Gaspee Point is a small peninsula on the west side of the southern reaches of the

Providence River The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is located south of downtown to protect th ...

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

. It is bounded on the north by Passeonkquis Cove and on the south by Occupessatuxet Cove. It is reached via Namquid Drive in Warwick. Gaspee Point was the site of one of the first acts of hostility in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

when the British Royal Navy vessel HMS ''Gaspee'' was grounded there on June 9, 1772 in what became known as the

Gaspée Affair The ''Gaspee'' Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS ''Gaspee'' was a British customs schooner that enforced the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island, in 1772. It ran aground in shallow ...

. The ''Gaspee'' was a revenue schooner locally detested for its enforcement of the unpopular

Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce between other countries and with its own colonies. The ...

, and she was boarded and burned by a band of local citizens that night. The site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1972.

References

Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Warwick, Rhode Island Geography of Kent County, Rhode Island American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Kent County, Rhode Island {{KentCountyRI-NRHP-stub

See also

References