[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]No, the entire state is not a battleground. In fact there’s really not much left of this other than a small park with some preserved earthworks between Newport and Providence. I was tempted to skip this but it wasn’t that far out of my way so I stopped in.[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1575309874182-42ce05da-2d7f-6″][vc_column_text]Also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill or the Battle of Newport, this was the largest battle fought in Rhode Island during the Revolution. The British had controlled Newport since late 1776 when Richard Prescott occupied the town. By 1778 the situation had changed as the French had entered the war on the heels of John Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga.
A French fleet under Comte d’Estaing was sent with 12 warships and 4,000 soldiers to North America. The first goal was Philadelphia but the British evacuated the city and headed back to New York. The new allies sat down and decided what to do next. They did not think that the French ships would be able to get across the sand bar in New York so Newport was the next target.
Robert Pigot now commanded at Newport and he was reinforced by 2,000 men from New York bringing his command up to about 6,700 men. Newport as their destination was no surprise. Colonials had tried to take the town in 1777 but had failed. John Sullivan was sent by the Continental Congress to take command and raise 5,000 troops. The problem was that he received the letter informing his of this on July 23 and only learned about the potential attack the following day from another officer. He had about 1,600 men at the time but the Rhode Island militia was called up with help from Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Reinforcements under Lafayette and Nathanael Greene (a Rhode Island native) was sent to bolster Sullivan. d’Estoing met with Lafayette and Greene to plan the attack.
Pigot was not sitting on his butt. He deployed his forces in a defensive posture, withdrew livestock into the town and leveled orchards to open up a clear field of fire. Several of his ships were caught by the French and scuttled after running aground and most of the rest were scuttled later. On August 9 d’Estoing began disembarking his 4,000 men and Sullivan occupied Butts Hill.
William Howe in New York was also not sitting around. He sent the Royal Navy to Newport to try to do battle. Both fleets sailed out to do battle but a major storm scattered the two fleets. Both regrouped but the Royal Navy headed back to New York while the French headed to Boston for repairs. d’Estoing did stop in Newport to inform Sullivan that he would have to put in for repairs.
Sullivan was not happy. d’Estoing wanted to stay but as an army general he was superseded by the naval captains. Sullivan believed that he could capture the British garrison in a day or two. With the fleet went the French infantry and began feelings of anger towards the new allies. The militia began to dissintegrate as well. Sullivan was also informed that a British relief force was on its way. He had to act.
Sullivan pulled his men back to their siege lines and Pigot was aware of that and he decided to attack. The Colonial position was in a valley that cut across the Conanicut Island and guarded two hills. On August 28 the attack began. The first fighting occured near Quaker Hill and was repulsed by John Glover’s Colonials.
Frederich Wilhelm von Lossberg led the assault on the Colonial right near Turkey Hill. Colonel John Laurens light infantry was driven back from Turkey Hill onto Greene’s main line. von Lossberg received help from the Royal Navy which began to bombard Greene but Greene’s artillery and another Colonial battery drove them off. The Hessian assault was also repulsed and they bayoneted the Colonial wounded as they fell back.
von Lossberg tried a third assault and failed. Greene counterattacked driving the British back to Turkey Hill. Greene was unable to drive them from that position and the battle ended.
The Colonial forces withdrew unmolested to Bristol and Tiverton and they were gone by the time the British relief force arrived on August 1. They unsuccessfully tried to corner the French in Boston but d’Estoing was able to escape to the West Indies. Pigot came under fire for attacking too early rather than waiting for the relief force which would have allowed them to capture the whole army. Sullivan’s performance was also met with poor review. The British abandoned Newport in 1779.
The Colonials lost about 200 men while the British lost around 260. Part of the battlefield is preserved as the Battle of Rhode Island Site and several other sites related to the battle are also preserved in the area.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]