S3E9 - Peace

Hello and welcome to the story of Rhode Island. The Podcast that tells you the story of Rhode Island’s fascinating history.
In last week’s episode, we followed General Ambrose Burnside to North Carolina, where he led a bold and brilliant amphibious assault deep into Confederate territory. But his success didn’t last. By December of 1862, Burnside suffered a crushing defeat at Fredericksburg—one that drove Union morale into the ground.
And now, as we step into the summer of 1863, we meet some of the brave Rhode Islanders trying to turn the war around.
The first is Alfred Gardner, a 41-year-old private in Battery B, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. He’s a deeply religious man, and tonight, he sits quietly by a small campfire in southern Pennsylvania, completely lost in thought. Gardner has seen more horror than most men can bear. He survived Antietam—the bloodiest single day of the war— then fought at Fredericksburg just months later. And Now, as the fire flickers in front of him, the memories return to him: he sees dead bodies piled high, hears the cries of wounded men, and the smell of gunsmoke lingering in the air.
But His nightmare breaks when his tentmate and friend, Sergeant Albert Straight, sits down beside him. Gardner, still half in a daze, blinks and gives a slow nod.
Over months of shared hardship and long campfire talks, the two have formed quite the bond. And Straight, seeing his friend’s troubled look, tries to lift the mood.

"What do you think your kids are up to right now?", asks Straight.
While smiling faintly, Gardner responds with, "Ohhh, Lord only knows. But if I had to guess... Rosavele and Ida are probably helping around the house—they’re good like that. I’d bet Lillian’s playing with her doll while Alfred runs wild outside. And Adelphia? She follows her mama everywhere. So whatever Adelia’s doing, you can be sure she is too."
For a moment, Gardner finds comfort in the thought of home. But the warmth of that memory is edged with pain. A devoted husband and father, It took him more than a year of prayer before he found the strength to leave his family behind and join the army. Now, he misses them more than ever. He longs to once again feel his wife’s gentle hands running through his hair and hear the sound of his children’s laughter in the morning.
But Not wanting to seem impolite, Gardner turns the question around by asking "And what about your kids? What do you suppose they're up to?"
Straight chuckles and states "Probably about the same. Laura's always got that doll in her arms. And Charles? That boy would play outside in a snowstorm if we let him."
But before they can say more, their conversation is interrupted when their Lieutenant, Thomas Brown, tells them that it’s time for lights out. The young man from Providence reminds the soldiers that they have a long day ahead of them so they better get their rest. Gardner and Straight, knowing that when they wake they'll be that much closer to yet another battle, reluctantly head off to sleep. As they lie in their tent, they think about the carnage that awaits them. Because tomorrow morning, the men of Battery B will march out to face General Lee’s Army at a small town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg. With northern morale at an all time low, Lees decided to drive his army of 75 thousand battle-tested soldiers into Union territory with the hope that a win in Pennsylvania might just be the final blow that convinces northerners to give up on this devastating war. But thankfully, 90 thousand Union soldiers led by General George Meade have no intentions of allowing that to happen. Instead they plan on whipping Lee so that they can obtain the galvanizing win they need to see this thing out till the end. And so, for the final episode of season 3 we’ll follow Alfred Gardner and his comrades in Battery B as they engage confederate forces at the largest engagement ever to take place on American soil, learning yet again how Rhode Island contributed to this deadly conflict. Then, after watching the American Civil War finally come to an end, we’ll witness the joyous celebrations shared by civilians back home and catch a glimpse of what Rhode Island will look like in the coming decades. The heroic tale of Battery B’s role in the Battle of Gettysburg and the final years of the Civil War is what we’ll cover in the season finale of the Story of Rhode Island Podcast.
Intro Music

