More than any other figure who strode across the revolutionary stage, [Joseph] Warren gave his devotion to the American cause simply because he believed in it. Others believed as passionately, of course; but for Samuel Adams political agitation was a profession which had rescued him from a debtors’ prison; James Otis had deep grievances against the royal government because of their mistreatment of his father; John Hancock was a millionaire merchant who made much of his money from smuggling and owed the British Revenue Service over £100,000 in fines; as a lawyer, John Adams was naturally drawn into the political arena. Warren, as a doctor could have remained aloof, as many of his fellow physicians in Boston did. They were the only class in Massachusetts who were not pressured to join the cause.
| Place | City | |
|---|---|---|
| General Nathanael Greene Homestead | Coventry | Built in 1770, home to the General that George Washington recommended as his replacement if he should be die. |
| Varnum House Museum | East Greenwich | Mansion built in 1773 by James Mitchell Varnum, who became one of Washinton's generals and later elected to the Continental Congress. |
| Colony House | Newport | Completed in 1739, it was the state house of Rhode Island until 1901. |
| Hunter House | Newport | Built 1748—54 and considered one of the ten best colonial homes existing in the U.S. |
| Redwood Library and Athenaeum | Newport | Chartered in 1747 and opened to the public in 1750, it is the oldest circulating library in the U.S. |
| Touro Synagogue | Newport | Completed and dedicated in 1763, it is the oldest Synagogue in the U.S.; following the war it served as a meeting place for the Rhode Island General Assembly, Rhode Island Supreme Court and the town of Newport. |
| Trinity Church | Newport | Completed in 1726, it has a pipe organ tested by Georg Friedrich Handel; French Admiral Charles de Ternay is buried in the adjacent cemetery. |
| White Horse Tavern | Newport | Now a restaurant, originally built in 1673 as a residence, and for awhile, the meeting place of the general assembly. |
| Fort Butts | Portsmouth | The earthwork redoubt is still discernable, it was a key position during the Battle of Rhode Island (1778), and provides a panoramic view of Mt. Hope Bay. |
| Benefit Street’s Mile of History | Providence | A street of restored colonial homes and buildings overlooking the waterfront. |
| Old State House | Providence | Built in 1762, the State House was the primary seat of state government until 1901. |
| Gilbert Stuart Birthplace & Museum | Saunderstown | This restored house, built in 1750, was the birthplace of painter Gilbert Stuart. |
Now We Are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill (1960; reissued 2010)