Gaspee
Virtual Archives
Research
Notes on Capt. John Greenwood
The Gaspee Days Committee at www.gaspee.COM
is a civic-minded nonprofit organization that operates many community
events
in and around Pawtuxet Village, including the famous Gaspee Days Parade
each June. These events are all designed to commemorate the burning of
the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, by Rhode Island
patriots in 1772 as America's 'First Blow for Freedom'®. Our
historical research center, the Gaspee Virtual Archives at www.gaspee.ORG
, has presented these research notes as an attempt to gather further
information
on one who has been suspected of being associated with the the burning
of the Gaspee. Please e-mail your comments or further questions
to webmaster@gaspee.org.
This web page presents research notes only on one of the known
Gaspee
Raiders, Capt. John Greenwood.
While blissfully preparing for Christmas 2005, we were
presented with the following surprise e-mail from Pam R. Thompson who was doing
some genealogical research of her own.
I found the
following curious entry in the Revolutionary War Pension File, #S21404,
for Ezra Ormsbee, born 30 March 1751 in Warren, RI, son of Ebenezer
Ormsbee (sometimes spelled Ormsby) and Hannah Cole (Benjamin3,
Hugh2, James1) Ezra applied for his pension
in Warren, RI, on 24 August 1833.
". In
June 1772 when the English Revenue Cutter Gaspee was burnt in
Providence River, I was one that went from this town and helped do it.
Capt John Greenwood, James
Smith, Abner Luther, Abel Easterbrooks,
Nathaniel Easterbrooks, Hezekiah Kinnicut and myself went together in a
whale boat and we helped burn her. I mention this merely as a
revolutionary incident and not as connected with my pension claim. All
the above named persons who were with me in burning the Gaspee have a
long time now decd."
I do not find any of
these names on your lists of participants.
We have long known that people
from the Bristol and Warren, RI area participated in the attack, but we
have only known of the names of Simeon Potter, and possibly Thomas
Swan. In fact, we only know the names of about half of the 64 men
alleged to have participated in the attack on the Gaspee. This gives us
a first hand list of an additional seven men to investigate to be
patriots of the forthcoming American Revolution.
Biographical
notes and random musings
Nicholas
Cooke was a maritime merchant based in Providence, and if he did not
actually take part in the burning of the Gaspee, he was certainly of the
like ilk to do so. He is one of the subjects (along with Esek
Hopkins, Stephen Hopkins et al.) of a
very early American painting by John Greenwood entitled "Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam".
This is a very famous painting in American
history. I'm not an art critic, but this painting
appears to be the direct inspiration for the later (and sadly, much
more famous) "Dogs Playing Poker".
This
brings up the possibility that John Greenwood, the artist, was
associated with Bristol's Simeon
Potter in the triangular trade to the Caribbean and South America
c1750-1770. But we get from Greenwood Genealogies 1154-1914,
p40 further info about
John Greenwood, the artist. He was born in Boston, MA 7Dec1727 He
ramined in the Dutch colony of Surinam for five years between 1752
and 1757 painting 133 portraits. But in 1763 he
permanently settled in
London, England, and died in England in 1792. This is not our man.
We also note that there was another famous John Greenwood
(1760-1819) born in Massachusetts who served as a fifer in the
Revolutionary War at Bunker Hill (he wrote a book about it in 1809),
went on to become George Washington's personal dentist, and invented
the dental drill. However this John Greenwood was only 12 years
old or so at the time of the burning of the
Gaspee, and we discount him having
played a role.
From Greenwood Colonial and
Revolutionary Services 1695-1783 by Isaac Greenwood 1899,
we come across a John Greenwood (Isaac4, Isaac3, Samuel2, Thomas1) who
was descended from the Boston clan of Greenwoods, and who served in the
Privateer service, enlisted Dec 1778 as a midshipman under Commodore J.
Manley, and who rose to the rank of Captain before the close of the
Revolutionary War. This is highly likely to be our man.
From the US Navy [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq122-1.htm]
Journal of John Greenwood,
midshipman in American privateer Cumberland, captured by HMS Pomona,
26 January 1778: The Cumberland's
colors were "a very large white flag, with a green pine tree painted in
the middle of it, beneath which was represented a large black snake in
thirteen coils and cut into as many pieces, emblematic of the thirteen
United States; under the snake, in black letters, was the motto-"Join
or Die.'"
From the March 20, 1775 Newport
Mercury we see the report of the arrival of the ship, King George, John Greenwood,
master, from a four month journey to the Falkland Islands for whaling
and sealing. This is unlikely to be the same young midshipman of
1778 referred to above.
In LDS files we do find a John Greenwood born January 6th, 1739 in
nearby Rehoboth. MA
who married a Rebecca Hunt. There is no John Greenwood listed in
the RI
Historical Cemeteries Database that would be of the correct
dates.
The Gaspee Days Committee proudly recognizes Capt. John Greenwood as a Gaspee
raider, one of the select group of true American patriots. We
unfortunately do not know more about this man.
That's all the evidence we have for now folks. If you
know more, please e-mail us at webmaster@gaspee.org.
Thanks!
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Originally Posted to Gaspee
Virtual
Archives 1/2006 Last Revised 1/2006
JohnGreenwood.html
