Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee Volunteer Spring Cleanup

The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee is seeking volunteers for our Spring Cleanup on Saturday March 25th (Rain date is March 26th). It starts at 9 AM and goes throughout the day. Come anytime. We will meet at the Portsmouth High School Tennis Courts next to the Fort. Every participant will need to sign a town liability form upon arrival. Butts Hill Fort Committee officials will be there throughout the day, so if you join in progress, please sign in with a team member for accountability. Participants are also asked to bring gloves, protective eye gear, loppers, shears, and rakes. The focus during this session will be clearing the areas in front of the Southern Ramparts which are adjacent to the tennis courts. Anyone can volunteer, please RSVP to publicrelations@battleofrhodeisland.org

The largest Revolutionary War earthwork still standing in southern New England, Butts Hill Fort, is in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It was started by Patriot militia in 1776, enlarged and completed by British troops occupying Aquidneck Island. It served as the headquarters for General John Sullivan during the Rhode Island Campaign in 1778 and was occupied and enlarged by allied French troops under Comte de Rochambeau during 1780-1781. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and on the National Park Service’s Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (WARO). The Fort has for years been inaccessible to the public and largely forgotten. The goal of the Restoration Committee is to return it to public use as an historical, educational, and recreational asset.