The Armory of the Kentish Guards is a historic armory at Armory and Peirce Streets in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a New England town, town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within ...

and is currently home to the Kentish Guards, a historic Rhode Island Independent Military Organization.

History

The Kentish Guards were founded in 1774, just prior to the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

armory building was constructed in 1843 with a $1,000 public grant from the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

to the Kentish Guards for their aid in the Dorr Rebellion in 1842.Kentish Guards Armory
/ref> In 1970 the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Collections

The Armory contains a gallery of pictures featuring former members of the Guard. The original charter hangs on the wall as a lasting reminder and a memorial to those men who organized the Kentish Guards in 1774.

Visiting

The Kentish Guards Armory may be visited on Tuesdays, when the militia company meets, and Wednesdays, when the fife & drum rehearses, both around 8:00 pm (except during holiday periods) and by special appointment. Visi
www.kentishguards.org
for more information.

Notable Kentish Guards

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the Rho ...

, Colonel and First Commander of the Kentish Guards, general during American Revolution *

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

, private in the Kentish Guards (rank limited due to a limp and lack of formal education), Major General during American Revolution *

Christopher Greene Christopher Greene (May 12, 1737May 14, 1781) was an American legislator and soldier. He led the spirited defense of Fort Mercer in the 1777 Battle of Red Bank, and for leading the African American 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Re ...

, legislator, soldier

References

External links