perhaps have done some research on our ancestors and what they did way back in the way and growing up my family pretty much has been in rhode island for twelve generations and growing up i've heard stories from my  grandmother that come down through the years what our ancestors did and what they did in the past and one of those was my six great grandfather joseph nye and my grandmother really all she knew over the years was joseph and i was a big deal in the revolution and that's how i got it i growing up so as i got older as i got into college i wanted to know what was this big deal out and it turns out that joseph not my six great grandfather made quite a name for for you would have your one get in your house and you would go off and use it to go hunting with there was some training involved with the militia the national guard started in the dating back to the sixteen thirty from training but in terms of military service it's not really something that these columns had for about for this they had pretty much taken in fact this peaceful settlement that we had of the native peoples would continue but those war really broke the ice that war was something we had to face on this continent afterwards almost immediately starting in late sixteen hundred going through to the seventeenth sixty's you start having the series of war against the french and the indian what we think of the french union war more correctly term seven years war from seven and also you would have to assemble four to six times a year to train and these training bands as they become known are both popular and unpopular unpopular and that takes time away from for me to take time away from your average vocation however training day became a bit of a holiday you would show up early in the morning at the captain's house you w musketry you were literally spend your whole day down at the tavern sitting there consuming large amounts of rahm politicking for different office for position while training so while these events have a bit of a holiday to them they are very important because the men were in the military training what they might not pick up for and parade ground grace they know how to handle these muskets firearms  are part of the american early american experience at almost every man in the colonies only one they knew how to use it so we have the series of wars that are going on in the seven hundred games the french against the native peoples rhode island is pretty much spared directly of this they sent parties off to fight in seventeen forties of it louis borg they sent parties to fight the crown point and montreal  the french indian war and the seven hundred fifty seven hundred sixty four word island itself is pretty insular it's not really attacked during this one of the men that comes up in this period is my six great grandfather joseph knight he's born here in situ in rhode island in seven hundred forty now the knights are a pretty important family in western rhode island at this time they own large tracts of land they clear the land off speculate on it and sell it off to settlers they're also going to be involved in what's called the hope furnace it was a large ion works those bankrolled by the brown family of providence brown university getting their name from them so knight comes of age in the seventeenth fifties in the seventeenth sixty's getting involved in these parts of the trade he's going to get married relatively young at five to elizabeth knight his first cousin they're going to have five children by seven hundred seventy five knight starts a tavern on the side he has a very large house and he is also going to get interested in military affairs editor young age at nineteen he has commission as an incident in the first company of the  implement station of taxes after the french indian war the americans start getting pretty revolutionary and that's what eventually leads to our revolution so night is watching affairs watching things as they get involved but he's more reactionary rather than becoming one of these firebrands from massachusetts like john adams samuel adams he's going to wait for banks to work themselves out very quickly things start acting up in rhode island october seventeenth seventy four here or newport there's place called fort george for george has brought in about two thousand muskets these are going to be so once once things start taking off up in massachusetts in the fall seven hundred seventy four the winter of seven hundred seventy five the militia company throughout rhode island begin responding the general assembly or island passes new militia was saying you're going to have to turn out for training now three times a week so imagine you have a job and now you have to leave your job brigades a week to go train they're going to publish new militia regulations and they're going to search chartering new company throughout the state forming those independent militia companies into part of the third providence county regiment of which knights company mustering about sixty men is the first company so throw up the winter of seven hundred seventy four and seven hundred seventy five  are training getting ready they know what's coming this is a letter that's been in the family since seven hundred seventy five some men did not take the three days a week of training to heart like most of soldiers so basically what this boils down to is these three men didn't show up for an entire week of training and night is basically saying we're fine you three dollars and if you don't pay the fine we're going to toss you in jail so that's how serious they took this training if you missed a day you had to pay a dollar which obviously is was a lot more money back then so we have a musket that are distributed from fort george here newport the militia companies in rhode island are dazzling training getting ready for the storm to break up their boston major  sword halfway out of its staff and the whole of the massachusetts militia will run away that's what they thought were