Burning of the Gaspee Christmas ornament on sale online, and at State House
PROVIDENCE — An ornament depicting the Burning of the Gaspee can join the little Santas and sweet angels on Rhode Island Christmas trees this holiday season.
Produced by a local company, the commemorative ornament shows the British revenue schooner burning off Warwick in silver and gold Christmas colors on a not-so silent night in 1772.
Rhode Islanders who want to mix their revolutionary pride with their Christmas spirit can buy the ornament online and at the Rhode Island State House Visitor Center and Gift Shop, Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore announced this week.
Amore is chairman of the Rhode Island Semiquincentennial 250th Commission (RI250), a group that is “highlighting and acknowledging the significant role” Rhode Island played in the country’s creation as it approaches its 250th anniversary. The commission was established in 2021 through a General Assembly resolution. In an event that some Rhode Islanders consider as important as the Boston Tea Party in triggering the American Revolution, Rhode Island colonists boarded and burned HMS Gaspee after it ran aground off what’s now called Gaspee Point in June of 1772.
The 5-inch by 5-inch ornament shows flames and smoke pouring from the schooner as two skiffs, apparently loaded with the revolutionary Rhode Islanders, row away. The flat ornament is etched into solid brass with 24-karat gold, rhodium silver and hand lacquer finishes, according to an online description. It costs $18.
The ornament was created by Beacon Design in Lincoln in collaboration with the Rhode Island State House Visitor Center and Gift Shop, according to Amore. Since 1981, Beacon Design has produced the official White House Christmas ornament for the White House Historical Association. This year’s White House ornament commemorates former President Gerald Ford.
Earlier this year, a special charity Gaspee license plate went on sale, so Rhode Islanders can now show their revolutionary pride in their living rooms and on the roads.