Patience Romford’S Journal: A Novel of the American Revolution

By Helene-Carol Brown

General John Sullivan was in control of many things. The weather was not one of them. Neither was the Comte dEstaing. He was the French admiral in charge of the fleet sent to aid General Sullivan in retaking Newport, Rhode Island, from the British. No one questioned General Sullivans bravery. A goodly number questioned his diplomacy.

The Great Storm, which arrived in August of 1778, wrought destruction on the tents, food, and ammunition that American troops under General Sullivan had amassed upon Aquidneck Island in the middle of Narragansett Bay. The Americans were left stranded without the help of the French fleet, whose ships were nearly destroyed in the huge tempest.

General Nathanael Greene and General James Varnum brought Continentals to the campaign to ensure its success. Nearly overwhelmed by the British and the Hessians, the Americans were saved by the First Rhode Island Regiment of all black soldiers who held out against the enemy. Local militia in small boats rowed the Patriots to safety across the Sakonnet River.

One wounded Continental soldier was of particular interest to the capable and enterprising Patience Romford. One wounded black soldier in the First Rhode Island Regiment was of particular interest to Betsy, an African woman in bondage. Would either young man return to Providence Town alive after such a disastrous misadventure as the Battle for Rhode Island?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524543242

Helene-Carol Brown

Helene-Carol Brown received her AB in History from UCLA in 1964 and her MA in History from the University of New Hampshire in 1985. A native of Philadelphia, she has taught school in Southern California, was a research assistant in New England, and now lectures on History and Art History in Eugene, Oregon where she lives in a small house with a little grey cat. She is an avid reader and a retired Master Gardener.

Book preview

Part One

How Rhode Island Came to be Our Home

New Englanders have always been notoriously independence-minded, and of all the colonies in New England, Rhode Island was the most independence-minded.

The New England colonies began with Massachusetts. That colony was settled by Pilgrim Separatists and later, by Puritans. No sooner had they begun their settlements, than they commenced quarreling over who was the most righteous, who was most assured of salvation, who was most destined for perdition. The settlers had come from England, where King James the First and King Charles the First reigned one after the other. These men served as the head of the Church of England. This was a very formal church, with sacraments and vestments, bishops and cathedrals. Separatists and Puritans eschewed such examples of popery and longed for simplicity. They wanted to purify Christianity of such idolatrous frippery. They had searched and found no such formality in the Bible—thus there should be none.

The first settlers from England longed to separate themselves from the official church and conduct their own services. Neither King James nor King Charles agreed. To separate from the kingdom’s official religion touched upon treason, both monarchs believed. King James willingly permitted the Separatists to take ship for the new continent of America. He considered it a moot thing whether these zealots would survive their voyage or their first years. King Charles permitted more Separatists to leave. He was delighted to see these pesky militants go. If they drowned or were eaten by beasts in the new land, it was no great matter. England would be rid of them.

Roger Williams had been ordained in the Church of England, yet had over time become a Separatist himself. He was convinced that every person was called by the grace of God to worship the Almighty according to his own conscience. He would never secure a coveted parish in England; thus he sailed to America. Williams was welcomed at first in Massachusetts. Soon, however, the Puritan community reconsidered. Williams firmly believed the church and the state should be two separate entities. Massachusetts considered that every citizen in the colony should be of Puritan persuasion as a matter of civic duty. Puritan authorities asked Williams to be quiet about separation of church and state. He refused. Massachusetts accused him of sedition and heresy. They required him to leave the colony in 1636. In a January blizzard, Roger Williams was sent out of the colony to settle in the south where there was much swampy land and a goodly number of islands. He found refuge with the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit, in winter quarters until spring. Roger Williams then headed south. The people of Massachusetts considered the lands of the south to be good for nothing. Roger Williams considered that they were a gift from Providence. He signed a treaty with the Narragansett tribe for the land. He named his new colony Providence Plantation.

