Veterans Coffee Social

The Burning of the Gaspee: America’s First Blow for Freedom

Join Warwick veteran and historian John Concannon for a talk on the burning of the Gaspee, America’s first blow for freedom, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Concannon writes, “On the afternoon of June 9, 1772, while chasing the packet sloop Hannah suspected of smuggling, HMS Gaspee ran aground at Namquid Point (since called Gaspee Point) just south of Pawtuxet Village in Warwick. That night, Rhode Island patriots led by Providence merchant John Brown assembled at Sabin’s Tavern in Providence and from there rowed down the Providence River, attacked, set fire to, and destroyed the Gaspee, and wounded her commander.”

“The Gaspee Affair contributed directly to the unification movement of all the colonies, which, when formally united, became the United States of America.”

John Concannon is historian for the Gaspee Days Committee in Warwick, Rhode Island, webmaster of the Gaspee Virtual Archives, and the author of “The Conspiracy to Destroy the Gaspee” with evidence that the burning was part of a well-planned and executed trap conceived by John Brown, Abraham Whipple, and numerous others. In his other life Dr. Concannon is a practicing pediatrician in Cranston, Rhode Island.

For more information, call (401) 739-5440, x9758. The Library is located at 600 Sandy Lane.

This event is free and open to all veterans, along with their family and friends.

For more information, contact the Reference Desk at (401) 739-5440 ext. 4.