2023 -- H 6442
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
COMMEMORATING THE 58TH ANNUAL GASPEE DAYS CELEBRATION AND THE
MOMENTOUS 251ST ANNI VERSARY OF THE BURNING OF THE GASPEE
Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale, Rea,
Fenton-Fung, Roberts, Ackerman, Solomon, and Tanzi
Date Introduced: May 25, 2023
Referred To: House read and passed
WHEREAS, On the night of June 9, 1772, brave Rhode Island colonists captured and 1
burned the reviled British revenue schooner, H.M.S. Gaspee, in one of the boldest and most 2
colorful victories in our country's War for American Independence; and 3
WHEREAS, The Gaspee had been harassing Rhode Island since the days of the Stamp 4
Act. Its burning off Namquid Point was an ultimate act of defiance and has become renowned as 5
the first blood shed during the American Revolution and America's "First Blow for Freedom." 6
The colonists actions were a supreme act of protest against the tyranny of the British Crown, and 7
they provided a strong impetus in the movement of the American colonies toward independence; 8
and 9
WHEREAS, The burning of H.M.S. Gaspee led to the formation of a Committee of 10
Correspondence, which in turn led to the establishment of the Continental Congress, and, 11
eventually, to the Declaration of Independence; and 12
WHEREAS, Today, two hundred and fifty-one years later, the memory of this incendiary 13
act still fires the hearts and minds of the residents of historic Pawtuxet Village, and since 1965, 14
the village has memorialized the event with an annual Gaspee Days Celebration. This year's 15
festivities will include a firework extravaganza, a 5K road race, live music, including a symphony 16
in the park, and an Arts & Crafts Festival, with the highlight being the Gaspee Days parade. Also 17
featured is the burning of the Gaspee in effigy, as well as a Revolutionary War battle 18
reenactment, and Revolutionary War-era fife and drum bands, and so much more; and 19
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WHEREAS, In 1995, legislation was enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly to 1
annually designate the second Saturday and the following Sunday in the month of June as Days of 2
Special Observance to be known as Gaspee Days; now, therefore be it 3
RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby 4
commemorates the 58
th
annual celebration of Gaspee Days and the 251
st
Anniversary of the 5
Burning of the Gaspee. We moreover urge the patriotic citizens of the Ocean State to participate 6
in the festivities honoring this momentous event in the history of our state and our nation; and be 7
it further 8
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 9
transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Proclamation Chairman of the Gaspee Days 10
Committee. 11
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