New State Law Allows Varnums to Conserve and Display Rhode Island Revolutionary War Battle Flags
The Varnum Continentals has been on a mission for the last few years to conserve and safely display Rhode Island’s two Revolutionary War battle flags at the Varnum Armory Museum. We joined forces with the National Museum of the United States Army to help make this happen. Our biggest obstacle has been the need to […]
[PRESERVATION] Rhode Island Regiment Flag of 1781
Here’s one of only a couple dozen flags from the American Revolution that exist today. This is the Rhode Island Regiment flag of 1781 carried at Yorktown. The Rhode Island Regiment at the time was comprised of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment and the remains of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment (the “Black Regiment”).
Gettysburg and Bull Run Cannons on Exhibit at the Varnum Armory
The Gettysburg and Bull Run guns are safely installed at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum! Thanks to the help of numerous volunteers, we can now see these incredible relics in in good lighting and be able to walk around them to see the extensive battle damage from their time in the American Civil War.
Varnums to Host “Gettysburg Gun” and the “Bull Run Gun” at the Armory
The Varnum Memorial Armory Museum is excited to announce that we will be temporary caretakers of two of Rhode Island’s most important military artifacts: the “Gettysburg Gun” (pictured) and the “Bull Run Gun”. These two American Civil War cannons represent incredible, emotional tales of Rhode Island heroism and sacrifice. We are developing all new interpretative signage to tell their epic stories. To complement the cannon exhibit, the Varnum Armory Museum collection includes several artifacts on display that are directly related to the guns and the pivotal battles they are named for.
Garment/Uniform Preservation at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum
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.
Varnum Continentals Contribute to RI Public School Curriculum
The Varnum Continentals will work with the RI Foundation, RI Historical Society, and the RI Black Heritage Society to introduce teachers to a new public school curriculum on the famed First Rhode Island Regiment of the Revolutionary War.
Watch “A STITCH IN TIME” filmed at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum
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 […]
Varnum Memorial Armory Museum featured in the Rhode Island PBS series “Treasures Inside the Museum”
This is a fantastic, inside look at the inner workings of the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum and the exhibits within. RI PBS did a fantastic job on this professional production. Also, kudos go out to all of the volunteer staff who work every day at the Armory to preserve Rhode Island military history. This episode […]
Varnum Memorial Armory Museum Update
Though August tends to be a slower, quieter month for the Varnum Continentals, there has been a lot going on in the background. Here’s a quick update.
Thomas Nichols Letter at the Varnum Armory … a Stunning 18th-Century African American Artifact
Tired and tempted to just throw it all away, I stuck my hand one more time into a large moldy cardboard box filled with random receipts, notes, and other mid-20th-century detritus. It had belonged to one of our founding members who had long since passed. Digging through this old box was part of a (still on-going) gargantuan effort to properly re-pack everything in storage at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum located at 6 Main St. here in East Greenwich, RI.