Blog - Varnum Continentals

[MAR. 20 DINNER MEETING] Maria Vazquez on Conservation of the USS Constellation Anchor

March 5, 2023 By James Mitchell Varnum

On Monday, March 20, Varnum Armory Vice President Maria Vazquez is the featured speaker for our monthly members meeting. Her presentation, “A Brief History of Anchors and the Conservation of the USS Constellation Anchor,” will give an account of the history of anchors, how they developed, and how they were used. The presentation will continue with Maria’s insight into the thought and research that went into conserving an anchor from the USS Constellation, a sloop-of-war ship.

Maria Vazquez and the USS Constellation Anchor

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Maria Vazquez has a Master’s degree in Textile Conservation from the University of Rhode Island. She has appeared on multiple PBS specials, including one documenting the conservation she performed on the oldest, and most complete, flag in North America, the Byfield Flag. She is currently Vice President of the Varnum Memorial Armory in East Greenwich, RI, and works full-time as the Collections Manager for the Naval War College Museum in Newport, RI.

This event is for Varnum Members only! (You can join here!)

Reservations are required.

RSVP by NOON Friday, December 9. Please note: Our new online reservation system gives you the option to pay in advance when you make your reservation. For all inquiries send us an email.

VARNUM MEMBERS … Click here to RSVP!

When: Monday, March 20, 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by program).
Where: Varnum Armory, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
Menu: Chicken Marsala, rice pilaf, veggies, salad, dessert and coffee
Fee: $25

[DEC. 12 DINNER MEETING] Speaker Greg Banner on The Halifax Disaster

December 3, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

In December 1917, a World War I ammunition ship blew up in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia. This massive event was listed as the largest man-made explosion in human history prior to atomic weapons and totally devastated the city. Thousands died. Help from the military and civilian sources came from throughout Canada and New England. This event came to be known as The Halifax Disaster or Halifax Explosion.

Our December speaker, Varnum Member Greg Banner, will describe the background, event, response, and results and discuss aspects of military, nautical, local, and emergency response history.

Aftermath in Halifax, the start of rescue efforts

About the Speaker: Greg Banner graduated from West Point in 1979 and served on active duty in the United States Army for 21 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He had duty assignments and deployments throughout the world, including in Central America, Europe, Africa, The Middle East and Alaska. He retired in Rhode Island and has been working in the emergency management field since 2000, first for the State of Rhode Island and then for the Federal government. LTC Banner’s academic focus through two masters degrees has been in military history, and he continues to actively study a wide variety of military history topics. He is a member of the Tiverton Yacht Club, Herreshoff Museum, and the Varnum Continentals.

Reservations are required!

RSVP by NOON Friday, December 9. Please note: Our new online reservation system gives you the option to pay in advance when you make your reservation. For all inquiries send us an email.

Click here to RSVP!

WHEN: Monday, Dec. 12, 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by program).
WHERE: Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
MENU: Prime rib dinner
FEE: $25 per person
CASH BAR: wine, beer, and soft drinks only.

Varnum Armory Bathroom Renovation!

October 29, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

Here are some before-and-after images of our newly renovated storage room and accessible bathroom at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum. For those who remember the old “rustic” downstairs men’s bathroom, this is a pretty amazing transformation. We look forward to making this room a productive part of the armory museum again.

Watch the Varnum Armory on Rhode Island Wave!

September 11, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

Check out this long-form video interview with Patrick Donovan, curator/VP at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, by “Rhode Island Wave”.

In addition to the interview, Patrick takes on on detailed walk-through of the Armory and talks about some of the more amazing historical exhibits and stories contained within the Armory walls.

Watch the video here!

