[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 76 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           222d ANNIVERSARY OF THE BURNING OF THE ``GASPEE''

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                             HON. JACK REED

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 16, 1994

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a defining moment 
in American history--the destruction of the Gaspee on the morning of 
June 10, 1772.
  Three years before the battles of Lexington and Concord, a group of 
fiercely independent Rhode Islanders, infuriated by the constant 
harassment of their shipping on Narragansett Bay, struck the first blow 
against the tyrannical rule of the British government by setting fire 
to the armed revenue schooner Gaspee. The sequence of events leading up 
to this revolutionary act began when Capt. Thomas Lindsay set out to 
sail from Newport to Providence with the full intention of disregarding 
the Gaspee and the warnings issued by her hated captain, Lieutenant 
Duddington. It wasn't long after the American boat left Newport, that 
the Gaspee approached Captain Lindsay's vessel and fired a warning shot 
across her bow. Instead of allowing the British sailors to board, 
Captain Lindsay maintained his course with the Gaspee in hot pursuit.
  Still giving chase, at a spot several miles south of Providence since 
known as Gaspee Point, Lieutenant Duddington ran his ship aground. 
Eager to rid themselves of the British scourge, a group of men from 
around the colony armed and assembled in a small fleet of longboats at 
the Providence wharf. Swiftly and silently, this tiny armada swept down 
the bay and in the darkness engaged the startled crew of the Gaspee in 
hand to hand combat. The Rhode Islanders quickly gained control of the 
ship and took its crew and captain prisoner.
  With the Gaspee aflame and her powder soon to blow, the raiding party 
slipped quietly back to their homes. Despite severe threats and 
significant rewards offered by the British Crown, not a single 
participant in the raid was ever betrayed by his fellow colonists.
  The explosion and sinking of the Gaspee shook the foundations of the 
relationship between the colonies and London, and struck the first blow 
for freedom in America. I hope that this year, people from around the 
country will join me and my fellow Rhode Islanders in commemorating the 
bravery shown by these men who risked their lives to help throw off the 
yoke of British rule in Narragansett Bay, and in doing so, fanned the 
flames of liberty that ignited into our Revolutionary War.

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