About Us

The Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA) grew out of an effort started in February 2021 by the Portsmouth (RI) Historical Society to restore Butts Hill Fort, a Revolutionary War earthwork that remains about 80% intact.  Located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, it is the largest period earthwork still extant in south-eastern New England.  Started by colonial militia in 1775, the Fort was in succession occupied by British, American, French, and finally Rhode Island State troops.  It was the headquarters of American forces during the Rhode Island Campaign in 1778 and anchored the American defensive line in the Battle of Rhode Island.  

This history is not just of local importance.  The Campaign was the first American-French combined operation of the War.  It included militia, not only from Rhode Island, but also from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, along with Continental Line units under General Nathanael Greene and General le Marquis de Lafayette.  The Rhode Island Campaign taught both allies lessons that were critical to the victory at Yorktown.

Despite its historical importance, the existence of the Fort has not been generally known, even to long time Portsmouth and Aquidneck Island residents.  It is overgrown with trees, vines, briars, poison ivy, etc. One would have to know exactly where to look and what to look for, to find it.  The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee (BHFRC) began efforts in earnest in April 2021 and scored an immediate success by having the Fort officially listed on the National Park Service’s Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail (WARO).  However, it became obvious that the effort to restore and maintain the Fort would require support from far beyond the Town of Portsmouth, its owner.  It was also obvious that before we could count on that support, we would need to conduct our own campaign to broaden the public knowledge of the Campaign, the Fort, and moreover the role of Rhode Island in the Revolutionary War.

Thus BHFRC in November 2021 formed a non-profit, the Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA), which subsumed the BHFRC, leaving the Committee to deal with the restoration and the Association to provide the wherewithal to do so.