Preserving and Sharing Rhode Island Military History to Inpire and Educate the Public.
At the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, we have this uniform that was worn by Lance Cpl. Robert w. Cottenier, 21, of Warwick, RI. He was the son of Mildred (Landy) and Marcel Cottenier. He graduated from Veterans Memorial High School in 1966 and worked at Apex before joining the Marines. He was killed in action from gunshot wounds to the chest while engaging the enemy at Kwang Nam during the Vietnam War on September 4, 1967.
Some “new” garments and uniforms have arrived at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum for professional preservation. These include an 1863 contract New York National Guard jacket, an American Civil War medical service officers uniform, a very cool 71st Regiment New York State Militia canteen, and some leather gauntlets.
We’ll keep you updated on their progress towards restoration!
In 1991, Greg Banner (a US Army Major at the time) was assigned as an advisor in El Salvador. The US had established an advisory team approximately 10 years prior to help that country fight a communist insurgency. Major Banner spent 15 months as the team leader for one of the several district teams living with and helping Salvadoran units fight their war. This presentation will provide some background to the war and then an overview of one soldier’s experiences there, up to and including the peace treaty which was signed at the end of his tour.
Greg Banner graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1979 and spent 21 years on active duty in mostly Infantry and Special Forces assignments. He retired from the Army in Rhode Island and has been working in the emergency management field for the State of Rhode Island and then the federal government since then.
RSVP by NOON Friday, May 5. 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.
When: Monday, May 8, 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by program).
Where: Varnum Armory, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
Menu: Prime rib dinner
Fee: $25
Join us on Monday, April 10 to hear about a new generation of the famed World War II Monuments Officers who are dedicated to protecting the world’s cultural heritage in areas of conflict. Speaker Blake Ruehrwein, Director of Education and Public Outreach at the Naval War College Museum, will examine the role the Army’s 21st Century Monuments Officers play in cultural heritage protection. Learn how these new capabilities evolved, the process of readying these warrior diplomats for service, and what it takes to become one.
Blake Ruehrwein has over 15 years in the heritage and culture industry. With a master’s degree in art history, Blake’s career highlights include Exhibitions Team Member for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, Independent Curator in New York City, and Art History Instructor at universities locally and internationally. Currently, he serves as the Director of Education and Public Outreach at the Naval War College Museum in Newport, RI. In addition to his role as a Cultural Heritage Preservation Officer for the U.S. Army Reserve, Blake enjoys public speaking, triathlons, adventure, and spending time with his wife and kids in Massachusetts.
Reservations are required.
RSVP by NOON Friday, April 7. 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, April 10, 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by program).
Where: Varnum Armory, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
Menu: Bourbon steak tips, potatoes, veggies of the season, salad, dessert and coffee
Fee: $25
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.”
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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.
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