(6.14) Gaspee Days continue in Warwick today with the parade. And the fireworks were postponed to Saturday, June 14th. Get up to speed on the Burning of the Gaspee here.
HMS Gaspee and her hated commander, Lt. William Dudingston, were sent by King George III to Rhode Island waters in March of 1772 to enforce the maritime trade laws and prevent smuggling. They made no friends amongst the colonists in harassing shipping and delaying, often unjustly, ships that had properly passed custom inspection in Newport.
The latter was the case on June 9, 1772, when the packet sloop Hannah left Newport for Providence. When the Gaspee gave chase, Hannah’s Captain Lindsey deliberately lured her across the shallows off Namquid Point (now Gaspee Point) and left the British ship hard aground on a sandbar, unable to move until the flood tide of the following day.
Seen here is the replica Hannah, hard aground, in Burnside Park downtown Providence.