I realized that I still had some pictures to post...so after a year and a half of everyone patiently waiting, here are my new posts!

So, there we were like any other day driving back to our home in Rehoboth waiting at the lights in Taunton center, when I looked over to see the inscription on the monument that said, "A Signer of the Declaration of Independence". That's all I needed to see. I jumped out of the car and Melanie took this stunning picture...maybe not so stunning.

His name is Robert Treat Pain from Taunton,MA. So what makes him so special...well he was tutored by Mr Lovell who taught John Adams and John Hancock...not a shabby tutor. The "Lives of the Signers" 1848 reprint says that "Young Paine entered Harvard college at the age of 14 and graduated with usual honors"...usual honors...what boy, age 14, today is graduating from Harvard with "usual" honors. He was a member of the Provincial Congress in Mass. However, most of his life was spent as a judge serving next to John Adams and then as the Attorney General of Mass for many years.

Another amazing founding father!

Portsmouth, RI

This monument is in front of the Portsmouth,RI historical society. It a beautiful building as you can see from the next posts. Can't say I know anything else about this building. What I do know about is that this "Skirmish" as they call the Battle of Rhode Island, was the only Continental army battle in New England other than the battle of Dorchester Heights after Washington assumed command. There were about 20K troops between the Kings army, the American militia under John Hancock and others, the French under D'estange and the Continental army under Sullivan and Green. That's a sizable battle by any standard. However, the battle that raged from the Newport reservoir to Butt's Hill in Portsmouth ended in defeat for the Americans as an intense thunder storm disheartened the Americans, destroyed some of D'estang's ships and ended in a retreat.
I think of these men often as I drive to work over the same roads that John Hancock lead his Boston militia army over. By the way, anyone with a German name who lives in Portsmouth? You could be descended from the Hessians who defended that part of the Island from the Americans and who could have settled there after the war.

Bristol, RI

Happened to be taking a bike ride in Bristol, RI and came upon these plaques and monuments in the center of town. I loved what this one said by Daniel Webster. Basically, freedom isn't free!

Blow this up and read it. It's an epitaph to the Pastor who served in during the mid 18oos. The words are so rich. He must have been a very dear Shepherd of God to have a monument like this erected in his honor!