August 22. Lafayette is Major General for the Day. Lafayette and General Sullivan argue over Sullivan’s letter to D’Estaing. Lafayette refuses to agree to the letter because he finds it insulting to the French.
August 23. At counsel of War Lafayette backed an immediate retreat even though he was unhappy with the American position about the French. Lafayette is bitter about the claims the French deserted the Americans.
At Butts Hill (RED DIAMOND).
August 27. American forces decide to move to Butts Hill.
August 27. Lafayette leaves that evening to ride to Boston to talk to d’Estaing. Lafayette crosses Howland Ferry (RED TRIANGLE) to Tiverton.
August 28. Lafayette rode all night. 7 hours and 70 miles. Lafayette arrives in Boston about the same time the French Fleet Arrived. Boston is marked with a BLUE STAR.
August 29. Lafayette, John Hancock and General Heath meet with d’Estaing at Hancock’s home in Boston (BLUE STAR). The French will not return to Rhode Island.
August 30. Lafayette returns at 11 PM to Portsmouth by way of Howland Ferry (RED TRIANGLE>. He has missed the battle but has taken a role in the retreat.
August 31. Lafayette escorts the last pickets are off the Island via Howland Ferry (RED TRIANGLE) after 2 AM.
“Retreat of Rhode Island” One of the medallions on the guard of the sword presented to Lafayette by the Congress. In Recollections of the Private Life of Lafayette by Cloquet.
Resources:
Kitchin, Thomas. “A map of the colony of Rhode Island.” Map. London: Printed for R. Baldwin at the Rose, Pater Noster Row, 1778. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/6t053p17c (accessed January 16, 2024).
August 14th. The storm ends. Americans begin new earthworks at Butts Hill marked with RED DIAMOND. Early morning the soldiers “examine their arms and renewed their cartridges.” (Cutler’s diary) Supplies had been damaged in the storm.
August 15th. At 6 AM the whole army proceeds to march toward Newport in three columns. Americans halt advance at between 4 and 5 PM within site of the British lines. American lines run from West Main Road to Green End in Middletown marked with a RED CIRCLE.
August 16th. Americans are building a four cannon battery north of Green End marked by RED CIRCLE. The British fire their cannons at them. A diary notes that Lafayette is camped at the Bowler Farm on Wapping Road marked by the RED STAR.
August 17th. Lafayette is Major General for the day. Siege operations (marked by RED CIRCLE) are in full force. Lafayette oversees the siege works from the top of a house. The British attacked the house and Culter’s diary entry remarks: “Stood by the Marquis when a cannon ball just passed us. Was pleased with his firmness..”
August 21. Lafayette, General Green and Col. Langdon go aboard the Languedoc marked with a BROWN CIRCLE. The French only agree to take American forces off of Aquidneck Island. Americans would not agree to that and the French fleet would sail away.
Woodcut by Howard Benson in Eric O.D. Taylor’s “The Campaign on Rhode Island.” Used with permission of Benson family.
Source: Life, Journals and Correspondence of Rev. Manassa Cutler. https://archive.org/details/lifejournalscorr01cutl
Red Triangle: Americans learn the British have left northern Aquidneck Island known as Rhode Island. Sullivan orders his troops to cross over to Portsmouth at Howland Ferry.
Brown Square: At 4 PM Lafayette goes onboard D’Estaing’s ship Languedoc out to sea by Newport. The ship is out to sea by Newport. The French decide to do battle with the British fleet that has appeared outside Newport. They are also unhappy that the Americans have moved onto Aquidneck Island before them.
August 10 – 13th, 1778
Red Diamond: Butts Hill area
August 10th, Lafayette and the Americans are camped around Butts Hill fortifications in Portsmouth.
August 11th, the Americans are still by Butts Hill with Lafayette as Major General of the Day. American troops parade at 4 PM. Lafayette’s troops paraded on the left and Greene’s troops on the right. A storm like a hurricane hits the island.
