanks to Howard Vernon Allen, a founding member of the Varnum Continentals and its commanding officer for some 55 year. “H.V.”, or “The Colonel” as he was known (and he was a Lieutenant Colonel of the State and then R.I. National Guard for many years), was an inveterate collector of artifacts representing military and maritime history. Many of the rare artifacts displayed in the museum were acquired by him over his many decades of leadership. But he had a special area of interest: toy soldiers.

For many years, the majority of the collection now displayed in the museum resided in orderly rows on shelves in his stately 18^th century home, the Captain Oliver Gardiner House, at 4451 Post Road in Warwick, RI. Although he had a special area of interest in the American Revolution, the collection contains examples of soldiers from many eras, from the Crusades to the 20^th century.

There is the British Royal Coronation Coach representing the 1911 coronation of King George V (with the King and Queen Mary seated in the coach) escorted by a full military guard. There are German Hessians, Arabs, Egyptians on camels and even representatives of historic Rhode Island chartered militias, including the Newport Artillery, the Kentish Guards, and the Bristol Train of Artillery. Proudly standing amongst their fellow miniature military men are representatives of the Varnum Continentals (more on that in a moment). There are figures from the American Civil War, both World Wars and the collection includes soldiers from both American and English manufacturers, in metal and plastic. Quoted in a Providence Sunday Journal article from June 20, 1948, Colonel Allen said that, in his opinion,

“The English make the best toy soldiers for not only are their color schemes authentic, but the detail is far better than that of those made in other countries.”

First Rhode Island Light Artillery’s Battery B

Although he said he did occasionally take the figures out and arrange them in appropriate formations, he was quick to point out that his collection was not meant to be played with because of their relatively delicate construction and decoration. He told his interviewer that during the American Revolution, there were colorful uniforms, but then there was a period when soldiers dressed in rather drab attire, except for their dress uniforms. And, the Varnum Armory collection has some of the most colorful. Colonel Allen explained that many military units were influenced by Napoleon Bonaparte who once said, “A soldier must learn to love his profession, must look to it to satisfy all his tastes and sense of honor. That is why handsome uniforms are useful.”

The H.V. Allen Collection includes toy soldiers that were handed down through several generations of his family and many are of European manufacture. As a collector, the colonel paid special attention to every detail including the exact configuration and even color match of the original uniforms. The wrong shade, even on a toy soldier, would have put the tiny military man out of the colonel’s favor.

Allen used to enjoy taking his soldiers out of their display case and arranging them in various battle formations to demonstrate particular military encounters. Some are in action poses and there are several dioramas including a World War I medical unit and U.S. Civil War artillery. There are even several miniature cannons acquired by the colonel over the years.

As mentioned, Colonel Allen was a military miniature collector, not a military model maker or painter. Many of his figures came from Great Britain manufacturers. Long-time Varnum member and museum curator, the late Don Marcum was an avid model painter. The Varnum’s own Col. Larry McDonald is member of the latter fraternity. “I’ve donated a couple of sets to the Varnum collection,” he told this writer. “When I first started collecting and painting, I had the opportunity to acquire a couple of sets of figures done by another Jamestown resident. One was a boxed set of the Continentals guard produced for the 1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary Observance”, he noted. “H.V. had some individual figures but this was a full set of an officer and four men. It was quite a find.” Larry has also donated a Civil War cannon set representing the First Rhode Island Light Artillery’s Battery B to the collection. “Don had portions of the set and I was able to complete it with purchases at flea markets and from dealers”, he said.

Following Don Marcum’s passing, Larry acquired most of his unpainted collection of figures from his widow. “There are a number of figures in the Varnum collection done by Don who was an award-winning painter,” he said. Larry added that Marcum was particularly interested in the figures representing the American Revolution and that he has a number of unpainted figures that Don had acquired but never completed. Many of these were manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s by the American company Imre/Risley. “They are probably the best American-made figures,” he noted.

***Toy soldier case at the Varnum Armory***

There are a number of dealers specializing in painted and unpainted figures ranging in size from a small as one inch in height to three inches or so, in plastic and metal. They cover every era in human history. Antique toy soldiers made from tin or lead are of particular interest to collectors but require special care to preserve them from deterioration (lead has been banned in the manufacture of toy soldiers since 1966). Plastic has become popular among collectors and modelers. Hard plastics can be painted and then assembled in action poses as opposed to soft plastic pieces which represent a large percentage of models currently sold.

For those interested in more information, try going online to toysoldierco.com. An informative book is “Collecting Toy Soldiers in the 21^st Century” by James Opie and published in England by Pen & Sword Books Ltd. in 2011

The Varnum Memorial Armory Museum collection display case includes information cards so that viewers can identify the various figures. Among the many rare artifacts on display in our museum, the toy soldier case in the Commander’s Office is well worth the time to visit.

Who Carried the British Grenadier Sergeant’s Carbine in our Varnum Armory Collection?

March 1, 2020 By Brian Wallin

There’s nothing like a good detective story. When coupled with the history of an American Revolutionary War weapon, it gets even more interesting.

In a rack atop the 19^th-century glass-front bookcase in the Varnum Commander’s Office is a rare English Carbine, a scaled-down version of the British Land Pattern Musket, commonly known as the “Brown Bess”. From 1722 to 1838, the British Army used the Land Pattern worldwide and some were used by colonists as well.

