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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Newburyport Road to Revolution | Museum of Old Newbury | MA 250
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260323T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260323T210000
DTSTAMP:20260223T123957Z
CREATED:20260216T123238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260223T123957Z
UID:10984-1774292400-1774299600@newburyport250.org
SUMMARY:A Revolutionary Tavern Night: Newburyport Toasts\, Tunes\, and Tales!
DESCRIPTION:Overview\n\n\n\n\n\nSongs\, stories\, theatrics\, and an epic “crankie” panorama bring Newburyport’s Revolutionary taverns to life. Come raise a glass with us!\n\n\n\nAt the end of a landmark privateering symposium\, what is there left to do but repair to the tavern? In Revolutionary Newburyport\, taverns were more than places to drink. They were the town’s patriot headquarters\, where news from other embattled towns was shared\, committees met\, captains were recruited\, merchants and investors negotiated\, and neighbors argued politics\, prizes\, and the price of independance. They were also the original entertainment venues\, alive with songs\, fiddles\, ballads\, recitations\, sketches\, and the kind of convivial spectacle that helped a crowded port blow off steam\, build connections\, and keep morale up through a bleak winter at war. \nJoin Edward Speck (Theater in the Open)\, Bethany Groff Dorau (Museum of Old Newbury)\, The Portermen (Newburyport’s shanty and traditional music purveyors)\, and fiddler and hurdy-gurdy player Adrienne Howard for an evening that channels that 18th-century spirit: toasts\, music\, art\, theater\, silly human tricks\, and a show-stopping crankie (a moving panorama) featuring art by Alan Bull. Throughout the night\, historians in silly hats will pop up with quick tales and tidbits about tavern shenanigans\, from the rituals of drinking and song to the ways tavern rooms doubled as civic space when the Revolution came to town. Come ready to laugh\, sing\, and raise a glass to the people who made a rebellious port run. \n \n\n\n\n\nThis event is funded\, in part\, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism\, and by the generosity of our members\, donors\, and community foundations. Thank you for your support of the arts\, history\, and culture.
URL:https://newburyport250.org/event/a-revolutionary-tavern-night-newburyport-toasts-tunes-and-tales/
LOCATION:Firehouse Center for the Arts\, 1 Market Square\, Newburyport\, MA\, 01950\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event,Symposium,Tour
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ORGANIZER;CN="Museum of Old Newbury":MAILTO:info@newburyhistory.org
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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260323T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260323T160000
DTSTAMP:20260223T124930Z
CREATED:20260212T221250Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260223T124930Z
UID:10961-1774252800-1774281600@newburyport250.org
SUMMARY:Revolutionary Privateers at Sea Symposium: Newburyport and the Wider World
DESCRIPTION:Overview\n\n\n\n\nJoin experts from around the world for a one-day symposium on Revolutionary War privateers and Newburyport’s Atlantic impact!\n\nFrom Newburyport wharves\, privateers surged into the Atlantic with a single mission: take the fight to British commerce. Armed with letters of marque\, these privately owned vessels disrupted enemy supply lines\, seized valuable cargo\, and brought home provisions\, weapons\, and even captured vessels that could be refitted into more privateers to help keep the cause alive. \nPrivateering was a town-wide enterprise. Merchants financed voyages. Carpenters\, ropemakers\, and sailmakers outfitted vessels. Mariners signed on for a share of prize money. Women kept households\, farms\, and businesses running\, and stocked stores with goods brought in as prizes. When captures returned to port\, they could make fortunes. When privateers were lost\, it meant tragedy and ruin. \nAs we mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution\, join us for a fast-paced\, people-centered program that connects Newburyport to the wider Atlantic war and the astonishing records privateers left behind\, from logbooks and diaries to prize papers and court documents. \nAccessibility note \nDue to ongoing work on the Firehouse Center for the Arts elevator\, the theater is currently accessible only by stairs. If stairs are a barrier\, please select the virtual attendance option\, Content will be recorded and posted to our website shortly afterward as well. \n \n\n\nSYMPOSIUM HIGHLIGHTS\nIt all starts at 8 a.m.! \nSettle in with coffee and light refreshments before opening remarks that frame Newburyport’s privateering story within a wider Atlantic war. \nSession 1 (Keynote): Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution \nEric Jay Dolin (author and historian) opens the day with a brisk\, narrative keynote on how privateers—licensed entrepreneurs of war—made tangible strategic impact when the Continental Navy was small and overstretched. Dolin connects policy\, profit\, and peril to the lived experience