st. mary's that john f. kennedy and wife, jackie, tied the knot. where yachts and sailboats now crowd the docks, in the 1700's major seaport for sailing ships from around the world. one of the signers of the declaration of independence hailed from newport, william ellery. during the american revolution, the british occupied the town for three years. after the british left newport, it became the base for french troops sent to aid the colonies. under general rochambeau, 5,000 french soldiers marched to join general washington at yorktown. this painting shows the british surrender that ended the revolution. the americans are on the right, and the french on the left. in the early 1800's, southern plantation owners came north to newport to build grand summer homes. not to be outdone, wealthy yankees began to build even bigger homes. that set off a race between the richest families in america to try and out-build one another. they hired the most famous architects of the day and had them design palatial estates. this was the gilded age, the time of the titans who industrialized america. with almost limitless resourc