Before Boston dumped tea into its harbor, Rhode Island colonists set a British ship on fire.
On a June night in 1772, a group of Rhode Islanders rowed out from Pawtuxet Village, boarded the British revenue schooner HMS Gaspee and left it burning in Narragansett Bay. The attack happened 18 months before the Boston Tea Party and nearly three years before the first shots at Lexington and Concord.
More than 250 years later, some historians and local advocates say the Gaspee Affair deserves a much bigger place in America’s founding story — not as a footnote, but as one of the first major acts of armed resistance against British rule.
Why the Gaspee Became a Target
According to historian, archaeologist and historical reenactor John McNiff, tensions had been building for years before the attack.
Following costly wars with France, Britain sought to raise revenue by taxing the American colonies and tightening trade restrictions. In Rhode Island, where merchants often relied on maritime commerce and smuggling, those policies were deeply unpopular.
“The Gaspee was the final straw,” McNiff said.
The ship arrived in Narragansett Bay in January 1772 with orders to crack down on smugglers. McNiff believes local colonists began plotting against the vessel months before it ran aground.
Earlier that year, the Gaspee had seized a ship called the Fortune, owned by future Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. Its captain, Rufus Greene, was reportedly injured during the confrontation.
“I’m thinking from February on, people are making plans about what to do, how to find the Gaspee, where to get it,” McNiff said.
A Spark Before Boston
The attack began on the night of June 9, 1772.
According to historical accounts, colonists rowed from Pawtuxet Village in longboats, surrounded the stranded vessel and demanded its surrender. During the confrontation, Lieutenant William Dudingston, commander of the Gaspee, was shot and wounded.
The ship was later destroyed by fire.
Whether the colonists intended to burn the vessel remains a matter of debate. McNiff believes the destruction may have been accidental because much of the ship’s equipment, sails and rigging would have been valuable to sailors.
Others see it differently.
Among them is Providence restaurateur and Gaspee advocate Bob Burke, who has spent years promoting the event as a pivotal moment in American history.
“They row out right from that wharf,” Burke said. “They surround him, they call the captain out, he comes out in his nightshirt. Joseph Bucklin takes a shot, hits him. Our sailors clamber aboard, take them prisoner, remove them from the ship, go back, light it on fire, burn the ship.”
The flames eventually reached the ship’s powder magazine, causing an explosion that lit up the bay.
The Raid That United the Colonies
British officials viewed the attack as a direct assault on royal authority.
“That’s an act of war,” McNiff said. “That’s the way it was considered back home in England.”
Authorities launched an extensive investigation and offered substantial rewards for information leading to the attackers. Yet despite the promise of a king’s ransom, no one came forward.
“It was just typical Rhode Island,” McNiff said. “Nobody betrayed anybody else that was involved.”
The controversy intensified when British officials considered sending suspects to England for trial rather than allowing them to be tried in the colonies.
McNiff explained that the possibility alarmed many Americans and helped inspire the creation of Committees of Correspondence, communication networks that allowed colonies to coordinate their response to British actions.
Those committees later evolved into the Continental Congress.
“This little spark, this little ship going up in flames, started the colonies talking together as a unit,” McNiff said.
This little spark, this little ship going up in flames, started the colonies talking together as a unit.
Fighting for Historical Credit
For some Rhode Islanders, the debate is no longer just about what happened in 1772. It’s also about who gets credit for helping launch the Revolution.
Burke has become one of the most vocal advocates for elevating the Gaspee Affair’s place in American history. He has even sent cease-and-desist letters to Boston, Lexington and Concord, arguing Rhode Island’s role has been overshadowed by Massachusetts.
“Rhode Island is the true beginning of the Revolution, the Gaspee attack,” Burke said.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, a former history teacher, agrees the Gaspee Affair deserves greater attention. Documents preserved in the state archives include records related to the British investigation ordered by King George III following the attack.
“That’s living history,” said Amore. “We can attract people to learn more about the Gaspee incident by presenting something like this.”
For Amore, the significance of the event extends far beyond Rhode Island.
Gaspee Days Keeps the Story Alive
The Gaspee Affair is still commemorated each year through Gaspee Days, a weeks-long celebration centered in Warwick and Pawtuxet Village. This weekend’s events include the annual Gaspee Days Parade, colonial reenactments and the symbolic burning of the Gaspee, drawing thousands of spectators to the community where the story began.
For many Rhode Islanders, the celebration is more than a community tradition. It is a reminder that a pivotal chapter in the nation’s founding unfolded not in Boston, but along the shores of Warwick.
Why Many Americans Have Never Heard of It
Despite its importance, the Gaspee Affair remains largely absent from national history books.
McNiff says part of the reason is that organized commemorations did not begin until the late 1960s, when local residents launched the annual Gaspee Days celebration.
He also points to the influence of Massachusetts on how the Revolutionary era is taught.
“Boston is a huge market for textbooks,” McNiff said. “If the Boston Massacre and the shot heard around the world happened near Boston, that’s going to be in the textbooks.”
Whether the Gaspee Affair deserves to be called the true beginning of the American Revolution remains a matter of debate.
But 254 years after Rhode Islanders boarded a British ship and left it burning in Narragansett Bay, supporters say the event’s place in American history is getting a second look.