of crews\, investors\, and coastal communities. \nSession 2: “The Spirit of Privateering Prevails Here”: Essex County’s Revolutionary War at Sea \nEmily Murphy\, Ph.D. (Curator\, Salem Maritime National Historical Park & Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site) brings Essex County’s wartime waterfront to life—who financed voyages\, who shipped out\, what came back as prize\, and what disappeared at sea. Expect a grounded look at how privateering reshaped local markets\, labor\, and daily life ashore. \nSession 3: Allies and Rivals at Sea: The Continental Navy and Massachusetts Privateers \nAbby Schreiber\, Ph.D. (Curator\, National Museum of the United States Navy) explores the complicated relationship between official naval forces and private enterprise. Where did interests align—and where did they clash? This session follows shipbuilding priorities\, supply chains\, manpower\, discipline\, and prize expectations in a fast-moving revolutionary environment. \nMidday Custom House Maritime Museum Visit + Lunch (included) \nEnjoy lunch with vegan and gluten-free options\, plus an integrated visit at the Custom House Maritime Museum that ties objects and archives to the day’s themes. \nSession 4: Fast\, Light\, and Everywhere: New England Boatbuilding and the Geography of Privateering \nMichael P. Dyer (former curator at Mystic Seaport Museum and the New Bedford Whaling Museum) shows how New England design\, craftsmanship\, and coastal knowledge made privateering possible at scale. From hull forms to rig choices\, this session explains why certain vessels could strike quickly\, evade pursuit\, and thrive in Atlantic and coastal waters. \nSession 5: Reading Betsey’s Log: Newburyport Privateer Records and the Adventures of Offin Boardman \nA rare “close read” of a working maritime document—guided by both seamanship and scholarship. Graham McKay (Executive Director\, Lowell’s Boat Shop; boatbuilder\, educator\, and experienced mariner) and Bethany Groff Dorau (Executive Director\, Museum of Old Newbury) use the log of the Newburyport privateer Betsey (National Archives\, London) to illuminate a little-known episode in the life of Offin Boardman and reveal what logbooks can tell us about risk\, routine\, and decision-making at sea. \nSession 6: Prizes for All: Finding Newburyport and Neighbors in the Prize Papers\, 1776–1783 \nAmanda Bevan\, Ph.D. (Head\, Prize Papers Project\, The National Archives\, UK) takes you inside one of the richest surviving archives of maritime war: captured letters\, cargo lists\, ship papers\, and personal belongings preserved by admiralty courts. Learn how the Prize Papers are being cataloged and opened to researchers—and how Newburyport connections surface in surprising ways across the collection. \nClosing remarks \nA short wrap-up tying the day’s threads together—archives\, vessels\, people\, and the wider world that Newburyport’s privateers sailed into. \n\n\nPURCHASE YOUR TICKET TODAY >> \nAFTER-SESSION FIELD-TRIPS (ticketed separately) \nAll field trips run at the same time. Please choose ONE. \n$10 each | Limited capacity (noted below) \n1: Revolutionary Resting Places — Old Hill & Highland Cemetery Tour \nGuide: Ghlee Woodworth | Capacity: 25 | Meet: Greenleaf Street gate \nRead Newburyport’s Revolution in stone. Meet privateers\, patrons\, widows\, and war-era leaders through symbols\, epitaphs\, and the stories behind the graves. \n2: Streets of the Privateering Port — Walking Tour \nCapacity: 25 | Meet: In front of the Firehouse Center for the Arts \nA fast-paced walk through the places where privateering was financed\, outfitted\, celebrated\, and mourned—connecting buildings\, waterfront\, and people. \n3: Merchants\, Mansions & Prize Money — Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm Tour \nCapacity: 15 | Meet: 5 Little’s Lane\, Newbury (brick porch) \nStep into the world of Nathaniel Tracy and Offin Boardman. See how prizes built fortunes\, fueled ambition\, and left lasting marks on land and legacy. \n4: Build the Revolution — Lowell’s Boat Shop + Bantry Bay Gig \nCapacity: 20 | Meet: 459 Main St.\, Amesbury \nVisit a living boat shop and get up close to an 18th-century-style gig under construction. Tools\, timber\, technique—and why traditional boatbuilding still matters. \n\n\n\nOptional evening event (ticketed separately) \n7:00 PM — Tavern Night: A Revolutionary Night at the Tavern \nLocation: Firehouse Center for the Arts \nSongs\, stories\, and a moving panorama (crankie) celebrate privateering lore with Theater in the Open\, The Portermen\, theater\, and 18th-century tavern tidbits.
URL:https://newburyport250.org/event/revolutionary-privateers-at-sea-symposium-newburyport-and-the-wider-world/
LOCATION:Firehouse Center for the Arts\, 1 Market Square\, Newburyport\, MA\, 01950\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event,Symposium,Tour
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://newburyport250.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Revolutionary-Privateers-at-Sea-Symposium-Newburyport-and-the-Wider-World-1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Museum of Old Newbury":MAILTO:info@newburyhistory.org
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