The Needles The Needles The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise about 30m out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmost Civil Parish of the Isle of Wight. The Needles Lighthouse stands at the outer, western end of the formation. Built in 1859, it has been automated since 1994. The waters and adjoining seabed form part of the Needles Marine Conservation Zone and the Needles along with the shore and heath above are part of the Headon Warren and
1st Rhode Island Battery 1st Rhode Island Battery The First Rhode Island Battery (also known as "Tompkins' Marine Artillery") was an artillery unit which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 1st Rhode Island Battery was organized by Colonel Samuel G. Arnold at the Benefit Street Arsenal in Providence for three months' service in April 1861. It was organized from the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery, a unit of the Rhode Island Militia. It was commanded by Captain Charles H. Tompkins. The Battery left Rhode Island for Jersey City, New Jersey on April 18, 1861, then moved to Easton, PA