Ceremonial burning of the Gaspee in Warwick

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — The Gaspee Days celebration concluded on Sunday with a mock burning of the HMS Gaspee.

The recreation of the ship was made of wood, hay, and old Christmas trees, was lit to recreate a pivotal moment in Rhode Island, and American, history.

The ship, which patrolled Narragansett Bay before the Revolutionary War, was burned by Rhode Islanders in what historians call a “spark that ignited the American Revolution.”

Fire department boats from Warwick and Cranston extinguished the flames of the mock ship after the ceremony.