It’s 10:00 a.m. on July 2nd, 1863—the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. After a brutal first day of fighting, Union forces have taken a defensive position on high ground just south of town, forming a shape that looks like a giant fishhook. On their right is Culp’s Hill; at the center are Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge; and on their left flank, are the rocky slopes of Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Surrounding them are tens of thousands of Confederate troops, desperate to break through. General Robert E. Lee is determined to humiliate yet another Union general—and perhaps bring the North to its knees. As the chaos of war echoes through Gettysburg, Private Alfred Gardner and his comrades in Battery B march toward the action on Cemetery Ridge. Around them, the battlefield comes alive: Confederate soldiers shout as they charge Union lines, wounded men scream in agony, and Union officers bark orders over the roar of drums and the call of fifes and bugles.While marching, Gardner feels his heart pounding as he enters the battlefield. Walking beside him is his friend, Sergeant Straight. The two battle hardened soldiers make eye contact and give each other a nod as they mentally prepare to embark into the fray yet again. Reaching the ridge, Battery B positions its four cannons between groups of infantry. The men spring into action with mechanical precision. Gardner, acting as the number two man on his crew, rams a corkscrew-like worm down the barrel to clear out debris. Beside him, the number one man follows with a sponge to douse any remaining embers. Once the barrel is dried, the fifth man passes Gardner a round, which he loads into the cannon with practiced ease. But Just as he steps back, an enemy cannonball slams into a nearby Union unit. The explosion rips through the line. Survivors scream in pain as shrapnel rips through their limbs. Some stagger off the field. Others lie motionless, gasping for breath. Gardner freezes, staring at the carnage. He’s seen this before—but it never gets easier. Quietly, he begins murmuring a short prayer for the fallen but is interrupted when he hears Sargeant Straight yell “FIRE”, sending yet another round towards the rebel soldiers. This rhythm of loading, aiming, and firing the cannon continues for nearly an hour until a new order is given: Battery B is told to advance several hundred yards forward, into an open ridge called Codori’s Field—now the most exposed position on the Union line.

But the Rhode Islanders don’t hesitate. Under fire, they maneuver their guns forward and resume firing, targeting a Confederate battery within range of General Meade’s headquarters. Their barrage is effective—so effective, in fact, that the Confederate gunners are forced to retreat.

But the danger is far from over.

Suddenly, from the woods to their left, a group of Confederate soldiers bursts out, screaming the infamous rebel yell. Bullets slice through the air. Gardner hears them whipping past his ears. Under intense fire, the men of Battery B are ordered to fall back behind a stone wall. Most of them make it. But Lieutenant Thomas Brown—riding a nervous horse—is thrown off in the chaos. As he scrambles to his feet, a soldier from Georgia takes aim and shoots him in the neck, dropping him to the ground, motionless.

As the fighting rages on for another couple of hours Brown remains wounded and helpless on the field. It isn’t until the guns fall silent later that afternoon that he’s finally recovered and taken to a field hospital. Against all odds, the young officer survives.

Gardner and Straight survive the day as well—but their fight isn’t over.

Although Union forces still hold the high ground, General Lee is far from finished. He’s convinced his men have one more chance to break Meade’s line.

Tomorrow, July 3rd, he’ll throw everything he has at the Union center. And Battery B will find itself in the direct path of one of the largest artillery barrages of the entire war.

It’s just before 1 p.m. on July 3rd, and the Gettysburg battlefield is eerily still. The thunder of gunfire has gone silent, the charging ranks of Confederate soldiers are nowhere to be seen, and an uneasy calm hangs in the air. After heavy fighting earlier in the morning, both sides have taken time to regroup. And now, all Northern soldiers can do is anxiously wait for General Lee’s next move.

Standing beside four cannons on Cemetery Ridge are the Rhode Islanders of Battery B. Positioned at a place known as "The Angle"—the point where two stone walls converge, one running east along Cemetery Ridge and a shorter one running south—their location is precisely where General Lee will direct his next attack.

As they wait for the bloodshed to resume, Private Alfred Gardner quietly murmurs a series of prayers. He asks God for courage, for protection over his fellow soldiers, and for comfort for his wife and five children back home, knowing how much this war has already burdened them.

Then, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, he feels the ground tremble beneath him, and the sounds of battle return as Confederate batteries open fire. With His hands now shaking, Gardner stands resolutely beside his cannon. In an attempt to weaken Union defenses, Lee has unleashed a relentless barrage, focusing much of his artillery fire on the very spot where Gardner now stands.

Though the men of Battery B are eager to return fire, they stick to their training and wait for the order from their superiors. With every passing second, another Confederate shell screams toward them. But Gardner knows that, for now, all he can do is pray he remains out of harm’s way.

Finally, around 1:15 p.m., the order is given, and Union batteries respond with an equally ferocious counterattack. Just as he has done countless times before, Gardner and his comrades clean, load, and fire their cannon with precision. Over the next hour, the duel grows into the largest artillery exchange ever seen in the Western Hemisphere.

To stay composed amid the chaos, Gardner focuses entirely on the task at hand, aware that even a single mistake could cost a comrade’s life. With his training taking over, he continues to prepare the cannon, readying it to fire over and over again.

