The Battle of Rhode Island, 1778
Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth, RI
“In this State I have experienced more sudden and extreme alternations of hopes and disappointments than during all the vicissitudes of the American Revolution” -General Lafayette (Preston 5).
Introduction
The present author remembers a US Army Captain saying about Vietnam that we won every major battle. During the American Revolution, the British historian Simon Schama stated that, “ The Americans lost as many battles as they won.” The Battle of Rhode Island was fought 246 years ago.
Following the British retreat from Boston, American confidence soared. Following Benedict Arnold’s victory at Saratoga, France, under Louis XV, recognized American independence.
Why was Newport, Rhode Island deemed important. The British needed bases to base their blockade of the American coast which stretched from Massachusetts to Georgia. The fall of Boston was a serious blow to the British. The following attests to Rhode Island’s strategic importance:
Next to the Boston campaign of 1775–1776, the Rhode Island theater of war-the area of southeastern New England most affected by the British occupation of Newport from December 1776 through October 1779-and its associated campaign were the most important in New England. For nearly three years, New Englanders lived in constant fear that the British would use Newport as a base from which to attack Providence and then Boston (McBurney ix).
1. A New Theater of Operations
In studying the American Revolution, one comes to see parallels between Continental and British Forces. In particular, conflict between the high command of each becomes evident. For the British, the conflict occurred between Clinton, Burgoyne, Gage, and Cornwallis.
After the defeats in Massachusetts, London decided that operations in the Rhode Island Colony would be more successful. Thus, in December 1776, General Pigot invaded Rhode Island with 6,700 troops. Following the British victories against Washington in New York, he knew the importance of capitalizing on victory.
Washington ordered Sullivan to raise 5,000 troops to take back the strategic city of Newport. To aid his subordinate in this, Washington dispatched Nathaniel Green and Layafette. Sullivan thus had over 10,000 men under his command.
2. An Allied Operation
It took nearly four months after French recognition for the two countries, the United States and France, to combine forces for a single operation against the British. The Battle of Rhode was one of the first such operations. The Ist Rhode Island Infantry was ahead of its time in that it was composed of whites, American Indians, and African Americans.
The Battle of Rhode Island was the United States first joint military operation. It was believed that the American victory at Saratoga had weakened British resolve and that this operation might end the war (McBurney).
The British had occupied Newport since the end of 1776. Pigot and Howe, acting differently from Gage, who abandoned Boston, undoubtedly realized that retreat was tantamount to defeat.
Prior to the Battle of Rhode Island, American victories had been at places like Conord and Saratoga. On those battlefields, the British Army had been cut off from the Royal Navy. With the entry of the French into the war, war plans against the British allowed for more naval operations. On July 19, the Allied commanders had a war council. Admiral d’Estaing, commander of the French fleet, was in attendance. It was decided to attack Newport from the east and the west. This would stress the smaller enemy force, hopefully, to the breaking point (American Battlefield Trust).
3. British Fortifications Defending Newport
Newport proved an incredibly difficult nut to crack. Even the combined might of the Continental and French armies, in addition to the French Navy, were not able to do it. The map below illustrates the strong defensive positions the British built:
The following description is given of the British defenses of Newport:
In March 1777, D’Aubant sent a report to Gen. Howe in New York which describes the work undertaken from December 8, 1776 to March 31, 1777. It includes an activity report that describes the project plans being developed for the fortifications. In the correspondence, he gives a picture of the engineering department activity in Newport. This map shows the disposition of British and Hessian troops for the defense of Newport. D’Aubant laid out this plan in a written document in August 1777 and received direction from Gen. Clinton to proceed. On November 21, 177, he sent a letter to New York concerning the fortifications. This letter was approved by geeral Pigot. He made the endorsement and gave directions of things that he wanted accomplished. In the endorsement the first fortification of the outer defense line to the northwest of Newport he describes the area as being “Shefield to Tomini.” This is the only time this description is ever used on any of the British maps examined…The chain of fortifications that compose the outer line were to be manned by a total of 840 men (Weiss 165).
Pigot eventually figured out the Allied plans. How? The British have had one of the best espionage networks in the world for centuries. General Pigot was able to prepare his forces for the Allied assault. British forces were concentrated into Newport. Undoubtedly, Pigot was prepared to make the Allied forces pay for every foot. Unlike during the Siege of Boston, the besieging American forces did not have high ground, like at Dorchester Heights, to place their cannon. The defensive positions allowed the British to negate the American/French superiority in numbers.
How effective was the French fleet? The following gives students of history some insight:
Meanwhile the French fleet was not idle but had caused the destruction of the British vessels in Narragansett Bay. On his arrival the Count by sending two frigates into the Sakonnet River caused the British to burn three vessels stationed there totalling 36 guns. He next sent two frigates up the west passage when the enemy burnt August 5 their four advanced frigates with 124 guns. Later when the French fleet forced their way into Newport harbor the British burned or sank the remaining ships to protect the harbor. The French government awarded 600 livres per gun for the 212 guns thus rendered inactive. Some were promptly rescued and used by the Americans. The crews of the vessels went to swell the strenght of the British garrison at Newport (Preston 18).
