The I-95 War

I made the reverse trip that Nathanael Greene made, going up from New Jersey to Rhode Island, to see what I could find of the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778.  In a small location crushed between highways is Patriot Park, where a plaque tells us this was the "location" of the battle.

American commander General John Sullivan was just to the north (left) of this monument as shown above.  The British moved northward on Aquidneck Island, both Hessians and Regulars, and were repulsed in this general area and to the east and north, but the Americans then withdraw to Tiverton and the mainland, in the vicinity of Fort Barton.  More to say on this battle is subsequent posts.

But what struck me on the drive back was the fact that the Revolution was really the I-95 War, from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts.  While of course this world war spread across continents and oceans, the most significant battles on the American mainland were within exit-reach of I-95.  If you want to understand America and its roots. treat I-95 as a cruiseship, and stop off at the various "ports" to appreciate the differences in culture, politics and ethos of Eastern Seaboard Americans.