August 12th and 13th, the Storm is at its most fierce. Soldiers have no tents or shelter. Lafayette and Col. Wade inspect the water-logged American camp around Butts Hill.
British and French ships are returning damaged by the storm.
Languedoc returning without masts from Storm and Battle with British fleet.
Ozanne, Pierre, Artist. Le vaisseau le Languedoc dématé par le coup de vent dans le nuit du 12′ attaqué par un vaisseau de guerre Anglois l’après midy du 13 Aoust. [194] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2004670063/>.
As a researcher for the Battle of Rhode Island Association, I was asked to investigate Lafayette’s role in the Rhode Island Campaign. I looked at the usual “Lafayette stayed here” locations and I wrote about them, but the more I researched the more I realized the very special role Lafayette played in the Rhode Island Campaign. My current project is to trace Lafayette’s movements throughout Rhode Island. It is both a timeline and an attempt to follow him on a map made by his cartographer at the time. What I am sharing now are my approximations. I have used his letters, Orderly Reports, diaries, and trusted secondary sources. Accounts do not always agree, so I have tried to make sure I had confirmations before I listed places and times. This is a work in progress and I would welcome corrections that give me more factual information.
On the Road: The Gathering of the Troops
The Marquis de Lafayette was hopeful about the Rhode Island Campaign as he marched toward Rhode Island. He wrote to General John Sullivan from Saybrook on 28 July, 1778: “I hope a pretty decent set of laurels may be collected upon that island, and we will terminate the whole by joining English country dances to French cotillions in company with the fine and reputed ladies of the charming place.” (1) (Idzerda)
The Rhode Island Campaign was the first joint effort of the American and French forces during the American Revolution. In July of 1778 the French fleet under d’Estaing sailed to America. One idea was for the French to help American forces to free New York from British control, but the fleet had problems sailing in that direction. As d’Estaing steered his fleet toward Rhode Island, General Washington wrote to General Sullivan ordering him to raise 5,000 New England troops. He was to gather provisions and flatboats in preparation to work with the French fleet in releasing the British hold on Aquidneck Island (Rhode Island). Washington put twenty year old Lafayette in charge of General James Varnum’s four regiments as well as Glover’s and Jackson’s regiments. The troops had already started on the road to Rhode Island, and Lafayette had to catch up with them. By July 28th, 1778, Washington divided the forces into two divisions – one under General Nathanael Greene and the other under the leadership of Lafayette. The divisions would include both militia and the more experienced Continental troops. Lafayette caught up with his troops in Lyme, Connecticut. He took a route through Guilford, Saybrook, Norwich and Plainfield, Connecticut before he moved into Rhode Island.
Lafayette had a major role in the Rhode Island Campaign. To his dismay, he would miss being in the action at the Battle of Rhode Island, but he was active in every other phase of the Campaign. This timeline of his movements actually serves to illustrate the various stages of the Campaign. Lafayette was intimately involved in most segments of the action from August 1, 1778 to the end of September.
George Washington gave him joint command of the American troops.
He often served as “Major General of the Day” during the Siege of Newport. That meant he had the responsibility of reviewing the troops, checking supplies, attending the hospital, and carrying out discipline. He would assess the lines and entrenchments to place fortifications. He was the eyes and ears of the commander.
He was an American representative in talks with d’Estaing. He was sent to Boston in a last ditch effort to bring the French Fleet back to Newport.
On his return from Boston he led the last of the American forces off of Aquidneck Island.
He commanded the American troops guarding the East side of Narragansett Bay.
August 1,1778. Lafayette’s first stop is Angell’s Tavern (the GREEN SQUARE) in South Scituate, Rhode Island. The 2 divisions which had headed for Rhode Island met there. This was about 12 miles from Providence, so it was an opportunity for the troops to rest.