English "Brown Bess" Carbine, Circa 1770 — ***English “Brown Bess” Carbine, Circa 1770***

In the colonies, if you needed a musket, you were pretty much on your own. Fortunately, there were upwards of 3,000 gunsmiths scattered about the colonies and a number were here in Rhode Island. Many guns were made from parts of other weapons or from castings based on (or “patterned after”) earlier weapons. In fact, hanging on the wall just above the English Carbine is a pre-Revolutionary war era fowler (a musket used primarily for hunting) owned by Thomas Gould of Quidnessett. It is a perfect example of a gun made from various parts of different weapons. However, the story of the Gould fowler is for another time.

Smooth-bore flintlock muskets in this period were not particularly accurate over distance. At a range of up to 50 yards, they could hit a man-sized target (weapons with rifled barrels had a much longer range and greater accuracy). Muskets were relatively easy to load and could be fired up to four times a minute by a skilled foot soldier. Many variations were produced, including lighter-weight models called carbines, many of which were carried by non-commissioned officers.

***Halberd from the American Revolution (Varnum Armory Collection)***

Prior to the introduction of these weapons, up through the 17^th century, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in a European army would usually carry a weapon called a halberd or pike, a two-handed pole-arm. They were essentially a symbol of rank, but as evident by the sharpened tip on the example displayed in the Varnum Armory’s Commander’s Office, they could also be used to prod a recalcitrant soldier into action or as a weapon in its own right. During the French and Indian War, sergeants would frequently cast aside their halberd and take up the more practical musket. Since NCOs were charged with maintaining order in the firing lines, they were often in positions of close combat.

Hence, the need for a smaller, lighter weapon (which was not fitted with a bayonet). In 1770, a new Pattern Carbine was developed for non-commissioned officers in British grenadier and light infantry companies (again, the term “pattern” simply means the weapon was replicated from an original design, although mass production as we know it was still not in use). In a typical British regiment of 500 men, only about a half-dozen carbines were issued.

British Grenadier Carbine Lock
(Varnum Armory Collection)

Our carbine belonged to the 24^th Regiment of Foot, one of the British units that fought in the Battles of Saratoga. Originally formed in 1689, it was initially sent to Quebec in 1776 following the outbreak of war in America. By 1777, the regiment was part of the British effort to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies.

A complicated series of campaigns culminated with the Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) in which the British were defeated. British General John Burgoyne led his force down from Canada with the intention of joining with other forces marching northward and eastward and cutting off the New England colonies, but those troops never met up with him. Thus, cut off by a superior colonial force under General Horatio Gates, Burgoyne surrendered some 5000 English and Hessian troops who remained prisoners until the end of hostilities in 1783. At the surrender, the British troops stacked their weapons and marched away, leaving behind a trove of muskets for the colonial forces. Among those weapons was the carbine which is the subject of this story.

***British Grenadier Carbine Number (Varnum Armory Collection)***

So, what do we know about our carbine? Quite a bit: still visible on close inspection of the lock is a stamp with a crown over the letters “GR” and “Dublin Castle”. This tells us the weapon was made in the Dublin Castle Armory in Ireland. The barrel is stamped with “24 REG” (later called the South Wales Borderers). The carbine weighs 7.2 pounds (as opposed to 10.4 pounds for a long Land Pattern musket) and fires a .68 caliber projectile (as opposed to a .75 caliber ball used in the standard-length weapon).

On our carbine is an oval escutcheon on the top of the stock behind the lock marked with a “4” over “2”. This identifies the carbine as belonging to the 4^th company of the regiment with a rack number of 2. Since we know the 24^th Regiment fought at Saratoga, it is likely that this weapon was one that was captured at that time. Now, our detective story gets even more interesting.

Rhode Island historian and author Don Hagist has a particular interest in British soldiers who fought in the American Revolution. Thanks to his research, assignment of the carbine can likely be traced down to one of three NCOs in the 24^th Regiment of Foot. On a visit to the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum one day, Don noticed the carbine hanging on the wall. Recognizing that he was looking at a rare weapon, he asked to take a few photos and then started investigating. “I found this to be a rare Pattern 1770 Grenadier Sergeant’s Fusil, one of only a few thousand made at the Tower and Dublin Castle Armories,” he told us. Only about 100 of these carbines would have been among the thousands of muskets surrendered at Saratoga. What makes this weapon especially interesting are the two numbers on the wrist plate, as explained above. “British commanders were financially responsible for arms issued to their companies. Marking the weapons identified their unit assignment facilitating accountability,” Don explained.

Don used a muster roll of the 24^th Regiment to trace the likely user. “There were ten companies in the regiment,” he said, “composing grenadier, light infantry and artillery.” Don noted that grenadiers were usually larger and stronger and were often used in assault operations. They were considered elite units as such. “The grenadier company was fourth in seniority (in the regiment), based on the rank and commission date of the company commander,” he said. The number “4” on our carbine corresponds to this fact. There were three sergeants in the grenadier company when the carbine was issued in 1771. The second of the three, according to the muster roll, was James Hughes. He was most likely issued the carbine marked “2”. “By 1777,” Don said, “Hughes was the company’s First Sergeant. There is no reason to think that he would have given up this weapon with his change in seniority.” While there is certainly some possibility that Sergeants Thomas Ford or Henry Fogg might have carried carbine 4/2, Don’s investigation indicated Hughes to be the most logical individual. He also found that Hughes was captured at Saratoga and repatriated to England after the war. Records indicate he applied for a soldier’s pension in 1784 at the age of 52, following some 29 years in the British Army.

