Newport helped lead the way toward the Revolution and American independence. Explore key dates and milestones below and learn more about the history of Newport.
– March 1765: Britain’s Parliament enacts the Stamp Act, which requires colonists to pay for stamps to be placed on various paper products, including newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, and even playing cards.
– June 1765: A group of Newport sailors attack the HMS Maidstone in retaliation for the impressment of civilian mariners in nearby towns.
– August 1765: Violent protests break out in cities across North America. In Newport, a mob threatens the designated Stamp distributor, erects effigies of British sympathizers, and ransacks the home of outspoken loyalist Martin Howard. The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, then home to Howard and under the stewardship of the NHS today, is nearly destroyed.
– 1775: Establishment of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, the latter of which would develop and maintain a significant presence in Newport.
– 1767-1768: Parliament enacts a series of customs duties, known as the Townshend Acts, on the colonies over imported items like paint, lead, and tea.
– July 1769: A mob in Newport captures the new captain of John Hancock’s former smuggling vessel, Liberty, strips the ship of valuables and burns it in retaliation.
– May 1773: Parliament enacts the Tea Act, granting a monopoly on colonial tea sales to the British East India Company. Sons of Liberty and other groups oppose the Act as a piece of legislation passed without colonial consent.
– September 1774: The Continental Congress, a meeting of 56 delegates from 12 colonies, meets in Philadelphia for more than a month to debate a united response. The representatives agree to boycott British goods.
– April 1775: Massachusetts militiamen exchange fire with British troops at the battles of Lexington and Concord, marking the start of the Revolutionary War.
– May 1776: Rhode Island declares independence, and the Colony House, operated and open to the public as a NHS property, is known officially as the State House from 1776 to 1900.
– 1776-1779: British occupy Newport, and more than half of the city’s population flees.
– August 1778: The Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill, takes place on Aquidneck Island and marks the first attempt at cooperation between French and American troops.
– 1780-1781: French military is stationed in Newport.
– June 1781: Revolutionary forces, under the leadership of Admiral deTiernay and General Rochambeau, depart Newport for Yorktown to assist in the decisive victory that would lead to the end of the war.