August 2-5 1778. Lafayette goes to Providence (located at the Green Circle) ahead of his troops. He stays with Governor Bowen. He accepts Washington’s orders that he shares command with General Greene.
August 4,1778. Lafayette was aboard the French flagship Le Languedoc (Brown Square) to meet with French commander d’Estaing. The French fleet was waiting off of Point Judith and d’Estaing provided Lafayette with the ship Provence to bring him back to Providence. Lafayette writes to d”Estaing on August 5th summarizing their discussions and he also relays the hesitance of Sullivan and Greene to a plan where Lafayette would head a joint effort with French soldiers.
August 6th through the 8th, 1778. Lafayette and his men march toward Tiverton through Rehoboth, Swansea and Fall River to the Howland Ferry., marked by the BLUE STAR. Lafayette is at Sullivan’s Headquarters at Tiverton by August 8th.
Idzerda, Stanley. Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution, Selected Letters and Papers, 3 Volumes , 1776-1790. Cornell University : Ithaca,N.J. 1979.
When Lafayette wrote Silas Talbot about a plan to capture the British vessel Pigot, he alluded to Talbots’s “reputation which you have already acquired by your zeal and skill in the artificial way (as a mechanic in the military).” Talbot was known as an “artificer” – “a soldier-mechanic attached to the artillery and engineer service, whose duty it is to construct and repair military materials.” 1. What was there in Talbot’s military history that had him known as a someone who could devise, construct and repair for a military campaign? Talbot had a record of invention, construction and even “daring do” to get the job done. All his past experiences made him useful to the American cause.
Silas Talbot was intimately involved in the Rhode Island Campaign. As someone with experience as a mariner and builder, Talbot helped to construct the flatboats that would take American forces to Portsmouth on August 9th of 1778. As a soldier, Talbot fought in the rear guard to protect the Patriots as they retreated to Tiverton on August 29th and 30th, 1778. Talbot alternated between roles as sailor and soldier throughout the American RevolutionSilas Talbot’s life was full of adventures. There were “rags to riches” stories and then again there were stories of monetary downfall. He was wounded in naval battles and sustained injuries on the Revolutionary War battlefields but he kept getting back into the action. This article will focus on some of those adventures of a representative figure in Revolutionary Rhode Island Talbot came from a humble background. He was born to a farming family in Dighton, Massachusetts in 1751. His father died when he was twelve and Silas was indentured to a local stonemason. He learned his skills as a bricklayer, but Dighton was a seaport and Silas signed on as a sailor on sloops transporting cargo from Narragansett Bay to as far as the Carolinas. By 1770 Silas settled in Providence where some of his older siblings had established themselves. Silas’ bricklaying skills were put to work in construction. Talbot wanted property and he put aside enough money to buy a lot of land on Weybosset Street. In 1772 Talbot married well. He continued to purchase land and he also began to purchase slaves. Owning a black servant was a status symbol for Talbot. He moved from being a laborer to owning a construction business.
In the aftermath of the burning of the Gaspee and the Boston Tea Party, Rhode Island merchants were alarmed. Independent militias were forming and Talbot joined and was commissioned as a Lieutenant. He joined others of his company in learning military skills in a Providence warehouse, but he didn’t have any real military experience. On June 28, 1775 Talbot answered the Rhode Island Assembly’s call to send units to Boston. He marched with his men to join the Second Rhode Island Regiment and by July 1, he was commissioned a captain. Talbot and the other 1200 men in the Rhode Island brigade took part in the Siege of Boston watching over the Red Coats but not in direct battle. Talbot’s skills as a bricklayer came in handy as they built barracks on Prospect Hill.