One unanswered question is exactly how our Pattern Carbine came into the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum’s collection. No organized Rhode Island forces fought at Saratoga. However, it is possible some individuals from this area were likely there. The carbine could have come home with them or with one of the many other New Englanders who participated in the battles. Needless to say, with our Museum’s outstanding collection, there are countless stories yet to be told.

Special thanks go to Varnum Armory VP and Museum Curator Patrick Donovan, to Varnum member and arms expert Russell Malcolm, and to American Revolutionary War historian Don Hagist for their help on this story.

[FEATURE ARTICLE] Another Look at Varnum’s 1st Rhode Island Regiment

February 1, 2020 By Brian Wallin

February is Black History Month, an opportunity to take a brief look at an important aspect of General James Mitchell Varnum’s illustrious career: the inclusion of men of color into the 1^st Rhode Island Regiment, known as Varnum’s Continentals and from which we take our name and heritage as a historic state militia.

On February 14, 1778, the Rhode Island General Assembly voted to enable “every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man” to voluntarily enlist and earn freedom “upon his passing muster before Colonel Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress and be absolutely free.” Greene had been delegated by Varnum to return to Rhode Island and expand the regiment. To arrive at this moment, we need to go back to the roots of the American Revolutionary War.

The first shots of the Revolution echoed down from the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775. But, the men of East Greenwich, RI, had already been preparing to respond. In August of 1774, in protest of “the Late Cruel, malignant and more than savage acts of the British Parliament”, the Military Independent Company of East Greenwich was organized. They hired some ex-military men to teach them the rudiments of military science. 25-year old James Mitchell Varnum, who had already gained fame and respect as a skilled lawyer and orator, was charged with obtaining the needed financial support and seeking approval from the colonial General Assembly for the men to function as an official militia unit. Permission was granted by an act of October 24, 1774 and the group took the name “Kentish Guards”. They openly drilled in the community to attract new recruits.

Varnum was elected Captain, Richard Fry as First Lieutenant, Christopher Greene as Second Lieutenant, and Hopkins Cook as Ensign. Varnum’s very close friend, Nathanael Greene, an ardent supporter of the unit, was not chosen as an officer. Some felt it was because a deformity caused him to walk with a slight limp. Greene, who had secretly purchased a musket in Boston, bore no malice and gladly enrolled as a private. During the war, he was to become George Washington’s Quartermaster and has been acknowledged by some historians as perhaps the best general of the Revolution. The Kentish Guards’ officers were given the same ranks as other state militia companies. Thus, Varnum became colonel of the unit.

On April 22, 1775, The Rhode Island General Assembly created a 1,500-man “Army of Observation”: one brigade of three regiments under a Brigadier General. Although earlier rejected as officer material by the Kentish Guards, Nathanael Greene was named to the post. The exact reason he was chosen is not known, but history proved the Assembly made a wise decision. Immediately pledging his full support to Greene, Varnum was given command of the brigade’s 3^rd Regiment: men from Kent and King’s (later Washington) Counties. It is from this appointment (on May 3, 1775) that Varnum’s Regiment dates its history giving us seniority in the Rhode Island Militia.

The unit became known as the First Regiment, Rhode Island Infantry. Taken into the Continental Army, it became the 12^th Continentals or simply, Varnum’s Continentals. Under Nathanael Greene, the troops took part in the Siege of Boston between July and December of 1775. At that point, their initial enlistment ended. In response to requests from Generals Washington and Greene, most of the men remained with the Continental forces, joining the 9^th Continentals, under Varnum’s command.

From Boston, the regiment marched to New York where they fought through the summer of 1776. Varnum had lobbied for promotion to Brigadier General. For mostly political reasons, his advancement was not forthcoming. His complaints to Washington went unanswered and in December, Varnum made good on repeated threats to resign and returned to Rhode Island.

His regiment remained with the Continental Army under Lt. Col. Archibald Crary. The unit fought well at the Battles of Trenton and Patterson in New Jersey. In January of 1777, Col. Christopher Greene became commander of the 1^st Rhode Island. (the unit was later merged into the 2^nd RI, Continental Line, created from Varnum’s disbanded 9^th Continentals). As we shall see, it would be reconstituted as the 1^st RI, or the “Black Regiment” in the spring of 1778. Christopher Greene would essentially command until he was killed in New York in 1781.

Frank Quagan’s rendition of “Varnum’s Black Regiment”

Meanwhile, the British (supported by Hessian troops) occupied Newport, RI, and Aquidneck Island (also known then as Rhode Island) in late 1776. In December, they burned the town of Jamestown, RI, in retaliation for opposition by local residents. Over the next few years, their suppression of trade and forays against the rest of the colony created anger, hardship, and frustration among the much of the populace. The General Assembly called on Governor Nicholas Cooke to raise a brigade of infantry to defend the colony. Varnum was given the rank of Major General and took command of all Rhode Island militia infantry. He briefly remained in that post before being recalled by Washington on February 21, 1777, promoted to Brigadier General in the Continental Army.

Varnum’s troops, like most of the colonial forces, were in bad shape. They were ill-paid, ill-clothed, ill-fed, and ill-supplied. They should have numbered 1,200 in four regiments (two from Rhode Island and two from Connecticut), but only about 600 men could be mustered. Varnum and his top officers, Colonels Christopher Greene and Israel Angell, complained to Generals Washington and Nathanael Greene, but the entire Continental Army was in the same straits.

