A Tribute to the 1st Rhode Island Regiment
2026-09-19 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Smith’s Castle, 55 Richard Smith Drive, North Kingstown, RI, 02852
FREE ADMISSION · SUGGESTED DONATION
LIVING HISTORY
Valerie Tutson
Rhode Island Black Storytellers
Tutson will perform a presentation portraying the wife of Caesar Updik, and tell their lives of upheaval and uncertainty during the war and on his return as a free man to Rhode Island.
Jason Roomes
Trustee & Direct Descendant
A historical re-enactor and direct descendant of two separate patriots of color, Roomes will discuss the formation of the Regiment and his own family’s role in the Revolution.
[Handwritten historical document, North Kingstown, dated Feb 24, 1778, addressed to Beriah Brown, signed Nathaniel Hall — text is in cursive and partially illegible]
FEATURED TALK
John Dower
Historian & President Emeritus
Dower will offer a presentation on the lives and sacrifice of Caesar and Moses Updike, two enslaved servants of Smith’s Castle who enlisted and served in the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.
Military drill demonstrations and salute by Revolutionary reenactors Varnum Continentals & 2nd Rhode Island Regiment
