About The Gaspee Days Committee


The Gaspee Days Committee is a civic-minded nonprofit organization that operates many community events in and around Pawtuxet Village, including the famous Gaspee Days Parade each June. These events are all designed to commemorate the burning of the hated British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, by Rhode Island patriots in 1772 as America’s First Blow for Freedom.TM

In June of 1772 brave colonists from Rhode Island burned the British revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, during what has become recognized as the first bloodshed of the American Revolution. Since 1965, the village of Pawtuxet, RI has commemorated this act with our annual Gaspee Days Celebration finding new ways to engage the community and promote awareness of Rhode Island's place in American history.