“A downright democracy!“

British officer describes Rhode Island.

In the summer of 1772, angry New England zealots carried out a far more hostile and dangerous attack against the British crown’s authority a year and a half later, December 16, 1773, when a bunch of patriots dressed up as Native Americans dumped a ton of tea into the Boston harbor. The HMS Gaspee, a British customs schooner patrolling the New England coast, had grounded in Narragansett Bay the night of June 9,1772, while pursuing the smuggling vessel Hannah.  Just after midnight, a gathering of Rhode Island patriots rowed out to the stranded ship, boarded her, shot and wounded the ship’s captain, captured the British crew, then torched the vessel. An outcry rose from Parliament to levy severe reprisals against the culprits responsible; however, after repeated stonewalling by Rhode Islanders and influential provincial representatives, and concern that a heavy-handed pursuit to prosecute participants could lead to further aggression, the affair basically fizzled out. Those who took part in the attack on the British ship never stood before an English court of law.

The burning of the British schooner did, however, reignite the flames of patriotic passions. Tensions between England and the American colonies skyrocketed after the March 5, 1770 Boston Massacre, made worse by Samuel Adams’ masterful propaganda techniques. But over time, strained relations after the shooting of protesting patriots calmed down somewhat as cooler minds on both sides of the ocean favored conciliation over open hostilities. But on June 10, 1772, when the British schooner went up in flames, so too were torched the hopes of peaceful rectification. The rhetoric was too strong. The anger too deep. Accusations were lobbed across the ocean by both British authorities and their colonial counterparts.

Provincial legislatures stepped in to argue in favor of the ‘worthy citizens’ who were wrongly being sought for treasonous activities. The baton was passed onto Committees of Correspondence, patriotic organizations that popped up throughout the colonies that ultimately replaced regional legislatures. Over time, these committees established military arms of their organization called Committees of Safety, who in turn began to stash away weapons and ammunition for possible armed conflict. Just such a cache of arms at Concord, Massachusetts spurred a strong British response; the final spark that torched revolution.  It took nearly three more years since the destruction of the Gaspee, before the simmering caldron of despondency boiled over in unleashed violence. But in the early morning hours, the Gaspee’s flames burned bright before those patriots who sat in their row boats and cheered the towering fires; their shadows casting a gathering nation’s defiance towards a new dawn of rebellion.

Seeds of Despondency Led to Smuggling

Furrowed fields that sprouted discontent among American colonists can be traced to the 1651 Navigation acts that sought to guarantee a British monopoly over goods purchased and produced in England’s colonies. All imports and exports to and from the colonies had to be transpired by British agents and shipped on British merchantmen. Pile on duties that were paid directly to the crown, and you have a recipe for high cost to purchase one’s needs and low returns for exports; everything from tobacco, to indigo, to pig iron. Merchants, shippers, and financial institutions, the middleman along with the crown, all had the most to gain, while the consumer and producer paid heavily.

But what if the colonies bypassed England’s draconian trading practices? What if they hired their own ships to export and import trade directly to both merchants and foreign governments? They could arrange for foreign goods to be transported to West Indies islands. American ‘privateers and smugglers’ could then load the material, sail to a safe bay along the American coastline, then unload and carted to safe locations for distribution. No longer a victim to a British shipper’s exorbitant fees, or paying large duty revenues that jacked up the cost, these enterprising smugglers could pass on the savings directly to colonial consumers. The cost for goods would be lowered while the return for investments would be higher, leading to what could become a life style even greater than all of Europe.  And the only way this could happen, is if the English did not enforce their mercantilist acts. Which of course is exactly what occurred.  Americans supported smuggling which helped to blossom their economy into one of the most successful of its time. In other words, Americans got used to the benefits smuggling brought and by the mid 1700’s, deemed it their right. But by 1763, war diminished the British treasury to the extent that Parliament was forced to find ways to squeeze more money from their mainline citizenry and of course, her colonies.

