Rhode Island, USA, Goes to War

Like Much of America, Rhode Island Had Been Caught
Up in the Pre-Entry Preparedness Movement –
Preparedness Event in Providence, 3 June 1916

The State of Rhode Island is smallest U.S. state by area, measuring just 48 miles long and 37 miles wide. Known as the Ocean State, it features roughly 400 miles of coastline. Its capital and largest city is Providence. Its population during the First World War was about 606,000. For World War I, Rhode Island furnished 28,817 servicemen  to the U.S. war effort, with 612 losing their lives. The state served as a vital naval and military hub, particularly through Newport Naval Station, and later faced the devastating impacts of the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Local civilian volunteers, including staff from Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, organized ambulance corps and staffed overseas YMCA canteens. 

Military Contributions and Mobilization

Over 28,000 Rhode Islanders served in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. Through the draft and volunteer enlistments, the bulk of these men served throughout the various branches of the Army, the remained in the other services.  With the National Guard deployed, independent chartered organizations like the First Light Infantry stepped up to protect state infrastructure. 

Artillery Piece and Crew from the 103rd FA in France

The unit with the greatest concentration of Rhode Islanders was the 103rd Field Artillery of the new 26th Yankee Division.  The 103rd Field Artillery was formed on 5 August 1917 by combining National Guard Units from Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.  Rhode Island's Battery A,  had been cited for its work on the Mexican Border incident as "the most efficient National Guard Battery in the United States," and became the nucleus of the regiment's Batteries A, B, and C, and Troop M, Rhode Island cavalry, became its Headquarters company. Added to these were 476 National Guard Coastal  Artillerymen, 246 of them from Rhode Island. The 26th Division was arguably the longest-serving American unit serving on the Western Front fighting in every major campaign of the AEF.

Trainees at Naval Station Newport

The Strategic Importance Importance of Rhode Island to the Nation's War Effort

Narragansett Bay became a massive theater of naval operations. Naval Station Newport served as a major training base for thousands of sailors. Coastal fortifications like Fort Wetherill in Jamestown were aggressively reinforced with heavy artillery to guard against German U-boats, which were actively hunting offshore.  In July 1917, the Navy established a coastal patrol boat base on Block Island at Hog Pen Basin to monitor enemy activity and German U-boats off the New England coast. 

Rhode Island, as a great industrial center, played a large part in increasing war production in which hundreds of companies were involved. Cities like Woonsocket and Pawtucket ran around the clock to produce tons of wool and fabric, famously helping to clothe a vast portion of the U.S. military.  Rhode Island, the "jewelry capital of the world," repurposed its precision manufacturing tools. For example, the Gorham Manufacturing Company paused silver making to produce hand grenades and munitions.

An outstanding example of speeding up the war effort was provided by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. Starting from scratch on 17 November 1917, the company started constructing a factory at Field's Point in Providence to make large boilers for United States' ships, in short time they had shipped their first boiler and eventually established a speed record of producing a boiler a day.

Victory Parade

World War I Victory Parade, Providence 

On 11 May 1919, Providence, Rhode Island, held a massive spring Victory Parade to welcome home local World War I soldiers and sailors. An estimated 52,000 spectators turned out as military units marched down Washington Street and through Kennedy Plaza (then known as Exchange Place).  A temporary decorative arch was erected in the center of the plaza featuring a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace on top. The arch bore the words: "TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO WENT FORTH AND RETURNED NOT WHOSE SOULS ARE MARCHING ON."

The Struggle to Build a War Memorial

Rhode Island's World War One Memorial

With the war over, the leaders of Providence began to consider what would be a suitable memorial to honor those who had defended their country so well. It was first proposed to erect a memorial building with an auditorium, but the price tag of $2,000,000 was too high. Many proposals later, it was finally agreed to have artists and sculptors submit sketches in competition. As a result the design of Paul Philippe Cret for a fluted 150-ft  shaft monument was approved in 1928. At long last, on Armistice Day 1929, the people of Providence gathered in the newly named Memorial Square to join with Senator Jesse H. Metcalf, Governor Norman S. Case, and others, to dedicate this "tribute in granite" in honor the memory of those who had served, and particularly those who had given their lives. The female figure at top represents peace.

Sources:  Rhode Island Yearbook, 1969; Rhode Island A Bibliography of its History — “Rhode Island in World War I”; Small State — Big History; Rhode Island State Archives