The first declaration that Roger Williams made was that Providence Plantation would be open to men and women of all faiths and that church and government would be separate entities in the colony. Other Separatists from Massachusetts soon followed to Providence Plantation. In 1638 a woman named Anne Hutchinson arrived. She had been exiled from Massachusetts because she had dared to hold religious discussions in her home. Women, Puritans believed, were to be silent in matters of religion. The letters of Paul in the New Testament had stated thus, and thus it should remain.

Rhode Island was eventually granted a Royal Charter by King Charles the Second. Later, the colony was briefly brought into the Dominion of New England. It resumed its independent status again under the English monarchs William and Mary. Rhode Island remained firmly and determinedly its own settlement.

Rhode Island was only thirty or so miles long and less than that wide. Yet a great portion of the colony was water. Thus our colony had some 400 miles of coastline. Trade, and particularly navigational trade, was the primary occupation of two thirds of all Rhode Island’s inhabitants. These numbered some forty-thousand by 1750. The average sailing vessel around our coast or bound for the nearby colonies was about 80 tons, and had a crew of ten or twelve men. Larger vessels had much bigger crews and sailed the ocean. Our principal trade was with the Caribbean. Most important was molasses, from which Rhode Islanders distilled rum. Our ships traded with other colonies and peoples, including the Dutch, the French, and the Spanish, all of whom owned various islands in the West Indies. We sold them bread, beef, butter, cheese, boards, shingles, wood, pickled fish of all sorts, horses, onions, hogs, sheep, and poultry.

New Englanders also shipped large amounts of iron and lumber, especially masts, to England. We imported many things from England that we either did not find it convenient to make ourselves, or that the climate in New England, with its harsh winters, did not make profitable.

England was in the process of constructing a great empire including the West Indies, East India, and North America. In the course of forming this empire, England became embroiled in several wars with either Spain or France. These wars cost the English a fortune. They were deeply in debt after the close of the Seven Years War, which we called the French and Indian War. England and France made allies of the various tribes of native peoples and used them to exacerbate the conflicts between themselves. Whilst the British soldiers were here in America, they needed food and rum and war materials, and our economy prospered greatly. When the war ended and His Majesty’s soldiers went home, we Americans saw a vast decline in our prosperity.

It was little to be wondered that when the New England colonies began to take issue with Parliament over tea and taxes, Rhode Island would side with the American colonists. Rhode Islanders remembered the customs schooner HMS Gaspee, and they were of no mind to obey Parliament’s declarations regarding trade or tribute. The Gaspee had been sent to chase down smugglers. In 1772 the ship set its sights upon a local packet vessel, the Hannah, to confiscate its cargo. The schooner Gaspee ran aground, however, and the Americans used the opportunity to attack the British ship, wounding its captain and then burning the vessel. The British considered this treason and were eager to bring charges against the colonists involved. Numerous officials tried to prosecute the owners of the packet and the port authorities, yet after a great deal of bluster, nothing came of the charges. American Patriots considered this to be the successful beginning of Rhode Island’s rebellion against England. It was, they said, Rhode Island’s very own Boston Tea Party.

Truth be told, Rhode Islanders were expert smugglers. They had eluded customs officers for decades. We considered it no business of the English what we traded among ourselves or with the Caribbean. Molasses, from which we distilled rum, was the preferred product. Trade among the New England colonies was brisk and profitable. That was true for other products from the Caribbean, such as sugar or pineapples, coffee or spices. Although many of Rhode Island’s colonists disapproved heartily of slavery, Newport, a city at the very southern tip of Aquidneck Island, in the middle of Narragansett Bay, was a leading port for selling Africans. Some evil merchants exported rum to Africa and bought slaves, gold and ivory. The slaves were sent to work in the silver mines of Brazil or the Sugar Islands of the West Indies, and the gold and ivory was sold to England. Such African trade proved profitable and gave clever merchants hard currency, called specie.

