By Rhode Island Society Sons of the Revolution

For over 100 years, THE RHODE ISLAND  SOCIETY SONS OF THE REVOLUTION has hosted Newport’s  Independence Day Celebration, and there is not a more patriotic place to celebrate America’s birthday than in the Newport, RI Historic District. The 

Declaration of Independence was first read to the citizens of Rhode Island from the steps of the Colony House in Newport. Each 4th of July the event is recreated in celebration with music, cannons, and a tribute to Newport’s signer of the Declaration. Join us for the celebration of the 4th of July. 

Events are free and include:  

∙ 9:00 am, a commemoration of William Ellery, Newport’s signer of the Declaration of Independence, at his gravesite in Newport’s Common Burying Ground, led by the Daughters of the American Revolution and with the participation of the Rhode Island Society Sons of the Revolution and Artillery Company of Newport. 

∙ 10:00 am to 11:00 am, the Newport Historical Society will provide access to the Colony House, the fourth oldest State House in America, with staff present to answer questions. 

∙ 10:00 am to 11:00 am, a concert in Washington Square by the Newport Community Band, Peter Davis conducting. 

∙ 11:00 am, a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel Roy Lauth, President of the Rhode Island Society Sons of the Revolution, from the steps of the Colony House, the spot where it was first read to the Colony in 1776. 

∙ 11:30 am in Washington Square a 21-gun salute fired by the Artillery Company of   Newport, using the four cannons purchased from Paul Revere in 1798 by the new state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

The Common Burying Ground, established in 1640, includes the grave of Declaration signer William Ellery and the graves of other historic figures. God’s Little  Acre, a section of Common Burying Ground, is the largest cemetery of enslaved people in the United States.

Commodore Matthew Perry, who opened Japan to the West in 1854, is buried at Island Cemetery. 

The Colony House was one of four seats of the colonial government in  Rhode Island. Here on May 6, 1776, Rhode Island declared it no longer owed allegiance to the British crown. The Continental Congress’s Declaration of Independence was first read from the front steps on  July 22, 1776.  

Washington Square, called “The Parade” in colonial times, will be the site of the 21-gun salute to the Nation by the Newport Artillery Company, the country’s oldest military organization, chartered in 1741.

The Sons of the Revolution was founded in 1876 by members of the Society of the Cincinnati on the occasion of the Centennial of the Declaration of Independence. The Rhode Island  Society was formed in Newport in 1896 in order to promote knowledge an appreciation of the achievement of American independence and to foster fellowship among its members. For more  information or to become a member contact: www.RISR1776.org  RhodeIslandSons@gmail.com

This story was updated to correct the grave site of Commodore Matthew Perry. He is buried at Island Cemetery, not at Common Burying Ground.