Christopher Lippitt (October 28, 1744 – June 17, 1824) was a prominent Revolutionary War officer and founder one of the earliest

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

s in Rhode Island.

Early life

Lippitt was the fourth child of Christopher Lippitt (1712–1764) and Catherine (Holden) Lippitt and the oldest surviving son at the time of his father's death in 1764. Since 1715 the Lippitt family had owned Lippitt Hill in the Hope neighborhood in the southwestern part of

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island i ...

. Lippitt was first elected to General Assembly at age 21 and continued serving until Revolution. At age 22 made captain of militia and Justice of the Peace.James N. Arnold, ''The Narragansett Historical Register'' (Heritage Books, 1998), pg. 111-113 https://books.google.com/books?id=CuuicaMM3KEC&source=gbs_navlinks_s Lippitt owned a sawmill and a farm and was recorded as having six slaves in the 1774 census and two slaves in 1790 census.

Service in Revolution

During the American Revolution in January 1776, Lippitt was chosen Lieutenant Colonel of

Babcock's/Lippitt's Regiment Babcock's/Lippitt's Regiment was a regiment raised for the defense of Rhode Island during the American Revolution. History The regiment was one of two formed by the state of Rhode Island between November 1775 and January 1776 to deter an attack by ...

, which defended the mainland of Rhode Island from a possible British invasion. The regiment's first commander, Colonel Henry Babcock, was dismissed for incompetency in May and Lippitt succeeded to command and was promoted to colonel. In 1776, his regiment joined the Continental Army on

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's orders and went to Harlem Heights, New York and served at the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

. Lippitt's regiment was also at the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comman ...

Battle of White Plains The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward f ...

and

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

. He spent the winter at

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and returned to Rhode Island in the spring when the regiment's enlistment expired. Upon returning to Rhode Island, Lippitt was promoted to the rank of brigadier general of Rhode Island militia in July 1780, and commanded the Providence County brigade of militia when the French troops occupied Newport from 1780 to 1781. He served in this position until June 1787 when he was succeeded by Brigadier General

Simeon Thayer Simeon Thayer (April 30, 1737 – October 14, 1800) fought in Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War and made a harrowing escape from French-allied Indians. At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Rhode Island assembly ...

After the Revolution

After the Revolution Christopher Lippitt returned to farming for a period and was elected to the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower house, lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 re ...

and was appointed justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

in 1783. In 1788, Lippitt was dismissed from political office by voters for supporting adoption of the U.S. Constitution which was unpopular in Rhode Island at the time. Christopher Lippitt was an active Christian and was a member of the local

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

congregation. Lippit was raised by his mother as an Episcopalian. He was introduced to the Methodists by his brother Charles, while serving in New York during the Revolutionary War. In 1791 Christopher Lippitt invited Jesse Lee, a prominent Methodist evangelist, to preach and teach a class at his house. Lippitt's wife and daughter became Methodists at this time. In 1800 Lippitt built a small meeting house on his farm to serve as a Methodist chapel. Prior to this he had offered his home for use by itinerant Methodist preachers. Later in life Lippitt joined the

Peace Society The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a pioneering British Pacifism, pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the ...

. In 1805, Lippitt built the house still known today as Lippitt Hill Farm in Cranston. In 1809, Christopher and his younger brother, Charles Lippitt, along with Benjamin Aborn, George Jackson, Amasa Mason, and William Mason organized a cotton mill under the name the Lippitt Manufacturing Company. The company grew throughout the 19th century becoming a large profitable enterprise in which several generations of the family were involved. The original Lippitt Mill building operated as a textile mill for 200 years, finally closing in 2010, and still stands in

Lippitt Village Lippitt, Rhode Island is a village within the town of West Warwick, Rhode Island. History Lippitt was founded by Revolutionary War General Christopher Lippitt and his brother Charles Lippitt when they and their partners constructed Lippitt Mill ...

in what is now the town of

West Warwick West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the wester ...

Family

Christopher married Waity (or Waite) Harris (1755–1836) in 1777, and had twelve children, five of whom died in infancy and another in early childhood: *1. Susanna (1778–1818) *2. son (1779-1779) *3. son (1781-1781) *4. son (1782-1782) *5. Christopher Jr. (1783- ) *6. Waity (1784- ) *7. daughter (1785-1785) *8. William (1786–1872) *9. Joseph (1790- ), settled in Ohio. *10. son (1793-1793) *11. Mary (1795-1881Swan Point Cemetery ) *12. Benjamin (1797–1803)

Notable Lippitt family members

Charles W. Lippitt Charles Warren Lippitt (October 8, 1846 – April 4, 1924) was an American politician and the 44th Governor of Rhode Island. Early life Lippitt was born in Providence, Rhode Island on October 8, 1846. He graduated from Brown University. Later, ...

, Governor of Rhode Island *

Henry Lippitt Henry Lippitt (October 9, 1818 – June 5, 1891) was the 33rd Governor of Rhode Island from 1875 to 1877. Family Lippitt was the son of Warren Lippitt and Eliza (Seamans) Lippitt, married to Mary Ann Balch. Lippitt was the father of Charles Wa ...

, Governor of Rhode Island *

Henry F. Lippitt Henry Frederick Lippitt (October 12, 1856December 28, 1933) was a member of the prominent Lippitt family, which made its fortune in the textile business, and served as United States Senator from Rhode Island. Biography Born in Providence on ...

, U.S. Senator *

Frederick Lippitt Frederick Lippitt (December 29, 1916 – May 11, 2005) was an American military officer, attorney, politician, public servant and philanthropist. He was the scion of a distinguished Rhode Island colonial family, the son of United States Senat ...

, State Representative and philanthropist *

John Chafee John Lester Hubbard Chafee ( ; October 22, 1922 – October 24, 1999) was an American politician and officer in the United States Marine Corps. A member of the Republican Party (United States), he served as the 66th Governor of Rhode Island, as ...

, U.S. Senator and Governor of Rhode Island *

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...

, U.S. Senator and Governor of Rhode Island

References

External links

Lippitt Family papers at RI Historical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lippitt, Christopher 1744 births 1824 deaths Militia generals in the American Revolution Members of the Rhode Island General Assembly People of colonial Rhode Island People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution Rhode Island militiamen in the American Revolution People from Cranston, Rhode Island Lippitt family