Gaspee Day Parade and Encampment

This is a yearly event held in Pawtuxet Village, Gaspee Point, Warwick, Rhode Island, in celebration of the Burning of the English Ship that was captured and burned in the Bay, June 9, 1772. 

The Gaspee Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS Gaspee was a British customs schooner that had been enforcing the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island in 1772.

The weekend celebration includes a grand parade with the Pawtuxet Rangers, which I am a member of.

 The Pawtuxet Rangers were chartered in 1774 to protect the thriving seaport of Pawtuxet, and at various times throughout the Revolutionary War manned the fort on Pawtuxet Neck, a function vital to the defense of both Pawtuxet and Providence. As the war progressed, the Rangers were called upon to participate in major engagements in other areas including the Battle of Rhode Island and the Battle of Saratoga.

  We set up a 18th century  encampment where folks could ask question of the event and learn more about the Pawtuxet Rangers.

 As a new member of the group, I was honored to show my skills at 18th century cooking and learned how to rope my own bed.

The most exciting part of the event for me was to watch the firing of the big canyons. What a thrill to be so close and feel the thunder. It was a total adventure! 

       The Pawtuxet Rangers of Rhode Island

What Cheer Day 2019: Sports & Games from the 18th Century

On Saturday June 1, 2019 at the John Brown House Museum, approximately 25 costumed historical interpreters  shared leisurely pursuits with visitors.

 The activities were family friendly and which included:
• Bowls, the colonial version of bocce/boule. 

• Rounders, an early variation on the sport we know as baseball.


• Games that soldiers enjoyed such as cricket. 

• Games that children played such as  hoop and stick, along with battlecock and shuttledoor. 


There were various stations featuring children’s toys, gambling and horse racing. 

There were a lady’s tea with lawn bowling, known as 9 pins in the 18th century,

 and a tavern illustrating various card games. 

Visitors could “step up to the plate” and try their hand at many of these family-friendly activities while learning about life in early Rhode Island and how people spent their leisure time.

 Additionally, a series of dedicated/scheduled afternoon activities that included:
• Dressing scenario in a lady’s riding habit.

• Hair styling and appropriate head wear for ladies when traveling.

* There was a demonstration on "How to make dolls from strips of material.

• Recreating a scene from a mid-18th century play about a popular card game.
 


What Cheer Day was free and open to the public. It took place on the lawn of the John Brown House Museum in Providence, RI.

 History Space is a Newport Historical Society initiative in partnership with the Rhode Island Historical Society.