RI Author Hosting Talk In Little Compton About Rhode Island Spies In American Revolution

LITTLE COMPTON, RI — A Little Compton author is providing an opportunity for people to learn a little more about the founding of the United States.

At 7 p.m. April 7, author and historian Christian McBurney will host a talk at the United Congregational Church in Little Compton titled, "Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island." The presentation will also be available on Zoom.

"Espionage played a vital role in the American revolution in Rhode Island," a spokesperson for the Little Compton Historical Society said. "The British and the Americans both employed spies to discover the secrets, plans and positions of their enemy. Little Compton played a key role in the spy game. American spies gathered and conveyed key information about the British occupation of Aquidneck Island, just across the Sakonnet. Author Christian McBurney unravels the world of spies and covert operations in Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War."

McBurney is a historian, author, and lecturer. He was raised in Kingston and graduated from Brown University in 1981. He embarked on a career as an attorney and now resides in Washington, D.C.

McBurney has a second home in West Kingston and frequently lectures in Rhode Island. He has written six books on the American Revolution, including "Spies in Revolutionary Rhode Island," "The Rhode Island Campaign," The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War" and his latest book, "Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade."

He is also the publisher and editor-in-chief of a leading Rhode Island history blog, "The Online Review of Rhode Island History."