LECTURE: THE concord-lexington battle of april 19, 1775
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7 @ 6 - 7:30 PM
Herreshoff Community Room, Rogers Free Library
525 Hope Street, Bristol
Free and open to the public. Registration required.
Please click HERE to register.
Join Dr. Patrick Barosh to learn about the events
leading up to the first armed resistance to his Majesty’s Government. The lecture will cover eyewitness accounts, the formation of the first American Army, Paul Revere’s real name, Samuel Prescott’s midnight ride, the importance of sex in Middlesex, and John Hancock’s traveling dinner.
Before moving to Bristol, Dr.Barosh lived in Concord for 30 years and led historic tours for the Minuteman Historic National Park. He is a world renowned expert on earthquakes and has written many geologic guide books, including the 2012 book entitled A City Upon a Hill: The Geology of the City of Boston & Surrounding Region.
Co-Sponsored by BH&PS and the Rogers Free Library.
LECTURE: THE BRITISH ARE COMING! THE BRITISH RAID ON BRISTOL
Wednesday, May 14 @ 6 - 7:30 PM
Herreshoff Community Room, Rogers Free Library
525 Hope Street, Bristol
Free and open to the public. Registration required.
Please click HERE to register.
THE BRITISH RAID ON BRISTOL,
MAY 25, 1778, REEVALUATED:
Join Christian McBurney for this talk about when a large British army detachment of soldiers from Newport landed on Bristol Neck and spent the day burning parts of Bristol and Warren as well as boats at the Kickemuit River, all while also seizing some 60 civilians as prisoners. He has authored 11 books on the history of Rhode Island and/or the Revolutionary War, and is the founder/publisher of the Rhode Island history blog: smallstatebighistory.com.
Sponsored by the BH&PS, the Rogers Free Library, and the Battle of RI Association.
LECTURE: commodore oliver hazard perry, AMERICA'S NAVAL HERO
Thursday, May 15 @ 6:30 - 8 PM
St. Michael's Church Sanctuary, 399 Hope Street, Bristol.
Free and open to the public.
No registration required.
Click HERE for St. Michael's Men's Group.
In anticipation of the BRITS ATTACK BRISTOL (AND LOSE!) weekend of the RI 250 re-enactments and other events, we welcome Dr. Matthew Perry, a descendant of Commodore Oliver Hazard.Perry. He will discuss the victory by Commodore Perry over the British at Lake Erie in the War of 1812. This event was the first time the British lost an entire squadron. Commodore Perry’s success is partially credited to his early life training from his Revolutionary War father, Captain Christopher Perry, and his Scots-Irish mother, Sarah Wallace Perry. The talk will also cover several controversies, including several duels, that erupted during the Commodore's life and continued after his early death from yellow fever.
Dr. Matthew Perry is originally from Bristol where he developed an early interest in his ancestors. After graduating from URI, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard a ship in the western Pacific Ocean during the Vietnam War. He then began a 45-year career in wildlife research where he worked for the RI Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Dr. Perry remains active as an emeritus scientist and author of wildlife conservation history. He also writes and lectures about his family history, including his famous Perry ancestors.
Co-Sponsored by BH&PS and St. Michael's Men's Group.
a conversation and a bus tour about king philip's war
Saturday, June 21, 2025
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Joseph Case Junior High School
195 Main Street, Swansea, MA
Joining this Conversation is free and open to the public
but registration is required.
The companion bus tour will cost $15.
Click HERE to register and for more details.
Join this conversation led by Tribal Historian Strong Turtle, Pokanoket Tribe/Pokanoket Nation,
and
Eric Schultz, co-author of King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict.
The conflict most often referred to as King Philip’s War took place between June, 1675, and August, 1676, and resulted in the death or injury of thousands of Indigenous people and colonial settlers throughout New England, a greater percentage of the population than in any other war since. The outcomes of the war profoundly altered the landscape and future of Native Americans, and resulted in the expansion of European culture both in the region and eventually across the nation.
A companion bus tour follows in the afternoon
of sites where the war occurred
in and around Swansea, Massachusetts.
Sponsored by:
the Swansea Free Public Library, the Swansea Cultural Council, the Bristol Historical & Preservation Society, the Sowams Heritage Area, the Old Colony History Museum, and KPW350.