who led the attack on the british schooner the gaspee
Gaspee Affair The Gaspee Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS Gaspee[1] was a British customs schooner that had been enforcing the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island, in 1772. It ran aground in shallow water while chasing the packet ship Hannah on June 9 near what is now known as Gaspee Point in Warwick, Rhode Island. A group of men led by Abraham Whipple and John Brown attacked, boarded, and torched the ship.[2]