Projo.com: Rhode Island News: Assembly to remember burning of the Gaspee
http://www.gaspee.com.
PROVIDENCE — On a June morning in 1772, Rhode Island Colonists burned the British ship HMS Gaspee, a key event in the lead-up to the American Revolution.
The attackers included sea captains, lawyers and members of the General Assembly.
On Thursday, state lawmakers will recognize the historic event that was considered an act of treason by British officials.
Rep. Joseph M. McNamara, D-Warwick, will host the 3:15 p.m. ceremony in the State House Lounge. Officials will read a proclamation and celebrate the 46th anniversary of the staging of the month-long Gaspee Days in Pawtuxet Village.
The program will include the mock indictment of Chuck Easterbrooks, descendent of Nathaniel Easterbrooks, for crimes against King George III. Nathaniel was one of about a dozen men from Bristol who rowed across the Narragansett Bay to join the eight other boatloads of men who attacked the Gaspee. Chuck Easterbrook is a member of the Gaspee Days Committee.
Students from the Wyman Elementary School in Warwick will take part in the program.
Other Gaspee Days activities include the Pawtuxet Village Proclamation Ceremony on May 21; an arts-and-crafts festival on Memorial Day Weekend, on May 28-30; and the Gaspee Days Weekend, June 10-12, with parades and fireworks in Pawtuxet Village.
The event will culminate with a reenactment of the burning of the Gaspee in Pawtuxet Park Cove at 4 p.m. on June 12.
The State House ceremony is open to the public and will be shown on Cox Channel 15 and Verizon Channel 35.
A list of Gaspee Days events and activities can be found on the website, http://www.gaspee.com.
