THE WAR IN RHODE ISLAND

. . .died in Battle John Heywood of Tuksbury. He was a respectable youth, a good Solgear and Died Like a Hero. . . ~ John Betteys

Seascape of Rhode Island by Alfred Thompson Bricher

Secret Expedition to Rhode Island

Until toward the end of the war, the more important battles were all fought inland. Still, coastal protection was certainly a concern and at least 20 of our relatives did service helping to keep shorelines secure. Instead of forts, most coastal defenses were simple earthworks made from banks of soil built by local men with the help of military engineers.

Note: Many of the men who served protecting the shoreline lived in towns near the coast. We had five Greenleafs and eight Stickneys, all from Newburyport MA, who served in that capacity.

The coast along Rhode Island was a particularly worrisome area. In December of 1776, British troops had occupied the town of Newport, RI. When the British presence began to severely impact the businesses of Patriots living in the area, the Continental Congress decided something needed to be done. When they approved an attack on the British in Newport, Congress felt that the only hope for a successful mission was to keep the expedition under wraps.

The undertaking was no small affair. An army of almost 10,000 Americans was called into action, half from Rhode Island and the others from Massachusetts and Connecticut. These men knew that they were going into battle for their country, but had no idea where the fighting was to take place. For this reason the mission became known as the "Secret Expedition." When the troops finally arrived in Rhode Island in September of 1777, they were stationed at Tiverton, a small town about 15 miles from Newport.

(1) Newport (2) Tiverton

It wasn't until late October that the man in charge of the expedition, General Joseph Spencer, felt the time might be right for attack. Nine of our relatives were among those impatiently waiting for the action to begin. These were James Crosby, (4C9X) of Yarmouth, MA, Elkanah (5C89X) and Sparrow Crosby, (5C8X) of Harwich MA, Simeon Crosby, of Lexington MA, Seth (4C7X) and Thomas Richardson (4C7X) of Attleboro, MA, Captain Stephen Richardson (4C7X) also of Attleboro, Jeremiah Littlefield (4C8X) of Wells ME and Joshua Crosby who I can't place with any family.

By October, however, the mission was certainly a "secret" no longer. Worse still, the long delay and horrific weather had caused almost half the troops to desert. It's impossible to know if any or all of our relatives were among the deserters. In the end, it didn't matter. Citing weather concerns, Spencer called off the entire expedition and resigned his commission.

Shortly after the mission was scuttled, word arrived in Rhode Island that, on the 17th of October, British General John Burgoyne had surrendered at Saratoga, changing the entire course of the war.

Historian Benjamin Cowell gave his own take on the expedition:

There was always a mystery about this expedition. Although Congress authorized Rhode Island to get it up, it has been said that neither Congress or Washington ever had any expectation of expelling the enemy from the Island. The main object was to prevent the enemy from making any diversion in favor of General Burgoyne. The British had a large army at Newport. . . But the assembling of such an army as the expedition called out, confined them to their quarters in Newport. . . Upon all the facts and circumstances connected with Spencer's expedition, we are at a loss, to decide whether it was a real failure, or not. . .

Rhode Island was of continuing concern for the Americans throughout the war. We had 177 relatives who spent time in Rhode Island, mostly in the years 1778 and 1779.

two letters from Rhode Island

The failure of the secret expedition wasn't the end of an American presence in and around Providence, Rhode Island. In November of 1777, a month after the secret mission had been abandoned, our cousin Jesse Heywood (2C7X) was stationed in North Kingston, RI, just across the Narragansett Bay from Newport, RI where the British troops held sway.

(1) Kingstown, RI (2) Newport, RI

Jesse was born in Chelmsford in 1755. In his History of Chelmsford, Wilson Waters includes a letter from Cousin Jesse to his friend John Betteys.

To Mr John Batteys at Chelmsford

this With Cair and speed

Absent friend I Now set Down with Plasure to write To Inform you of my Wellfair, hoping the unworthy Lins (lines) will find you in good helth as they Leve me att this time. I Received your Letters Dated october 6 and Nov. 21, and was Exceeding glad to find you was well our Compy are all in good helth it is Exceeding helthy In the Camp thank god: and I hope will Remain so. I have No nuse to write to you att present only we Entend to Kill all the Enemy Before we come home if we Can for we have Amenison (ammunition) plenty we Draw Pees that will after Boild twenty four hours do Excicution thirty Rods if they hit rite & I am sure we shall make the ships to hot for them when we give them a few Broad sides: and I hope you will pleas the girls as well as you can till I come back then then I will do my best too. It being too dark and my hand is unsteady. My pen is poor and my head it is giddy so you must Excuse my riting & poor (unintelligible). But this I must tell you to Remember My Love to all the prity girls that have their Pieces? in order fit for springing & be sure they have all things Ready & Nothing is wanting thinking? you to be the chief Ingineer. So no more at present Your humble servent till Death. Jesse Heywood

Jesse returned from the war and, at some point, moved to Wallingford, VT where he died in 1830 at age 75.

