| R 362 |
| 2023 -- H 6442 Enacted 05/25/2023 |
| 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 ANNIVERSARY 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 |
| WHEREAS, On the night of June 9, 1772, brave Rhode Island colonists captured and |
| burned the reviled British revenue schooner, H.M.S. Gaspee, in one of the boldest and most |
| colorful victories in our country's War for American Independence; and |
| WHEREAS, The Gaspee had been harassing Rhode Island since the days of the Stamp |
| Act. Its burning off Namquid Point was an ultimate act of defiance and has become renowned as |
| the first blood shed during the American Revolution and America's "First Blow for Freedom." |
| The colonists actions were a supreme act of protest against the tyranny of the British Crown, and |
| they provided a strong impetus in the movement of the American colonies toward independence; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, The burning of H.M.S. Gaspee led to the formation of a Committee of |
| Correspondence, which in turn led to the establishment of the Continental Congress, and, |
| eventually, to the Declaration of Independence; and |
| WHEREAS, Today, two hundred and fifty-one years later, the memory of this incendiary |
| act still fires the hearts and minds of the residents of historic Pawtuxet Village, and since 1965, |
| the village has memorialized the event with an annual Gaspee Days Celebration. This year's |
| festivities will include a firework extravaganza, a 5K road race, live music, including a symphony |
| in the park, and an Arts & Crafts Festival, with the highlight being the Gaspee Days parade. Also |
| featured is the burning of the Gaspee in effigy, as well as a Revolutionary War battle |
| reenactment, and Revolutionary War-era fife and drum bands, and so much more; and |
| WHEREAS, In 1995, legislation was enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly to |
| annually designate the second Saturday and the following Sunday in the month of June as Days of |
| Special Observance to be known as Gaspee Days; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby |
| commemorates the 58th annual celebration of Gaspee Days and the 251st Anniversary of the |
| Burning of the Gaspee. We moreover urge the patriotic citizens of the Ocean State to participate |
| in the festivities honoring this momentous event in the history of our state and our nation; and be |
| it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Proclamation Chairman of the Gaspee Days |
| Committee. |
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