01:00 AM EST on Sunday, February 22, 2004

THROUGHOUT the 13 original states, local boosters make the claim "George Washington slept here" (or, at least, that he schlepped here).

These assertions are actually easier to verify than one might think. George Washington was a prolific correspondent. His letters are preserved in a 39-volume publication (compiled by John C. Fitzpatrick). He also kept a detailed, though interrupted, diary until a few days before he closed his eyes for the last time, on Dec. 14, 1799. The diary (also edited by Fitzpatrick) fills four volumes.

These sources detail Washington's travels along the Eastern Seaboard, from Kittery, Maine, to Savannah, Ga. Indeed, the comings and goings of this mobile Virginian are better known to posterity than those of any other 18th-Century American.

We can say with certitude, therefore, that Washington slept in Rhode Island on four sojourns: in 1756, '76, '81 and '90.

Washington's first contact with the state came before his celebrity, so it's less well documented than his later visits. As a 24-year-old colonel of the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, Washington objected to the British policy whereby royal military commissions were superior to those of equal rank authorized by the colonial governments. To protest the situation, he set off for Boston to plead his case to Gen. William Shirley, commander-in-chief of His Majesty's forces in America. En route to the second-largest city in colonial America, Washington stopped in Newport, which then ranked fifth.

The Virginian was the house guest of Godfrey Malbone Sr., a merchant. Malbone's residence, according to contemporaries, was the finest in Newport and enjoyed a commanding water view. Sadly, its potential as an elegant 21st Century bed-and-breakfast was extinguished by fire, in 1766.

When Washington visited Rhode Island for the second time, on Friday, April 5, 1776, he came as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. After his siege of Boston had forced the British evacuation, on March 17, 1776, the general visited Providence en route to a confrontation with the British in New York. The victorious commander received a hero's welcome as soon as he entered Providence, on North Main Street.

Washington stayed at the simple home of former Gov. Stephen Hopkins, then on South Main Street. The house now stands on Benefit, having been moved in 1928, when the Providence County Court House was under construction. (The Hopkins House is owned by the state and maintained and opened to the public by the Rhode Island branch of the National Society of Colonial Dames.)

Two days later, Washington left Providence for New York, going overland, via Norwich and New London, Conn., and then by boat. On the way, he passed through Cranston and Scituate, but did not pause to nap.

Washington's third Rhode Island visit, in 1781, was when he came from his headquarters, on the Hudson River, to meet with Count Rochambeau and his Newport-based French army -- to prepare a strategy for final victory over England.

On March 6, 1781, General Washington, with a guard of 20 soldiers, entered Rhode Island at Westerly and proceeded along the Post Road through Charlestown and South Kingstown. Then he boarded a ferry for Jamestown, crossed that island, and ferried to Newport.

Washington spent a full week in Newport, discussing strategy by day and dining and dancing by night. He slept -- when his adoring hosts and colleagues let him -- in the Vernon House, which stands at Clarke and Mary streets.

The general and his party left for Providence on Tuesday, March 13, 1781, passing quickly through Middletown, Portsmouth, Bristol, Warren and Barrington -- stopping only for lunch, at the tavern of Shubael Burr, in Warren. (The tab, 12 pounds, 12 shillings, was later paid by the General Assembly -- and duly reported.)

In Providence, Washington had his usual "royal" reception. He spent two nights at the house of Deputy Gov. Jabez Bowen, on the site of the present Providence-Washington Insurance Building (owned today by the Rhode Island School of Design). He left early on Thursday, March 15, to rejoin his army on the Hudson, going through Johnston, Scituate and Foster.

During his New England tour of 1789, President Washington snubbed Rhode Island. The state's refusal to attend the Philadelphia Convention or to ratify the Constitution had made Rhode Island, in effect, a foreign country.

When Rhode Island finally relented, on May 29, 1790, so did the president: Upon Congress's adjournment, he planned his fourth visit to Rhode Island. Then, on Aug. 15, he left New York City by boat, with an entourage of luminaries, including Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.

Arriving in Newport early on Aug. 17, President Washington experienced the usual round of toasting and boasting, which culminated in a lavish dinner-dance at the Colony House. He then retired to Mrs. Mary Almy's fashionable boarding house (long since eradicated), on Thames Street, near Mary Street.

During his stroll around town that day, Washington had gone to Touro Synagogue. In gratitude for the warm welcome he received from Newport's small Jewish community, the president later wrote his now famous letter in which he assured the congregation that "happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens."

On Wednesday, Aug. 18, the president sailed by packet for Providence. There he toured what was then called Rhode Island College -- now Brown University -- and took refreshment at the John Brown House. He dined and slept at the Golden Ball Tavern, on Benefit Street at the corner of South Court, a structure demolished in 1941. (A sandwich-shop parking lot now occupies the site.)

After much touring and many toasts, Washington and his entourage reboarded their packet on Thursday, Aug. 19, 1790, for New York City.

This visit, and the adulation with which Washington was received, helped cement relations between Rhode Island and the Union. The president's benign presence also seemed to dispel most of the state's lingering doubts about the new federal experiment. Nathanael Greene, in a letter to his commander, summed up Rhode Island's feelings: "You were admired [here] before; you are little less than adored now."

On this, the 272nd anniversary of your birth, Mr. President, Rhode Islanders with an appreciation of American history still love you. On that you can rest assured!

Patrick T. Conley, of Bristol, is a historian, lawyer and business owner.