pretty familiar with what happened on april nineteenth seventeen seventy five but a hundred british soldiers march out to concord there's fighting at lexington green nine americans are killed the british marched the conquered the americans this time decided not to run away they make a stand and for the next eight hours along the battle road from concord back to boston there's a very bloody battle that leaves close to three hundred british and seventy five americans dead or wounded that's the start of the american revolution almost immediately riders are dispatched from boston throughout the countryside to new hampshire to massachusetts through connecticut into rhode island saying the war started we need troops up in boston immediately about five o'clock on the evening of april nineteenth one of those riders down through situates screaming at the top of his lungs they're fighting they're fighting command they start marching off towards boston they cross in massachusetts and there met by other riders who tell them hey the british are back in boston we're going to lay siege but it's up to you if you want to go home but the british are back the emergencies out for now so night and his men turn around and go back home they are the first company of rhode island militia the response of the crisis rhode island very army under george washington rather he is going to provide invaluable service through his militia duty in rhode island so now the revolution on night is going to play a central role and was going to become part of a very impressive defense network there remember we captured from the british but sixty to seventy cannon from fort george there in newport and the rhode island general very quickly deposes the governor of rhode island joseph one who's a noted oil us and they're going to put nicholas cook in charge and cook is a firebrand he's a revolutionary and he realizes that a which divides the state roughly into is going to be a very important passageway basically keeping that day open is going to be one of the most crucial roles of the ross revolution so we're going to cook is going to order batteries arrested places like children in bristol warwick point you to jamestown all along the bag they're going to throw up forks and batteries keeping the british away from providence provinces a very poor manufacturing center it's also a large shipyard another thing southern rhode island to breadbasket very fertile soil down there a lot of that food's going to go to support and feed what becomes kind an alarming so no i earlier on in some two hundred seventy five he's going to spend most of the war here in warwick ironically where i grew up and they're going to erect a series of fortifications here on warwick now the bank is only about a mile and a half wide at that point important position basically the last stop for the british providence and that is the fair of rhode islanders from the war defend providence defend providence so seven hundred seventy five right serve there for a month go back ten year form ten your business and go back and forth he's actually going to put his wife in charge of running his tavern and she's going to send a letter to matt one point that you know there's some sketchy people here what do you want me to do a body pretty interesting piece but that's where he's going to spend most of the war so remember after what happens at lexington and concord the british are penned up in boston new port is if there is a hub of loyalism in rhode island it's newport it was a city of close to ten thousand people at this time the fifth largest in the colonies and a lot of those people are wardle to the crown most of the people who live up this way however are not so while the sales in our hands of bad and very quickly strips newport of pretty much anything edible and those supplies for sent back to the british in boston so wallace into january seventeenth seventy six he's launching raids along the coast jamestown gathering looking for doesn't go too well with the local populace early on in the war the british thought that by offering the americans that all of branch basically will buy supplies from you we're not going to take them and wallace says to a man named james parris here on prince island back on january twelfth seven hundred seventy six i'm going to stop at prince island and i'm going to pay you for whatever is on the island i want turkeys i want cheap whatever's there i will give you good hard money for a while paris is the captain of a local militia company on spring violence and he writes back to wallace that whatever you take off this island will be at the point of the banner they're not playing games anymore they they're going to stop the british so pairs great loss of intelligence he knows the british are coming on january west is very good friends with night they grew up together in such a way and west is going to send knight in about a dozen men to brutes but twenty more are going to come from bristol the early morning hours of january twelfth seventeen seventy six all the women all the children on prudence percent off to war when most of them are never going to set foot on the island again pierce gathers at the top of the island wait for reinforcements now they really know what wallace is plans were they didn't know he was just going to stop the island data supplies or he would make it up further up the beta men roll over and meet up with pairs and about thirty of his men from the prince island militia now as i mentioned earlier you have to remember these officers are voted in by the men one of the problems with the americans early on in the war is that there are really disciplined fighting force and basically if somebody is going to give me an order i want some part of that nobody is going to order me around i want to have some say some discussion and what's about to happen very much so with these militia companies they felt that if they voted those officers then those officers could not give them orders without them having