Thanks Jim
That was really interesting.
Bonnie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Mulligan" <mulligan_jim(a)yahoo.com>
To: <RIGENWEB-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 12:22 PM
Subject: [RIGENWEB] Door Rebelion Artifact - ProJo Article
Hello,
The article below is from the Providence Journals'
website. I thought that I would forward it to the
list.
162 years later, a piece of the state's history is
restored
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2004
BY DANIEL BARBARISI
Journal Staff Writer
EAST GREENWICH -- In the wake of Dorr's Rebellion,
Rhode Island's crisis of government in 1842, a women's
group presented the state militia a hand-painted
red-silk banner in gratitude for its protection.
The only surviving account of the presentation was
emblazoned on the flag itself: "Presented by the
Ladies of Warwick & Cranston, presented to the Rhode
Island Guards ... Patriotic Service, May of 1842."
Many years later, the militia gave the flag to a
member of the Greene family and in 1941 it was donated
along with a number of other artifacts to the Varnum
Armory.
And there, in the attic, it sat unnoticed for more
than a half-century.
It was about seven years ago that Don Marcum, the
curator of the Varnum Armory, was rooting around in
the attic and came across the piece of red silk; it
was badly tattered, and the lettering on it was
illegible..
"It was wadded up, wrapped in paper and stuffed in a
box. I put it aside and didn't even try to read it."
Marcum said.
Two years ago, he picked it up again, started doing a
little research and realized that he was sitting on
something important.
"I really looked at it and said, 'Hey, this is Dorr
Rebellion, this is significant."
In 1841, Harvard-educated lawyer Thomas Wilson Dorr
headed a popular movement for universal suffrage in
Rhode Island, where only land-owning men held the
right to vote. The issue pitted the old landed farmers
against the new working class of the Industrial
Revolution. Roughly 60 percent of the male population
was denied the vote.
In the fall of that year, Rhode Island saw dueling
Constitutional Conventions. Dorrites adopted a
constitution granting suffrage, while the legislature
adopted one making lesser concessions. In separate
referendums, the legislature's document was defeated
and Dorr's was heartily approved.
In early 1842, the Dorrites and the legislature set up
rival governments. The federal government elected to
stay out of the fray, and in May some Dorrites seized
a pair of cannon and attacked the state arsenal, in
Providence.
The attack was a failure; Dorr's cannon misfired, and
his small army fell apart. Dorr fled to Connecticut,
where he rallied support from some sympathetic New
Yorkers. They returned to Rhode Island, and the
government rallied 3,000 troops to fight Dorr, who was
holed up in Woonsocket.
Once Dorr heard of the force arrayed against him, he
left for New Hampshire, and his small troop disbanded.
Three people were killed during the rebellion, all by
accidents or as a result of personal disputes, none
during actual combat.
In 1843, Dorr surrendered, was convicted of treason
and sentenced to life at hard labor. But he was
released, in poor health, a year later. In 1854, he
was pardoned.
Once Marcum understood the historical value of the
flag, he asked around for help in restoring it. The
Southeastern New England Antique Dealers Association
donated $1,000, and Prof. Margaret T. Ordonez,
director of the Historical Texture and Costume
Collection at the University of Rhode Island, offered
to restore it at a reduced fee as a classroom project.
The painstaking restoration took about a year. Two
weeks ago, the flag was presented to Marcum. It still
looks as if it's seen better years, but most of the
words are readable and the fabric is fairly intact.
Marcum has it framed in a place of honor in the Varnum
Armory, which he says boasts the largest weapons
collection in Rhode Island.
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