Instead of a proposed major offensive along the Hudson River, British General William Howe had decided to occupy Philadelphia in September of 1777. This led to the Battle of Red Bank, New Jersey with American defenses under General Varnum. In the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum is a personal letter from Washington to General Varnum ordering Colonels Christopher Greene and Israel Angell to come Red Bank as quickly as possible. During the battle, Greene’s 400-man force defeated 1,200 Hessian troops at Fort Mercer. The Continental Congress later awarded him a ceremonial sword for personal bravery.

During the winter of 1777-78, American troops, including the Rhode Islanders, survived an arduous winter at Valley Forge. Varnum remained motivated to address the brutal British occupation of Newport and defended his home state’s reluctance to provide more troops to the Continental Army given the British presence.

It was at this point that Varnum lobbied George Washington to recruit black slaves and freemen as well as Native Americans from Rhode Island into a military unit. Washington forwarded the General’s proposal to the Rhode Island General Assembly, neither specifically approving or disapproving the request.

The General Assembly, in spite of strong opposition by slave owners from the southern part of the state, agreed to the plan. Men who enlisted would be freed on their acceptance into the unit and completion of military service. Slave owners were to be compensated by the Rhode Island Assembly who would then be reimbursed by the Continental Congress (or so it was hoped) for the market value of the individual enslaved recruits. Consolidating the 1^st and 2^nd RI Regiments at Valley Forge, Colonel Christopher Greene, Lt. Col. Jeremiah Olney, and Major Samuel Ward Jr. were sent back to Rhode Island to raise the regiment.

Col. Greene and his fellow officers recruited 225 men, of whom probably fewer than 140 were enslaved or freed black men, none above the rank of sergeant. All officers were white. The 1^st Rhode Island was the only regiment of the Continental Army to have segregated companies (other regiments were integrated). Although the 1^st Rhode Island became known as “The Black Regiment”, Caucasians were recruited to fill remaining vacancies as time went by. The unit eventually became integrated by necessity.

Following training in East Greenwich, the unit’s first engagement was at the Battle of Rhode Island in August of 1778. The French had come into the war and dispatched a fleet and troops with the goal of evicting the British from Newport. Relying on the presence of the major French forces, Rhode Island troops, under command of General John Sullivan, invaded the northern end of Aquidneck Island. The British were well entrenched and the outcome of the battle was in their favor after a major storm drove the French fleet away from the coast seriously damaging a number of French warships. The American forces were forced to withdraw. Although the battle has been considered a defeat for Continental forces, the Black Regiment’s performance prevented a complete rout.

Sullivan knew he could not press a confrontation against the well-entrenched enemy forces. The Americans were arrayed in three elements on the northern end of Aquidneck Island. Under Col. Greene, the men of the 1^st Rhode Island, positioned on the west flank of the line, held firm against repeated attacks by British and Hessian troops.

Historian Samuel Greene Arnold in his 1859 History of the State of Rhode Island, recounted that the regiment, despite continued charges by the Hessians:

…distinguished itself in deeds of desperate valor. Posted behind a thicket in the valley, three times they drove back the Hessians, who charged repeatedly down the hill to dislodge them.

The Hessian colonel commanding later applied for a transfer, claiming his men would likely shoot him for having caused them so much loss.

History loves legend and according to one tale, an unnamed African American artillerist, wounded in the arm, exchanged places with a white soldier telling him, “I’ve got one arm to fight for my country.” As he took up his place, he was shot and killed on the spot.

Aquidneck Island remained in British hands for the time being, but thanks especially to the heroic efforts of Greene’s troops, Sullivan was able to complete an orderly withdrawal of his 5,000-man force to Bristol, RI, and Tiverton, RI. The September 15, 1778 New Hampshire Gazette reported the retreat made:

in perfect order and safety, not leaving behind the smallest article of provision, camp equipage or military stores.

Patriot’s Park in Portsmouth, RI, marks the battle site’s two principal areas. The sites were designated in 1974 as a National Historic Landmark. A small monument was erected at this location in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial observance to commemorate the bravery of the men of the 1st Rhode Island, specifically its many black soldiers. In 2005, a larger and more expansive monument funded by private donations was dedicated beside the 1976 stone tablet.

***First RI Regiment Monument, Portsmouth, RI***

In March of 1779, for economic reasons, Varnum resigned from the Continental Army for the final time and returned to resume his law practice in East Greenwich, RI. He did so after making sure that Washington would not be displeased. On his return, he was placed in command of the Rhode Island militia. In October of that year, the British pulled out of Newport and French troops shortly thereafter returned in large numbers to jointly pursue the end of the war.

Elements of the 1^st RI spent time in Rhode Island and in New Jersey before being consolidated with the 2^nd RI, Col. Christopher Greene still commanding. They were sent to defend an area on the northern bank of the Croton River in New York. On May 14, 1781, the British attacked in a lightening raid. According to the July 4, 1781 edition of the American Journal and General Advertiser, the raid killed 14 colonials, wounded 4 (2 later died), and 2 officers and 22 enlisted men were captured. Col. Greene was killed by multiple saber wounds, his body carried off and later discovered mutilated. Some historians consider it an act of revenge by the British for Greene’s efforts in commanding black troops.

