Gaspee Monument

The Gaspee Monument is a historical marker and commemorative site marking the location where British prisoners from the schooner HMS Gaspee were taken ashore after its burning in 1772.

The monument commemorates the Gaspee Affair, which took place on June 9, 1772. During this event, the Gaspee, a Royal Navy revenue schooner enforcing British customs laws in Narragansett Bay, ran aground while pursuing the packet boat Hannah. Colonists boarded the vessel, attacked it, and ultimately burned it to the waterline. This act of resistance was one of the first violent uprisings against the British Crown in North America, occurring 18 months before the Boston Tea Party. After the burning, the crew of the Gaspee was taken ashore at the monument site.