Old Quarrels, New Politics: JM Varnum’s Congressional and Legal Careers
Varnum Continental Members! Sign up now for our first member dinner of the season on Monday, September 9 starting at 5:30 PM. Our speaker will be local historian and author Robert A. Geake.
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 […]
[MAY. 13 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Alan Hoffman on “Marquis de Lafayette: 1776-1783 and 1824-1825 – His American Experience”
An appropriate speaker as this year we’re marking the 100th anniversary of Lafayette’s triumphant return to America in 1824.
“[His lecture] offers a lively, day-to-day account of a European’s experience of the United States in the fiftieth year of independence. As he relates the details of what he saw and heard, his encounters and conversations with people of all kinds, the enthusiasm of the great crowds that welcomed Lafayette, the reader gains a sense of how close Americans still felt to their Revolution and how proud they were of what they had done.”
—Edmund S. Morgan, Sterling Professor of History, Emeritus, Yale University
[APR. 8 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Don Hagist on “Sober, Industrious Women: Wives of British Soldiers in the American Revolution”
An estimated 50,000 British soldiers served in America during the American Revolutionary War. Almost one-eighth of them were married to women who lived with them in garrisons and traveled with them on campaigns. Often disparaged as mere camp followers, these women were in reality an integral part of the military organization, employed by the army as washer women, nurses and sutlers. This talk will present the roles and activities of British army wives, showcasing their essential service and the hardships they faced during eight years of war in America.
[MAR. 11 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Christian McBurney on “Machine Guns in Narragansett Bay: The Coast Guard’s War on Rumrunners”
oin author and historian Christian McBurney as he explores the use of excessive force in Narragansett Bay and other Rhode Island waters against crews that were mostly made up of local fishermen (many from immigrant families) trying to earn extra dollars and fulfill a strong demand for bootleg liquor. East Greenwich was a favorite port for rumrunners.
[DEC. 11 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Robert A. Geake on “Facing Known and Unknown Enemies: A Scourge of Ailments for the Army”
Robert A. Geake’s talk will focus on the most fatal of those American Revolutionary War battles, that against life-threatening injury, illness, and starvation. He will recount the history of those personal battles through written accounts and documents from those who struggled to save those soldiers as best they could, given a colonial surgeons limitations.
[FREE LECTURE] “German Soldiers in Rhode Island, 1776 to 1779” by Dr. Friederike Baer
The Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA) Lecture Series (sponsored by BankNewport) continues with our partners, the Varnum Continentals, on Thursday, December 7 at 6:00 PM at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main St, East Greenwich, RI. This program features author and historian Dr. Friederike Baer and her lecture: “‘I cannot call it a Conquest – the Rebels ran away like Villains’: German Soldiers in Rhode Island, 1776 to 1779”.
[MEMBERS] Final Reminder: Register to Attend the Varnum Continentals Annual Meeting
This is a FINAL REMINDER to sign up to attend the 2023 Varnum Continentals Annual Meeting on Monday, October 16 at 6:00 PM. The deadline to register is this Friday, October 13 at noon!
Story of Gettysburg and Bull Run Cannons on “State of the State”
Watch this episode of “State of the State”, where host Richard August interviews Varnum Continentals President Patrick Donovan about moving of two American Civil War cannons from the Rhode Island State House to the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, where they are now on display for the public.
Unpacking the U.S. Civil War Bull Run Cannon
It took some work at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, but the Bull Run cannon’s gun tube is finally free of packed trash. We tried compressed air and plumbing augers, but what worked (with a lot of effort) was an American Civil War-period artillery worm! An unconventional use of an historic artifact, perhaps, but it got the job done.