By April of 1776 the Siege was over and Talbot and the Rhode Island men were proud to welcome General Washington as he passed through town. As Washington arrived in New London, Rhode Islander Esek Hopkins presented Washington with a problem. Hopkins was Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. Hopkins had sought safety in New London harbor after damage to his ships. Hopkins needed a crew to sail the ships home to Providence. Washington offered to loan Hopkins men from the Rhode Island Regiment. “All those acquainted with Sea Service that have a mind to join the Admiral as Volunteer have Liberty.” Silas Talbot took that opportunity to sail home to Providence. This was the first example of how Talbot’s military service frequently switched between the army and the navy. In August of 1776 he joined the Rhode Island troops in New York. In September he took part in an attempt to place a “fireship” (literally a ship set on fire with combustibles ) next to a British ship to catch it on fire. Talbot stayed on the “fireship” as long as he could to get it closer to the British vessel. Unfortunately the fireship did little damage, but Talbot was gravely burned.
While Talbot healed he served as a recruitment officer to enroll more Rhode Island troops to the cause. Talbot’s adventures continue in the next article.
Definition from Century Dictionary
Biographical information from William Fowler Jr’s Silas Talbot: Captain of Old Ironsides
We tend to think of the Rhode Island Campaign ending as the Americans retreated to Tiverton. I have been researching the movements of Lafayette in Rhode Island and I am more aware of the actions of the Continental troops on the East and West Bays directly after the retreat. Lafayette wrote letters that provide us with clues to what was happening in the East Bay. The Americans were successful in moving their troops and equipment off Aquidneck Island, but the decision of the French to leave for Boston to repair their ships left bitter feelings. Lafayette had an idea for a small victory to boost morale. On September 8th, 1778 he wrote to Silas Talbot . I am quoting the letter, but phrasing some of it in more modern language.
Sir,
The reputation which you have already acquired by your zeal and skill in the artificial way (as a mechanic in the military), leads me to communicate to you a plan where I think some success could be obtained. I wish to have heavy and strong scows upon each of them a twenty-four pounder would be fixed and then by a calm night, attack an English frigate who lies upon the North end of the island. The directions we could take should prevent her giving us any broadside before receiving many shots directed in such a way as to annoy them extremely.
In the same time she would be busy in her defense I wish two or four fire boats full of fascines, tar, old muskets, and bombs could be directed to the other side so as to enflame her.
If you believe, sir, such a scheme might succeed, I would be obliged to you to come immediately from Providence with such artificial provisions as would enable us to try the experiment without loss of time. You could take down two or three or more large scows or ferry boats who would extremely well do the business for fixing cannon on them. That affair must be kept very secret. With the greatest and more sincere esteem I have the honor to be dear sir your most obedient servant.
Silas Talbot did follow through with Lafayette’s idea. In coming blogs I will give more background on the adventures of Talbot and his daring exploits.
Letter taken from Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution. Edited by Stanley J. Idzerda.
I have been searching for a way to illustrate the Marquis de Lafayette’s movements in Rhode Island and I came across a map that will be very helpful. It is a map of the positions of American troops in August of 1778. Rhode Island shorelines are prominent and the American camps are laid out so I can mark Lafayette’s positions throughout the Campaign.
I have seen (and used) this map before, but as I read Lafayette’s letters just before the Rhode Island Campaign, I came to appreciate this map and the French mapmaker, even more. The mapmaker was Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy. Chesnoy arrived in Charlestown, South Carolina with the teenage Lafayette. He was struck by an illness and it was only in the Spring of 1778 that he was well enough to help Lafayette. In his recovery he made maps of battles that he did not witness personally. He did a survey of the British positions at Ticonderoga, (Plan of Carillon or Ticonderoga). The map of Ticonderoga is unique, as mapmaker Chesnoy created the battlefield map through a combination of scouting accounts and secondary maps without visiting the area.
Chart of the positions occupied by American troops in Rhode Island August 1778 – Chesnoy
When Chesnoy came to America he was thirty-one years old and had been a lieutenant in the French army. He was made a Captain in the engineer corps of the Continental Army. Lafayette was unhappy with that because he considered Du Chesnoy his personal aide. The Marquis wrote to Henry Laurens in a letter dated July 23 from White Plains, New York.