The Rhode Island Regiment was reconstituted under Lt. Col. Jeremiah Olney who would retain that post until the after the war. The regiment was at the Siege at Yorktown for the last major battle of the Revolution in October of 1781.

***1st Rhode Island Regiment at the Siege of Yorktown***

Other states had opposed the recruitment of slaves or freemen although individuals were able to enlist here and there, primarily as substitutes for white men drafted into service. There was at least one concerted effort to create a unit of African Americans in South Carolina, but slaveholders prevented it. Interestingly, Washington, himself a slaveholder, refused to openly support efforts in South Carolina (he had neither opposed or supported Varnum’s proposal). There was a concern that the British might try to recruit large numbers of enslaved men, especially from Southern states.

Writing in the January 17, 2018 edition of the Journal of the American Revolution, historian Cameron Boutin suggests that:

…by squandering the opportunities to establish battalions of enslaved African Americans, several military advantages and economic benefits were lost. (These) included the strengthening of the Continental Army by lessening the manpower crisis, weakening the British forces be denying them a source of support personnel, and averting negative economic effects on the nation’s slaveholding population.

Following the end of hostilities, the 1^st Rhode Islanders were at Saratoga until they were discharged on December 25, 1783. White soldiers were granted land and a pension. Black soldiers who had been slaves were granted their freedom, but no pensions were forthcoming. Col. Olney formally returned the regiment’s colors (they remain today at the Rhode Island State House).

For nine years after Varnum returned to Rhode Island, he and his wife Martha remained in their handsome residence on Peirce Street. He served Rhode Island in various capacities including twice as a member of the Continental Congress. In 1787, Varnum was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territory in Marietta, Ohio. Varnum died there of consumption on January 9, 1789 less than a month after his 40^th birthday.

But what of Rhode Island’s black veterans? For some time, they received no government pay or pension. This had bothered Varnum immensely and he campaigned unsuccessfully on their behalf, as did Col. Olney. In 1794, thirteen black veterans hired Samuel Emory to present their claims to the War Department in Washington, DC. The Rhode Island General Assembly had previously passed an act to support “paupers, who were formerly slaves and enlisted in the Continental battalions”. Local town governments were mandated to provide for the indigent veterans. Most had remained in Rhode Island, but some moved onto the 100 acres of promised bounty land in New York state or the Ohio territory. In 1818, the Black Regiment veterans were finally granted Federal pensions (as were all veterans who could prove their service).

One black veteran was East Greenwich resident Ichabod Northup. Historian Bruce MacGunnigle compiled a biography of Northup for the Rhode Island Genealogical Society’s “RI Roots” in December 2008. Born a slave around 1745, Northup enlisted in the 1^st Rhode Island in 1778 and served honorably as a fifer. Northup was captured at Croton, New York, when Christopher Greene was killed. He spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of the British and was granted a pension under the 1818 Act of Congress. Despite a handicap from a wartime wound, he worked as a laborer in Warwick and East Greenwich and managed to buy a home for his wife and eight children.

Their handsome little house at 110 Division Street was occupied by his descendants and by other families of color for many years. When he died in 1821, Northup was given an obituary in the local newspaper (unusual for a black man at the time), which referred to him as a “Soldier in the Revolution”. As were his fellows, men of all colors and heritage who comprised the 1st Rhode Island Regiment contributed bravely and loyally to the outcome of the Revolution.

For detailed accounts of the formation and campaigns involving the Black Regiment, this writer suggests The RI Bicentennial Foundation’s 1980 book “The Rhode Island Campaign of 1778, Inauspicious Dawn of Alliance” by Paul F. Dearden and Robert Geake’s 2016 book “From Slaves to Soldiers”. Also, take a look at my fellow historian Christian McBurney’s 2011 book “The Rhode Island Campaign” and Daniel M. Popek’s extensive 2015 volume “They… fought bravely, but were unfortunate: The True Story of Rhode Island’s ‘Black Regiment and the Failure of Segregation in Rhode Island’s Continental Line, 1777-1783”.

[FEATURE ARTICLE] Quonset Point and Its Aircraft Carriers

December 2, 2019 By Brian Wallin

Long-time Rhode Islanders have many memories of Quonset Point Naval Air Station and the neighboring Davisville Seabee Base: 20th century additions to the Navy’s longtime commitment to the Ocean State. A Naval aviation presence began here in 1918 with the first tests of air-dropped torpedoes in the waters of the Bay. Before long, the sight and sound of military aircraft became familiar in our skies.

As America geared up for its eventual entry into World War II, the Navy acquired a huge tract of land in North Kingstown, RI. It would become one of the largest Naval Air Stations in the east. Within a year and a few months, following a whirlwind construction program by thousands of workers, the Navy commissioned NAS Quonset on 12 July 1941. The adjacent Davisville Seabee Base (Camp Endicott) that trained more than 100,000 men during the war was completed the following year. But that’s another story.

NAS Quonset quickly became a major training and support facility. Over the years, it would be home to a variety of squadrons from carrier-based fighter and torpedo bombing units to anti-submarine fixed wing aircraft and helicopters of the Cold War era. Quonset played an active role in the Navy’s transition from propeller to jet-powered planes. Its overhaul facilities (later known as Air Rework) serviced and returned thousands of damaged aircraft to duty during (and after) World War II. But, for those who lived along the shores of the Bay between 1941 and 1974, perhaps one of the most memorable sights were the aircraft carriers that regularly called at NAS Quonset, from the small, but vital WW II-era escorts to modern angled flight deck ships. Over the years, several flattops were also home ported in Rhode Island.

