As far as national holidays go, Rhode Island Independence Day
has never made much of an impression. Even in Rhode Island, the
Bristol Fourth of July Parade and Gaspee Days have vastly
overshadowed May 4. But for dedicated local historians, it would
be a shame to let the day go unnoticed, which was why David
Procaccini managed to get some of those dedicated few to gather
on the lawn of the Nathanael Greene Homestead in Coventry on May
5 to honor the day and to mark the first public event at the
homestead orchestrated by Procaccini, who was anointed president
of the Homestead Association last month. “Rhode Island declared
its Independence on May 4, 1776, two months before the
Declaration in Philadelphia,” Procaccini said on May 5. “I don’t
think there is a better place to mark that anniversary than
here. Nathanael Greene was a vital contributor to the war for
independence, second in command to Washington.” The Rhode Island
Assembly’s defiant act gave Rhode Island a unique place in
American history. The handwrit