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.
Newport 1775: Whose Side Are You On?