Happy Independence Day

Yes, it’s true that July 4th is the traditional day of celebrating the 13 American Colonies’ independence from Great Britain. But on 4 May 1776* Rhode Island became the first colony to separate themselves from the crown. The broadside declaration of Rhode Island’s independence featured here is one of only two known copies**:

(The full title is actually the slightly wordier: “An Act Repealing an Act Intituled, ‘An Act for the More Effectual Securing to His Majesty the Allegiance of His Subjects in this His Colony and Dominion of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations;’ and Altering the Form of Commissions, of All Writs and Processes in the Courts, and of the Oaths Prescribed by Law.”)***

One aspect of the American Revolution that this document illustrates clearly is the practical (and often bureaucratic) realities of declaring independence: getting rid of a king means changing a lot of letterhead, or at least removing his name from a lot of documents and ceremonies. It is, after all, technically an act repealing an act.  And after the string of impassioned “whereas”-es  (“. . . confiscate our Property, and spread Fire, Sword and Desolation . . .”) the bulk of the document is all about changing the wording of oaths for civil servants.

This copy of the document also displays the shift from “colony” to “state” in a moment of transition. It was not until July 18th that the Rhode Island General Assembly voted to abandon the word “colony”****, and an early hand has written “State” over each mention of “Colony” in the “General Officers” and “Town Officers” paragraphs of the newly revised oaths:

Henry Ward, the General Assembly’s secretary, signed this copy (and also the Princeton copy), as evidence of its validity.

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* The day began (according to vol. VII, page 512 of Records of the Colony of Rhode Island) with a vote on procuring shovels for the colony’s military brigade.

** The other copy is in Princeton University’s Andre De Coppet Collection. This copy is signed but does not include the emendations of “Colony” to “State”. The original manuscript act is held by the Rhode Island State Archives.

***G1157 Broadsides 1776 No.6:  “An Act Repealing an Act . . .”, [Providence: John Carter, 1776].  Alden #661; Evans 15056; Winship p. 34.

**** Sydney James, Colonial Rhode Island, A History, New York: Scribners, 1975.

Here be Cannons, or, Where the Horses are “Boney and Strong”

Charles Blaskowitz, "A Chart of Narragansett Bay," 1777.

War brings a new perspective to most things, including maps. The surveying for this map of the Narragansett Bay was originally undertaken in the 1760s by Charles Blaskowitz. At that time, the British government was contemplating the placement of a naval yard in Newport.* With the onset of war in the following decade, the map came to serve other purposes. Here are a few interesting details:

The map’s text includes a description of the colony of Rhode Island at the time as viewed by a British functionary (a transcription and more discussion of the map are available at the Gaspee Virtual Archives):

"The horses are boney and strong"

Idyllic descriptions of New World fecundity (“Fish of all kinds are in the greatest plenty and perfection. The horses are boney and strong, the Meat Cattle and Sheep are much the largest in America, the Butter and Cheese excellent, and every necessary of Life in Attendance”) are balanced against cultural condescension (“It has a Town House, Market House, Library and a spacious Parade, but there is few private Buildings in it worth notice”). The colony’s notable religious tolerance is also pointed out.

The map also includes details of military importance:

"In this part of the country there is a Furnace and an Iron Foundry where they cast cannons"

Not exactly Here Be Dragons, but similar in its way. The map also lists gun batteries (with the number of guns and size of cannon balls—18 or 24 pounds—they fired), principal farms and farm owners in the colony and soundings throughout the Bay. (Someone with the time might compare the soundings in 1764 with more recent numbers.)

A copy of the map in the David Rumsey Collection is, like this one, divided into 16 sections and mounted. The Rumsey copy includes images of the slipcase in which the sections were originally housed.

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* Based on a letter presumably written by Robert Melville and reprinted as “A British Navy Yard Contemplated in Newport, R.I., in 1764.” in The Rhode Island Historical Magazine, vol. 6 (1885-6), pages 42-7. In the letter Blaskowitz is referred to as “Mr. Charles Blaskerwich” and described as “an able surveyor,” although young.