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You are here: Home / Archives for jamestown historical society

[FEBRUARY 15 DINNER MEETING] Barbed Wire College: Rhode Island and the Secret POW Camps of World War II

January 28, 2016 By James Mitchell Varnum

Brian Wallin, a veteran broadcast news reporter and producer, is the November 2015 guest speaker for the Varnum Continentals.
Brian Wallin, a veteran broadcast news reporter and producer, is the February 2016 guest speaker for the Varnum Continentals.

EVENT UPDATE: Due to the possibility of a winter storm, the Varnum Members Meeting scheduled for February 8 has been postponed one week. The new meeting date is MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15.

PLEASE RSVP AGAIN: If you have already RSVP’d and plan to attend the February 15 meeting, please RSVP again by FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, to Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or scott@ritemps.com.  Again the new meeting date is Monday, February 15.

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On Monday, February 15, Varnum Trustee Brian L. Wallin takes us back to the waning days of World War II and a unique experiment in democracy. Working with Washington attorney and fellow Varnum member Christian McBurney, Brian researched the secret purpose of three World War II Prisoner of War camps located in Saunderstown and Jamestown, Rhode Island: an organized effort to educate a select number of German POWs in the basics of democracy. The goal? A cadre of individuals who would plant the seeds of a new post-war Germany to succeed the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler.

In late 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the program, the legality of which fell within the terms of the Geneva Convention. German prisoners would be exposed to American values and the basics of a democratic government. Brian will take us behind the scenes, introduce us to key players, both German and American, and reveal the ultimate impact a program that was kept under such tight security that only then Rhode Island Governor J. Howard McGrath was privy to its actual purpose.

Additional artifacts from Rhode Island’s Nazi POW camps.
A chit for POWs to spend at the camp canteen store at either Fort Getty or Fort Kearney, February-March 1946.
A chit for POWs to spend at the camp canteen store at either Fort Getty or Fort Kearney, February-March 1946.
World War II German POWs
World War II German POWs
Fort Getty in 1941 (Jamestown Historical Society)
Fort Getty staff and faculty, about November 1945.
Fort Getty staff and faculty, about November 1945.

Little has been written about the camps since the end of the War. Last year, research by Brian and Christian took them on a trail that led from Rhode Island to the National Archives in Washington and elsewhere. Their story was recently published in the Online Journal of Rhode Island History.

Brian Wallin, a graduate of Stonehill College and American International College, spent 20 years as a television news reporter before turning his career to hospital administration. He retired in 2009 as Vice President of Kent Hospital where he continues to be active in an advisory capacity. In addition to his contributions to the history blog, he writes a monthly column for the Varnum Continentals newsletter.

This meeting is open to Varnum Members and their guests.

DATE: Monday, February 15, 2016
TIME: 5:30 p.m. (social hour); 6:30 p.m. (dinner followed by program)
MENU: Steak Tips & Peppers ( Bourbon), Chicken Marsala, Vegetable, Salad, Rolls & Butter, Coffee & Pastries
FEE: $15/person
RSVP: Please RSVP by FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, to Scott Seaback at 401/413-6277 or by email at scott@ritemps.com.

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Books by Christian M. McBurney

Christian M. McBurney is an independent historian who has written several books about the American Revolutionary War (several focusing on Rhode Island). He is an attorney in a Washington, D.C. law firm and resides in Kensington, Maryland. In addition, he is is the editor and publisher of the website “Small State, Big History,” the online review of Rhode Island History.

CoverTitle
The Rhode Island Campaign McBurney"The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War" by Christian M. McBurney
Abductions in the American Revolution Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold and Other Military and Civilian Leaders by Christian M McBurney"Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott" by Christian M. McBurney
"World War II Rhode Island" by Christian M. McBurney, Brian L Wallin, Patrick T Conley
"Abductions in the American Revolution: Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold and Other Military and Civilian Leaders" by Christian M. McBurney
"Untold Stories from World War II Rhode Island" by Christian M. McBurney, Norman Desmarais, Varoujan Karentz
"George Washington's Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court-Martial of Major General Charles Lee during the Revolutionary War" by Christian M. McBurney
"Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island" by Christian M McBurney

Filed Under: Speaking Program Tagged With: jamestown historical society, speaking program, varnum memorial armory, volunteer, World War II

[FEATURE ARTICLE] Jamestown’s Conanicut Battery: A Revolution Restoration

December 6, 2015 By Brian Wallin

Conanicut Battery reenactment
Conanicut Battery reenactment

This month, we mark the 240th anniversary of the infamous Burning of Jamestown by British and Hessian troops, a story we’ll share on these pages in the future. In this issue, we’ll take a look at another location not far from the destructive  track taken by forces of the Crown on December 10-11, 1775. Our story is about the Conanicut Battery, one of a handful of primitive Rhode Island defenses at which you can still take a step back in time to one of the few remaining Revolutionary War era forts.

During the Revolution, colonial forces built as many as 90 fortifications around Rhode Island. These ranged from simple earthworks providing basic protection to men and their cannon to more elaborate fortifications. Today, seven earthwork sites are located on public land. The remaining are on private property and are not accessible.

