The Gaspee Virtual Archives primarily serves as a repository of information regarding the Gaspee Affair, using both collected information found elsewhere, and as a think tank of new information. Every effort has been made to present only material that is either beyond copyright, or to have obtained permission from the creators, where known.
The Gaspee Affair. The Sons of Liberty were very active throughout the colonies, and the British officers charged with enforcing the customs laws and the Stamp Act were becoming aggressive. In June of 1772, a dramatic event was to demonstrate the severity of the crisis. A Lieutenant William Duddington, of Her Majesty’s Ship Gaspee, was charged with …
Gaspée Affair. What happened on June 10, 1772 became one of the most significant events that provoked the start of the American Revolution. The Gaspée Affair is the incident when a group of the Sons of Liberty burned down the HMS Gaspée, one of the schooners of the British Empire.
The Gaspee affair of 1772 was a minor incident with concerning ramifications. The Gaspee was a British customs schooner, skippered by an eager lieutenant. It was notorious for apprehending smugglers, seizing their ships and cargo and bringing their crew to justice.
The Gaspee Affair was one of the earliest acts of rebellion in the colonies, and acted as a catalyst in the revolution. Rhode Island would become the first colony to declare its independence on May 4th, 1776; the national Declaration of Independence was signed two months later.
The armed naval vessel was suddenly boarded by an angry mob; the commander was shot, the crew taken ashore, and then, the Gaspee was set aflame (Park 54-55). The attack on a British naval ship, would become known as The Gaspee Affair, and it led to the, The Gaspee Affair was also the subject of a very influential pamphlet, An Oration on the Beauties of Liberty, written by Rev. John Allen of Boston. This pamphlet was often quoted by John Adams, James Otis, and other Revolutionary leaders, and was among the most published pamphlets during the pre-Revolutionary years.