“Mr. Capitaine one of my family has got the commission of a captain of engineers. ..Mr. Capitaine was in the Marshal of Broglios family, they made me a present of him and I attached him to serve me not only in America and in war but also to stay in the family in peaceable times. Such an officer I can’t spare, and I will employ him to make plans of our positions and battled for Gal. Washington, for me and for the king…The only way of getting him out of the engineer is to have for him a commission of Major in the line, he is now in my family but I want to have him entirely my supern-aide-de camp.” Note: A supernumerary aide had no regular duties and is held in reserve by the commander.
In January of 1779, Chesnoy followed Lafayette back to France. Chesnoy’s maps were used to persuade the French to continue to support the American forces. He presented a collection of his maps to the King of France. When he joined Lafayette in returning to America in 1780 he received a promotion to Captain in the French Army. He continued to serve as Lafayette’s mapmaker and aide-de-camp. His maps record the victories of the Virginia Campaign.
Chesnoy returned to France with Lafayette in 1781 but he kept his commission in the American army until it disbanded in 1783. He died in France in 1804, but his maps are still a valuable resource as we study the Rhode Island Campaign.
Resources:
Map: Capitaine Du Chesnoy, Michel, and Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier Lafayette. Carte des positions occupeés par les trouppes Américaines apres leur retraite de Rhode Island le 30 Aout. [1778] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/00555648/.
In a corner of Butts Hill Fort there is a boulder that obviously once held a plaque. The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee is diligently working on clearing the area around the boulder and there are hopes of restoring the plaque or making a facsimile to restore the memorial to its intended tribute. Today the original memorial is damaged and in the protective custody of the Portsmouth Historical Society. We know what it looked like in its prime.
A 1925 book “France and New England” by Alan Forbes and Paul Cadman, prominently mentioned the plaque and features an image of it. (1)
“Butts Hill Fort, on the east road between Tiverton and Newport and in the township of Portsmouth, on the north end of the island of Rhode Island, has been permanently associated with Lafayette by placing at the southeast corner of the earthworks a native boulder, on the face of which is a bronze tablet, the inscription reading as follows:
To mark the site of
Butts Hill Fort in the Field of the Battle of Rhode Island
August 29, 1778
The Major General
John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene
Commanding the Continental Troops
Pronounced by the Marquis De Lafayette
The Best Fought Action of
The War of the Revolution
Erected by the Rhode Island
Daughters of the American Revolution
1922
Even before Rev. Roderick Terry purchased the land that encompassed Butts Hill Fort, the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) were honoring the fort on the one hundred and forty-fourth anniversary of the Battle. Newspaper accounts at the time report that two hundred and fifty people gathered on August 29, 1922 to unveil a tablet that “commemorates the battle on August 29, 1778 when sturdy Americans under Gen. John Sullivan fought the best planned battle of the Revolution.” (2)
The unveiling drew members of the D.A.R. from all “corners of Rhode Island and neighboring states.” (Newport Mercury). Other organizations took part in the ceremonies as well. Portsmouth Girl Scouts gave the bugle call and sang the “Star Spangled Banner.” Invitations were sent to the Sons of the American Revolution, Rhode Island Historical Society, Newport Historical Society, Rhode Island Citizens Historical Society, Bristol Train of Artillery, Sons and Daughters of the Puritans and Quequechan Chapter from Fall River. The public was invited to attend. (3)
After the unveiling, prayers and speeches, the guests were treated to a basket lunch at the Sprague Street home of Mrs. D. Frank Hall. It was the Hall family that owned the fort property before Rev. Terry bought it and put it into the care of the Newport Historical Society.
The Lafayette quote “The best fought action of the War of the Revolution” intrigued me because I have been researching the Marquis’ role in the Rhode Island Campaign. This quotation is widely attributed to Lafayette, but I could not find a confirmation in any of his letters of the time. Lafayette missed most of the action in the Battle of Rhode Island because he was sent to Boston to persuade the French fleet to come back to Newport. He did however, lead the last of the American troops to safety in Tiverton. He greatly admired Sullivan’s skill in executing a well planned retreat.
