Military Occupation and Newport Life
Examining the role of armed forces in Newport, RI From the 1770s-1790s.
Newport faced occupation during the Revolutionary War and after the colonies' victory, seacoast defenses were in a state of disrepair.
Battle of Rhode Island map (1778) by United States. Continental ArmyRhode Island State Archives
Battle of Rhode Island hand-drawn map
During the war, the British occupied Newport from 1776 to 1779.
Numerous Rhode Islanders left Newport during this time and never returned, but many of those who remained supported the British. The French attempted to help remove the British forces in 1778 once the United States was recognized following the British defeat at Saratoga.
This act became the first attempt at cooperation between the American and French forces. After sailing into Narragansett Bay, a storm damaged many French ships while the arrival of more British troops caused the French to retreat.
Without the naval support of the French, American troops attempted to expel the British by land, which lead to the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778.
During this battle, the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, also known as the Black Regiment, participated. Rhode Island was the first state to allow Black Americans to join the war fight. These men were given their freedom from their masters in exchange for participating.
Learn more about the Rhode Island Regiment here.
American troops were forced to leave Newport, leaving the city under British control until 1779.
An Act to make General Officers and Assembly subscribe to the Test Act (1776-06-16) by Rhode Island (Colony) General assemblyRhode Island State Archives
Test Act, June 16, 1776
On June 16, 1776, the Test Act was passed by the General Assembly which enacted that all males over the age of sixteen who were suspected of being hostile to the United Colonies could be summoned by the Upper and Lower Houses of Assembly to make a declaration.
"I the Subscriber do solemnly and sincerely declare, That I believe the War, Resistance and Opposition, in which the United American Colonies are now engaged, against the Fleets and Armies of Great Britain, is on the Part of the said Colonies just and necessary. And that I will not, directly nor indirectly, afford Assistance of any Sort or Kind whatever to the said Fleets and Armies, during the Continuance of the present War, but that I will heartily assist in the Defense of the United Colonies."
If anyone would refuse to subscribe to the test, a member of the Upper or Lower House of Assembly would issue a warrant.
The Hunt for Rebel Spies
The General Assembly began investigating potentially disloyal Rhode Islanders.
In the end, 17 individuals suspected of aiding the enemy or suspected of activities considered unfriendly to the united colonies were questioned.
Colony Records, p.432 (1776-06) by Rhode Island (Colony) General assembly.Rhode Island State Archives
Committee proceedings inquired into the conduct of persons living near the Rhode Island shoreline. Included are depositions and examinations, summonses, statements concerning supplies and intelligence provided to the British, as well as papers relating to the taking and management of confiscated properties.
Jonathan Hazard apprehended John Wright and other suspected persons of giving supplies or intelligence to British ships, May 1776.
Suspected Persons (1776-07-10) by Rhode Island (Colony) General assembly.Rhode Island State Archives
Summons for James Clarke, Esquire of Newport, who was “guilty of uttering and publishing many scandalous and false reflections against the United Colonies.”
During the war, spies commonly would find ways of passing messages on to their leaders through covert methods. Isaac Barker was a farmer from Middletown, Rhode Island and when his home became occupied by the British, he became a spy.
He would gather intelligence and hide notes in stone walls for the American Patriots who were nearby in Little Compton. When he wanted to signal to the troops that he hid a message, he would move fence posts near the wall into certain configurations.
The troops would then row across the Sakonnet River under the cover of night to take the messages back to their camp. While Barker was never caught, many spies were and ended up apprehended.
Colony Records, p.432 (1776-06) by Rhode Island (Colony) General assembly.Rhode Island State Archives
Individuals who refused to subscribe to the Test Act were removed from Newport. Anyone who refused to pay for their removal got their estates seized by the colonial Rhode Island government.
After the war, seacoast defenses were in a state of disrepair. With concern of war in Europe in 1793, the United States Congress created a unit of artillerymen and engineers to study coast defense needs and to dedicate money to construct fortifications.
Newport was one of twenty-one locations selected.
Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawings Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawing (M122) (1794)Rhode Island State Archives
Newport Military Drawings, 1796
Lt. Col. Stephen Rochefontaine (1755-1814), born Étienne Nicolas Marie Béchet, Sieur de Rochefontaine, was an officer and engineer of the French Royal Army who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
He was best known for his distinguished services at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, one of the last major land battles in the war, before drafting his proposal for fortifications for Newport to be submitted to Governor Arthur Fenner in 1796.
In 1792, after returning to France, he was appointed to Adjutant General of the Army of Santo Domingo by Louis XVI, but Rochefontaine returned to the United States after his death.
Rochefontaine designed fortifications for Narragansett Bay: one to replace Fort Washington, another on Tonomy Hill, and a battery at Howland’s Ferry.
He also proposed restoration at the fort at Butts Hill. In 1795, he was replaced by another French officer, Major Louis Tousard, who went on to supervise construction of several works around Narragansett Bay, including Fort Adams.
Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawings Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawings, 1794 (M124) (1794)Rhode Island State Archives
Rochefontaine's Drawings
Eight color ganache drawings were submitted for proposed military installations or fortifications in Newport, Rhode Island.
Rochefontaine also wanted to garrison the fort on Butt’s Hill with 2,000-3,000 men with a block house, and the Battery with one man in time of peace and six men in time of war. Noting that it could even accommodate 150 men in the event of an attack.
Newport played a key role in the Revolutionary War in Rhode Island and these commissioned drawings for increased or new fortifications demonstrate the field advantage it could have in any future military campaigns.
Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawings Proposed Newport Military Installation color drawings (M123) (1794)Rhode Island State Archives
Plan of Tomony Hill
Rochefontaine noted that Tomany Hill was “absolutely necessary for the defense of the town and harbor”.
His proposal included building the block house for fifty men and stationing three artillery pieces on traveling carriages to protect the port against invasion.
In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson began a fortification program that would end up replacing Rochefontaine’s defensive plans with those from American engineers, many of whom were recent graduates of the new United States Military Academy at West Point.
These beautiful drawings remain an important piece of history in Rhode Island, and the United States, and continue to be preserved by the State Archives.
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