General Joseph Palmer

M ILITARY historians are aware of Rhode Island's role in the American Revolution as a region of frustration for the patriots. On at least three occasions-the spring of 1777, fall of the same year, and the summer of i 778-American plans went awry. Of these, the most miserable failure was the fiasco of October, 1777, when a force of 9,000 militia under the command of General Joseph Spencer bungled an attempted invasion of Newport and did not even manage to confront the 3,600 British and German troops on the island. There was a hasty search for a scapegoat, and the victim selected was a sixty-one-year-old brigadier general named Joseph Palmer from Braintree, Massachusetts. Historians since have accepted the charges against Palmer without seriously questioning them.1 In the light of new evidence, however, it becomes apparent that the major blame does not primarily lie with Palmer.2

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