Crack down on Smuggling and Earlier Clashes

England’s ruling class knew that for generations the Americans had been getting away with murder when it came to owning up to the trade laws set forth by Parliament. After the Seven Years War, ending with the Treaty of Versailles in 1763, Parliament decided to crack down on colonial smuggling so to garnish the revenues England claimed she rightfully deserved by law. Custom officers, many of whom were colonials, had been either lax in their duties, or accepted bribes to look the other way. They were weeded out and replaced with officials from England.  Besides beefing up patrols along the American coastline and numerous bays and harbors, the Royal Navy’s Sea officers were deputized to enforce custom laws. Both on the high seas and in port, ships could be boarded and goods confiscated if it was believed transactions were not legally done and or duties had not been properly paid.

In Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, this became a particularly thorny issue. After two years, Rhode Islanders finally had enough. In 1764, they fired upon the HMS St. John in protest of the Sugar Act that affected the rum and slave trade (highly profitable to the region). In 1769, the HMS Liberty, confiscated from John Hancock for his involvement in smuggling and turned into a Customs Ship, was towed to Goat Island where it was burned. Both incidents, though garnishing reprimand by the British government, resulted in no prosecutions.  

Crackdown in Narragansett and Hatred Towards HMS Gaspee

In February, 1772, Lieutenant William Dudingston captained the HMS Gaspee. He sailed into Narragansett and was dispatched to force customs collections and mandatory inspections of all cargo that entered and exited the harbor. Dudingston became good at his job. Rhode Islanders soon agreed that he was too good. In short order, the over zealot lieutenant stopped the sloop Fortune and confiscated not only twelve hogsheads of undeclared rum, but the entire ship, sending it to Boston Harbor to be sold. This enraged local colonials who watched as Dudingston and his crew became increasingly aggressive in their searches, boardings, and seizures, even going so far as to stop merchants who were on shore, forcing searches of their goods. Public resentment and outrage continued to escalate against Gaspee and in turn the British government. When a local sheriff threatened Dudingston with arrest, British Admiral John Montague responded in a letter threatening to hang as pirates anyone who interfered with Dudingston during his operations.

Gaspee Gives Chase

On June 9^, 1772, the colonial packet Hannah, commanded by Benjamin Lindsey, was running contraband goods. When the Gaspee caught sight of the ship and attempted to hail and board the Hannah, Lindsey ignored Dudingston’s command and took flight. With the Gaspee in pursuit, Lindsey veered his ship north toward Pawtuxet Cover and the shallows off Mamquid Point, today known as Gaspee Point.  The chase would span twenty-five miles before the canny Rhode Islander made good his escape. Lindsey knew the waters of Narragansett Bay like the back of his hand. He was certain that the low tide would still allow the Hannah to pass over the shallows. He also knew that the Gaspee, which drew more water, would be in trouble if they followed. The Hannah shot over the shallows, but the larger British ship ran dead into a sandbar and was stuck fast in the continuing falling tide. Lindsey spared not a moment to send word to his fellow Rhode Islanders, detailing the hated Gaspee’s predicament. At the sound of beating drums, sailors and farmers rallied at Sabin’s Tavern. There, passions rose as men downed kegs of courage and armed themselves. Before the sun were to rise, they would end once and for all the despised ship and its commander that menaced Rhode Island waters.

The Gaspee Boarded and Burned

Thirty-six-year-old John Brown, wealthy merchant and infamous slave trader and founder of Brown University, claimed leadership of the men assembled. He called for eight longboats, each carrying five pairs of oars requiring ten rowers, to assemble at Fenner’s Wharf. Brown put his employee Abraham Whipple in charge of the boats. At age thirty-nine, Whipple was an accomplished seaman who had sailed privateers during the French and Indian War.  So too, the Hannah’s skipper Lindsay joined them. As well as the boat helms were manned by ships’ captains. Once bullets were cast in the kitchen of the tavern and men divided among the boats, the raiders departed from Providence at around 10:00 PM.

They paddled quietly down the Narragansett Bay under a pale moon towards the stranded Gaspee. Commander and historian Benjamin Armstrong wrote in Naval History Magazine that the expedition was “an increasingly rowdy group of Rhode Islanders who were ready to strike out at the oppressive work of the Royal Navy.” It seems both brew and spirits were having their desired effect. They strenuously rowed against a flooding tide with oars and oarlocks muffled, so to approach undetected. To that end, the plan was to arrive in total darkness, shortly after the moon had set.

