The Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA) today announced that it has joined together with the Bristol Historic & Preservation Society (BH&PS), the Jamestown Historical Society, and the Rhode Island Historical Society for three lectures by John Robertson.
The first is on Monday, May 1st, at 6:30 pm at the Herreshoff Community Room at the Rogers Free Library, in Bristol, Rhode Island. The lecture is based on his new book “Revolutionary War Defenses in Rhode Island.” The book was a 10-year research effort and contains almost 300 maps and plans showing defensive fortifications along most of the coast of Narragansett Bay and southern Rhode Island. Many of the maps are of fortifications on Aquidneck Island, which was occupied during the Revolutionary War at various times by the Americans, British, and French. Only the Bristol Lecture on May 1st will be available via zoom. BoRIA will be filming that lecture for inclusion on our new YouTube Channel.
This lecture will be available via Zoom, and you can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-two-case-studies-of-revolutionary-war-defenses-in-ri-tickets-598617740777
On Wednesday, May 3rd at 2:00 pm, Dr. Robertson will be speaking in Jamestown at St. Matthew’s Parish Hall, 87 Narragansett Ave, and touring several Revolutionary War sites on the island.
Finally, on Thursday, May 4th at 6:00 pm, Dr. Robertson will speak at the Rhode Island Historical Society Headquarters at Aldrich House, 110 Benevolent St., Providence. The event is free and open to the public and no registration is required.
John K. Robertson, Ph.D., is a Colonel (Ret.), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with 23 years of service and served on the faculty at West Point. He is the co-owner/editor of the RevWar75.com website. He is a Fellow and Chair of the Endowment Fund Committee of the Company of Military Historians. His research interests include military justice, the militia in the American War for Independence, and Rhode Island in the war.
The BH&PS is located at 48 Court Street in an 1828 jail built of granite blocks reportedly used as ballast in early Bristol sailing ships. It was founded in 1936 to promote the history of the town of Bristol. The Society has also been instrumental in the formation of other museums: the Bristol Art Museum (1962), Coggeshall Farm and Museum (1968), Friends of Linden Place (1990), and the Bristol Statehouse Museum (1996).
The Jamestown Historical Society was founded in 1912 to preserve the Jamestown windmill. Since then, they’ve added other preservation efforts – the 1786 Conanicut Friends Meetinghouse, 1776 Conanicut Battery, 1875 primary school that serves as their museum, and a constantly growing collection of more than 40,000 photographs, archives, and artifacts that tell the history of Conanicut (Jamestown), Dutch, and Gould Islands.
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state’s oldest and only state-wide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting, and sharing Rhode Island’s past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st-century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, and the Aldrich House.
The Battle of Rhode Island Association is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to raising awareness of Rhode Island’s role in the War for Independence. Donations may be made payable to “BoRIA” at PO Box 626, Portsmouth, RI 02871.