Such trade was not approved of by the Romford family. Our Grandfather, Abiathar Romford, had come from England. He came from a market town with a bridge over the river Rom. Before the bridge, one had to ford the river, hence the name. His ancestors had conducted the crossings or owned the ferry boats. The town is just fourteen miles north and east of London. Grandfather was a successful merchant in the market town, yet he fell out with the idea of increasing taxes used to pay for England’s continuing wars. He had become a Quaker, and wanted no part of war. He was equally mindful of the constant turmoil that had resulted from Protestant or Catholic monarchs switching the throne from one faith to the other in past times. By the time Queen Anne had come to the throne of England, around 1702, many talented young men and women had decided to leave for the New World. Grandfather Abiathar was one of them. He chose Rhode Island because he, too, believed it was a good idea to have the church and the government separate. In addition, Quakers were welcome in Rhode Island.

Grandfather worked with a miller just at the edge of Providence for some years after arriving in America. Later he opened a cloath shop in Newport. Trade was the heart and soul of Newport. Everything went by sloop from one seaport town to another and from one island in Narragansett Bay to another. Trade with other colonies made Grandfather prosperous. He bought stock in several schooners and enjoyed success. He was well aware of smuggling, yet did not choose to participate. He would have no part whatsoever of the slave trade.

Part Two

The Newport Romfords

Grandfather was able to build a handsome little house at the north end of Newport, and later bought a few acres farther up Aquidneck Island. He retired from trade upon the latter. Here he liked to putter in his vegetable garden. He had fathered several children by his beloved goodwife Ruth, and his oldest son became a lawyer and then a judge. That man was my father, Joshua Romford.

Father was a man of medium height, blue eyes and dark brown hair. He was of slight build, yet remarkably strong. In his youth he had enjoyed the country dances Newporters ofttimes held in their parlors. He was a good dancer and a pleasant conversationalist. Not all Quakers allowed dancing. Later, Father had to spend much time reading legal cases brought before him. He was famous for his impartiality—except for the cases of black men who had been kidnapped so they could be resold to someone in Connecticut or New York. It was a trick of some unscrupulous ship captains, yet not them alone. There were ofttimes brigands who made their livelihood by kidnapping slaves and reselling them elsewhere. Father had absolutely no patience with that practice. Punishment was swift and sure.

It is a dolorous fact that some slave-owners who had promised manumission from bondage to their slaves, forsook their promise. This was more prominent in the southern colonies than in the northern ones. When the time came to set them free, after the slave had in fact paid for his liberty, the owners changed their minds and declared that the African was uppity or incompetent or otherwise unsuited for liberty. This practice Father had thwarted regularly by ruling that the owner must pay for his slave all over again if he did not set him free. This generally was successful and the African became his own master. He was given a certificate and a pass to travel, and he generally went to one of the middle colonies to ply a trade. If the promise of freedom were in writing and placed securely with a third party, along with a receipt for the money he had paid his master for his freedom, the African was much safer. Otherwise he might be swindled out of his liberty.

Father handled other legal matters as well. It was a surety that someone would dispute the ownership of a sailing vessel, large or small, since so many of them looked alike and plied the same waters. A captain of one sloop would swear he owned two, or that he never saw a certain poorly built ship before in his life, and of a surety he had paid for the better built one, when in fact he had done no such thing. Verifying the deeds to ships, especially when they were owned by several people in a partnership proved a vexing occupation indeed.

Contracts of all kinds were a great source of quarrels among merchants.

There was also the matter of the cargo. Who paid for what product to come to Newport from the Caribbean, and who had confiscated the cargo in some other port, was a never-ending argument among shipping merchants. Truth to tell, I would not want the chore of sorting out these men and their products for all the world. Yet Father maintained an impeccable reputation for fair dealing and clear justice.