In May 1776, the Rhode Island General Assembly ordered that a fort be built “at Beaver Tail, on Conanicut, to contain six or eight heavy cannon.” It was part of a group of defensive positions round the mouth of Narragansett Bay that would offer some protection against marauding British warships. Close to the opening of the West Passage is the highest point on the Beavertail peninsula, Prospect Hill. It was here that a lozenge-shaped earthwork battery was constructed, some 150 feet long and about 75 feet wide on a 22-acre site. The fortification was 90 feet above sea level and about 500 feet from the shoreline below, offering an ideal view of any incoming ships. The works were surrounded by a ditch and contained bastions at each end. Infantry, from an elevated position, could fire down on invaders working their way up from the shoreline.

Two other fortifications were also erected on the southern end of the island. All three were later occupied by the British from the time they came in force to Newport in December of 1776 until August 6, 1778.

Conanicut Battery looking to West Passage
Conanicut Battery looking to West Passage

There are no records of the exact type of weapons placed at the Battery, although documents suggest there were six to eight in number and heavy enough to reach Saunderstown, about a mile across the West Passage (although with no guarantee of accuracy). Although gunfire was frequently exchanged on the East Passage between British and colonial forces, there are no records of the cannon at the Conanicut Battery ever being fired by colonial troops. By the time the British fleet sailed up the west passage in December of 1776, the colonials had withdrawn their cannon to safety off the island. The British then manned and re-armed Conanicut, improving the earthworks to the configuration that is visible today. In August of 1777, some 200 Americans returned via rowboats from North Kingstown and briefly skirmished with the British at the Battery. But that is the only such encounter on record.

When the French in arrived in 1778, the British were ready. They opened fire on the Sagittaire, a 50-gun ship that had been sent up the West Passage to work its way around the northern tip of the island. The French fired back, but apparently no damage was done to either side. According to documents in the Jamestown Historical Society, at that time the British had placed powerful 24-pound cannon in the Battery. Almost immediately after the French arrived, the British removed their cannons from fortifications on Conanicut, relocating some to the East Passage for defensive purposes around Aquidneck Island and spiking others, tossing them into the Bay. After British and Hessian forces pulled out of Newport in October of 1779, French Marines briefly occupied the fortification in 1780-1781.

After the Revolution, the land reverted to peaceful use as farmland. It remained as such until just before the U.S. entry into World War I, when the government purchased 16 acres of land (later buying another 5 acres) to construct an underground observation post in support of the artillery batteries in Jamestown and both entrances to Narragansett Bay. These heavy-gun emplacements, known as Endicott Forts, were never fired against an enemy in either World War.

Prospect Hill Fire Control Station
Cross section of Fire Control Station

 

 

In 1932, the Daughters of the American Revolution received permission to erect a plaque between the observation post area and the remains of the earthworks commemorating the Revolutionary War era battery. As the Second World War loomed, the US Army and Navy remanned Prospect Hill with observation and fire control stations, radio receiving and cable mine control facilities supporting other installations in the area.

Conanicut DAR plaque
Conanicut DAR Plaque in 1932.
RI Chapter of the DAR.

By 1963, the military had no further use for the property and deeded the entire site to the Town of Jamestown. In 1998 the National Park Service developed a well-researched report and preservation treatment plan for the site supporting the fact that the Revolutionary War earthworks and the WW I and II military elements had long-term historic importance to the defense of Narragansett Bay over the centuries. By that time, though, the property was choked with invasive vegetation and the landmarks overgrown. A government grant enabled development of detailed guidelines for vegetation clearing, site restoration and plantings. Community volunteers and contractors created a series of nature trails and interpretive signs. The Town of Jamestown re-dedicated the restored site with great fanfare in June of 2002. Today, the Conanicut Battery is on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the Friends of the Conanicut Battery. In June on alternating years, the Town of Jamestown celebrates the Battery’s historic role with a Battery Day observation.

If you head down to Beavertail, it is well worth a small detour down Battery Lane (marked by a simple sign just past Mackerel Cove and the entrance road to Fort Getty). Enjoy an easy walk down the quiet trails and pause here and there to read the narrative, illustrated plaques revealing a wealth of history across two centuries. Imagine for a moment taking your place as a militia member in the earthworks, armed with a musket or standing beside a cannon, or perhaps in a later century, manning the contemporary observation posts and awaiting the first sight of the enemy.

Photos in this article courtesy of the Jamestown Historical Society.

Written By Varnum Trustee & Member Brian Wallin.

Filed Under: Feature Article Tagged With: Conanicut, jamestown historical society, revolutionary war

[FEATURED EXHIBIT] Unpacking the U.S. Civil War Bull Run Cannon

September 19, 2023 By James Mitchell Varnum

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.

About the Varnum Continentals

The Varnum Continentals are committed to the preservation of the historic heritage of our community, our state, and our nation. Please take a virtual tour of our museums to learn more about our mission to encourage patriotism. You can participate with us through active membership and/or philanthropic support in our non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Museum tours are welcomed and our facilities may be rented for suitable events.

Our Mission

The Varnum Continentals are committed to encourage patriotism through the Varnum Armory Museum, the Continental Militia, and the James Mitchell Varnum House and thus to preserve, support, and communicate the military history of our community, our state, and our nation.

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