[FEATURED EXHIBIT] Calligraphy Art of William Henry Pratt

August 21, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

We’ve walked past this artwork at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum for years without giving it much thought (believing it was 1990s computer-generated dot art). Boy, were we wrong…

This is an engraving from 1865 where a calligrapher cleverly shaded their penmanship to create a facsimile of Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington using the words of the U.S. Constitution. Here is a description of one in the collection at Mt. Vernon:

“During the 19th century, America’s founding documents – the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence – inspired numerous artists and publishers to produce decorative versions, suitable for framing and display. In this calligraphy portrait, the artist has cleverly shaded the words of the Constitution and amendments, so that George Washington’s face emerges from the text.

Washington’s likeness is based on Gilbert Stuart’s popular ‘Athenaeum’ portrait, originally painted in 1796 and widely copied in paintings, prints, textiles, china, and the dollar bill. Washington’s name also appears, as a signer, at the center edge of his coat collar, about half-way down the white cravat.

The text ends with the 13th amendment’s prohibition of slavery, suggesting a creation date shortly after 1865, but before the passage of the 14th amendment in mid-1866 or its ratification in 1868. Notably, Washington’s portrait did not make its first debut on the dollar bill until 1869.

The artist, William Henry Pratt (1822-1893), was a professor of penmanship in Davenport, Iowa, and the first curator of that city’s Academy of Natural Sciences. He collaborated with the Davenport lithography firm of August Hageboeck on at least three other calligraphy portraits: Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, Washington and the Declaration of Independence, and Ulysses Grant and the Republican Party platform of 1868.”

BOOK A TOUR AT THE VARNUM MEMORIAL ARMORY MUSEUM!

[FEATURED EXHIBIT] Airman Stephen E. Roomes and the Air Force’s “Prime BEEF” Unit

August 21, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

Airman Stephen E. Roomes (left) of Providence, RI, was the first and only Black American to serve in the Air Force’s first “Prime BEEF” unit (Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force). This highly rapid deployment, special civil engineering unit was created to establish and maintain bases and airfields, as well as respond to chemical, biological, and radiological emergencies.

Stephen served in the Korean War as well as Vietnam War. He and his son, Jason, are direct descendants of Caesar Roomes who had been freed from enslavement to serve in the 1st Rhode Island “Black” Regiment during the American Revolutionary War.

A collection of Stephen’s things will go on display soon at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum in a new Cold War exhibit.

BOOK A TOUR AT THE VARNUM MEMORIAL ARMORY MUSEUM!

RI National Guard Tour the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum

July 17, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

At the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, we gave an in-depth tour for a group of new Rhode Island National Guard recruits as part of their Recruit Sustainment Program. They loved it! So did the officers present they want to make this a regular part of their program.

They expressed how important it is to learn how their military heritage builds toward a sense of inclusion, teamwork, and esprit de corps. We are proud to support these future American soldiers.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A TOUR!

Varnum Continentals Contribute to RI Public School Curriculum

June 11, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

The Varnum Continentals are excited to work with the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island Historical Society, and the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society to introduce teachers to a new public school curriculum on the famed First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War. Artifacts from the Varnum Armory Museum are a part of the program.

Varnum House Museum 2022 Tour Season

June 5, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

The Varnum House Museum will be open to the public for the 2022 tour season on Sundays from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM weekly starting on July 10, 2022. Tours for groups are available by appointment.

Visit the 1773 mansion of General James Mitchell Varnum, a prominent figure in the Revolutionary War and early-American politics. An on-site colonial herb garden includes dye and medicinal plants that are appropriate to the era.

HOURS

Open to the public on Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.

GROUP TOURS

Available by appointment.

CONTACT

401-884-1776 or email house@varnumcontinentals.org

Watch “A STITCH IN TIME” filmed at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum

June 4, 2022 By James Mitchell Varnum

If you weren’t able to watch the PBS documentary “A Stitch in Time” on it’s original May 29 air date, we’ve got you covered!

Follow the link to watch this fascinating half-hour documentary showing the journey of America’s oldest colonial militia flag, from the First Company of Bristol County Militia in the 1690s to the present day, as it undergoes delicate conservation at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum under the eye of an expert textile conservator.