Transcriber’s Note
With one exception, footnotes were used only in the tablescontained in the Appendix, and are kept in proximity of theirreferences. They have been assigned sequential letters A-L, andhyperlinks are provided to facilitate inspection of the note.
Where a single note is referred to multiple times, the linkfrom the note to its references will always return to the firstinstance.
The cover page was created by the transcriber andis placed in the public domain.
Please consult the notes at the end of this text for a more detaileddiscussion of any other issues that were encountered during itspreparation.
A
SHORT HISTORY
OF
RHODE ISLAND,
BY
George Washington Greene, LL.D.,
Late Non-Resident Professor of American History in Cornell University; Author of “The Life of Major-General Nathanael Greene;” “Historical View of the American Revolution,” etc., etc.
PROVIDENCE:
J. A. & R. A. Reid, Publishers,
1877.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
ANNA MARIA GREENE,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
TO
Anna Maria Greene,
My Dear Mother:
You bear your ninety-three years so lightly that i invite yourattention to a new volume of mine with as much assurance of yoursympathy as when i crowed and wondered over my first picture book aninfant on your knee. For your sympathy is as quick and as warm as itwas then, and your memory goes back with unerring certainty to the menand the scenes of almost a century ago. Your eyes have looked uponWashington, and your tenacious memory can still recall the outline ofhis majestic form.
The first time that i ventured to send forth a volume to the world,i set upon the dedication page the name of my father. He has been deadmany years. You still linger behind, and long may you linger. Longmay those fresh memories which give such a charm to your daily lifecontinue to cheer you and instruct those who have the privilege ofliving with you. They have seen life imperfectly who have not seen whata charm it wears when the heart that has beat so long still lends itsgenial warmth to the still inquiring mind.
GEORGE W. GREENE.
Preface.
There are two classes of history, each of which has claims upon ourattention peculiarly its own. One is a sober teacher, the other apleasant companion. One opens new paths of thought, the other throwsnew light upon the old, and both agree in making