It was in settling one of these disputes that Father met Mother. She was a young woman from Providence Town where Father was studying law with a practicing judge. Mother brought a civil suit against a man who had cheated her family out of a hogshead of hard cider. Mother’s family had paid eighteen shillings for the hogshead. The man had drained off half the cider and filled the barrel with water as a substitute. This Mother detected immediately upon tasting a small spoonful of the apple fermentation. Heaven only knew where the water might have come from, Mother argued, and the liquid may well have been pernicious as a result. Mother had thought ahead and had decided to bring the hogshead to court to have the judge test it. The judge duly spat his mouthful of cider out the window and declared the whole hogshead tainted. It is a wonder the judge did not fall ill from the tasting. Father watched the whole of the proceeding and developed a decided admiration for the plucky young woman brave enough to defy the malefactor.

Trade is the heart of Rhode Island, the judge admonished. How can we retain the respect of our own citizens or our fellow colonists if we sell tainted or imperfect products? This dishonesty will not go unpunished! the judge pronounced. That was the end of the cider merchant. He was fined Five English Pounds, an exceeding sum, and sent out of Providence with instructions not to return.

Father asked about the plucky young woman’s whereabouts and later made some excuse to call upon her family. Mother was a comely woman, and a very intelligent one. Over time Father asked for her hand, and Mother accepted. They were wed in Providence Town and when Father decided to come down to Newport to reside near Grandfather and practice law upon his own, Mother readily agreed upon the new location. They bought a small dwelling house near Grandfather, and began their family.

That family consisted of three children, although Mother actually birthed five live babes. I was the eldest. I had nearly yellow hair when I was very young, hazel green eyes, and was a cautious, observant child. I rarely cried, was even tempered, Mother always said, and ofttimes made a habit of watching those around me in total silence. Altogether, Mother thought her eldest child a good bargain.

Then came Elizabeth. This little tot lived until she was five years old. She contracted measles and died in Mother’s arms. She had not stopped coughing, her eyes hurt, and the rash was intense upon her. That was a desperately sad day for us all. Elizabeth had been a delightful little girl. Mother could hardly comprehend the loss. How could a good God be so cruel? What use could God have in heaven for a five year old? Surely there were already plenty of good folks in that blessed place. Why did He take Elizabeth?

Father was ever the master of logic and reason. He tried again to explain that in a seaport men brought fearsome agues and fevers with them aboard ship, and these were soon dispersed among the population of the town. Elizabeth had been to the handsome brick two-story Market building with us one Saturday morning, and there were several sailors about who did not look well. Likely that was where little Elizabeth came upon the ailment. Measles was ofttimes more feared than the small pox in some colonies. Everyone believed that the small pox was the most gruesome distemper one could suffer. So far none of us had developed that horrid disease.

Two years went by and Mother brought little Benjamin into the world. He was a sprightly babe and the picture of Father. He was a most curious and inquisitive little boy, and Father quite doted upon him, no doubt because he saw in Benjamin his own self as a youngster. His antics amused us all and Father found it hard to rein Benjamin in even when he was naughty.

A year later Mother delivered little Sarah, and Sarah thrived. She was almost an exact copy of Mother. Auburn hair, green eyes, and a lively intelligence. Our family considered ourselves healed. Another two years went by and Mother delivered Jacob. Alas, he was a sickly child from the very beginning. He held on for about six months. We never did understand what ailed the babe. Neither did Doctor Fellows, who had successfully cured many a distemper among the populace of Newport. He gave it as his opinion that the little babe was just not breathing as he should be and there was no one to blame for such a thing. Jacob went to sleep one afternoon and never awakened. Again Mother was at a loss for a convincing explanation of the ways of the Lord. At some length, and with much consideration, Mother came to content herself with her three living children and did not ask for more from the Almighty. The Almighty obliged.

Part Three

Our Life in Newport

We loved our little dwelling house in Newport. The stone foundation was strong and the clapboard building sat high upon it. We had the house painted with a mixture of blueberry juice and old milk. It was a lovely pale blue color, and the whitewashed window frames and shutters made the whole of the small edifice quite cheerful. The house had six rooms. There was a sitting room downstairs with large windows of twelve over eight panes, and a lovely fireplace. Father’s books were in that room,