But then, while cleaning the barrel, an enemy shell slams into the muzzle of his cannon, sending Gardner's body flying through the air. With a loud ringing in his ears, he takes a moment to collect himself before leaning against the cannon. Then, a sharp, searing pain radiates from his left side. When he looks down, he finds a gaping wound—his organs exposed, and his left arm nearly severed from his shoulder.

Seeing his friend badly wounded, Sergeant Straight rushes to his side but the two men quickly realize the injury is fatal. As each second passes, Gardner grows weaker. Knowing the end is near, he asks Straight to remove the Bible from his pocket. After a short prayer, Gardner tells him to send it home to his wife—and to let her know he died happy.

Straight nods solemnly and begins to sob as he says goodbye to the man he’s grown so close to over the past year. As Gardner slips closer to death, his hearing fades and the battle noise becomes distant. With a faint smile, Alfred Gardner, a loving husband and devoted father of five, grabs Straight’s hand and says goodbye. Then, using the last of his strength, he takes one final breath and declares, “Glory to God, hallelujah. I am happy. Amen,” and dies just moments later.

Amid the continuing battle, Straight takes a brief moment to gather himself before returning to the fight. Then, With Gardner’s lifeless body beside him, he begins reloading the cannon. But the tube, now badly damaged by enemy fire, has become obstructed. Straight tries to force the cannonball down the barrel using a hammer, but as he does, another Confederate shell strikes the gun, throwing him to the ground and fatally wounding the fourth member of the crew.

Straight gets up and attempts again to load the shell into cannon, but realizes it’s hopeless. Eventually, the cannon cools and the cannonball becomes permanently lodged in the barrel. Moments later, a nearby Union general, seeing the devastating casualties Battery B has suffered, orders them off the battlefield. As The Rhode Islanders limber to the rear, Straight stops to take one last look at his fallen friend, bidding him farewell for the final time.

Soon after Battery B’s withdrawal, General Lee sends 12,000 men under Major General George Pickett in a desperate charge against the Union lines—targeting the same spot where Gardner just died. The attack, famously known as Pickett’s Charge, is a catastrophic failure. By 3:45 p.m., Lee realizes the assault has no chance of success and is forced to retreat, handing the Union a pivotal victory.

Across three days of fighting at Gettysburg, approximately 165,000 soldiers partook in the battle, and by the end, around 50,000 were killed, wounded, or missing—making it the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. Although only two Rhode Island batteries and fewer than 400 men took part, they saw some of the fiercest combat of the day. Their courage stands as a powerful reminder that the legacy of lesser-known, everyday soldiers like Private Alfred Gardner is just as meaningful as the names etched on monuments across the country.

After the battle, Sergeant Straight fulfills Gardner’s final request. He sends the Bible home to Gardner’s wife, letting her know that her husband died at peace. The cannon beside which Gardner fell has become known as the “Gettysburg Gun.” It now resides in the Rhode Island State House, with the very cannonball Straight tried to load still lodged in its barrel.

Though incredibly costly, the Battle of Gettysburg proves to be a major turning point in the Civil War. In its aftermath, General Lee and his battered army retreat to South Carolina. Encouraged by their victory, Union forces shift from simply holding ground to pressing deeper into Confederate territory. Just one day after Gettysburg, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, giving the North control of the Mississippi River and splitting the Confederacy in two. Thanks to these back to back achievements, the momentum begins to favor the Union.

Then, In 1864, President Lincoln appoints Grant commander of all Union armies. Determined to crush Lee’s forces, Grant launches the Overland Campaign, a series of brutal battles—including the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. Though the cost is immense, by summer, Grant pins Lee’s army in a nine-month siege at Petersburg, severely limiting its ability to influence the war’s outcome.

Unfortunately, During the siege, General Burnside’s reputation takes another significant hit while overseeing a potentially brilliant military operation. His innovative idea entails detonating a massive mine beneath Confederate defenses in an attempt to break through the lines. Leading the charge following the detonation is a regiment of Black troops trained specifically for the operation. Unfortunately, General Meade overrules him and has a team of unprepared white soldiers sent instead. The result is chaos. Instead of going around the hole left by the explosion the union soldiers go in it, allowing confederate troops to shoot them dead like fish in a barrel. By the time it’s over, the fiasco is Known as the Battle of the Crater and results in 4,000 Union casualties in less than three hours, making it forever remembered as one of the most humiliating failures of the entire war.

