The Historic map of the center of Battle of Rhode Island
(The western third of the engagement lies largely on the monastery grounds)Monastic places, military traces. Several places on the monastery grounds offer traces of the military conflict that transpired here in 1778. Seen through a military lens, we must consider the strategic significance of a location and not simply its natural beauty or its significance politically or as property. Topography is critical to visibility and defensibility. It is jarring to consider that the hills that delineate the grounds of this contemplative Abbey, on August 29, 1778, also served critical roles in the military strategies and tactics of the British, Hessian, and American troops involved in a significant battle of the American Revolution. Today, the town’s two most prominent wind turbines offer landmarks for two of the principal elevations of the battle. Topography, it seems, is as important to turbines as to troops. The turbine of the town of Portsmouth, adjacent to its high school, points out Butts Hill. The American forces had occupied this area, in fortifications previously constructed by British troops, in the early stages of the battle, after the British pulled their troops back towards Newport in anticipation of a defensive engagement. The American General Sullivan had seized the fortification when he saw the opportunity, transporting his army of 10,000 men over from Tiverton. This proactive decision had not been part of the plans made together with the French and Comte d’Estaing and it added friction to the difficult relationship between these two allies in the battle. But it meant that Butts Hill would serve as the American headquarters for the battle that would unfold over the next three weeks. A smaller turbine, that of the Portsmouth Abbey community, is situated near a smaller peak called Almy Hill (or Cross Hill). This rise would come to mark much of the southern perimeter of some of the bloodiest fighting in the engagement, with Lehigh Hill (or Durfee Hill) delineating its border to the north and east, now marking the eastern edge of the Aquidneck Golf Club.

Gen. Robert Pigot (by Cotes)
Comte d’Estaing (by Lebrun)The context for the battle. Once the French had become allied with the Americans in the American Revolution, a fleet was sent across the Atlantic in April 1778, making a difficult three-month crossing. While Comte d’Estaing, heading the French fleet, established a blockade in New York, General Washington came to see occupied Newport as a more obtainable target and directed the French fleet there. With the arrival of the French, including Lafayette, to the area at the beginning of August, the British General Pigot began to strengthen defenses of Newport, which included pulling troops back from Portsmouth towards Newport. He also scuttled several boats to impede the French and to prevent their capture. The American strategy would have seen the allied French fleet landing on the west side of island and joining the American forces led by Sullivan and Lafayette coming from the north, to compel the British down to Newport, forcing their withdrawal. While a meeting of the allied leaders in Providence at the beginning of August established plans for this offensive, a set of unanticipated occurrences led this idea to unravel. First, seeming to favor the American side, Sullivan learned that Pigot had abandoned the fortification at Portsmouth’s Butts Hill, and on August 9 promptly led his troops over from Tiverton to occupy it. Some have suggested this action miffed the French, as it countered the plans they had arranged with the Americans. But the next day, the French themselves put out to sea to take on the approaching British fleet, effectively suspending the collective plan altogether. Mother Nature then added to the confusion, as on August 11 a storm of apparent hurricane strength hit the area. By the time the French fleet returned on August 21, inspiring excitement among the Americans, d’Estaing determined his fleet was in bad enough shape to need to withdraw to Boston for repairs. This series of unfortunate events and the protracted wait they created depleted Sullivan’s spirits and his troops, from 10,000 to about 5,000. What had initially been envisioned as an offensive engagement to take Newport and force the British began to turn into a defensive action, with British and Hessian troops heading north from Newport to deal with the American rebels. The intentions of General Sullivan converted by necessity from a joint attack on the British to a complete unilateral defensive withdrawal from the island.
Gen. John Sullivan (by Tenney)The principal engagement. With the return and quick departure of the French, the impending confrontation of British and American forces on the island began to reach a head, with both sides having fortified their lines with trenches and artillery. Several ambushes and skirmishes for the Hessians advancing along the roads from Newport to Portsmouth led to a more substantial confrontation. The British secured Quaker Hill in the center of Portsmouth, with the Americans less than two miles to the north at Butts Hill. Armies of approximately 5000 Americans and 6000 British and Hessian troops gathered, and shelling began first from cannons and later from British ships. While American artillery would soon disperse the British ships, Hessian troops, having marched up West Road early in the morning, were able to overcome American ambushes and secure Turkey Hill, from which they would launch several attacks on the Americans to the north. For the greater part of the day, the British allies launched several offensive attacks from Turkey Hill, over to Almy (Cross) Hill and in the direction of Lehigh Hill – each assault repulsed, with the Black Regiment seeing significant action at Lehigh Hill. By evening, the battle was essentially finished, with the Americans able to withdraw from the island to Bristol, and from there later join American forces further to the west and south. Casualties from the entire engagement numbered about 1000 for the British and Hessians, and about 500 for the Americans. August 29th would thus witness the last major action of the war to be fought in New England, the only battle to be fought in Rhode Island, with some of its bloodiest fighting here on what is now the monastic grounds.

Voices from the battlefield. Diaries of some of the participants offer eyewitness accounts of the day. Colonel Israel Angell outlines some of the events and locations on our grounds:Map of the Battle
at monument for 1st Rhode Island Regiment
(see corresponding key on next page)Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Ward, the son of Rhode Island Governor Samuel Ward and commanding officer of the 1st Rhode Island, speaks of the several repulsions of Hessian attacks on the grounds, which left both sides basically entrenched in their original positions:
It is interesting to add that participants in the Battle of Rhode Island included William Whipple and John Hancock, signers of the Declaration of Independence. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment, known as the Black Regiment, included as many as 140 black men, many free slaves. The battle was also joined by several hundred Canadians in the 1st Canadian Regiment led by James Livingston.
Explanatory plaque at 1st RI monumentThe battlefield today. There are public plaques at several locations that offer descriptions and maps of the battle, notably at Heritage Park on Turkey Hill, at the monument to the Black Regiment at the base of that hill on West Main Road, and at the pullout on Lehigh Hill, overlooking the Aquidneck Club. The area between Turkey Hill and Lehigh Hill, sweeping down to the Narragansett Bay, comprises much of the grounds of the Abbey. Today, from Cross (Almy) Hill, one can still gain a perspective on the major places where the battle transpired. Looking east from the cross, one can see Turkey Hill, where Hessian troops had based and from which they commenced their waves of attacks. Turning west, one can look out to Narragansett Bay and imagine several British ships shelling the American lines, with land artillery returning fire. To the north, one can look towards Lehigh Hill and remember the thousands that engaged in battle, some of it hand-to-hand, resulting in the moniker “Bloody Run” for the quiet stream that now runs through the golf links of the Aquidneck Club. The Club has marked out the vicinity of “Hessian Hole” to indicate the area of some of the fiercest fighting. On a summer’s day, particularly in late August, a walk between Almy and Lehigh Hill may well find one’s thoughts moving from monastic to militaristic. Either way, it seems, it leads to a renewed consideration of our mortality.

Cannonball from battlefield in monastery collection (4¼ “ in diameter; 11.3 pounds)

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