Since grounding his vessel, Dudingston had his crew of nineteen men busy scraping the hull as they tried to free the ship. By nightfall they were exhausted and all retired below decks to await the flooding tide which was expected to lift the ship free by morning. This left just one seaman on watch who had failed to light any ship’s lanterns. Just after midnight on the 10^th, Bartholomew Cheevers, the Gaspee’s deck sentinel, reported that he had stared into the gloom and spotted what he thought was just a pile of rocks. As such he did not raise the alarm. At 12:45, there was no mistaking the approach of small boats and Cheevers hailed the rowers to identify themselves. Dudingston heard the commotion, came on deck clad in his nightshirt, and repeated the call. Cheevers claimed that he tried to fire his musket, but it misfired repeatedly. In total darkness, Dudingston called below decks for firearms, however the arms chest was locked and the keys were in the captain’s cabin causing a critical delay.

At that point Whipple called up and identified himself as the sheriff of Kent County and that he had a warrant for Dudingston’s arrest. Dudingston yelled back that the sheriff should return at a more appropriate hour. When some of Whipple’s men tried to board near the starboard (right side of ship) forward and shrouds (support for lines and rigging), Dudingston struck one with his sword wounding him. The Gaspee skipper cried out for all hands-on deck as armed men began to emerge. British midshipman William Dickinson claimed that he heard the men in the boats give three cheers just as ships lookouts fired muskets upon them. Dickinson believed that a half dozen patriots returned musket fire to which Gaspee sailors responded with pistols. By then, the raiders were too close for ship’s cannon and surged towards the forward bow. Colonial Ephraim Bowen stated that he gave his musket to Joseph Bucklin who fired one shot, hitting Dudingston in the left arm and groin. Within a minute, patriots swarmed over the starboard quarter, instead of the more accessible stern, indicating the Gaspee had been listing significantly to the right. Dickinson estimated that thirty to forty men, out of the nearly two hundred in longboats, boarded and quickly overwhelmed the British crew. Since Dudingston was down, the British sailors quickly surrendered.

Though the raiding party had brought a doctor with them, expecting some to be wounded in the ensuing action to take the ship, they did not attend to Dudingston and left hated lieutenant bleeding on deck. Meanwhile they rounded up the crew and rifled through ship’s papers. Some were delighted to discover the colonial pilot, Sylvanus Daggett, among the crew. He regularly assisted customs vessels navigate the shallow waters that smugglers often plied and was understandably not popular among merchants and seafarers. They forced the pilot to beg for his life while they decided the fate of both pilot and commander, before hauling Daggett down and tying him to one of the boats. After a half hour, Daggett was brought back onboard and assisted in carrying Dudingston below deck where he was attended to by Dr. John Mawney. Once satisfied there was no more to be gained by remaining onboard, the raiding party were herded onto the boats and all pulled away.     

Soon after, the black moonless night vanished as Narragansett Bay was filled with a bright light. Flames shot up from the schooner’s decks and engulfed rigging, masts and yardarms. As the boats rowed from the flaming ship, fires eventually reached the powder magazine far below deck. A huge explosion ripped through the doomed ship that must have been heard for miles around.

Over the Years, the Gaspee Incident was a Favorite Among Artists

British Authorities Attempt to Prosecute

The crew were held a short time before released. However, once they got their claws into the despised Lt. Dudingston, Brown and the others were not keen to let him off so easily. Dudingston was arrested by the local sheriff for the seizure of the earlier incident involving the Fortune.  Brown and most of the men involved in the Gaspee incident were members of the local Sons of Liberty, patriotic organizations that formed in 1765 to oppose the Stamp Act and afterwards carried on support for American rights and eventual independence. Enraged by an attack on one of his ships, but facing a rising storm of hostilities, British Admiral Montague decided to temporarily pacify the colonials and paid Dudingston fine. The flustered lieutenant was freed and promptly whisked back to England where he faced court-martial charges for the loss of his ship.

Though the British authorities avoided confronting previous incidents involving custom officials and the destruction of local vessels, they could not ignore the boarding and burning of one of its military ships on station. The Privy Council in England was sought for their opinion on the legal and constitutional options available to the crown. They were advised to turn to a centuries-old institution of investigation: the Royal Commission of Inquiry to proceed with holding those responsible to justice. The commission was made up of the chiefs of the supreme courts of Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey, the judge of the vice-admiralty of Boston, and the Governor of Rhode Island, Joseph Wanton, who presided over a self-governed colony. 