Sources:
Forbes, Aland and Paul Cadman. The French in New England. Boston, State Street Trust, 1925.
Plaques on the side of Vernon House on Clarke Street feature images of Rochambeau and Lafayette. Why are these French military officers associated with the home?
Vintage postcard of Vernon House
The application for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places calls it one of Newport’s “most interesting buildings.” Peter Harrison, the designer of Redwood Library, is often mentioned as the architect of this colonial home. Re-modeling of the home in 1759 provided additions that give it an appearance of a Georgian mansion. Charles Bowler may have bought the property in 1753 when he became the Collector of Revenue. Bowler sold it to his son, Metcalf Bowler. Bowler was a noted merchant in the West Indies trade and he was active in local politics. He had a country home on Wapping Road in Portsmouth where Lafayette stayed during the Siege of Newport in 1778. Bowler fled to Providence and even held a state judgeship, but years later it was determined that he had acted as a British spy.
In 1773 Bowler sold the Newport home to William Vernon who was a successful merchant and ship builder. When the French arrived in Newport in 1780, Vernon offered the home as the quarters of Rochambeau. Rochambeau hosted both Lafayette and Washington while he resided at the home from 1780 to 1781.
The home is now in the hands of the Newport Restoration Foundation. The address is 46 Clarke Street.
Other homes associated with the French in Newport:
Hunter House: Headquarters of Charles Louis de Ternay before he died in December of 1780.
The Thomas Robinson House: Vicomte de Noailles of the Soissonain Regiment.
Buliod-Perry House occupied by Quartermaster Belville.
Sources: Application for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Place.
General Lafayette’s first visit to Rhode Island was during the perilous times of the Rhode Island Campaign in 1778. His second visit was in the summer of 1780. Washington sent Lafayette to carry his greetings to Rochambeau. Lafayette was in New Jersey when he received his orders from General Washington. His route led him through Peekskill, Danbury, Hartford, Lebanon and finally arriving in Newport on July 25th. Lafayette remained in Newport with Rochambeau at Vernon House (Rochabeau headquarters) until July 31, 1780. By August 7th Lafayette was back in Peekskill commanding his troops.
Vernon House in Newport where Lafayette stayed with Rochambeau
A Third Visit to Rhode Island
After the close of the Revolutionary War, Lafayette made a third trip to Rhode Island. In October of 1784 he arrived in Providence. The Providence Gazette of 1784 reported:
“Last Saturday Afternoon (October 23) the Honorable Marquis de la Fayette arrived here from Boston. He was met a few miles from hence by a Number of principal Inhabitants, and received at the Entrance of the Town and escorted in, by the United Company of the Train of Artillery under arms. On his Arrival he was welcomed by a Discharge of 13 Cannon at the State House Parade, the Bells were rung and at Sunset, the Salute was repeated by heavy Cannon on Beacon Hill.”
“The Marquis having visited Newport returned from thence on Monday Evening and on Tuesday partook of an Entertainment at Mr. Rice’s Tavern at which were present his Excellency the Governor, his Honor the Deputy-Governor, both Houses of Assembly, a Number of respectable Inhabitants, Officers of the late Army &c. After diner the Marquis set out for Boston and was again saluted with 13 Cannon.”
“On Monday last (October 25) the Society of Cincinnati of this State convened at Mr. Rice’s Tavern where an elegant Dinner was provided upon the Occasion; and having finished the Business of their Meeting they were honored with Company of his Excellency the Governor his Honor the Lieutenant Governor and the Honorable the Marquis de la Fayette accompanied by the Chevalier De L’Enfant.” Thirteen toasts were given.
References: Preston’s 1928 article in the Rhode Island Historical Society Collections.
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