The French were able to destroy or render useless British ships. It was the most significant loss of British ships during the entire war (McBurney).They were not, however, able to destroy crews in their entirety. Surviving British sailors and marines were put to good use in Newport’s fortifications.
Unlike the later battle at Yorktown, General Howe, Commander of British Forces in North America, did not abandon Pigot’s forces. Part of the British fleet stationed on Manhattan was sent to destroy the French fleet besieging Newport. The resulting battle and the weather forced the French to retreat back to Boston for repairs. Pigot now had no naval support. Newport was reinforced with 4,000 fresh British troops. This combination of factors convinced Sullivan to abandon the siege on August 28.
General Pigot made the decision to pursue the retreating Americans. It was his hope to destroy an entire American Army-something which the British had not been able to do in more than two years of war.
General Sullivan undoubtedly knew that if his rear collapsed, his entire force would fall like a line of dominoes. Luckily for him, he had Nathaniel Greene, who had learned under the Master of Retreat himself. Defensive positions were ordered to protect the Colonial rear.
The following gives an idea of the strong American defensive positions:
The first skirmish as just mentioned occurred on the east main road. As the British column moving up this road reached the cross road, now Union street, the twenty-second regiment under Colonel Campbell divided, one half turning into Union street. Immediately the American advance guard under Colonel Laurens rose from behind the stone wall bordering the raod and fired a volley at close range upon the surprised enemy. Nearly a fourth of the regiment is said to have fallen. Reinforcements were rushed forward to their assistance while the Americans retreated slowly to the main body (Preston 39).
Neither Sullivan nor Pigot committed their entire forces to the battle. Had either, or both, done so, the day may have ended differently.
General Greene anchored one end of the American line on Turkey Hill with the 1st Rhode Island Infantry anchored a half mile south. The British and Hessian forces were able to break the American lines in two places. An envelopment seemed possible. Fortunately for the Americans, they had good defensive positions on high ground. The battle that erupted forced the British to retreat closer to the defenses of Newport. The Continental Army itself retreated to the interior of the state, away from the Royal Navy (American Battlefield Trust). The following describes the masterful American retreat:
At 6:00 P.M. Sullivan gave the order to retreat from the island. Two hours later the men were marching from Howland’s Ferry. While the retreat was in progress, near eleven o’clock, Lafayette returned from his fruitless mission to Boston with the report that d’Estaing’s fleet would not return. The marquis, chagrined at missing the battle, then took command of the pickets covering the withdrawal and was among the last to leave the island. Crossing under the cover of the guns of Ft. Barton at Tiverton and the “Owl’s Nest” on Gould Island, the main part of the army reached Tiverton shortly before midnight. Three hours later the last of the Americans also made good their escape (Dearden 127).
Casualties
The estimated casualties for the battle were 441. 181 were American and 260 were British. It is unknown how many of these numbers were KIA as opposed to wounded (American Battlefield Trust). The figures reported by the American Battlefield Trust beg comparison to other source materials:
Later General Sullivan reported the American loss, killed wounded and missing as 211 while General Pigot reported the British loss to General Clinton, killed and wounded and missing as 260.
These official statements on the losses in the battle may be accepted although many accounts of the combat report much larger figures. Thus the Providence Gazette of September 5, 1778 reports, “the Whole loss of the British killed wounded and missing as ‘supposed to be upward of 700’,” and a week later, September 12, contains the following item “By an officer who arrived on Wednesday in a Flag of Truce from Newport we learn that the Enemy acknowledged that they lost 1,023 men killed wounded and taken in the late action on Rhode Island” (Preston 43).
Conclusion
George Washigton regarded the Battle of Rhode Island as an American failure, stating the following in a letter,
“If the garrison of that place (consisting of nearly 6,000 men) had been captured, as there was, in appearance, at least a hundred to one in favor of it, it would have given the finishing blow to British pretensions of sovereignty over this country; and would, I am persuaded, have hastened the departure of the [British] troops from New York as fast as their canvas wings could carry them away” (McBurney 205).
It is interesting to compare the Battle of Rhode Island to the Tet Offensive. Although it was a tactical British victory, it illustrated that the Continental forces still controlled large areas of the countryside. With every battle, victory, defeat, or stalemate, London was losing money. It would take five more years of war before the British were to break.
Works Cited
American Battlefield Trust: Rhode Island, Siege of Newport/Battle of Quaker Hill. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/rhode-island?ms=googlepaid&gad_source=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInOzdsY3EhAMVcGBHAR0FEgGjEAAYASAAEgLdzvD_BwE
Dearden, Paul. The Rhode Island Campaign of 1778, Inauspicious Dawn of Alliance. Rhode Island Bicentennial Foundation, 1980. Print.
McBurney, Christian. The Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War. Westholme, Publishg LLC, 2011. Print.
Preston, Howard. The Battle of Rhode Island: August 29, 1778. State Bureau of Information, 1928. Print.
Trumbull, John. The Battle of Rhode Island. Oil on canvas.
Weiss, Ralph. Siege of British Forces in Newport County by Colonial and French in August of 1778: Maps of the Battle of Rhode Island. Salve Regina University, 2016. Print.
Weiss, Ralph. Order Book of the Revolution Rhode Island 1778. Ralph Weiss, 2015. Print.
