Militamen, Continentals, and the Defense of New England

Henry Cooke will speak on Militiamen, Continentals, and the Defense of New England, 1778-1779. In the summer of 1778, militia from Rhode Island and Massachusetts combined with Continental soldiers in the attempt to dislodge the British, Royalist and Hessian troops occupying Newport and environs. Henry Cooke will look at the history of the militia system in New England and how it influenced the creation of the Continental army, and how these two different military entities were raised for service, the kinds of men who served in each, and how it contributed to their efforts in the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 and the Penobscot Expedition to Maine in 1779.