One of Jesse's relatives wasn't so lucky. While I can't place John Heywood of Tewksbury definitively with any family, he was most probably Jesse's brother or his first cousin. Jesse's grandfather, Benjamin Heywood (7U) , moved from Woburn to Billerica ca. 1712 and married our cousin Hannah Kidder (1C8X). To further cement the family connection, John Heywood's hometown of Tewksbury is an offshoot of Billerica. That Jesse and John Heywood knew each other is also fairly certain given a type of eulogy for John that was written by the same John Betteys that Jesse had written to nine months earlier:

In the hand of John Betteys

Camp on Rhodisland Aug 29 1778

died in Battle John Heywood of Tuksbury. He was a respectable youth, a good solgear and Died like a Hero Fiteing in Devence of his Ravished Cuntray; oh! may Each one of his fellow solgears think upon him and as far as his exampals was good may Thay parton after him and if they are Called to meet the Enemy may they Consider thir Caus is good, and under god may they fight manfully knowing and considering Who is abel to Succor and presarve them.

Below is the Tewksbury vital record for John:

Heywood, John, "Killed in Battle Rhode Island-Shot," Aug. 29, 1778.

August 29, 1778 just happened to be the date of another attempt by the Americans to take Newport back from the British.

the Battle of Newport, RI

The failure of the Secret Expedition to Rhode Island in October of 1777 hadn't dampened the Americans desire to reclaim Newport. Another expedition was launched in May of 1778. According to the American Battlefield Trust site, "[t]he Battle of Newport, Rhode Island . . . took place on August 29, 1778 and is noteworthy that it was one of the first combined American-French military operations of the war, and that the 1st Rhode Island Infantry, a brigade composed a mixed racial element of European Americans, American Indians, and many African Americans, saw action."

Note: Rhode Island had a higher proportion of slaves than any of of the other New England Colonies.

In early May of 1778 General John Sullivan began making plans for a siege of Newport. Washington ordered Sullivan to raise 5,000 troops for the expedition. As luck would have it, the French had recently decided to support the Americans not just with funds, but with a fighting force as well. With the news that the Marquis de Lafayette was on his way with reinforcements, American morale was boosted and military units from all over the country began their march toward Rhode Island.

The French/American alliance, in this instance however, didn't work so well. British General Robert Pigot became aware of Sullivan's plans and immediately ordered the entire area around Newport secured. Then, British Admiral William Howe decided to test the French navy by taking on French Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, the Count D'estaing. A "raging storm" didn't help matters and D'estaing abruptly decided he needed to go back to Boston for repairs.

General Sullivan was not happy. He complained that D'estaing had "left us in the most rascally manner." Without the French support, the second attack on Rhode Island was also scuttled. The Americans withdrew leaving Newport still under British control.

The occupation of Newport wouldn't end for another year. By October of 1779, the war had moved primarily into the southern states and the British left the city of their own volition. At the time of their departure, Newport was mostly in ruins with its "population, prosperity, and prominence" completly destroyed.

Our relatives at Rhode Island

We had two Ballards that served in Rhode Island, both from different branches of our Ballard families. Lt. John Ballard (2C7X), of the Andover Ballards, was the son of two of our first cousins, Jonathan Ballard (1C8X) and Hannah Kidder (1C8X). Zaccheus Ballard (2C8X) hailed from our Lynn Ballards.

Ephraim Crosby (1C7X) was the son of our aunt Abigail Kidder (6A) and her husband, our cousin Simon Crosby (3C7X)

Asa Haseltine (4C8X) was the son of the John Haseltine (3C9X) who helped build the Salisbury Forge.

Sgt. Elisha Crosby (4C9X) also served at Bennington

John Brigham (6C8X)

Phineas Brigham (6C8X) also served at Saratoga

Samuel Brigham (5C9X)

Isaac Crosby (4C9X)

Ebenezer French (4C7X)

Abel Greenleaf (5C6X)

David Greenleaf (5C6X)

Oliver Hildreth (3C7X)

Jonathan Kidder (3C6X)

John Littlefield (4C8X)

Ebenezer Richardson (3C7X)

Ebenezer Richardson (4C7X)

Ezekiel Richardson (4C7X)

Joseph Stickney (4C7X)

Moses Stickney (3C8X)

Nathan Stickney (4C7X)

Silas Wyman (6C5X)