Before the naval air station was fully complete, PBY seaplanes were already operating from a single hangar and ramp, participating in the Neutrality Patrols the protected our coastline. Following the Pearl Harbor Attack, things really heated up at Quonset and remained so until its closure. During the war, fifteen thousand pilots (including the late President George H.W. Bush) received advanced training at NAS Quonset and the auxiliary airfields at Charlestown and Westerly, RI. Thousands of aircraft moved in and out of the base, either new to be prepped for shipment overseas or arriving for repair or refit. As part of their training, pilots practiced carrier takeoffs and landings and also participated in anti-submarine patrols. During training, there were countless training mishaps and crashes, with the base earning the nickname “Crack-a-Day Quonset” at one point. Sadly, there were also a number of training fatalities. According to some records, more F6F Hellcats were lost in training here than were shot down by the Japanese in air-to-air combat. Pilots also trained in the use of airborne radar, which was perfected at a top-secret facility on Conanicut Island.

Many people think that the base was homeport to a number of carriers during World War II. In fact, during those years, only one full-sized carrier was based here: USS Ranger (CV-4). Although she was a frequent visitor, she was actually homeported at Quonset for just a brief period in 1944. Commissioned in 1934, Ranger was the first to be totally designed and built as a carrier (the Navy’s first flattop, Langley, was a converted collier. Lexington and Saratoga were built on battle cruiser hulls).

Ranger was a little under 15,000 tons and 730-feet long. She could accommodate up to 86 aircraft, but usually carried fewer than sixty. Too small to serve with the large Fleet carriers in the Pacific, she never saw combat there. She spent virtually all of her service life in the Atlantic theater and was the only large carrier to regularly serve out of Quonset. Between January and April 1944, her homeport period here, she trained pilots in carrier takeoffs and landings. Later that year, she sailed for Panama, transited the canal and eventually served briefly out of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base providing training for night fighter pilots. However, one of her more important missions occurred in April of 1942, when she ferried fighter aircraft from Quonset Point for eventual service with the famed Flying Tigers in China. Curtis P-40 Warhawks pilots took off from the carrier and landed ashore in Accra. The carrier returned in July with a second squadron of Warhawks bound for China.

In November, Ranger would launch her own aircraft, fighters and bombers, against targets during the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch). She then served in the North Atlantic, at one point participating in attacks on German forces in Norway sinking 3,000 tons of enemy shipping. She remained a high priority target for the Germans who, in 1944, claimed to have sunk her, but their propaganda broadcast was quickly refuted. In 1945, near the end of the war, Ranger transited the Panama Canal to briefly serve at Pearl Harbor. She then returned to the east coast, was decommissioned in Philadelphia in 1946 and scrapped the following year. All in all, from 1941 to 1974, Quonset was visited by more than three dozen carriers, from the little workhorse escorts to the famed fleet carriers.

Quonset saw frequent visits by the smaller escort carriers (or CVEs) during the war. They not only ferried aircraft to and from Europe. They were also active in hunter-killer groups that protected vital convoys, seeking out and attacking U-boats. Built on merchant hulls, lightly armed, and carrying between fifteen and thirty fighters and torpedo bombers, they were too slow to serve with their bigger sisters, the Fleet carriers, but they provided much needed service in supporting convoys.

USS Block Island (CVE-21) — USS *Block Island* (CVE-21)

Ships including the Bogue, Core, and Croatan were familiar sights at the Quonset carrier pier. A total of seven were serviced at Quonset in 1944 alone. Two escorts, both named Block Island, carried the Hope State’s name into the war. The first, CVE-21, was sunk by a U-boat in the South Atlantic in 1944. Her crew (all but six men survived the sinking) was given the unusual opportunity of transferring to a new carrier (CVE-106) with the same name. The first Block Island did make a brief visit to Quonset, but was never stationed here. The second Block Island, spent her entire service in the Pacific (although the ship’s bell is today proudly displayed in Block Island’s Memorial Park). At one point, escorts would moor off the Naval Operating Base in Newport if there was no room for them at Quonset’s only carrier pier. If needed, they would offload damaged aircraft that would be barged up to Quonset for repair.

Quonset provided maintenance and supplies as well as brief shore recreation for carrier crews between patrols. Among the more famous Quonset visitors was the escort carrier Guadalcanal, that participated in the capture of the U-505 in the South Atlantic in June of 1944 (that U-boat, recovered intact, is now on display at Chicago’s Museum of Science). Thanks to the pilots and crew of the Guadalcanal, and the other ships and men of the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) unit, the Navy had a unique chance to go over a state-of-the-art German submarine inch by inch. They recovered numerous secret papers and a valued Enigma code machine that greatly aided the war effort.

With victory in 1945, things downsized briefly at Quonset, but soon geared up again with the outbreak of fighting in Korea. During the brief peacetime interval, the jet age arrived at Quonset and the light carrier, USS Saipan (CVL-48), while based here, qualified the Navy’s first operational jet fighter squadron in 1950. Quonset also became a staging and modification facility for Naval aircraft that would operate at the South Pole in the decades to follow. Another Pacific veteran, the USS Cabot (CVL-28) arrived at Quonset after her commissioning in 1943 and served throughout the Pacific before returning to Quonset after the war. She was reconfigured as an anti-submarine warfare training vessel and remained in that capacity until she was mothballed in 1955 and eventually transferred to the Spanish Navy. Plans to return her to the U.S. as a museum ship failed and she was eventually scrapped in 2002.