some part of it so if your wife me a good vermonter you go to town meeting once a year and you argue about taxes argue about putting sidewalks and whatnot so you can imagine here it is about one o'clock on january twelfth seven hundred seventy six and the militia is literally having a town meeting on the beach on prudence island night in paris put out to him the british are down this way about three miles away why don't we march down there and attack them they say that sounds like a good idea what's going on there and attack the british so they marched down the island and get their dander up a little too quickly the british are out of range and they fire a volley well the british very quickly on the very top point of the island nights coming on they very quickly row off the island back to warwick well wallace is feeling pretty confident he's only lost two men the americans lose two killed two wounded so that night he proceeds to start burning parts of the island and that is a deakin to mili through out the area they see prudence burning and they realise they can burn the island they knew that our home so militia company's response from throughout the coastal areas and by the next morning over five hundred men are landed on pretty violent so while they face about fifty marathons the day before they're now facing almost five hundred and that day that morning there's another nasty little fight on from in silence but this time it's the british running back to their boats but nine killed about twelve british wounded for about three or four americans killed and wounded so it's pretty nasty little fight but it's one that proves the british that the rhode island militia will respond the summer of seventeen seventy six the british are going to land in newport and they're going to take over the entire the british land in newport but they don't do we do anything they're going to stay there for over three years and pretty much hold the town and the island but not really do much of anything else their island militia is going to gather a policy of containment they feel that containing the british on new port is the best policy they want them to go off into a providence over here we have the hope furnace which by this point is a very large supply and warts producing cannon for the american revolutionary ever likewise we don't want them to march into this area and destroy all the crops the foodst for what he did on purpose island night is promoted to major of the third province county regiment even though they were treated i guess he did go to enough to earn a major commission so he is now in charge of all the forces in the war with syria and a den they're keeping close watch on the british in newport the british occasionally will launch raids against brussel against warrant those are burning in june and seven hundred seventy eight british are pushed back to their ship without getting any supplies whenever the british set foot on mainland rhode island during the revolution the militia very quickly turns out and just as quickly they are pushed back to the s states and they are looking for something to do they are convinced that the best target is going to be newport washington decides that the first object of the franco american alliance is going to be to try to free newport and so washington sends up law fiat green a few other generals some continental troops but more importantly a lot of militia from from new england response july and august twentieth seven hundred seventy eight there's a hurricane and the french plate is pretty much destroyed they have to sail way back to boston for repairs that leaves the americans a new port very vulnerable reinforcements have coming off from the british garrison and new york and they are going to land in newport john sullivan who's in charge of the american forces on the island of rhode island a quick island realizes we have to get off the island we have to retreat so on august twenty eighth he's going to abandon the siege line and of the island back to everett the following morning august twenty ninth the british are going to come off in pursuit and the northern tip of the island there's going to be another nasty little battle called the battle of rhode island about two hundred fifty british and americans on both sides are going to be killed or wounded not in in situ and men are present on the field however they're actually going to come up late in the day they're going to take part in forming the retreat being some of the last group of american soldiers to retreat off of the island so even though again they're pushed off back off the island the british take the entire island again rhode island night made a name for himself during the siege of rhode island the siege of newport and he's going to be promoted to ten a colonel in seven hundred seventy nine boards actions however by seven hundred seventy nine the american revolution is shifting south it's moving into the carolinas into virginia the british are going to pull that garrison out of newport and send those troops down south eventual most of those troops will surrender at yorktown so now rhode island is pretty much british for the militia is going to stay on duty until the final peace treaty in seventeen a great night in the meantime he's gone back to our situ he served on the town council he's become president of that council he's also establish a very profitable cavern looking at receipts he was serving out a lot of rum a lot of other spirits he is paying lot of taxes on that the revolution's over but nice service is not he's actually going to stay in the militia as a lieutenant colonel in command right up through the eve of the war bateson twelve when he's well into his sixty's so militia service is very important him throughout his whole life and he's going to stay in maque through its entirety after the revolution we we form the article coals of confederation and eventually the constitution now if you study your constitutional history rhode island is the very