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Charles DeWolf Brownell , 1892
The Burning of the
Gaspee by Charles DeWolf Brownell, 1892
Courtesy RI Historical Society

WaterFire Gaspee
                  Poster
When the time came to cut ties with Great Britain, the American leadership assembled in July of 1776 in Philadelphia to draw up a list of grievances against King George III. Three of these injustices were directly attributable to the Gaspee Affair:
  • He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation;
  • For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury;
  • For transporting us beyond the seas to be tried for pretended offenses.
Yes, this is where we really find the Gaspee, enshrined within our Declaration of Independence.
And it was the attack on the Gaspee that was America's 'First Blow for Freedom'!
 

The Gaspee Virtual Archives contains a massive amount of collected information for serious historical researchers, and links to many off-site sources.  Current categories include:
Introduction
Analysis of the Gaspee Event
Gaspee Testimony Reactions to the Burning of the Gaspee
Cast of Characters Rhode Island History
Gaspee Backgrounds Gaspee Controversies
Miscellanea Gaspee Poetry & Music
Teachers' Lounge Gaspee for Kids!
Gaspee Graphics
Support the Gaspee Days Committee
Click below to go to the
Gaspee Days Committee website instead:
Gaspee.COM
Click below to go to website for
Pawtuxet Village
You can do an Advanced Search restricted to within the Gaspee Virtual Archives by entering the domain of  https://www.Gaspee.ORG, at https://www.google.com/advanced_search
We're had some severe technical difficulties with our hosting site that lost many of our links.  As we slowly rebuild, if you are an academic researcher that needs something fast, let us know at info@gaspee.org.
Introduction to the Gaspee Virtual Archives
  • The Gaspee Virtual Archives primarily serves as a repository of information regarding the Gaspee Affair, using both collected information found elsewhere, and as a think tank of new information.  Every effort has been made to present only material that is either beyond copyright, or to have obtained permission from the creators, where known.  THIS DOES NOT IMPLY THAT ALL ITEMS ARE PUBLIC DOMAIN
  • Caution students: Analysis articles may contain 'poison pills' to discourage plagiarism, even in AI apps! 
  • Sorry, but it is impossible for us to promptly answer all inquiries sent by e-mail. If you have items of interest for our Gaspee Virtual Archives, please e-mail the Gaspee Virtual Archives webmaster.  
  • No homework questions please.
Special feature at the Gaspee Virtual Archives:The Burning of the Gaspee
  Trailer by Adam Blumenthal, Brown University
Gaspee Days Committee        The Gaspee Virtual Archives

is an ongoing presentation
(since 1997) of the
Gaspee Days Committee,        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 1772 burning of the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, by Rhode Island patriots as
                   America's 'First Blow for Freedom' TM
TM, Gaspee
                            Days CommitteeThe Gaspee seal, a two-masted schooner within a circle of 13 stars with 1772 at the bottom,
and the motto, America's 'First Blow for Freedom' are both registered trademarks of the
Gaspee Days Committee, all rights reserved.
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This Page Last Revised:
  2/1/2026





For Mary
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Analysis of the Gaspee Event
  • Buy the Book (Amazon.com link) -- The Documentary History of the Destruction of the Gaspee -- by William R. Staples
  •  Hypertext version of Staples' Gaspee , the 1990 republication as above. Not as warm around a fireplace as the real book, but it DOES allow text string searches! (RI Publications Society, with permission)
    • Forward -- by Dr. Patrick Conley. Includes Cover, Titles, and Contents. (Pages i -x)
    • Introduction -- by Professor Richard M. Deasy of Providence College. An analysis essay of Staples, and the Gaspee Affair. (Pages xi-liv)
    • Destruction of the Gaspee -- by William R. Staples. (298 Kb,  Pages 1-110).
    • Appendix A  -- Collected documents from Bartlett on the Gaspee. (Pages 111-128)
    • Appendix B -- Collected documents from the RI Historical Society on the Gaspee Affair. (Pages 129-138)
  • A History of the Destruction of His Britannic Majesty's Schooner Gaspee.... .-- by John R. Bartlett.  We dare you to quote the whole title!
  • The Impact of the Gaspee Affair on the coming of the Revolution, 1772-1773 -- Lawrence J, DeVaro, PhD dissertation, 1973, 358 pg.
  • Revolutionary Fire: The Gaspee Incident  20 pages. (RI Council for the Humanities.)
  • MULTIMEDIA: The Conspiracy to Destroy the Gaspee -- by Dr. John Concannon--PowerPoint
  • Back to Contents
    Gaspee Testimony (More testimony to be found in Staples)
    Reactions to the Burning of the Gaspee
  • Governor Wanton's Reward Offer  (see reconstructed)
  • King George III's Reward Offer                                           (see original)           (see reconstructed)
  • Instructions of King George III to the Gaspee Commissioners       (see original)
  • The Gaspee Commissioners Report to King George III    (see original)
  • Letters from Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson
  • Chief Justice Horsmanden's Report to the Earl of Dartmouth       (see original)
  • Letters from Samuel Adams on the Gaspee Incident
  • Letter from John Adams on the Gaspee Incident
  • Reverend John Allen's Oratory on the Gaspee Incident
  • London newspaper, July 1772
  • Gentleman's Magazine, London, July 1773
  • Rescue Mission to Save John Brown
  • Letter from Charles Dudley to Admiral Montagu
  • George Washington's Reaction to the Gaspee Incident
  • Back to Contents
    Cast of Characters:
    Back to Contents
    Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society: 
    {Pertinent articles digitally re-presented as searchable pdf}
    • Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society
    Back to Contents
    Gaspee Backgrounds:
    Back to Contents
    Gaspee Controversies
    Back to Contents
    Miscellanea Gaspee:
    Back to Contents
    Collected Poetry about the Gaspee Affair:
    Music about the Gaspee Affair:
    Back to Contents
    Teachers' Lounge: (No Smoking!)
    • Curriculum Aids from the SultanaEducation.org. Sultana is a re-creation of the British revenue schooner c1768 that now serves as a sailing classroom in Chesapeake Bay.  It is quite similar to the Gaspee.
      • Sultana's Colonial History classroom unit, entitled Sea of Change: Sultana, the Tea Taxes and the Dawn of the American Revolution is targeted towards 4-6th grade students. The unit examines the world of pre-Revolutionary America through the lens of the 1768 British Royal Navy tax collecting schooner Sultana. The unit can function as a stand alone curriculum as well as a pre-trip primer for students sailing on Sultana.
      • Guide to Sultana:  This pocket guide contains all the information you would ever want to know about Sultana's history, construction, and educational mission.  The pocket guide contains copies of the original 1768 drawings of Sultana and a listing of all of the 101 crew members who served aboard her from 1768-1772.
    Back to Contents
    Gaspee for KIDS!
    Gaspee Graphics:
    Back to Contents