USS Wasp and USS Intrepid at Quonset Point — USS *Wasp* and USS *Intrepid* at Quonset Point

The Korean War brought new levels of activity to the base. The Fleet carriers Leyte, Randolph, and Kearsarge were frequent visitors to the carrier pier. Damaged aircraft were repaired at the rework facilities and returned to the fleet. With the Fleet’s conversion to jet aircraft, a new type of carrier deck layout was mandated. The USS Antietam (CVS-36) became the first angled deck carrier and Quonset was chosen as her first home port.

Almost as soon as the Korean Armistice took effect, the Cold War began and soon intensified Quonset’s role as it became a principal player in anti-submarine activities in the Atlantic. Carriers in the Atlantic rotated between NAS Quonset and the Norfolk (VA) Naval Base, with our ships and aircraft shadowing Soviet submarines and surface craft off our coastlines. Rotary aircraft had advanced to the level where they became important platforms in ASW patrols and Quonset saw its share of helicopter squadron activities.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis and blockade, the Korean War veteran carrier USS Champlain (CVS-39), known as “The Champ”, provided valued service. She was homeported at Quonset between 1958 and 1960. Converted from her original role as a Fleet carrier to ASW service, she went on to participate in the space program recovering our early astronauts as they landed at sea. She was the only Essex-class carrier not to be reconfigured with an angled flight deck and the last to remain in service with a straight line, or axial flight deck.

USS Lake Champlain (CVS-39) and Essex (CVS-9) at NAS Quonset Point — USS *Lake Champlain* (CVS-39) and *Essex* (CVS-9) at NAS Quonset Point

As one of the finest deep water ports on the East Coast, Narragansett Bay’s Quonset was home port to some of the Navy’s most famous Fleet carriers, including Essex (CV-9), Intrepid (CV-11), Wasp (CV-18), and their respective air groups. These 27,000-ton ships were state of the art with deck edge elevator and addition to a pair of center deck elevators, making launch and recovery of aircraft much more efficient. Catapult systems accommodated the heavier fighter and torpedo bombers of the war. Essex-class carriers (except Lake Champlain) that remained active into the 1970s were also equipped with angled flight decks. Quonset would be intimately involved in carrier air group training as these innovations were added to the Fleet.

In the 1970s, Quonset based and operational carriers were active in the growing space program acting as recovery vessels for the first manned space flights including the moon landing missions. Among these was the Quonset-based Intrepid, which served from World War II through the Vietnam War. She became flagship of Carrier Division 16 in 1969 while at Quonset. Today, of course, Intrepid, a National Historic Landmark, is moored in New York where she serves as a world-famed sea, air and space museum.

But, at Quonset, things were not as rosy. The Nixon-era military budget cuts in the 1970s had Quonset and other Rhode Island military facilities in its sights. On 28 June 28 1974, Quonset was decommissioned. The Navy offered the land and buildings to the State of Rhode Island and Quonset would begin a new life. Today, the Quonset Development Corporation oversees the QPD Industrial Park, home to some 200 companies employing more than 11,000 workers. (The Seabee base at Davisville would survive until 1994 when it was finally decommissioned and the property also turned over to the state).

Naval Station Newport saw cutbacks as well in 1974, with the departure of the Atlantic Destroyer Force. But, NAVSTA Newport remains a vital military facility today, home to some fifty education and support commands as well as the Naval War College and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. These facilities are a major contributor to the state’s economy.

NAS Quonset and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules

For three and a half decades, four wars, and the evolution of the space program, NAS Quonset Point served as a major component of our country’s naval operations. Generations of young men and women learned their military skills ashore, in the air, and at sea here in Rhode Island. Their exploits in every corner of the globe, from the war-torn skies of the Pacific, to the stormy waters of the Atlantic, the submarine infested Mediterranean, the frigid Antarctic, the uncertainties of the Cold War, and the challenges of the Space Age, Quonset remained a mainstay in our country’s readiness to preserve and protect our freedom.

Today, North Kingstown still retains some Quonset memories. There are streets named after the carriers and the former carrier pier itself is home to the Sonesco Marine Barge repair facilities. The original breakwater beside the carrier pier is still there. Today, it shelters the vessels of the Rhode Island Fast Ferry fleet. Take a ride down Williams Way past the Electric Boat factory and you’ll see the original NAS Quonset seaplane hangars on the right, turn into Compass Rose Park, and then take a look over at the breakwater beside the ferry pier. Imagine looking up at a majestic 820-foot long, 27,000-ton Fleet carrier with her decks filled with the Navy’s finest aircraft. What a sight!

— END —

[FEATURE ARTICLE] A Look Back at the East Greenwich Railroad Station

October 1, 2019 By Brian Wallin

East Greenwich Railroad Station postcard.

Turn off Main Street, go down London Street and you’ll find a piece of East Greenwich, RI, history at the corner of Duke Street. It once served as a focal point in the life of the community, from the 1800s into the latter years of the 20^th century. The cream building with brown trim (once again in its original color scheme) dates from 1873. Typical of the period architecture, it has a cross-gabled roof, clapboard siding with Italianate trim, arched first-story windows, and a handsome oriel on the south end. Until the 1970s, a wrap-around platform also graced the front of the structure. We’re talking about the old East Greenwich railroad station, still standing and with a new lease on life.

