GASPEE, BURNING OF THE

(June 10, 1772), in U.S. colonial history, act of open civil defiance of British authority when Rhode Islanders boarded and sank the revenue cutter Gaspee in Narragansett Bay. Headed by a leading merchant, John Brown, eight boatloads of armed, reputable citizens overpowered the crew of the Gaspee, which had run aground in pursuit of a smuggling vessel, disabled her commander, and set fire to the ship. Despite concerted British efforts to bring the culprits to justice, the raiding party was never punished.