2016 -- H 8316

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING THE 51ST ANNUAL GASPEE DAYS CELEBRATION

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Solomon, Bennett, Serpa, and Shekarchi

     Date Introduced: June 09, 2016

     Referred To: House read and passed

     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, almost two hundred and forty-four 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 5K road race, live music, and an Arts & Crafts Festival, with the

highlight being a 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 and

Providence Plantations hereby commemorates the 51st annual celebration of Gaspee Days. 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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