East Greenwich Railroad Station
East Greenwich Railroad Station

Back in the 1830s, railroads began a rapid expansion across New England stretching out from Boston, MA. Providence, RI, was a prime early destination and the logical next step on the way to connecting Boston and New York. That was the aim of the New York, Providence, and Boston (which had quickly swallowed up the smaller Stonington Railroad). Passengers would link up with steamships at Stonington and comfortably sail on to New York City. (Eventually, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford RR swallowed up just about every rail line in southern New England, along with other mass transit, but that is a story for another time).

East Greenwich Railroad Station in 1889 with Engine No. 33.

According to Dr. D.H. Greene in his 1877 “History of East Greenwich”, the New York, Providence, and Boston directors’ original plan called for the track to pass west of the village, but fortunately they were persuaded to come straight through town. It made good sense. In the early years of the nineteenth century, “East G” had become a thriving mercantile and agricultural community. As a growing commercial center, it would support passenger traffic. It also had strong political connections as one of the rotating sites for General Assembly sessions. The town was more fortunate than our neighbor to the south. The village of Wickford was bypassed by the railroad as it followed a straight-line route down through South County.

When the tracks were laid through East Greenwich, a byproduct of major excavation was the improvement of access to the harbor and cove from the town proper. By 1837, trains were crossing the handsome double overpass spanned King Street and stopping at a simple structure south of the bridge to serve as the first station. The railroad still wasn’t sure there would be a demand for passenger use, so why waste the money on a fancy station? They were soon proven wrong. (The original building would be picked up and moved to Slocumville to serve passengers when the new station was built).

In 1873, the railroad built the handsome new depot as described above. Three years later, Dr. Greene noted that 34,300 tickets were sold at the new station, not including tickets bought by commuters starting to use the train to go to and from Providence, RI. Earlier, in 1860, the railroad built an engine house just to the north of the depot to serve the engine “Apponaug”. A livery stable, opened that same year by James Fones, “was a good stand for business”, according to the Pendulum newspaper. Sidings, several small structures, and a hotel rounded out the busy station area.

New Haven Railroad railway map showing the East Greenwich Railroad Station (circa 1960s).

Grade crossings were the norm in railroads of the day and on the main line through Rhode Island, they continued well into the 20^th century until several tragic accidents led to their closure. One of the busier railroad crossings was at London Street just south of the station where gatekeepers stood watch around the clock. That crossing was one of the last in the area to be abandoned when the railroad finally fenced off the mainline. A 1987 issue of the Packet, published by the East Greenwich Historic Preservation Society, noted that by 1900 seventeen weekday trains stopped at East Greenwich to and from Providence. This became a boon to business people and gave rise to regular commuters to and from the capitol city.

Wartime always brought increased traffic to railroads. During World War I, the Gallaudet Aircraft factory, just up the line in Chepiwanoxet, was slated to have its own siding, but it never happened. Instead, warplanes built there during the war years were crated, trucked down to the siding at East Greenwich, and loaded aboard trains. World War II saw several East Greenwich factories converted to production of military goods and these were also shipped by rail. After the war, however, rail traffic across the country began to decline as highways improved and truck and automobile usage increased.

East Greenwich Railroad Station in 1974.
East Greenwich Railroad Station in 1988

By the 1960’s, air travel had put a major dent in long distance passenger rail service. The often-bankrupt New Haven Railroad finally bit the dust in 1969, succeeded by the short-lived Penn Central. The latter was merged into Conrail, which continues to this day. Amtrak took over passenger service and by the 1980s, ended service to East Greenwich, RI. One of the last station agents was John Allen, who lived on Spring Street according to the East Greenwich Preservation Society. The venerable depot was soon boarded up and fell into disrepair. The town negotiated for a number of years with the railroad before the building was eventually turned over for development and a new lease on life.

Railroad “ticket counter” in the Maurice Jeffery Hair Studio.

In the 1980s, with paint and primping, it reopened as a gourmet shop, All Aboard, Inc., and an eating place, the Depot Restaurant. In the 1990s, an early learning center opened in the building (and delighted children who could watch the mainline trains speed past their windows). Several other ventures came and went. Along the way, the building acquired a new owner who restored the exterior to the original station color scheme. For the past three years, the entire building has been rented to the Maurice Jeffery Professional Hair Studio. Owner/Manager Maurice LaPlante has his office in the area formerly occupied by the ticket window. Today, where passengers once eagerly awaited the arrival of their train, customers enjoy a cut and color or a blow dry.

East Greenwich Railroad Station in modern times.

One wonders what the first station agent, Captain Nathaniel Greene, would think if he were suddenly transported from the 19^th century to stand in the middle of the station. Fortunately, East Greenwich has a penchant for preserving history and this important piece of the town’s past, along with many other irreplaceable structures, including own Varnum Memorial Armory Museum and the Varnum House Museum, enjoy a protected lease on life. It would be a shame if we had lost the East Greenwich Depot. Fortunately, it proved to be a survivor.

The author thanks the East Greenwich Historic Preservation Society and the New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association for information that contributed to this article.

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[FEATURE ARTICLE] Quonset Point and Its Aircraft Carriers

[FEATURE ARTICLE] A Look Back at the East Greenwich Railroad Station

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