The Gaspee Affair

The Gaspée Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The HMS Gaspée,[1] a British customs schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode Island, while chasing the packet boat Hannah.[2] In a notorious act of defiance, a group of men led by Abraham Whipple and John Brown attacked, boarded, looted, and torched the ship.[3]