last state that will adopt the constitution first in war last in peace and the farmers who live and western rhode island don't really like the constitution as it is presented to them up front they feel that without what becomes the bill of rights in that that basically rhode island would be joining a confederation where the rights of the individual would not be protected by the government so seventeen eighty eight when rhode island is presented with a constitution for the first time night is actually one of most of the people and once for iowans who voted down he will not vote yes to support the constitution until the bill of rights is eventually passed when it is night votes yes we're going join the united states in seventy ninety and it's still there today so night brought the rest his wife very very active in civil affairs not only turning out with the militia every year running as tavern getting involved in politics but for him politics was very local he never runs for state office never runs for federal office he was more concerned with what was going on in his own town in scituate he's going to lose his wife elizabeth in eighteen twenty and he himself will pass away on february twenty seventh eight hundred twenty five at the age of eighty five and in his obituary that is published in the providence newspapers he was called situates bravest son and he will be under very small marker on his farm and you see here this large body of water situ a reservoir that wasn't there during the miracle revolution that was actually created in the one nine hundred twenty the night family their land a lot of the area on one farms are going to be covered under water a lot of the cemetery that are in that was plain are going to be removed and reinterred in another large  location joseph that was pretty lucky he still rests in the rocky soil of western rhode island and it was that rocky soil of rhode island that he loved so much that he and his men in their own militia were willing to go out and defend time and again during the american revolution thank you their land and basically they felt that they had made a stand and and went well for them for early on however the in most people's rallies and push them bac for a set amount of time they were to give you a very good example of this john stark in vermont so he has a brigade of militia for example their order out for i basically pleading with stark hey you have fifteen hundred guys i'd really use you and you'd like our term of service is over and they marked off the field on thinking during the civil war numerous regiments you you're done so they were loyal to their term of service on more than anything else and washington always complained about the militia they were unreliable they came out of house and home frequently they would down but they would show up for a week two weeks and go back to their farms and field so washington washington really have this love hate relationship with them but the militia really and sixty unless you had a physical or mental defect you were in the militia no ifs ands or buts about it and all like this letter says if you don't show up you better either pay or you're going to jail well again the browns the browns basically bankroll a large part of it there are pre war merchants unfortunately a lot of that money is made through the african slave trade are they found brown university united states but a large part of their money right now during the revolution is tied up in that furnace and they're going to receive contracts to make six hundred cannon that are going to serve in the american revolution so they're making good part of their income through the whole furnace knife is involved in that company through the use of his horses he's actually contracted out  know situation is not on the cards most are islanders right over the point have a population of about sixty thousand situated a town of about thirty five hundred there backwoods farmers they're not really involved in there were not there or there were there were groups that were manufacturer muskets from different parts those called committee of safety muskets which literally you can have  he was involved in in the press union wars and all but a lot of a lot of the leaders that washington stark those are guy who get their military service french and indian war on washington certainly for the sec to be rescued from him virginia so a lot of the early american leaders prepare themselves for the french and indian war on april nineteenth during the first battle of the revolution the average american going to battle about today has more combat experience than the average british soldier an american from the revolution they learn on the job and learn from them with states and thr came counting on washington county the last almost almost twenty five percent of the population of kingston was in slade and during the valley forge reserves seventeen seventy eight seventy south american slaves and have them fly for connole arm meanwhile before this there were handful of african americans who were fighting in the continental army if washington didn't really like it but if russell war nobody knows what to do with them because disease desertion battle casualties they reduce the time down to about one hundred men and it's very costly it costs almost  second rhode island forming what becomes known as the rhine regiment are there actually captain segregated companies within that regiment and they are eventually disbanded with the rest of the current war so while they did of that action there are several really good books by sidney ryder is probably the best one argo read a was published in eighteen zero five and then look at this our director said that's that's our fireplace under cover of which that we don't know i just sent a note to the publisher asked them how they happen to get  picture because no one talked to us just a thousand and sixteen publications so we do have a few copies around in the good shop so again thank you for coming today