Fortunately, the final months of 1864 brings renewed hope. In November and December, General Sherman leads his famous March to the Sea, cutting a swath through Georgia and destroying key Confederate infrastructure—railroads, factories, and farms vital to the Southern war effort.

By April 1865, the Confederacy is unraveling. General Robert E. Lee’s once-formidable Army of Northern Virginia, now stretched thin and low on supplies, is cornered by Grant’s forces. Meanwhile, Back in the North, Rhode Islanders watch the war’s progress with growing optimism. After witnessing far too many fathers, sons, and brothers leave for war—only to return maimed or in coffins—they long for it all to end.

And at last, on a spring afternoon in 1865, they receive the news they’ve waited far too long to hear.
It’s the afternoon of April 9, 1865, and Lucian Sharpe is seen exiting the shop he co-owns with his business partner and brilliant inventor, Joseph Brown. While Standing outside the shop, Sharpe pauses to admire their company’s three-story building and reflects on the success they’ve achieved over the past four years. As he looks at the large sign that reads “J.R. Brown & Sharpe,” he thinks about the innovative precision instruments and machine tools that his ingenious partner has developed over the last decade.
As we saw in last week’s episode, Brown designed the machine tools that allowed the Providence Tool Company to meet the government’s wartime demand for firearms. And although their company will later become synonymous with the machine tool industry, as of 1865 Brown & Sharpe earns the majority of its revenue from an entirely different product: sewing machines.
This profitable venture began back in the 1850s, when Brown & Sharpe went into business with James Gibbs and James Willcox, owners of the Willcox & Gibbs sewing machine. Brown & Sharpe began manufacturing their device, and fortunately, sewing machines quickly gained widespread acceptance among American households and factories. As a result, the company’s sales quadrupled within just four years, making the business quite a profitable enterprise by the time we find ourselves visiting Sharpe.
Eventually, Sharpe decides he’s spent enough time reminiscing about his recent business successes. Turning his back on their bustling shop on Providence’s South Main Street, he begins his walk home for dinner. But only a few steps into his climb up College Hill, he starts to hear shouts of joy echoing across the city. Moments later, the sound of church bells ringing and muskets being fired by local militias fills the air.
Curious and concerned, Sharpe turns back toward the noise to see what all the commotion is about. He soon encounters one of his employees and asks, “What in God’s name is going on?”
Overcome with excitement, the man grabs Sharpe by the shoulders and shouts, “We’ve done it! We won! General Lee and his army have surrendered to Grant at Appomattox! The war is finally over!”
Without hesitation, Sharpe embraces him, and the two begin to shout with joy—overwhelmed with relief that the carnage of the last four years has come to an end. Celebrating alongside them are thousands of other Rhode Islanders, people who have witnessed this war evolve into a far more devastating conflict than anyone could have imagined—one for which the state sacrificed so much in the effort to win.
Over the course of the war, nearly 24,000 Rhode Islanders—serving in 22 different regiments and batteries—took part in the conflict, making Rhode Island one of the North’s largest per capita contributors. Many of these brave men fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and others. Sadly, not all made it home. More than 1,600 Rhode Islanders lost their lives—killed either in battle or by disease.
Meanwhile, Back on the home front, businesses across the state did everything they could to support the war effort and ensure their soldiers were equipped to endure. Companies large and small, including Brown & Sharpe, manufactured everything from marine engines to military saddles and horseshoes. Over those four long years, the Civil War touched nearly every Rhode Islander in some way—whether it was a young governor leading his troops into battle, a novice officer grappling with responsibilities beyond his training, or families mourning loved ones lost to war.
Thankfully, that dark chapter has now come to an end and The people of Rhode Island can finally begin to imagine a future beyond war.
And to give us a glimpse of what that future holds, we now head to present-day Narragansett to visit the man who first led America’s smallest state into the fury of war.
Making his way into an old farmhouse in present-day Narragansett is William Sprague, a man we once knew as the “Boy Governor.” But that name no longer suits him. Now in his mid-thirties, Sprague is no longer a boy, and he hasn’t been the governor of Rhode Island since his election to the United States Senate in 1863.
As Senator Sprague enters the farmhouse's family room, he pauses and gazes at a picture of the late President Lincoln hanging on the wall. Shaking his head, he lets out a long sigh and reflects on the moment he first learned of Lincoln’s assassination—a man with whom he had developed a deep connection over the course of the war. Still struggling to believe that someone could commit such an act, he becomes visibly upset.
