Was Rhode Island ever a real island?

The map clearly shows that the state of Rhode Island is attached solidly to the land mass of North America. It is tucked between Massachusetts, Connecticut and the sea. Its southern border faces the wild Atlantic and at the eastern end of the state, the ocean has bitten a great waterway, Narragansett Bay, far inland. The bay is spattered with islands, large and small   and one of them is Rhode Island for which the entire state was named.

The Indian name of the island was originally Aquidneck and in 1644 it was changed to Rhode Island by the settlers. In 1663, a royal charter was given to Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations. This included the island and a certain amount of territory on the mainland. The mainland borders of the state were not defined until long after the War of Independence.