Memoirs of Anne C.L. Botta,: written by her friends. With selections from her correspondence and from her writings in prose and poetry.

!Belcctions from Ibcr.rttino
was occupied as the headquarters of the English commander,
General Prescott. The harbor was filled with the enemy's ships,
and the island with their troops; but Colonel Barton, of Providence, formed the bold resolution of capturing the general. A
dark night was chosen for the enterprise; and with a few volunteers the gallant colonel embarked in a small boat, and with
muffled oars they noiselessly made their way to the shore. They
reached the general's house, silenced the sentinels at the door,
surprised the general in his bed, and giving him only time to
put on his small clothes, without shoes, coat, or chapeau, they
assisted him very rapidly through the rye-fields that lay between
them and the water; and while the drowsy sentinels of the
English fleet cried "All's well! " they passed under their bows,
and safely regained the opposite shore. The general, taken thus
ingloriously, lingered in confinement until he was exchanged for
a prisoner of equal rank.
Newport has been the birthplace and residence of many distinguished men. General Greene resided here for many years
with his family, and the mansion he occupied is still pointed
out. The gallant Perry was born and educated here, and a
monument, erected by the State, marks the place of his repose.
The eminent Dr. Stiles, afterward president of Yale College, was
for many years pastor of the Congregational Church in Newport;
as was also the venerable Dr. Hopkins, the founder of the Hopkinsian sect. The Rev. Arthur Brown, afterward president of
Trinity College, Dublin, was born and educated here. The lamented Dr. Channing was also a native of this island. He thus
describes the influence of its scenery, in his own chastened and
earnest eloquence:
In this town I pursued my theological studies. I had no professor to
guide me, but I had two noble places of study - one was yonder beautiful edifice now frequented as a public library, the other was the beach,
the roar of which has so often mingled with the worship of this place -
my daily resort; dear to me in the sunshine, still more attractive in the
storm. Seldom do I visit it now without thinking of the work which
there, in the sight of that beauty, in the sound of those waves, was carried on in my soul. No spot on earth has helped to form me so much
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