Eventually, Sprague’s wife, Kate, notices her husband’s demeanor so she walks over and stands beside him. Like William, Kate also came to know the President on a personal level. Her father, Salmon P. Chase, had served as Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury and was later nominated by Lincoln for Chief Justice. In fact, it was her father’s career that led her to meet William. While attending one of many social events in Washington, D.C., she encountered the dashing young senator from the small state of Rhode Island and was immediately smitten. Likewise, William was captivated by Kate’s beauty and wit. A brief courtship followed, and the two married in 1863.
With their good looks, prominent family backgrounds, and William’s ever-expanding textile empire, the couple quickly became known as a powerful pair. To underscore that power, they now plan to build a massive mansion on the grounds of the farmhouse they’ve just purchased.
Excited by the idea of their future home, Kate turns to her husband and asks, “William, remind me. Who’s the Indian you want to name our home after again?”
“Canonchet,” replies William.
“Oh yes, that’s right. Canonchet. And what tribe was he chief of again?”
“Sachem,” replies William.
“What?”
“They didn’t call him a chief; they called him a sachem. He was one of the sachems of the Narragansett tribe. Their people once ruled the very land we’re standing on—and most of what is now our state.”
“Oh, interesting,” she responds. “So, what happened to them?”
“Well, after losing a war against the English, they were driven from their homeland and took up refuge with a local tribe in southern Rhode Island, allowing colonial farmers to settle here. In fact, the ancestors of the family we bought this land from—the Robinsons—were among the first to arrive. They were part of a wealthy group of agriculturalists known as the Narragansett Planters. They basically ran Rhode Island alongside the local merchants back when we were still a British colony,” says William.
“Huh,” Kate replies, clearly surprised. “Rhode Island run by a bunch of farmers. You don’t say. How things change.”
“Yes,” says William, “they certainly do.”
With their brief history lesson complete, the young couple resumes wandering through the farmhouse, discussing the dramatic changes they plan to make to the property—a farm built on land that reminds us how change, no matter how permanent things may seem, is inevitable.
At the beginning of the 17th century, it would’ve been unthinkable to imagine the Narragansett people not ruling the land west of Narragansett Bay. But after decades of mistreatment, abuse, and the devastation of King Philip’s War, their population dwindled, and they were pushed aside by a growing English presence. Even the wealthy Narragansett Planters who moved onto their land couldn’t stop the waves of change from sweeping over them. After years of dividing their plantations among heirs, the economic turmoil brought on by the Revolutionary War, and the gradual abolition of slavery in Rhode Island, the Planters lost their grip on power.
Not long after, the coastal merchants who had ruled Rhode Island’s economy also saw their dominance slip away. As we’ve seen throughout this season, the 19th century ushered in a new type of dominant figure: the industrialist. Following Samuel Slater’s success at Slater Mill and Slatersville, Rhode Island entered an Industrial Revolution that birthed a booming textile industry. With the state consumed by a craze known as “cotton mill fever,” industrialists officially overtook the merchant class as Rhode Island’s leading economic force.
Even the political upheaval of the Dorr Rebellion and the chaos of the Civil War couldn’t slow their ascent. In fact, the war only strengthened them, as the government relied on their factories to produce military supplies. And now, with the war behind them, powerful businessmen like William Sprague are poised to continue growing the state’s industrial economy. And as we’ll see next season, that’s exactly what they’ll do.
Over the next half-century, Rhode Island’s economy will boom like never before. The middle and upper classes will thrive, the population will surge, and the state’s coastal towns will become playgrounds for America’s ultra-wealthy. Even a world war won’t be able to stop the momentum of the state’s Golden age.
And just like the Narragansett people, the Planters, and the 18th-century merchants, those driving this wave of prosperity will be unable to imagine its end. More than ever, they’ll be convinced that this time will be different. This time, the walls of their mansions and textile factories will be enough to hold back the tides of change.
But alas, change will prevail once again.
Eventually, Newport’s gilded-age mansions will be vacated, Rhode Island’s textile mills will crumble, and the state’s era of immense prosperity will come to an end. And when it’s all over, those standing amidst the ruins will be left asking themselves: “What on earth happened—and how did we let it all slip away?”
But those are questions we’ll answer next time, in Season 4 of The Story of Rhode Island podcast.