Investigation Dropped

British investigators were soon frustrated in their efforts to pursue those responsible. Even though virtually all of Rhode Island knew about the attack, and even after a handsome reward of a thousand pounds was offered, enough to guarantee a seaman or farmer a lifetime free of financial worries, the agents found no witnesses willing to name names. It appeared the entire colony was suddenly stricken with a case of amnesia. One frustrated naval captain charged with the investigation took matters into his own hands and threatened to whip and hang an indentured servant unless the poor man confessed. Later on, the servant’s coerced confession was deemed worthless. Once all the meager evidence was gathered, the commission knew they had very little to prosecute and reluctantly let the entire matter drop.

Aftermath Rekindled Colonial Resentment to British Rule

If [King] George wasn’t careful, he might wind up like King Charles I… Beheaded for Treason

JOHN ALLEN FIERY BAPTIST MINISTER OF BOSTON

As historian and editor Frederic Schwarz wrote, “Before doing so [dropping charges], the government managed to extract the maximum amount of resentment from the situation. King George III had decreed that anyone implicated in the attack would be taken to England for trial. The rage over this violation of the right to a trial by one’s peers spread through all the colonies.” The local Providence Gazette published a passionate plea of ‘Americanus’ and decried the ‘open violation of Magna Charta.’  A patriotic letter summed up the fury felt my Rhode Islanders writing, “To live a life of slaves, is to die by inches…”  Baptist Minister John Allen of Boston based his fiery 1772 Thanksgiving celebration speech on the British Government’s pursuit of those responsible for the burning of the Gaspee. He later turned the speech into a pamphlet that warned readers about greedy monarchs, corrupt judges, and conspiracies in the London government entitled: Oration Upon the Beauties of Liberty, or the Essential Rights of Americans. It became one of the best-selling political pamphlets in America before publication of the Declaration of Independence. After the Gaspee Affair, and England’s attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice, Committees of Correspondence sprang up to address the “flagrant attack upon American liberty.”  The Gaspee Affair proved a crucial incendiary that fueled the simmering flames of resentment that eventually erupted into open revolt and war.

Present Day

Gaspee Point, former Mamquid Point and where the Gaspee ran aground, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A plaque in the front of a parking lot on South Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island, identifies the location of the Sabin Tavern, where the burning of the Gaspee was plotted by John Brown and the Sons of Liberty.

Pawtuxet Village, two miles north of Gaspee Point, commemorates the Gaspee Affair entitled Gaspee Days. The weekend event, annually scheduled the third weekend in April, has run continuously since 1965. The festival includes historical events, Revolutionary War battle enactments, arts and crafts, races, musical performances, and is highlighted by both a parade and symbolic burning of the Gaspee in effigy.

Check out Video Featuring Gaspee Day

Check out Andrew Stewart’s Documentary posted on youtube that presents an impelling argument that the Gaspee’s desmise had little to do with liberty and was aimed at protecting and maintaining Rhode Island’s highly active slave trade.

To Read More Check out these Books and Previews on Amazon

Of Further Interest on Revolutionary War Journal

RESOURSE

Gaspee Days Committee.  “Since 1965, the village of Pawtuxet, RI has commemorated the destruction of the HMS Gaspee with our annual Gaspee Days Celebration.”

Park, Steven. “The Burning of His Majesty’s Schooner Gaspee”. Museum of the American Revolution. October, 25, 2017. 

Park, Steven. The Burning of His Majesty’s Schooner Gaspee: An Attack on Crown Rule Before the American Revolution.  2016: Westholme Publishing, Yardley, PA.

Schwarz, Frederic. “1772 The Gaspee Incident.” American Heritage Magazine. May-June (1997), Vol. 48, Issue 3. On-line

Staples, William. Documentary History f the Destruction of the Gaspee…  2015:  Creative Media Partners, Sacramento, California.

Whitehouse, Sheldon.  “Gaspee Days”.  Sheldon Whitehouse United States Senator for Rhode Island. June 9, 2016.